1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 557: The key figure in uranium nuclear fission! Berlin Physical Society Conference! And there are also important results!
With the uncertainty principle as the core, Ridgway used rigorous logic and a small amount of mathematics to derive concepts such as quantum vacuum fluctuations, virtual particles, vacuum zero-point energy, and vacuum phase transitions.

These theories and concepts have gone beyond the scope of current physics.

This shows that modern physics still has a bright future.

The idea that vacuum is not empty gave many physicists present a new understanding of vacuum.

Many people are even eager to try it.

Especially the younger generation like Heisenberg, who are full of confidence.

In their opinion, what Professor Bruce said is still at the conjecture stage and cannot be verified by experiments.

Perhaps the vacuum has other structures and components.

After all, Professor Bruce himself said that existing quantum mechanics is not sufficient to explain the properties of the vacuum.

Perhaps quantum mechanics is not the ultimate of quantum theory.

Since quantum mechanics can be developed from quantum theory, can a higher-level theory be developed from quantum mechanics?
Li Qiwei looked at everyone's expressions and smiled slightly.

The seeds of quantum field theory have been planted, and the next stage of harvest will soon be approaching.

At this time, Li Qiwei pulled everyone back from their thoughts and excitement.

"My speech has just begun."

Everyone smiled knowingly.

Next, Li Qiwei stopped thinking divergently and began a normal academic speech.

He started with the inspiration for the uncertainty principle and talked about its application in the current physics academic community.

Before I knew it, the speech, which lasted more than an hour, was over.

Everyone was still not satisfied.

Everyone firmly believes that the content of this speech will definitely cause a huge sensation in the academic community.

Finally, the audience left one after another, leaving only a group of top German scientists led by Planck.

These big guys are still discussing the issue just now fiercely.

Some people have even begun to think about how to verify the phenomenon of quantum vacuum fluctuations.

The brothers Li Chengdao and Li Chengde were also among the crowd, listening to the debate in a low-key manner.

At this time, Pauli brought Heisenberg and took the initiative to greet the two of them.

"Hey, Chengdao, Chengde, nice to meet you!"

Li Chengdao knew that Pauli and his partner had worked in his father's research institute, so he smiled and said:

"Hello, Professor Pauli."

"Hello, Professor Heisenberg."

Pauli said:

"There's not much difference in age between us, so just call me by my first name."

Heisenberg then said:

"Yes."

"I heard that you two are studying in Europe, so you must be studying physics?"

Li Chengdao said:
"Yes, we are going to choose physics as our major."

"My father said that there is a lot of potential in physics in the future."

Heisenberg and Pauli were shocked.

It seems that Professor Bruce has seen far ahead.

Through today's speech, they both actually felt the same way.

Today's quantum mechanics seems to have solved many problems, but it still cannot explain many deeper and more fundamental essential problems.

For example, how are particles created? Why do they have mass? And so on?
To ordinary people, these questions are of course common sense that needs no explanation.

But in the eyes of physicists, the more basic the problem, the more caution is needed.

Because once the foundation is wrong, the theoretical edifice built on it will collapse.

Pauli and Heisenberg had a very pleasant conversation with Li Chengdao.

They felt deeply moved that he was indeed worthy of being Professor Bruce's son.

Although the other party has not yet entered college, he has already gained a good understanding of physics.

He also knows three languages: English, German and French. He is definitely a genius.

"Cheng Dao, you are amazing!"

Speaking of genius, Li Chengdao smiled bitterly, then he pulled Li Chengde who was yawning and said with great pride:
“This is true genius!”

"My brother had predicted all the theories my father just talked about, and his analysis was almost the same as my father's."

Wow!
Both Pauli and Heisenberg were surprised.

They believed that Li Chengdao would never lie for the sake of face, that would be meaningless.

Therefore, Li Chengde instantly became mysterious in their eyes.

In addition, the other party looked very arrogant, which immediately intimidated the two of them.

At this time, Li Chengde said coolly:
"Brother Hai, I really like your matrix mechanics."

"In my opinion, physics without mathematics is soulless."

"The simplicity of physics refers to the physical ideas rather than the mathematical methods."

When Heisenberg heard this, he instantly felt like he had found a confidant.

Li Chengde really hit the nail on the head.

"Genius! Absolute genius!"

Pauli's eyes were sharp, he felt that this little brother in front of him was something.

Beneath his unrestrained appearance, he actually has a scholarly heart.

Only Li Chengdao pretended to cover his forehead, trying his best to control his desire to laugh.

He complained inwardly:
"Second brother, you are really confident!"

"I just told you the details of matrix mechanics."

"You dare to brag now."

