1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 497 Stellar evolution! Quantum theory reappears! Red giant star! White dwarf! Shocking the audience!
The general theory of relativity, published in 1912, has five major predictions.

They are: light bending, gravitational redshift, black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmic expansion.

These five major predictions are all related to the field of astronomy.

That’s why the big names in astronomy respect Professor Bruce so much.

He is not an astronomer, but he surpasses astronomers.

The five major predictions mean five major directions, which greatly expand the scope and depth of astronomical research.

In 1914, Eddington demonstrated the bending of starlight.

And just now, in 1922, Hubble proved that the universe is expanding.

The two major predictions have been proven, and the correctness of general relativity can be almost 100% confirmed.

Now, Li Qiwei has proposed again to prove a prophecy.

One can imagine what kind of sensation this would cause.

The venue was instantly boiling with excitement.

Everyone was talking in shock.

"Oh my god! Today's meeting will surely go down in history!"

"I have a feeling that Guang Xiang will probably win the Nobel Prize this year."

"If it doesn't work, it will be unforgivable!"

"What's weird is why Professor Bruce said he was proving half of the prophecy?"

For a moment, everyone's curiosity was aroused to the extreme.

That is not an ordinary scientific proposition, but a supreme theory derived from the broad aspects.

Each had a profound impact on the development of astronomy.

Since the bending of starlight was proven, scientists have used it to explain many astronomical phenomena.

The most famous of these is the "gravitational lens effect".

When light passes through a massive celestial body, it bends.

This effect is similar to the effect of a common convex lens on light.

Therefore, astronomers had an idea to use massive celestial bodies as lenses to observe other celestial bodies.

This is what is called the gravitational lensing effect.

Suppose there is a celestial body in the distant universe, and the light it emits can directly reach the earth.

But it is blocked by a huge star in the middle.

Logically speaking, we cannot observe celestial bodies behind stars because the light is blocked.

But due to the gravitational lens effect, the light passing through the surface of the star is bent, just like a convex lens focusing.

At this time, detectors on Earth can capture the light that has been focused and changed direction.

Of course, what we see are just shadows.

But through theoretical calculations, we can work out the true situation of distant celestial bodies.

Similarly, we can also use the gravitational lens effect in reverse to study the properties of the massive celestial body that acts as a lens.

For example, it can even be used to search for dark matter!
If you observe the image of a celestial body, its properties will be different when observed from different angles.

Then we can suspect that the light from this celestial body in a specific direction may be bent by a massive celestial body.

If this massive object cannot be found through optical means, then it can be inferred that it may be dark matter.

In real history, the gravitational lens effect became an important measurement method in astronomy after a few decades of development.

As for the significance of the expansion of the universe, there is no need to say more.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the great minds in astronomy attach great importance to the five major predictions.

A broad smile appeared on Hubble's face.

Now he feels no pressure at all, sitting down and listening to the lecture, as if he is back in the days when he was studying with Professor Bruce.

It was an unforgettable time.

He eagerly learns all kinds of knowledge.

Although he had achieved great success, Hubble was not satisfied.

Because all of his achievements are experimental in nature, obtained through observation, analysis and research of large amounts of data.

But Hubble understood that what Professor Bruce was going to say next was absolutely purely theoretical in nature.

This is the ability he currently lacks.

In this era, there was no distinction between theoretical astronomers and experimental astronomers.

Because it is not necessary.

How is it possible that there are astronomers who don't need to do experiments?

For them, observing the starry sky through a telescope is an experiment.

But the appearance of Professor Bruce broke this iron rule!

It turns out that there are people who can deduce the source of stars' energy based solely on theory.

This is incredible to all astronomers.

And now, Hubble is as excited as everyone else.

"What kind of shocking astronomical theory will Professor Bruce bring?"

Eddington, in particular, was full of expectations.

Because Professor Bruce had said before that his results would explain the problem of stellar mass.

Now the other party says that it is related to proving Guang Xiang’s prophecy.

Eddington couldn't think of which of the remaining three predictions it would be.

Under everyone's expectation, Li Qiwei finally began his speech.

“My talk was about stellar evolution.”

"Nuclear fusion explains the source of energy for the start of stars, but it cannot explain how stars develop."

"The energy of nuclear fusion will eventually run out. What will the star look like then?"

"In other words, what is the fate of stars?"

Wow!
As soon as the words fell, the venue suddenly became restless.

No one expected that the topic of Professor Bruce's speech would be the issue of stellar evolution.

When nuclear fusion first occurred, the whole world was shocked!

Stellar research has become a hot topic in the field of astronomy.

But the most difficult energy source has been solved. Are there any remaining problems with stars?
Soon, everyone thought of a question.

"How does the star problem relate to the other three predictions?"

"Gravitational redshift and gravitational waves should be phenomena that exist in all massive celestial bodies."

"Not to mention black holes, which are a strange celestial body and are completely different from stars."

“No matter how hard I look at it, I can’t find any connection.”

Many people are a little confused.

They had no idea what Professor Bruce was thinking.

At this moment, everyone was waiting quietly.

Ridgeway continued:
"I believe that many people have begun to wonder."

"Aren't I trying to prove Guang Xiang's prediction?"

"How come the content of the speech is about the evolution of stars?"

“The two don’t seem to have anything to do with each other.”

"Don't worry, listen to me slowly."

At this moment, everyone gradually calmed down and listened attentively.

"We know that after a star starts nuclear fusion, hydrogen continues to fuse into helium inside it."

"The huge energy generated by this fusion offsets the collapse effect of the star's own gravity."

"However, no matter how massive a star is, the amount of matter it contains is limited."

"Once all the hydrogen is gone and fusion stops, what happens?"

