1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 499: Wonders of the Universe! Supernova Explodes! Shocks Everyone! Records from Years Ago!

The existence of neutron stars brought endless shock to many astronomers present!

It is different from the black hole widely predicted.

A black hole is a special solution to the general phase field equation and exists only in mathematical formulas.

No one can tell exactly how many solutions the field equation has, because it is an extremely complex equation.

Therefore, the existence of black holes is an unattainable dream for astronomers.

If you are lucky enough to find it one day, you will become famous all over the world immediately.

But neutron stars are different.

It was theoretically deduced step by step based on stellar evolution.

Compared with a black hole, it is based on real existence rather than a purely mathematical solution.

If neutron stars are wrong, then the proton-neutron model and the exclusion principle must all be wrong.

The probability of this happening is really too small.

Therefore, if the probability of a black hole existing is 1%, then the probability of a neutron star existing is at least 95%.

This is the consensus of many astronomy experts present.

Therefore, the bigwigs have reached the point of worship for Professor Bruce's theory of stellar evolution.

And now, everyone is attracted by the most terrifying phenomenon just mentioned.

In the eyes of everyone, the existence of neutron stars itself is incredible enough.

Could there be any more bizarre changes in its evolution?
Hale, Dyson, Eddington, Hubble and others all held their breath.

In front of Professor Bruce's speech, both the big guys and the rookies turned into shocked elementary school students.

Li Qiwei's eyes swept across the entire conference hall, and everyone was extremely excited.

He knew that what he was going to say next would definitely push the atmosphere of today's meeting to a climax.

"Now let's imagine that a star with a mass of more than eight times that of the sun has transformed into a red supergiant, and that its core is undergoing terrifying changes."

"Nuclear fusion is taking place anywhere in the core area. It's like a super powder keg that can explode at any time."

"With the final fusion of iron, the core area has reached its limit at this moment."

"The terrifying radiation expansion force produced by nuclear fusion far exceeds the compression effect of gravity."

"So, boom!"

"The core area exploded!"

"And the entire star exploded with it."

"A super bomb with a mass at least equivalent to eight suns was detonated in an instant, and all the energy burst out."

"The terrifying power it produced cannot be described in words."

"According to my preliminary estimate of the stellar evolution model, the energy that erupted instantly in the core region is roughly equivalent to the total energy radiated by the sun in its lifetime."

"The sun has a lifespan of at least 100 billion years, and the amount of energy it radiates every second is astronomical."

"So, this terrifying energy density cannot be described in words."

"The electromagnetic radiation released by the outburst would illuminate the entire galaxy in which the star is located."

"If you look from Earth, it looks like there's a bright sun in the sky."

"In addition, during the explosion, countless substances were blown apart and thrown outward at one tenth the speed of light."

"In the field of astronomy, there is a professional term called 'nova'."

"It refers to a celestial body that suddenly brightens in brightness."

"But for a red supergiant star after its explosion, its brightness far exceeds that of a so-called nova."

“So, I named it [supernova]!”

"And its explosion process is a [supernova explosion]!"

"The remnant left after a supernova explosion is a neutron star."

"The above is the entire evolution process of a neutron star."

quiet!
Deathly silence!

Everyone was stunned with shock and speechless.

The terrifying supernova explosion made everyone seem to lose the ability to think.

What a terrifying astronomical phenomenon that is!

How big is the Milky Way?

According to currently recognized data, its diameter is at least more than 10 light years.

The energy from a supernova explosion can radiate throughout the entire galaxy.

It's really terrible!

It's like lighting a bomb in London, but its light and heat spread throughout the solar system.

Everyone was shocked!

"Oh my God! Does this phenomenon really exist in the universe?"

"If a supernova explodes in the Milky Way, wouldn't the Earth be in danger?"

"Ah, that shouldn't be possible. As long as the distance is not too close, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Fortunately, the mass of the sun is very small, so it can only become a white dwarf and cannot explode as a supernova."