However, Heisenberg and Li Chengde had a very pleasant conversation, as if they were close friends.

"Chengde, how do you think we can verify Professor Bruce's theory of quantum vacuum fluctuations?"

"It comes from the inference of matrix mechanics, and I firmly believe it must be correct."

Heisenberg was an introverted and sensitive person, and he was deeply attracted by Li Chengde's wild and confident temperament.

It seemed like there was nothing in the world that could stump Young Master Li.

Through the conversation just now, he has already felt the other party's strong physical intuition.

So, Heisenberg was looking forward to what answer Li Chengde would give.

Li Chengde heard this, thought for a moment, and said domineeringly:
"Simple!"

"I have an idea."

"Since virtual particles themselves cannot be observed, the only thing we can do is to differentiate them."

Several people widened their eyes when they heard this.

Heisenberg asked quickly:
"Chengde, tell me in detail."

Li Chengde said:
"For example, can we find a way to make the concentrations of virtual particles different in different locations?"

"Then, we use very sophisticated instruments or experimental designs to detect the physical effects that this concentration difference can produce."

"After all, Professor Bruce has already said that although virtual particles cannot be directly observed, the effects they produce can be observed."

"Actually, my idea was inspired by the Magdeburg hemisphere experiment that Dr. Rabi just mentioned."

"It's just that the air is replaced by virtual particles."

Wow!
Heisenberg was shocked after hearing this.

If it was Professor Planck or Professor Einstein who proposed this idea, he might not have been so excited.

But the Li Chengdao in front of him had just graduated from high school and had not yet gone to college.

The opponent actually has such incredible physical strength.

This reminded Heisenberg of himself when he was 18 years old.

At that time he
Oh, okay, that’s pretty awesome too.

But judging from the amount of knowledge he has, he is clearly inferior.

For a moment, Heisenberg seemed to see the shadow of Professor Bruce.

Although he had never seen Professor Bruce in his youth, he thought it was probably just like that.

"Chengde, your idea is amazing!"

“I think this experiment is highly feasible.”

Li Chengde is addicted to being awesome.

"Basic practice, don't 6."

Then, he said with regret:

"Unfortunately, it cannot be verified for the time being."

"The precision required for this experiment must be extremely high, at least the perturbations must be at the atomic level."

"To put it in a more figurative way, we might need a hemisphere the size of a molecule."

“I don’t know when we’ll have this kind of manufacturing technology.”

Heisenberg heard this and nodded.

This is the tragedy of experimental physicists, whose research methods are extremely dependent on the development of the existing industrial system.

Without good instruments, the credibility of experimental results will be questioned.

As long as theoretical physicists can derive it mathematically, they're done.

Heisenberg laughed:
"Chengde, don't worry."

"Your idea will surely be verified later."

Li Chengde said:
"That's inevitable!"

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Pauli and Li Chengdao were confused by what they saw.

The two of them sang in unison, making it seem as if they would definitely be able to succeed.

But they were indeed shocked by Li Chengde's idea.

If quantum vacuum fluctuations are proven, it will definitely be a big deal in the world of physics.

Then, the two of them joined in the laughter and talked about the development of quantum mechanics.

While everyone was discussing with each other, Planck pulled Li Qiwei aside and said:
"Bruce, do you have any plans next?"

"Just now, Sommerfeld and his colleagues discussed with me that they want to advance the regular meeting of the Berlin Physical Society."

"I just hope you can find time to attend."

"What do you think?"

Li Qiwei was a little surprised when he heard this.

As expected, he is the most popular person in the German scientific community.

In order to invite him to attend the routine meeting of the Physics Society, the time was changed directly, which involved a lot of coordination.

It is absolutely full of sincerity!
Li Qiwei thought for a while and said:
"Professor, I plan to go to France next."

"Why don't we set the meeting for three days later?"

Planck was very happy.

He knew that if he came in person, Bruce would definitely not refuse.

"No problem. The participants this time are all physicists, so the scale won't be very large."

"Three days is definitely enough time."

Then, Planck suddenly asked in a low voice:
"Bruce, there is no problem with the content, right?"

"You came up with so many concepts in one go today. I guess your recent inspiration has been exhausted."

"If you don't come up with something new, I'm afraid you won't be able to satisfy your fans."

Li Qiwei didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

No wonder those people were willing to change the meeting time.

It turns out that they want to exploit him like a scientific cow.

Although the theories he just mentioned are very fanciful, they do not have a significant impact on the development of physics.

Because it was so advanced.

Before quantum field theory was developed, there was no way to study it.

Li Qiwei also relied on conjecture to string together many concepts.

The Berlin Physical Society is obviously not suitable for talking about similar content.

