1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 560: Positively charged electrons? Anti-electrons! Shocking prophecy! Everything is antimatter! Antimatter appears! Boom!

Meeting of the Berlin Physical Society.

The relativistic form of the wave equation gave the physicists present an extreme shock.

It combines quantum mechanics and special relativity in an incredible unification.

The most important thing is that the relativistic wave equation is not a conjecture, but is derived through rigorous mathematical derivation based on the Schrödinger equation.

Even though there has been no experimental verification yet, everyone present is very confident in its correctness.

On the one hand, the Schrödinger equation has been proven.

On the other hand, the relativistic form of the wave equation was derived and calculated step by step by Professor Bruce in front of everyone.

The chances of error are slim!
However, just when everyone thought that the new equation had appeared, Professor Bruce's report should have ended.

Something incredible is happening!
At this moment, Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said:

"Whether it's Schrödinger's equation or my improved equation, they actually describe electrons."

“And then extend it to all microscopic particles.”

“But after listening to the previous report, it should be clear to everyone that current quantum mechanics is only accurate when describing a single particle.”

“So, I will use electrons as an example below.”

"Everyone, please look at this new wave equation."

"These parameters represent the mass, charge, and spin of the electron, respectively."

"These are the three most important quantum numbers for any single quantum object."

"Also, the charge spin generates a magnetic moment."

"Magnetic moment is also an important quantum number and is often used in experiments to describe the state of electrons."

Everyone was a little confused when they heard this.

Why does Professor Bruce teach these basic quantum knowledge?

Even if you are not a professional researcher of quantum mechanics, you should be familiar with the above content.

It’s like knowing the four laws of thermodynamics without studying thermodynamics.

"But I found a strange phenomenon."

At this time, Li Qiwei enlarged the formula so that everyone could see it more clearly.

He continued:
"We know that an electron carries one unit of negative charge."

"So, the potential energy it experiences within the atomic system is as follows."

"but!"

"Here comes the point!"

"I found that the new wave equation seemed to be insensitive to the charge properties of the electron."

"In other words, if we assume that the electron has a positive charge of one unit, the equation still holds!"

“This is a bit unbelievable!”

"So far we have only found negatively charged electrons, but we have never found positively charged electrons."

"But my equation includes both."

"So, I boldly predict that this means that so-called [positrons] exist in nature?"

"The positron is like the mirror image or opposite of the electron."

"I will call it Anti-Electron for the time being."

"According to the new equation, electrons and anti-electrons have the same mass and spin, but the charges they carry are opposite."

"Electrons are negatively charged, while anti-electrons are positively charged."

"Anti-electrons are not the same as the virtual particles I mentioned earlier."

"The former is a real material existence. Like ordinary electrons, it is a component of matter, has mass, and can be directly observed."

"But we have not found any such anomalous particles so far."

“That’s what I was just thinking about.”

“I feel the need to share this with everyone.”

quiet!
Deathly silence!

The entire venue was in complete silence!

Everyone was shocked by Anti-Electron's prediction!
Shocking!

Unbridled!

There are no words to describe the astonishment of coming up with the anti-electron.

"OMG!"

“Do anti-electrons really exist in the world?”

"How can there be an anti-electron?"

"Is there an anti-world in our world?"

"."

boom!
A heated discussion suddenly broke out in the conference hall.

Everyone was deeply attracted by the concept of anti-electrons.

Schrodinger's eyes widened with excitement.

Professor Bruce derived the concepts of quantum vacuum fluctuations and virtual particles from matrix mechanics.

Now, the other party has derived the concept of anti-electrons from wave mechanics.

Well, although it was derived from the new wave equation, its foundation is still his original wave mechanics.

"Sure enough, Professor Bruce doesn't favor that kid Heisenberg."

"This is the true power of wave mechanics!"

At this moment, Schrödinger also stood up and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twist.

His wave mechanics is by no means a superficial advantage of simple mathematics.

It can also lead to incredible and shocking inferences!

Heisenberg looked shocked and shaken inside!

The wave mechanics that he has always looked down upon is actually having a second spring?

The concept of anti-electrons feels much more awesome than virtual particles.

Although both are currently conjectures, the former is a real material existence!
Visible and tangible.

Heisenberg could only comfort himself.

"Fortunately, the anti-electron was derived based on Professor Bruce's equation and has little to do with Schrödinger."

Planck, Einstein and other bigwigs were also extremely shocked.

No wonder Bruce said his discovery would subvert everyone's understanding of matter.

