1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 512: If it cannot be measured, it does not exist! The era of quantum mechanics is coming! Guiding the stars of physics!

In the field of science, there is a very important principle called "Occam's razor".

Its core idea is: do not add entities unless necessary.

What does that mean?

Let me explain this with a vivid example.

Is there a soul in this world?
For scientists, the answer is no.

Because we cannot observe the existence of the soul by any means of measurement.

The soul cannot affect the real world either.

Therefore, the soul is unnecessary for science.

Then according to Occam's razor, we should not add the concept of soul.

This does not necessarily mean that the concept of soul is wrong.

Instead, removing it can make the world's logic run more simply.

For example, the geocentric theory and the heliocentric theory.

In order to describe the movement of celestial bodies in the solar system around the earth, the geocentric theory needs to introduce hundreds of concentric circles.

The calculation is extremely cumbersome and complicated.

However, the heliocentric theory, through the law of universal gravitation and elliptical orbits, simply and clearly explained the movement of all celestial bodies.

Moreover, once a new celestial body is discovered, there is no need to revise the theory like the geocentric theory, its orbit can be calculated directly, which is very convenient.

Does this mean that geocentrism is wrong?

actually not.

If you insist on treating the earth as the center of the solar system, you can actually describe the equation of motion.

But there is really no need for so many concentric circles.

Physicists have a more concise formula to express it.

Therefore, according to Occam's razor, we should abandon the geocentric theory.

This principle complements the physicists' pursuit of simplicity and perfection.

Therefore, it is accepted by countless people.

The same is true of quantum theory.

If one could deduce all the existing conclusions of quantum theory solely from the frequency and intensity of atomic emission spectra,

Then concepts such as orbital quantization and energy levels will no longer need to exist.

This is not to say that these concepts are wrong, but that they do not need to be individually assumed.

The two observable quantities proposed by Ridgway are undoubtedly more reasonable and simpler.

Therefore, everyone present was particularly surprised.

This means there is hope for reconstructing quantum theory.

Now there is a clear direction!
"Professor Bruce is indeed so terrifying!"

At this time, Irena asked:

"Professor, I have a question."

"In your theory of relativity, you regard the principle of the constancy of the speed of light and the principle of relativity as basic axioms."

"Then starting from these two axioms, all the conclusions of the theory of relativity are derived."

"Why do you reject the idea of ​​orbital quantization and energy levels as basic axioms when it comes to quantum theory?"

“Is there any difference between the two theories?”

Everyone nodded in unison upon hearing this.

Irena's question is very interesting.

It is the same axiom, so why should orbital quantization be treated with caution?

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"Yes, Irena, you asked a very good question."

“I can answer you from two levels.”

“First, the two axioms of narrow and broad phasms, although they are axioms, have a solid experimental basis or thought experiment.”

"The principle of the constancy of the speed of light was measured experimentally."

"The principle of relativity is easy to imagine in the macroscopic world."

"Although the orbital quantization in quantum theory is supported by the experiment of angular momentum quantization, the angular momentum of electrons orbiting the nucleus itself is a guess."

"We are still using macroscopic physics concepts to apply to the behavior of electrons."

“I have always been cautious about this.”

"Second, the theory of relativity is a very logically self-consistent theory."

"So far, within its scope of application, relativity can explain everything."

"But quantum theory still leaves a lot of problems unsolved."

"That shows it's not a perfect theory."

"Of course, I never said that reconstructing quantum theory is necessarily the right direction."

“That’s just my physics instinct.”

"Perhaps quantum theory can be perfected if it continues to develop on the basis of existing theories."

“That’s what a lot of physicists are doing now.”

After hearing this, Irena showed an expression of "I see."

She looked at Professor Bruce in adoration.

This is the attitude a scientist should have.

Never be satisfied with existing achievements and explore the limits of theory.

While everyone was thinking quietly, Heisenberg thought of some of his previous views.

So he plucked up his courage and said boldly:

"Professor, can you think of it this way?"

"Because quantum theory is a theory that studies microscopic particles such as electrons."

"Humans are currently unable to observe the movement of electrons through the naked eye or other instruments."