Suddenly someone replied quietly:
“Is there any difference between these two situations for the Earth and for humanity?”

At this moment, various heated discussions were heard in the conference hall.

Some were horrified, some were shocked, and some were confused.

If neutron stars are still within everyone's acceptance range, then supernova explosions are completely beyond cognition.

"A star just exploded?"

"It sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it?"

Many people even began to doubt it.

Is it possible that the model is wrong?
In the crowd, Hubble looked solemn.

He calmed down from his previous frenzy.

Although he admired Professor Bruce's amazing theoretical ability.

But astronomy is not physics after all, it is the science of observing the real universe.

A supernova, such a terrifying astronomical phenomenon, has very obvious characteristics.

Logically speaking, humans should have experienced this many times.

Why has there never been any record of this?

So Hubble couldn't help but ask:

"Professor Bruce, if supernova explosions are so powerful, why have astronomers never observed one?"

"In theory, it should be easy to observe it."

Many people nodded slightly.

Hubble finally stopped being confused and was able to keep up with the pace.

It directly expressed the thoughts of most people.

According to Professor Bruce's description, supernova explosion is definitely a cosmic wonder.

And it is the most terrifying wonder of the universe.

Cosmic rays, solar wind, gravitational tides, etc. are just like playing house in front of it.

Even the predecessor of the white dwarf, the red giant, can only swallow up a small part of the star system.

None of these can compare to the power of sweeping across the galaxy.

Therefore, if a supernova explosion really exists, no one would believe that it has not been observed on Earth.

Therefore, Hubble's questions were very sharp.

If Professor Bruce answers no, it means that his model is most likely wrong.

But if he answers yes, how can he provide evidence?

For a moment, everyone became nervous.

Looking at Hubble and Professor Bruce, this half-master and half-disciple fighting each other. However, Li Qiwei just smiled slightly and shocked everyone.

“Yes, that’s a very good question.”

"Before preparing for today's speech, I spent more than a month learning about the history of astronomy through various books."

“I don’t look at everything, I just focus on a specific part of it.”

"Yes, it is the records about various bright stars or astronomical phenomena."

"These records cover the period from ancient times to the present, from China to Europe."

"By collating and analyzing the contents of these records and combining them with my supernova explosion theory, I discovered some very interesting phenomena."

"The year 185 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to the Eastern Han Dynasty in China."

"Chinese astronomical observers recorded such an incident in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Astronomy."

"In the second year of Zhongping (185 AD), on the th month, a guest star appeared from the south gate. It was as big as half a banquet table, with five colors of joy and anger. It became smaller and disappeared in June of the following year."

"Guest stars are the professional names given to astronomical phenomena by ancient Chinese astronomers, which are somewhat similar to novae in the West."

"They all refer to the sudden appearance of very bright stars in the sky."

"It can be seen that the guest star recorded by Huaxia was very huge and lasted for as long as 8 months."

"From these descriptions, we can tell that this guest star is definitely not an ordinary celestial body, nor is it a nova."

"Its various characteristics indicate that it can only be a supernova explosion!"

"I looked through all kinds of documents and found no records earlier than this."

"So I think this is the first supernova explosion ever discovered and documented in human history."

Wow!
As soon as Li Qiwei finished speaking, there was a commotion in the conference hall.

Everyone was in disbelief.

The Chinese actually recorded supernova explosions more than 1,700 years ago.

This is incredible!
Those present were truly high-level intellectuals in Europe.

Although most people do not understand Chinese culture, they also know how much importance China places on history.

It is a country that regards history as life.

From the emperor to the common people, everyone can quote the Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi.

What else can we do in a restaurant or teahouse if we don’t talk about history?

This phenomenon, which is common in China, is like a fairy tale in Europe.

Among the lower class people in Europe, very few people pay attention to the so-called history.

China already had a formal system of historians thousands of years ago.