If anti-electrons really exist, it would be a game changer indeed!

This means that physicists do not yet fully understand the nature of matter.

What exactly is the existence of anti-electron?
At this moment, Li Qiwei scanned the entire audience and continued:
"With the anti-electron, we might as well continue to make bold guesses."

"As we all know, there are two kinds of basic particles that physics has discovered that make up matter: electrons and protons."

"Since photons are bosons that do not constitute matter, they are not discussed here."

"Since electrons have anti-electrons, then will protons have anti-protons?"

"A proton carries one unit of positive charge, while an antiproton carries one unit of negative charge."

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!

"Oh, God!"

"This is simply Professor Bruce's astonishing prophecy!"

However, Ridgway continued:
“Although the neutron has not yet been discovered, I boldly predict that it must have a corresponding antineutron.”

At this time, someone suddenly asked in confusion:

"Professor Bruce, but according to your prediction, neutrons are electrically neutral and have no charge themselves."

"Then antineutrons don't carry any charge either. What's the difference between antineutrons and neutrons?"

Everyone nodded.

Because electrons and protons have electric charges, their antiparticles have exactly the opposite charge.

But what about electrically neutral neutrons?
Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

It turns out that we cannot underestimate the physicists of this era.

To explain this problem, we must introduce the concept of quarks.

Particles can be divided into two categories according to their properties: fermions and bosons.

Among them, fermions are the particles that make up various substances in the universe.

It follows the exclusion principle, which states that the number of particles cannot be superimposed in a fixed space, so matter has volume.

Bosons are particles that transmit forces between fermions and do not constitute matter. (Photons are very special, as we have introduced before)
In later generations, when we usually talk about the concept of "elementary particles", we generally refer to fermions.

If elementary particles are strictly defined as particles that cannot be further divided.

Then there are actually only two types of elementary particles: leptons and quarks.

All other microscopic particles that make up matter are composed of them.

(What are baryons, hadrons, hyperons, etc.)
Leptons include electrons, muons, tau, electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos, and tau neutrinos.

Muons and tau particles can be understood as electrons with slightly larger mass.

And these three types of "particles" have corresponding neutrinos.

Quarks can be divided into six types according to their properties: up quark, down quark, charm quark, strange quark, top quark and bottom quark.

These six types of quarks are also called "six flavors", which of course do not refer to flavors, but to the property categories of quarks.

In addition, each quark is divided into three sub-models according to [color]: red, green, and blue.

Note that the red, green and blue here do not refer to colors in the traditional sense, but represent certain properties of quarks.

Each color represents a certain "color charge" of the quark, which can be simply understood as the electric charge of an electron.

Whether it is a lepton or a quark, there is a corresponding antiparticle.

It has been confirmed later that protons and neutrons are both composed of quarks.

Take the proton as an example.

A proton is made up of two up quarks and one down quark.

The up quark has a charge of +2/3 and the down quark has a charge of -1/3.

Therefore, a proton composed of three quarks carries a positive charge.

The antiproton is made up of two anti-up quarks and one anti-down quark.

The anti-up quark has a charge of -2/3, and the anti-down quark has a charge of +1/3.

Therefore, the antiproton has a negative charge.

With the concepts of quarks and antiquarks, we can explain antineutrons.

Although the neutron is electrically neutral, it is composed of one up quark and two down quarks.

Both quarks have corresponding antiquarks.

So, the antineutron is made up of one anti-up quark and two anti-down quarks.

At this time, some people wondered:
"Isn't the antineutron still electrically neutral? How is it different from the neutron?"

The difference lies in the magnetic moment!
Electrons have magnetic moments because of their spin, and neutrons also have magnetic moments.

The rotation of electric charge produces a magnetic moment, and the direction of the magnetic moment is usually the same as the direction of spin.

For the antineutron, although its spin has not changed, the direction of its magnetic moment has changed because the charge has changed.

Therefore, the magnetic moments of antineutrons and neutrons are opposite.

Similarly, for electrons and anti-electrons, protons and anti-protons, in addition to their opposite electric charges, their magnetic moments are also opposite.

This is why antineutrons exist.

Although photons have spin, they are indivisible and their charge is zero, so there are no anti-photons.

By the way, there are a total of 61 particles in the later standard model of particle physics.

The number 61 includes the antiparticles of all particles.

However, photons, Z bosons, and Higgs bosons do not have corresponding antiparticles. (In order to maintain theoretical unity, it can also be said to be itself)
At this moment, Li Qiwei obviously could not explain it with quarks, so he had to blame it all on the future.