“So, for researchers, if you can’t see it, it means it doesn’t exist or doesn’t exist.”

"Similarly, physical quantities that cannot be measured do not exist."

“Could this be the underlying idea of ​​quantum theory?”

"Just as Occam's razor describes."

Wow!
Heisenberg's words surprised everyone.

This is even more radical than Professor Bruce's point of view!

It just sounds a bit bullshit.

“If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist?”

"We humans cannot see electromagnetic waves, but they do exist."

“Perhaps what Heisenberg meant by ‘see’ was not simply seeing with the eyes.”

“It’s more like an act of observation or measurement.”

"."

Everyone was talking about it.

Schrödinger looked at Heisenberg curiously.

After a brief contact, he felt that although the young man in front of him was shy on the surface, he was extremely strong-willed inside.

He also believed that the other party had a morbid obsession with reconstructing quantum theory.

Therefore, Schrödinger gave an evaluation in his heart: a genius child who has not grown up.

Pauli glanced around domineeringly, and no one dared to look at him.

Heisenberg's point of view had been told to him before.

Now, combined with the two observable quantities proposed by Professor Bruce, this sentence seems to be full of physical thought.

Li Qiwei looked at Heisenberg with a smile on his face, feeling emotional.

The talents of some geniuses overflow to the naked eye.

Heisenberg was undoubtedly such a genius.

What he called unobservable quantities do not exist, which was one of the core ideas of quantum mechanics.

Even on this basis, an even more bizarre idea has evolved: even observable quantities can be considered non-existent before they are measured.

This sounds a bit metaphysical.

At this time, Li Qiwei smiled and praised:
“A very new and bold idea.”

"Heisenberg, I think you are very talented in quantum theory."

"Perhaps you could consider researching in this direction," Heisenberg felt very happy when he heard Professor Bruce's praise.

He had already made up his mind.

"Professor, you said exactly what I was thinking."

Soon, everyone began to discuss heatedly.

They are now like poor people who are guarding a mountain of treasure but cannot get it.

Although Professor Bruce found two observable quantities, no one present knew what the secret behind them was.

Many people even think that this direction may be problematic.

"What can be deduced from just the frequency and intensity of the spectrum?"

"Will quantum theory eventually develop into spectroscopy?"

Although Professor Bruce's special theory of relativity and general theory of relativity also have only two axioms.

But that's not the same thing at all.

The theory of relativity is based on the system of classical mechanics, and it has many references.

Quantum theory has laid a new foundation.

Schrödinger, Pauli, Irene and others also had no idea.

Only then did they truly understand that reconstructing quantum theory was definitely not an easy task.

Only Heisenberg seemed to be thinking about something, but he could not grasp that hint of inspiration.
-
In the following days, Heisenberg gradually adapted to life in the Quantum Institute.

Although he is introverted, he is polite, rarely conflicts with others, and does not gossip about others.

Compared to Pauli, he is obviously more popular.

There is just one point that is criticized by everyone.

That's because Heisenberg was too sensitive.

Whenever someone pointed out his mistakes, he would get very emotional, sometimes even on the verge of tears.

This was very embarrassing for my colleagues.

"Dude is too fragile."

Only Pauli understood this junior fellow.

He knew that the other party wanted to prove himself too much.

The title of genius is an honor and also a shackle.

Just as Heisenberg was working silently, waiting for the moment to emerge from the cocoon and become a butterfly.

The development of physics has not slowed down, and several major achievements have appeared one after another.

First.

Fowler, the son-in-law of Professor Rutherford, the atomic physicist, proposed the "zeroth law of thermodynamics".

The law states that if two thermodynamic systems are each in thermal equilibrium (at the same temperature) with a third system, then they must also be in thermal equilibrium with each other.

To put it in a more vivid way, thermometers are made based on this law.

Although this law was proposed very late, it is more fundamental than the three existing laws of thermodynamics.

In his paper, Fowler systematically explained the importance of this seemingly simple law.

With its supplement, there are no loopholes in the mathematical logic of thermodynamics.

From then on, the three laws of thermodynamics became the fourth law of thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics master Nernst published a public article stating:

"This is a major breakthrough in the field of thermodynamics."

