1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 500 Gamma-ray bursts! Pulsars! Future opportunities! Stars have a third fate!
The second fate of the star deeply shocked all the astronomers present.

Supernova explosions and neutron stars, these two astronomical concepts are truly brilliant and imaginative.

Li Qiwei made everyone realize what true wisdom is that is unrivaled in the world!
"Professor Bruce probably doesn't look through a telescope as often as my son does."

“But his achievements in the field of astronomy surpassed 99% of the professional astronomers present.”

“It’s really unimaginable!”

"Brother, be confident, it's 100%."

Theoretical physicists' dimensionality reduction attack on astronomers was fully demonstrated at this moment.

And the historical materials that were finally sorted out made everyone respect Professor Bruce.

They saw the rigorous and romantic scientific core in each other and were deeply moved.

It was as if Professor Bruce was talking to ancient people who lived thousands of years ago.

Similar thoughts suddenly arose in everyone's mind.

"The things our ancestors left behind are indeed good things."

"It seems that I have to study ancient books carefully after returning, especially Chinese ancient books, because they have the longest history."

In real history, there have been a total of 10 recorded supernova explosions visible to the naked eye on Earth.

According to stellar evolution models, on average, a supernova explosion occurs in the Milky Way approximately every 50 years.

Because extragalactic galaxies are too far away, there is not much observational data.

The reason why humans have the opportunity to record so many times is thanks to the big guy’s grace of not killing them.

Although the energy of a supernova explosion is violent, it generally does not cause particularly great damage as long as the center of the explosion is more than a thousand light years away from the Earth.

Because the various electromagnetic radiation and particle flows reaching the earth at this time are blocked by various cosmic bodies and dust, their power is greatly weakened.

The remaining particle stream is absorbed as soon as it enters the atmosphere.

The remaining electromagnetic radiation can at most affect the Earth's magnetic field, causing abnormalities in various electronic components.

There is no direct threat to life.

Fortunately, as far as we can see, none of the stars around the Earth exceed the mass limit and have the probability of a supernova explosion.

Therefore, the Earth is safe. (It always feels like an artificially created experimental site)

But there is an astronomical phenomenon that can cause a devastating blow to the Earth even if it is 100,000 light years away.

That's a gamma-ray burst!

Although the power of a supernova explosion spans the galaxy, it is a point-like explosion that spreads in all directions.

A gamma-ray burst is a super-energy beam in a specific direction, like a super-magnified version of a laser.

If we simply compare the energy intensity in a unit direction, then gamma-ray bursts will far exceed supernova explosions.

Because the total energy of a gamma-ray burst is no lower than that of a supernova explosion, and some are even much higher.

Moreover, all this energy is concentrated in one direction and released in a short period of time. You can imagine how powerful it is.

The direction in which it is launched and the areas it passes through along the way will suffer devastating energy strikes.

Once it sweeps across the Earth, all life on Earth will be extinct on the spot.

Because gamma rays not only destroy the atmosphere of the planet, but also damage the DNA of living things, causing them to collapse.

If advanced civilizations really exist, then their cannon should be gamma-ray bursts.

After a few more shots, it would be hard for life to remain in the entire galaxy.

This is the horror of gamma-ray bursts.

In real history, it was not until 1967 that astronomers first observed this terrifying electromagnetic phenomenon through satellites.

Of course, this gamma-ray burst was not directly aimed at the Earth, otherwise humans would be extinct.

This is the horror of the universe.

A phenomenon at a great distance could bring about a catastrophic disaster for the entire human race.

And now, many astronomers present are still immersed in joy and don't care about the danger.

Because those are factors that are beyond human control, they can be studied, but there is no need to worry about them.

What if a gamma-ray burst really hits the earth one day?

Those emperors, presidents, kings, prime ministers and richest people must be more nervous than anyone else here.

Li Qiwei looked at the expressions of the crowd and felt emotional.

He could understand the feelings of everyone present, which was the ecstasy of discovering a whole new field.

For scientists, nothing could be happier than this.

The unknown represents more truth!
In real history, concepts such as supernova explosions and neutron stars were not proposed until more than ten years later.