Everyone began to think.

"The star has burned countless hydrogen elements and its volume has now expanded to its limit."

“It became a giant celestial body.”

"However, at this point, its core temperature can no longer rise further."

"Even in this process, helium fusion occurred." "Helium continued to fuse into carbon, oxygen, and so on."

"These elements don't have enough energy to continue fusing, so they can only continue to accumulate in the core."

"At this point, the core and outer layer of the star will have two completely different endings."

"The outer layer is thin stardust that has expanded to its limit and slowly spreads out to form an enormous cloud."

“It looks just like a colorful nebula.”

"But at the core, a large amount of carbon, oxygen and other elements have accumulated, causing the density to increase, generating tremendous pressure."

"This pressure can even crush atoms."

"But soon enough, it will encounter an extremely strong barrier."

"That's the resistance of the electrons themselves."

"We know that atoms are composed of nuclei and electrons."

"Electrons move around the nucleus and occupy a certain volume."

"According to the Pauli-Bruce exclusion principle, even if electrons are subjected to external forces, they still have to follow incompatible rules."

"In other words, the electrons are not so easily squeezed together."

"I named this behavior of electrons resisting external pressure 'electron degeneracy pressure'."

“As shown in the picture.”

"According to my calculations, the electron degeneracy pressure is sufficient to resist the huge gravitational pressure generated by the core of the star."

"When the electron degeneracy pressure is equal to the gravitational pressure, the star reaches a state of equilibrium."

"All of the outer matter of the star is ejected into space, leaving only this extremely dense core."

"According to calculations, its density can reach a terrifying level of 10 tons per cubic centimeter."

"The temperature of the core will continue to drop and eventually dim."

"A great star, in the end, only has this core left."

Having said this, Li Qiwei paused.

There was an uproar in the venue at this moment!
"Oh my god! Quantum theory is actually used in the process of stellar evolution!"

"This is incredible!"

Everyone was shocked by Li Qiwei's theoretical analysis process.

Previous nuclear fusion used knowledge of atomic science.

But now, the evolution of stars is even beginning to involve quantum theory.

The astronomers present were completely stunned.

Of course, everyone knows the Pauli-Bruce principle.

Proposed by the genius Pauli, it is known as the last piece of the puzzle of quantum theory.

But no one could have imagined that this theory could be applied to stellar evolution.

This is amazing too.

Eddington's eyes lit up as he looked at the contents on the demonstration screen, as if they were rare treasures.

He was dazzled by the ability to predict the fate of stars through theory alone.

It turns out that astronomy can be so cool.

Instead of just waiting by the telescope every day.

Hubble was breathing rapidly.

His heart was shaken.

"Is this the strength of Professor Bruce? It's so terrifying!"

"I'm afraid he is the only one who can create a theory of stellar evolution."

"Because among the big guys present here, I'm afraid not many people understand quantum theory."

Li Qiwei's application of quantum theory in the field of astronomy really shocked everyone present.

The nuclear fusion that happened at that time seemed to appear before our eyes again.

Then, Li Qiwei continued:

"When a star's hydrogen is completely burned out and its volume expands to its limit, it will appear red because of its low surface temperature, according to calculations."

"So, I named this star a red giant."

"After a red giant ejects its outer matter, the core that is left behind will appear white because of its extremely high density."

"So, I named this core a white dwarf."

When everyone heard these two names, they were not too surprised.

All of them are very vivid.

Stars expand into large, red celestial bodies due to nuclear fusion, which are of course red giants.

The core that is retained at the end is just a dwarf compared to the star itself, so the name "white dwarf" is well deserved.

At this point, Li Qiwei concluded:
"The evolution of stars goes through four stages."

“I liken it to the growth process of a person.”

“First, there is the birth period.”

"The various dust, molecular atoms in the universe attract each other under the influence of gravity, forming the original nebula."

"As the gravitational pull grew stronger, it eventually ignited the fire of nuclear fusion."

"Thus, the star entered adulthood."

“That’s the phase the sun is in right now.”

"Nuclear fusion provides stars with an endless supply of energy, making our universe no longer cold but full of light and heat."

"At the same time, it also gave birth to intelligent species such as humans."

"But just as people age, stars will eventually run out of fuel."

"At this moment, the star has entered its middle age, the red giant stage."

"The star continues to expand, swallowing up everything in its vicinity."

"Until the end, after it has shone to its fullest, the core remnant left behind becomes a white dwarf, drifting alone in the universe, its light and heat constantly extinguished."

"This is the decline of a star, which ends in death."

As Li Qiwei narrated, a tragic atmosphere filled the air.

The fate of the stars is like a painting, slowly unfolding before everyone.

For a moment, everyone was moved.

So sad!

After an unknown amount of time, everyone finally came out of their grief.

Then, he took a breath of cold air.

Professor Bruce actually used theory to describe the evolution cycle of stars.

This is truly shocking.

Although Hubble's results were equally shocking, they were very different in style from those of Professor Bruce.

The former worked day and night, staying by the telescope to observe and analyze countless astronomical data.

Finally the conjecture was proved.

The latter, on the other hand, outlines the life of a star using only a piece of paper and a pen.

In terms of beauty and shock, the latter far surpasses the former.

"This is the powerful strength of Professor Bruce!"

At this moment, everyone finally understood how terrifying the top physicists were.

Their research on astronomy is simply a dimensionality reduction attack.

Do not!
"What's scary is not the physicists, but Professor Bruce himself."

But soon, everyone discovered the problem.

"The evolutionary cycle of stars is now clear."

"But it has nothing to do with Guangxiang's three predictions."

In the eyes of confusion and doubt, Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said:

"The above is only the first possible ending for a star."

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

(End of this chapter)