Instead, we should be more inclined to real theories, and derive new results through rigorous deductions based on existing theories.

Suddenly, Li Qiwei glanced in the direction of Schrödinger and thought to himself:

“It’s time to solve the remaining problems of wave mechanics.”

“Spin.”

Then he smiled and said:

"Originally, I had some results that I was going to publish later."

“Since we have a meeting, let’s share it in advance.”

Planck was startled.

The content that Bruce calls an achievement is so valuable that one can imagine it is definitely at the level that will shock the world of physics.

Moreover, he knew very well that since he was preparing to publish the paper, it would definitely not be about purely speculative content such as quantum vacuum fluctuations.

Planck is looking forward to it.

"Great, Bruce!"

“This must have been a successful meeting!”

Li Qiwei smiled but said nothing.

It is more than just a success, it is changing the world of physics!

After the matter was settled, Planck smiled again:

"Come on, let me introduce you to a few people."

After saying that, he took Li Qiwei back to the crowd.

People were talking in twos and threes.

Planck pointed to a middle-aged woman who looked a little frail and said:
"This is Meitner."

"Like Schrödinger, she is a PhD graduate from the University of Vienna."

"Meitner was once my assistant. She was very hardworking and smart."

When Li Qiwei heard the name, a large piece of information flashed in his mind.

This person is the key figure in discovering uranium nuclear fission.

In real history, Meitner was the real proponent of uranium nuclear fission.

After graduating with a doctorate, she went to Germany for further studies, first conducting radiology research under Planck.

There, she met her future partner with whom she would have a love-hate relationship for decades: Dr. Hahn, a chemist.

Although Hahn's major was chemistry, his research area was also radioactivity, so the two had a lot in common.

Whenever Meitner needed chemical purification, he would ask Hahn for help.

Although the two were young and unknown at the time, they had a very good relationship and always did research together.

Due to Meitner's female identity and some special regulations in Germany at the time, she could not enter the institute as a formal employee.

However, Planck was eager to recruit talented people, so he hired him as an informal assistant, which solved Meitner's survival problem.

In 1912, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and its subordinate institutes were established in Germany, marking a turning point in Meitner's career.

First of all, because of his outstanding scientific research ability, Hahn was noticed by the first director of the Institute of Chemistry, Haber, and was hired as the head of the radiochemistry department.

Hahn began to lead a research group independently.

Thanks to his hard work, he finally recruited Meitner into his research group the following year, making him a formal employee of the institute.

You can imagine how happy Meitner was that she could finally get a formal job and the corresponding salary.

Therefore she is very grateful to Hahn and cherishes this job.

Next, she worked hard on her research and produced many important results with Hahn.

For example, the discovery of the isotope of protactinium, protactinium-231.

In this way, Meitner and Hahn carried out their research carefree in the Institute of Chemistry.

Later, with the discovery of the neutron, nuclear physics ushered in a new era of explosion.

The development of physics is changing day by day, with new discoveries emerging one after another.

But the most important topic is undoubtedly the research on "transuranium elements".

At this time, Hahn had replaced Haber as the new director of the Institute of Chemistry.

Under his leadership, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry became able to compete with research groups led by Rutherford, Irene, Fermi and others.

By 1938, the discussion about "transuranium elements" had entered a white-hot stage.

Rutherford and other bigwigs could not explain why no trace of transuranium elements could be found after bombarding uranium with neutrons.

However, Hahn and Meitner had new experimental evidence and discoveries.

However, just as they were preparing to conduct further research, an accident occurred.

At that time, Germany launched a large-scale and brutal anti-Semitic campaign.

Because of his Jewish ancestry, Meitner was forced to leave Germany and seek refuge in Sweden.

Even so, he and Hahn still maintained a correspondence.

But people will change after all.

Whether for political reasons or other reasons, Hahn suddenly became cold towards Meitner and replied to his letters more and more slowly.

At one point, Meitner wrote to Hahn that she believed that bombarding uranium with neutrons did not produce transuranic elements.

Instead, the uranium breaks into two fragments of similar size under the bombardment of neutrons.

This is the famous "uranium nuclear fission" conjecture.

Although the physics community at that time had already confirmed the existence of nuclear fission, it was only the fission of light nuclei.

The fission of heavy nuclei like uranium is not thought to happen. (See Chapter 539 for the specific difference)
What made Meitner feel sad was that this time, Hahn never replied.

Then, Hahn won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry alone for his discovery of heavy nuclear fission.

In 1945, Germany was defeated, and important scientists who led Germany's atomic bomb research, such as Heisenberg and Hahn, were sent to Britain for imprisonment.

In 1946, Hahn was released and returned to Germany.