The role of cultural heritage was fully demonstrated at this moment.

Records from more than a thousand years ago were actually proven by theories more than a thousand years later.

This entanglement between fate and science spanning thousands of years shocked everyone present.

Gao Lu, Yu Qingsong, Chang Fuyuan, Jiang Bingran and others already had tears in their eyes at this moment.

Their hearts were filled with great excitement, an excitement of pride.

It turns out that Chinese astronomy has such a brilliant side.

Even domestic astronomy experts like Gao Lu don’t know what Li Qiwei just said.

There was no way. With Gao Lu's strength, he could not discover the shocking meaning contained in just a few words in the history books.

Even if he saw it, he would not pay too much attention to it and would at most regard it as an ordinary record of a rising star.

Gao Lu gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, trying to keep himself calm, and couldn't help but sigh:

"China has Professor Li. How much suffering did it take to gain this good fortune?"

"Although this is a small matter, it can arouse the pride and sense of honor in the hearts of countless Chinese people."

“Thousands of years ago we had history, and thousands of years later we have science!”

“Use science to explain history, and use history to verify science.”

"This is a special opportunity that only Chinese astronomers can have."

"Although we are lagging behind now, we must not underestimate ourselves."

Gao Lu's words made several young men nod their heads heavily.

A strong desire rose in their hearts.

"One day in the future, I will prove, like Professor Li, that Chinese people have made important contributions to science."

“It may even be the only special contribution.”

Gao Lu and his companions were immersed in the glory of China.

The others on the field quickly calmed down from the shock.

Adhering to a scientific attitude, just recording once is far from enough to be convincing.

Li Qiwei certainly knew this.

He gave Gao Lu and the others a tacit look and continued:

"Of course, this is not the only evidence."

"The year 1006 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to the Song Dynasty of China."

"According to the Chinese History of Song Dynasty: Astronomy:"

"On the wuyin day of the fourth month of the third year of Jingde, Zhoubo Star appeared. It was shaped like a half-moon with sharp horns. It was so bright that it could reflect things. It passed to the east of the Ku Tower."

"Similarly, this is also a supernova explosion."

"And it is very likely to be the brightest supernova ever recorded by humans."

"Because people at that time could even use the light of the supernova explosion to read books in the middle of the night, just like daytime."

"It is conceivable that this supernova must be very close to the Earth."

"If there is still some luck this time, then the following records will definitely confirm my theory."

“Because it was recorded by both the East and the West at the same time, they can verify each other.”

"In 1054 AD, the Chinese recorded in history books:"

"In the first year of Zhihe, on the 5th month of the Jiyou year, a guest star appeared a few inches southeast of Tianguan in the morning (it set in the 3rd month of the first year of Jiayou)."

"Corresponding records can be found in America, Sakura Country, Europe and other places at that time."

"This is the most observed supernova explosion in the same period."

"It is enough to show that human beings have already experienced this terrible cosmic wonder."

"Later, as European astronomy became more sophisticated, more phenomena were recorded."

"Please look at the table I compiled."

"In 1572, a Danish astronomer recorded a bright star phenomenon. After my analysis, it should be a supernova explosion."

"In 1604, a German astronomer discovered an example."

"."

"Although the above observation records all classified this phenomenon as a nova."

"But I think they are actually supernovae."

"Because the brightness of ordinary novae is simply impossible to reach those described in the records."

"So, these historical materials prove that my theory is correct."

"A massive star will explode as a supernova, which will then create a neutron star."

"This is the second fate of stars!"

"For stars, a supernova is the prelude to death; but for neutron stars, a supernova is the prelude to rebirth."

boom!
Li Qiwei's final, powerful and impressive summary deeply shocked everyone.

Humans have been in contact with supernovas for thousands of years.

But it was not until today that everyone present truly recognized its true appearance.

Those neatly arranged and detailed historical materials left no room for doubt.

"Professor Bruce is so scary!"

(End of this chapter)