Fowler also became famous because of this and got rid of the suspicion that he was being taken care of by his father-in-law.

After all, Rutherford did not make any achievements in the field of thermodynamics.

However, he still recommended Dirac to Fowler as a doctoral student.

the second.

Yoshio Nishina, a physicist from the Land of Sakura who studied in Europe, made a stunning debut.

He and Swedish physicist Klein jointly published the "Klein-Nishina formula".

Since the Wu-Compton effect was discovered, many physicists have begun to use it to study the interaction between various rays and matter.

Among them, gamma rays will be absorbed after interacting with matter.

This is caused by Wu-Compton scattering of free electrons and gamma rays.

The Klein-Nishina formula can theoretically calculate the absorption coefficient of gamma rays.

With this formula, physicists can quantitatively study the mechanism of action of gamma rays.

In real history, when Zhao Zhongyao was doing relevant experiments, he found that the experimental results did not conform to the predictions of the Klein-Nishina formula.

There is a phenomenon of anomalous absorption of gamma rays.

This was the opportunity that led to the discovery of the positron.

Therefore, the Klein-Nishina formula is of great significance.

When the news about Yoshio Nishina reached back to Sakura, it immediately caused a sensation.

Nagaoka Hantaro cried with joy and proclaimed:

"This is a breakthrough in the field of physics for Sakura Country!"

"Yoshio Nishina is a hero of the Land of Sakura!"

The Land of Sakura has also become the third country after China and India to publish famous physics papers internationally.

Everyone in the Chinese scientific community was filled with emotion:
"It turns out that Sakura Country is so far behind us in the field of science."

"Just with this little achievement, look how excited the little Sakurako are."

“If you didn’t know, you would think Yoshio Nishina won the Nobel Prize.”

China's scientific strength is no longer what it used to be.

The third.

Chadwick discovered a very strange experimental phenomenon:

The energy spectrum of a nucleus undergoing β decay is not a discrete spectrum as predicted by theory, but a continuous spectrum that gradually decays.

However, based on the existing proton-neutron model and the law of conservation of energy before and after the reaction, it can be theoretically calculated that the energy spectrum should be discrete.

Now, the experiment doesn't match the theory.

This shows that either the proton-neutron model is wrong or the law of conservation of energy is wrong.

As soon as the paper was published, it shocked the physics community.

"This is incredible."

Chadwick finally achieved his goal after all the hard work and published some blockbuster results.

However, the problems he brought were fatal.

Bohr immediately published a paper entitled "The Spectrum of Beta Rays and the Conservation of Energy".

He boldly pointed out in the article: The law of conservation of energy is wrong! It does not apply to the energy change process of microscopic particles.

This is even more horrifying than Chadwick’s paper!
Everyone suddenly realized that this was the second time Professor Bohr had attacked the law of conservation of energy.

Many people can't help but wonder:

"Why does Professor Bohr have to go against the law of conservation of energy?"

However, some have speculated that Bohr was unwilling to question his mentor's proton-neutron theory.

There has been a heated discussion on this issue in the physics community.

Soon, Rutherford, the top atomic scientist, came forward.

He publicly stated:

"There's nothing wrong with the proton-neutron model or the law of conservation of energy."

"Chadwick's discovery is likely related to the weak force proposed by Professor Bruce."

His views have been recognized by many physics leaders.

In real history, Chadwick's unique discovery led to the later neutrino and weak force mechanism.

Li Qiwei did not publicly comment on the discussion.

Most of his energy now is devoted to the theory of everything.

Even for the subsequent quantum mechanics, he only wanted to give inspiration at a few key points.

This is also the reason why he gave guidance to de Broglie and Heisenberg instead of publishing the paper himself.

However, this does not mean that Ridgway is no longer interested in quantum mechanics.

On the contrary, quantum mechanics is of great reference value to the theory of everything in its interpretation of the nature of the world.

Therefore, Li Qiwei will continue to guide the geniuses and together they will start the last feast of theoretical physics in the early 20th century!
He wants to personally experience this most brilliant scientific discussion in human history!

"Absorb the ideas of all geniuses and use them for my own benefit!"

(End of this chapter)