From the time Hahn published his work on uranium nuclear fission until he won the award, Meitner lived an obscure life alone in a laboratory in Sweden.

More than a decade after the war, Meitner and Hahn met again because they both won a physics prize.

Two years later, they both died.

During this period, only Bohr knew the truth, and he publicly proclaimed Meitner's due contribution to uranium nuclear fission.

This is a thrilling story about uranium nuclear fission.

Meitner never married or had children, and never had a lover or romantic partner.

She devoted her life to physics and to calling for and pursuing equal status for women in academia.

In her words: I love physics and it is hard for me to imagine my life without physics.

This is a woman who is as great as Madame Curie, but not as well known.

At this moment, the 46-year-old Meitner is still as charming as ever.

The hard experiences in her past have made her develop a strong character, and her eyes look extremely bright.

She looked at the man in front of her who was two years younger than her, and her heart was beating fast.

How could there be such a perfect man in the scientific community?

Powerful, pure, ultimate.

I also heard that he attaches great importance to women's rights and advocates that women should have the right to education.

Meitner's field of research was radiology, so she rarely had the opportunity to see Ridgway.

This time, Planck introduced her specifically because she was already a professor at the University of Berlin.

She extended her hand generously and said excitedly:

"Hello, Professor Bruce."

“That was a wonderful speech.”

Li Qiwei returned to his country and stretched out his hand, smiling and saying:

"Hello, Professor Meitner, I am happy for your achievements."

"You, like Marie Curie, have set the best example for all women around the world."

“I admire you guys.”

Wow!
Everyone was shocked when they heard this!
They didn't expect that Professor Bruce, with his status, would treat Meitner with such courtesy.

The other party was indeed as rumored, attaching importance to women’s rights and was hailed as a “friend of women”.

In fact, almost no physicists present were opposed to women going to school.

Although most people feel that women cannot achieve as much as men in the field of science, this is by no means an excuse for them not to receive an education.

But no matter how much knowledge scientists have, their voice is always limited.

They cannot shake the policies made by the upper echelons, even if they think those things are wrong.

That is why Li Qiwei was so eager to build a city of science.

He wants to infinitely elevate the status of scientists.

After hearing this, Meitner was deeply moved.

As the only woman present, no one could understand her feelings.

In the past, no matter how hard she worked, she would never be recognized.

Although Professor Planck and Hahn were very kind to her, that barrier always imprisoned her heart.

And now, even great scholars like Professor Bruce are supporting her.

She firmly believes that the future will be bright.

Meitner said sincerely:

"Thank you for your help, Professor Bruce."

Li Qiwei nodded.

Finally, Professor Planck explained the news that Professor Bruce would attend a seminar at the Berlin Physical Society.

Everyone was overjoyed.
-
The next day, the content of Ridgway's speech at the University of Berlin spread throughout the physics community, causing a sensation.

Countless people were shocked!
"My God!"

"The vacuum actually has energy? It's not nothing?"

"How can this be?"

And when everyone saw the vacuum phase transition, they were shocked and stunned when they saw that the end of the universe might be complete nothingness.

"Oh, God!"

"This is too scary!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The entire physics community was shocked by this fantastic idea.

Vacuum, black holes, the Big Bang, quantum mechanics, these seemingly unrelated fields of physics are actually connected together through Professor Bruce's research.

It brings people a sense of beauty of fusion.

Everyone was filled with emotion:

“Every time Professor Bruce gives a speech, it triggers a new wave of research.”

France, Radium Institute.

After graduation, Irena naturally worked in her mother's laboratory.

Her research topic is still in the field of nuclear physics.

When she saw the theory of quantum vacuum fluctuations, her beautiful eyes sparkled and she exclaimed:

“Quantum mechanics is amazing!”

Joliot, who was standing by, was stunned. He laughed and said:

"Yiyi, you should have studied theoretical physics with Professor Bruce."

Irena looked at Yolio and said in a cute and angry way:

"Why, do you also think that I, a doctor, have brought shame to Professor Bruce?"

Yolio waved his hands quickly, "Ah? No, how could that be possible? Let me explain."

Irena chuckled.

"I'm just teasing you."

"The professor told me that the next era will be the era of nuclear physics!"

"Humph, I don't believe I'm worse than anyone else."

“Teaching his words to inspire Ms. Meitner gave me endless strength!”

Yolio's heart was pounding as he looked at the enthusiastic Irena.

He vowed to stay by her side forever, to help her do experiments and fulfill her dream that would shock the academic world.

At this moment, countless young scholars, like Irena, are full of expectations for the future.

And soon, a new physics theory will shock the world!

(End of this chapter)