1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 612: The Second Tianlian Conference! Much anticipated! Li Qiwei strikes again! "I really don't understand nuclear physics!"

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is already 1925.

The new year brings many new things.

Workers in various fields are devoted to their work with full enthusiasm.

Scientists are no exception.

The aftermath of the Fourth Bruce Conference is still subtly influencing the physics community and radiating to other fields.

Astronomy is one of them.

Quantum Research Institute, inside the director’s office.

Eddington was excitedly introducing the arrangements for the Second International Astronomical Union.

"Professor Bruce, after discussion by the Executive Committee, the meeting date was finally set as February 2th."

"After I communicated with the Cambridge University Board, they agreed to host this meeting within the university."

Eddington is now a well-known figure in the field of astronomy.

He holds many titles: Director of the Cambridge University Observatory, Professor of Astronomy, Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of London.

In addition, he is also the Secretary-General of the International Astronomical Union, a true doer.

If he were not still young and lacked experience, he could probably run directly for the presidency of the federation.

After all, not everyone can break the shackles of age with the strength to suppress everything like Li Qiwei.

Eddington was so famous in the field of astronomy just because he verified a conjecture proposed by Ridgway.

There are dozens of such guesses.
Now Sir Dyson is gradually retiring, and many things are handed over to Eddington.

Since the second Tianlian Conference was held in Cambridge, he naturally became the person in charge of this conference.

The Cambridge area is not as big as London, and there are no large hotels that can accommodate such a meeting.

So after much thought, Eddington decided that it would be most appropriate to hold the event directly at Cambridge University.

Li Qiwei nodded and said:
"Just make your decision."

"It's not the first time anyway. You should have experience."

Eddington laughed:
"Professor, there is one more thing."

"Chairman Haier asked me to confirm again that you will definitely attend this meeting."

Eddington's eyes were burning and his heart was excited.

The second Tianlian Conference has attracted much attention even before it started.

With the concepts of inflation model, multiverse, parallel universe, etc. proposed by Professor Bruce, this conference is bound to bring unexpected surprises to everyone.

But many people have heard a rumor: Professor Bruce may leave Europe in the near future!

Hale, Eddington and others suddenly became anxious!

It would be a huge pity if Professor Bruce could not attend this meeting.

"Astronomy can't be without Bruce!"

Li Qiwei was stunned when he heard this, then he smiled and said:

"Don't worry."

“I will definitely attend as scheduled.”

“I am also concerned about the development of astronomy.”

His departure from Europe was not kept particularly secret.

He had already told everyone privately at the fourth Bruce Conference.

Rutherford knew it even earlier.

But except for a very few people such as Planck, Einstein, and Rutherford, most people thought that Professor Bruce would come back again after going back, just like the previous two times.

Unfortunately, this time, their hopes will be dashed.

Of course, if the time is right, Li Qiwei will definitely go to Europe occasionally, but he will not stay for long.

After receiving a positive response, Eddington felt relieved.

He changed the topic to academics and said with a smile:

"Professor, is there anything you need to share about this meeting?"

"Your inflation theory and multiverse hypothesis have created a storm in the field of astronomy."

"All astronomers have developed a great curiosity."

“We all hope that you can bring us guidance and inspiration like you did in our first meeting!”

Eddington felt emotional.

The talent of this man in the field of astronomy can only be described as unsolvable and terrifying!

The Big Bang theory and the stellar evolution theory, these two theories have profoundly influenced the future of astronomy and shocked everyone.

Under the two theoretical frameworks, many branches of content were born, greatly expanding the scope of astronomical research.

For example, Eddington had heard that someone had found evidence of the existence of neutron stars predicted in the theory of stellar evolution.

This is absolutely an explosive discovery.

And it is just a trivial achievement within the framework of Professor Bruce's astronomical theory.

The most incredible thing is that astronomy is just a side job that the other person does in his spare time while studying physics!
Sometimes Eddington wondered if Professor Bruce's brain could be divided into several parts so that they could do independent research work.

Then the other party will be the number one in all fields of natural sciences!
How terrible this is!
While Eddington was daydreaming, Li Qiwei was also considering whether to say something at this meeting.

In later generations, the entire astronomical cosmology is actually centered around the "Big Bang Theory".

The various magical celestial bodies and phenomena discovered by astronomers in the distant depths of the universe are all to verify the Big Bang theory.

Because once the Big Bang is proven to be correct, then everything in the universe is just evolving naturally.

As long as the source is figured out, the rest are just details.

It is like an unknown system. If the initial conditions are known and the dynamic equations are also known, then its movement can be calculated.

For the universe, the initial condition is the Big Bang and the dynamic equations are the physical system.

In this life, Li Qiwei is full of ambition.

He was the man destined to surpass Newton and become the God of Physics.

His Theory of Everything will explain it all!
Using physics to solve three unsolved mysteries!
Therefore, Li Qiwei made a decision quickly.

"Since I proposed the Big Bang theory in 1912, many additions have been made to this theory, but none of them are systematic."

"I plan to use this time to systematically sort out the Big Bang theory."

“It explains its development and shortcomings, and provides some reference and inspiration for scholars who are interested in studying this theory.”

"When the time comes, I will give you a summary report."

Wow!
Eddington was shocked when he heard this!

This was beyond his expectations.