Once proposed, it aroused the interest of countless astronomers and set off a research boom.

Because supernova explosions have a lot of scientific significance.

For example, it can be used to study the formation and evolution of life.

At the moment the core of a star explodes, iron fuses to produce more and heavier elements.

These elements were then carried to all corners of the galaxy by the explosion.

These elements are indispensable elements for life and play an important role in the evolution of life.

In other words, many of the elements that make up humans come from the diffusion of matter from supernova explosions.

The saying "human beings come from the stars" is not false.

An atom in your body may have come from the center of the Milky Way or even from other galaxies.

In addition, if the mass of the star exceeds 30 times the mass of the sun.

Then after a supernova explosion, a special celestial body will be formed: a pulsar!

The so-called pulsar is actually a rapidly rotating neutron star, named because it can continuously emit electromagnetic pulse signals.

In 1967, astronomers discovered a star in the constellation Vulpecula that continuously emitted periodic radio waves.

Many astronomers at the time believed that this was a new celestial body.

Some even believe that this is aliens sending a telegram to humans on Earth.

Because pulse means regularity, and regularity means that there are intelligent factors involved.

But just one year later, astronomers used experimental data and model calculations to prove that pulsars are actually rapidly rotating neutron stars.

At that time, it had been more than 30 years since the concept of neutron stars was proposed.

But astronomers have never discovered this theoretical celestial body.

It wasn't until the appearance of pulsars that neutron stars were finally confirmed to exist.

Therefore, pulsars are also hailed as one of the four major discoveries in astronomy in the 20s.

The reason why neutron stars rotate at high speeds is that they can even reach terrifying speeds of hundreds or thousands of circles per second.

(Just imagine if the earth rotated 100 times per second, what a sour taste it would have on humans.)
It is the terrifying energy generated by the supernova explosion that drives the movement of the neutron star.

It's like spinning a top, except now you're spinning a neutron star.

Therefore, by studying the properties of pulsars, we can in turn gain a deeper understanding of supernova explosions.

Of course, it is impossible for Ridgway to bring up gamma-ray bursts and pulsars right now.

Otherwise, it is not a prophecy but a revelation from God.

Predictions in the scientific field must be based on experimental data or theory.

Even a celestial body as far-fetched as a black hole can be predicted by Li Qiwei.

Because it has the mathematical foundation of field equations.

It doesn’t matter how outrageous it is, because it theoretically exists.

However, even in later generations, the formation principle of gamma-ray bursts has not been figured out.

One of the mainstream views is that it is produced by the merger of black holes or neutron stars.

So, after today's meeting, as the theory of neutron stars and black holes continues to develop.

Concepts such as gamma-ray bursts and pulsars could perhaps be proposed theoretically in advance.

Li Qiwei suddenly smiled softly and thought to himself:
"Well, these two achievements can perhaps be handed over to Xiao Yu."

As Li Qiwei's successor in the field of astronomy, Yu Qingsong cannot lose face for China.

However, although he cannot mention the above two concepts, he has to show off in the following content.

At this moment, as Li Qiwei was sorting out the history of astronomy, everyone finally recovered from their shock.

Everyone's face was filled with joy.

Today's conference brought so many new things. These theories and concepts will have a profound impact on the development of astronomy in the next few decades.

Infuse more vitality and future into astronomy.

Therefore, many astronomers are extremely grateful to Professor Bruce.

What is a leader?

This is what a leader is!
You can't eat the meat and drink the soup by yourself while others can only watch.

Ridgway's theory is still a bit rough, and there are many areas that need to be refined and improved.

White dwarfs, neutron stars, supernova explosions, etc., these phenomena still need to be observed and confirmed.

These are opportunities for other astronomers.

One meeting can feed countless people.

Who wouldn't be happy?

But soon, the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became weird and quiet.

Everyone had a feeling that a storm was about to come.

So far, Professor Bruce has given two possible outcomes for stellar evolution.

Stars with less than 8 times the mass of the sun will eventually become white dwarfs.

Stars with a mass greater than 8 times that of the sun will eventually become neutron stars.

Today's meeting has continued until now, although everyone is already very satisfied.