"Good question."

"I think the difference between antineutrons and neutrons is not the electric charge, but other quantum properties such as spin or magnetic moment." "Antineutrons are a prediction after all, and I don't know their specific properties yet."

Everyone nodded, not really caring.

These are insignificant details.

The current anti-electron theory was proposed by Professor Bruce based on the new wave equation.

Perhaps as the theory develops, the anti-properties will not only be manifested in electric charge, but there may also be other anti-quantum numbers.

What is most important now is the concept of the anti-electron itself, rather than which particles have antiparticles.

At this time, Li Qiwei completely let go of himself and boldly predicted:
"With the development of physics, especially atomic science, perhaps physicists will be able to discover more elementary particles in the future."

"I think that all fundamental particles have corresponding antiparticles."

"They are exactly opposite in quantum properties such as charge, spin, and magnetic moment."

"And where there are antiparticles, there will be antimatter."

"For example, an antiproton and an antielectron can combine to form an antihydrogen atom."

"Similarly, every element in the periodic table has its anti-element."

"The matter composed of these anti-elements is antimatter."

Li Qiwei's face was full of enthusiasm, and he imagined:
"Perhaps in the depths of the universe, there are planets, star systems, and even galaxies made entirely of antimatter."

“Even, there will be an [Anti-Me] there.”

“Hahaha, it’s quite interesting to think about it this way.”

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

Li Qiwei's relaxed expression was in stark contrast to everyone's shock.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, with huge waves rising in their hearts!
If there were only anti-electrons in the world, it would be easy to accept.

But the concepts of antiparticles and antimatter are simply shocking!
My scalp goes numb just thinking about it!
"Oh, God!"

"Is there an anti-universe?"

"Professor Bruce's antimatter theory is really too shocking."

"It is countless times more terrifying than virtual particles."

"If antimatter really exists in the world, what does it look like?"

"The apple is red, but will the reverse apple be green?"

"I am a poor bastard, but will I be a rich man?"

"."

Everyone present, even the well-known physics professionals, couldn't help but go crazy at this moment.

The concept of antimatter has definitely overturned the foundation of existing physics!

There is actually antimatter in the world that is completely opposite to real matter.

Of course, the so-called positive and negative are just different narrative perspectives.

In the eyes of the [Anti-Physicist], perhaps the people present are the ones who are against me.

They must think that they are positive and you are negative.

However, these are just conceptual differences and do not affect anything.

The significance of the existence of antimatter is the most important.

What’s even more terrifying is that this is not Professor Bruce’s conjecture or nonsense.

Instead, the other party proved the possibility of the existence of anti-electrons through rigorous mathematical deduction.

Then extend it to antimatter.

This is completely different from the quantum vacuum fluctuations mentioned in the speech three days ago.

The latter is just a bold guess, while the former is a perfect combination of theory and guess.

Many people even believe that antimatter must exist in this world!
Everyone was deeply shocked by Professor Bruce's unparalleled strength.

"too frightening!"

"Professor Bruce's inspiration and strength have exceeded my imagination!"

"What on earth is his brain like?"

“Is inspiration endless?”

"The new wave equation was derived publicly by Professor Bruce in front of more than 200 of us."

"But he is the only one who can see the shocking meaning contained in it."

Schrödinger, Heisenberg and others were equally shocked.

The introduction of antimatter made them forget the dispute between wave mechanics and matrix mechanics.

Because this is a brand new field of physics and represents a brand new future!

Professor Bruce's intuition was so terrifying that he expounded such a miraculous theory in just a few words.

Compared to this, their arguments seemed like playing house.

Because their debate would not produce new knowledge, while Professor Bruce took advantage of everyone's strengths and expanded the boundaries of physics.

This is the difference between academic giants and ordinary people.

Yes, in the eyes of Schrödinger and others, compared with Professor Bruce, they are no more than ordinary people.

Planck breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed:

"I can't imagine what the physics world would be like without Bruce."

"Perhaps, foolishly, we might have thought that physics really had ended."

When Einstein heard this, his eyes sparkled.

He enjoyed this pure feeling too much.

Bruce was so brilliant on stage.

How great theoretical physics is!
“With just a pen, Bruce discovered a whole new counter-world.”

"This is countless times more shocking than when physicists used their pens to calculate the hidden Neptune hundreds of years ago!"

Everyone around heard this and agreed.

In the back row, Li Chengdao looked excited and shocked.

The emergence of antimatter has an impact no less than the creation of the world for a young man like him who loves physics.