However, there is still one biggest expectation in everyone's heart.

That is, in addition to Hubble, Professor Bruce has to prove another general prediction.

This is the highlight of today and the one that everyone is paying attention to.

However, neither white dwarfs nor neutron stars have anything to do with Guangxiang’s predictions.

This is a brand new theory proposed by Professor Bruce.

So, "What is the prophecy that Professor Bruce wants to prove?"

Although most people were still confused, a very small number of people were very excited.

They followed Professor Bruce's train of thought and seemed to understand something.

Geniuses such as Eddington, Hubble, Yu Qingsong, and bigwigs such as Hale and Dyson all showed shocked expressions on their faces.

Mass is the most critical factor in stellar evolution.

So what if the mass of the star continues to increase?

"Since there is a limit of 1.44 times the mass of the sun for white dwarfs, does a neutron star also have a similar limit?"

"If a neutron star is further compressed, what kind of celestial body will be formed?"

"But the neutron is already an elementary particle. It cannot be compressed any further."

At this moment, Eddington and others were both excited and annoyed.

What’s exciting is that they feel they have found the right idea and that stellar evolution should be able to continue based on neutron stars.

"There is a third fate for stars!"

Unfortunately, they have no theoretical explanation.

Because physics has reached its end.

The neutron is the final structure.

Do we have to crush the neutrons?
Neutron powder?

Isn't it still a neutron?

So, no one can imagine what will happen if the compression continues.

Only Hubble suddenly had an idea.

He thought of his previous correspondence with Schwarzschild.

Schwarzschild was recently studying black holes.

He wanted to find this wonderful celestial body with a telescope.

He firmly believes that black holes must exist!
Because black hole was the first solution to the field equations he gave.

At this moment, Hubble's heart was filled with huge waves, and he guessed a possibility.

"Oh my God!"

"Could it be that the third evolutionary outcome of a star is a black hole?"

"A black hole is also a type of celestial body."

"And according to the predictions of general relativity, its gravitational pull is very, very strong, so strong that not even light can escape."

"And greater gravity means greater mass, and greater mass means greater density."

"The density of a neutron star is already terrifying, hundreds of millions of tons per cubic centimeter."

"What if its density continues to increase?"

boom!
It was as if billions of thunders exploded in Hubble's mind!

He shuddered all over and was shaking so much that he couldn't speak.

"This this."

Eddington, who was standing next to him, noticed something was wrong with Hubble.

"What's wrong with you, Hubble?"

Hubble took a deep breath and said in shock:

"I think I have guessed which prophecy Professor Bruce wants to prove."

Eddington was shocked when he heard this!
Could it be that Hubble had an idea?
He couldn't help asking:

"which one?"

Hubble approached Eddington and whispered his thoughts.

Then, there was a sound of people sucking in their breath.

Soon, everyone on the field looked at Professor Bruce.

As you know, the speech is not over yet.

Professor Bruce has yet to fulfill his opening promise.

Li Qiwei's deep gaze swept across the meeting room. He smiled gently and continued:

“I believe everyone must still have questions.”

"Up to now, I still haven't explained which of Guangxiang's predictions I want to prove."

"The evolutionary end of a star, whether it is a white dwarf or a neutron star, is just one type of celestial body."

Suddenly, Li Qiwei changed his tone and became excited.

"But there is a third fate in stellar evolution."

"And the third fate is a certain prophecy of Guang Xiang!"

boom!
Shocking!

Everyone's face was filled with horror!

"Oh my God! Stellar evolution is not over yet? There is a third fate?"

"How is this possible? Can a neutron star continue to be compressed?"

"Is it possible that a neutron star exploded? On top of the supernova explosion, it exploded again?"

Everyone started speculating.

Only Hubble and Eddington looked as if they had expected it.

Hubble was so excited that he almost danced.

"Yes, that's it!"

"My guess is probably correct!"

"Oh my God! This is incredible!"

At this moment, he was like a child who was happy because he had found his favorite toy.

Having guessed Professor Bruce's idea correctly, Hubble was even more excited than when he proved the expansion of the universe himself.

(End of this chapter)