This is a substance that was predicted completely theoretically.

It is mysterious yet real and reliable, which makes people unable to help but imagine.

"Second brother, I suddenly thought of our Chinese Tai Chi diagram!"

Li Chengde also showed a rare look of shock.

The process by which my father deduced antimatter was truly beyond belief.

Although he has a good intuition about physics, it's all nonsense, full of big and empty concepts.

If he is actually asked to write out the proof process, he will be at a loss.

The antimatter proposed by my father is a new theory strictly based on quantum mechanics.

At this moment, he finally realized how great his father was.

When Li Chengde heard about the Tai Chi diagram, he became interested.

"Brother, I understand what you mean."

"The yin-yang fish in the Tai Chi diagram is a bit like matter and antimatter."

“They are distinct yet inexplicably connected.”

Li Chengdao said:
"Correct!"

"No wonder father told us to read more ancient Chinese classics when we have nothing to do."

"He just wanted us to absorb some of these ideas."

“The words themselves may be bad, but the ideas they represent are definitely not bad.”

Suddenly, Li Chengdao had an idea, and he asked with a smile:

"Second brother, use your imagination and intuition."

"If you were asked to deduce the relationship between antimatter and matter based on the connotation of the Tai Chi diagram, could you deduce the relationship between antimatter and matter?"

Li Chengde found this very interesting and he returned to his extremely confident state.

"this one"

"Let me try."

“In the solar diagram, although the yang fish and the yin fish are in the same diagram, they cannot touch each other.”

"Otherwise, it would be a blend of black and white, yin and yang, turning into a gray chaos."

"Therefore, I predict that matter and antimatter cannot meet and contact each other, otherwise they will disappear or become something else."

“Also, when yang reaches its limit, it can produce yin, and when yin reaches its limit, it can produce yang.”

"So, I predict that matter can produce antimatter under certain circumstances, and antimatter can produce matter under certain circumstances."

Li Chengdao listened with great interest.

I have to say that my second brother's logical ability and ability of analogy are truly remarkable.

However, he asked curiously:
"Why can't matter be transformed directly into antimatter, or antimatter can be transformed into matter?"

Li Chengde asserted:
"That won't work!"

“Yang is Yang, and Yin is Yin.”

"According to the Tai Chi diagram theory, the world is made up of two elements, Yin and Yang."

"If they can be transformed into each other, then there is only one element."

“So, Yang can produce Yin, but it cannot directly become Yin.”

Li Chengdao didn't understand why it was so impressive.

The two brothers were discussing enthusiastically.

If Li Qiwei were here and heard Li Chengde's analysis, he would definitely say proudly:
"My son Chengde has the potential to be a great physics emperor!"

Li Chengde's predictions were all correct.

First, matter and antimatter cannot meet.

Second, in positive beta decay, when a proton transforms into a neutron, a positron is released.

This shows that positive matter can indeed produce antimatter.

However, matter cannot directly turn into antimatter, at least this phenomenon has not been discovered so far.

Li Qiwei looked at the shocked expressions of the crowd and felt deeply moved.

The proposal and discovery of anti-electrons, antiparticles, and antimatter are definitely milestone achievements in the history of physics.

In real history, Heisenberg once commented: "I think the discovery of antimatter may be the greatest leap forward in all the great leaps in physics of this century."

This shows the importance of antimatter.

This is also the reason why Dirac is so awesome.

Antimatter is the embodiment of the perfect fusion of mathematics and physics!

Mathematically speaking, positively charged electrons fit the equation, and in reality, positrons are actually found.

What a wonderful coincidence!
Antimatter opens a whole new door for mankind.

It makes people realize that the various types of matter that exist in the universe far exceed imagination.

At the same time, antimatter is also the favorite element in countless science fiction novels.

Unfortunately, many people have many misunderstandings about its mystery and the effects it exhibits.

It's a bit like vacuum zero-point energy.

Because the names sound particularly awesome, ordinary people are easily fooled when they come into contact with these concepts due to the exaggeration of shocking marketing accounts.

Something like antimatter bombs are more powerful than nuclear bombs, and antimatter spaceships.

No matter how awesome the name is, it must follow scientific principles.

Li Qiwei guessed that everyone on the field probably had a lot of questions in their minds.

Because the concept of antimatter is so mysterious, no one can help but be curious.

Sure enough, after the atmosphere in the venue gradually calmed down, someone couldn't help but ask:
"Professor Bruce, what would happen if matter and antimatter met?"

Wow!
Everyone was curious.

(End of this chapter)