If you were to select the most important theory in the astronomical community, what is it now and in the future?
I'm afraid the Big Bang Theory will be voted in with a large majority.

The origin of the universe is one of the three major unsolved mysteries of mankind, and even the number one unsolved mystery.

Its importance is self-evident.

The Big Bang theory is currently the only theory that can logically and self-consistently explain the origin of the universe.

Its status in the field of astronomy can be imagined.

Of course, since the emergence of the Big Bang theory, many people have proposed new universe models.

But obviously none of them can compare to the Big Bang Theory.

Although there is no 100% evidence yet to prove its correctness.

Astronomers are still wild about it.

Now, Professor Bruce is going to systematically explain the Big Bang theory from a high-level perspective to reduce obstacles to everyone's research.

How can this not be exciting!
Eddington said quickly:
"That's great, Professor!"

"You really gave everyone a surprise."

“I think the second session will be more exciting than the first one!”

Li Qiwei smiled slightly, calm and composed.

Suddenly, he was stunned.

“I seem to have forgotten about dark matter and dark energy”
-
February 1925, 2. Ridgway arrived at Cambridge University a few days in advance.

The reason for the advance was that he received an invitation from Rutherford to give a small lecture on nuclear physics at the Cavendish Laboratory.

Rutherford took advantage of the opportunity of the second Tianlian Conference being held in Cambridge to take advantage of Bruce.

Li Qiwei originally wanted to refuse.

"Old Lu, I really don't know much about nuclear physics."

"You are the authority on this."

Rutherford said disdainfully:

"Pretend, just pretend as hard as you can!"

"You almost made my legs crippled."

"I don't care, it would be good if you could just say a few words."

Li Qiwei was at a loss whether to laugh or cry and could only agree.

He didn't mean to refuse.

Because experimental physics is different from theoretical physics.

In terms of theory, Ridgwell can make predictions ahead of time, even theories that will be published decades later.

Because these theories do not rely on time and experiments, they only have to do with mathematics, logic and imagination.

But experimental physics is different.

It is impossible for Ridgwell to directly predict that nuclear fission can occur by bombarding uranium with neutrons.

Then I guess he won’t be able to leave Europe, no, he won’t even be able to leave the UK.

His Pangu plan requires a lot of resource preparation in the early stages, and all of these take time to accumulate bit by bit.

Therefore, he did not let the nuclear physics era arrive too early.

Otherwise, he would have discovered the neutron through experiments more than a decade ago, followed by uranium nuclear fission.

But in that case, only Europe and the United States would be able to produce atomic bombs, and it would be too late for him to catch up.

Without money, land or talent, what can he use to build it?
So, Li Qiwei has been waiting for an opportunity.

And now, it's almost there.

Inside the Cavendish Laboratory.

Rutherford led everyone in warmly welcoming Professor Bruce.

The two gave each other a bear hug when they met.

Rutherford smiled and asked:

"Bruce, you should be free during this period."

"I heard you turned down countless speaking invitations."

The Fourth Bruce Conference brought a huge shock to the academic community.

Every big shot who attended the conference was followed by countless people after returning home.

Rutherford himself was equally overwhelmed.

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"I turned down other people's invitations, but I accepted your invitation, Rutherford."

"Well, that's pretty good."

Everyone laughed.

At this time, Rutherford pulled someone and said:

"Bruce, let me introduce you. This is Professor Hahn from Germany."

“He is also an authority in radiochemistry.”

Li Qiwei's heart moved when he heard this!
This man with deep eyes and a high nose bridge turned out to be the famous Otto Hahn.

In real history, the official statement is: Hahn won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the nuclear fission of uranium.

Uranium nuclear fission directly led to the birth of the atomic bomb. (The mass-energy equation is just the basis)

Therefore, Hahn is definitely well-known in the scientific community!
The love-hate relationship between him and his best friend Meitner is also a heart-breaking story.

Just as Li Qiwei was looking at Hahn, Hahn was also looking at the legendary figure in front of him with excitement.

Although he is one year older than Li Qiwei, his aura is completely incomparable.

In front of Professor Bruce, Hahn felt like a rookie.

The terrifying pressure that came upon him made him realize that there is no false reputation!

Hahn tried to calm down and said respectfully:

"Hello, Professor Bruce, I'm Hahn."

"Twenty years ago, I made a special trip to McGill University in Canada to study with Professor Rutherford for a year."

"I came to the UK to attend a conference this time, and Professor Rutherford invited me to listen to your speech, Professor Bruce."

"It's so nice to meet you!"

Rutherford explained:

"Hahn is very talented in the field of radiology, and we have maintained a correspondence over the years."

In real history, after graduating with a doctorate, Hahn studied under two Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, Ramsey and Rutherford.

With the endorsement of a big boss, your future academic career will naturally be smooth sailing.

Currently Hahn is the head of the radiochemistry department at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Germany.

A few years later, he would succeed Harber as director.

According to the classification of later generations, radiology actually belongs to the field of physics because it involves atomic nuclei and is not a chemical change.

But in this era, radiology was counted as part of chemistry.

So the uranium nuclear fission discovered by Hahn was clearly a physical phenomenon, but he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Li Qiwei nodded and said:
"Last June, when I was giving a speech in Germany, I met a woman named Meitner."

"She mentioned your name to me and said you were a great chemist."

"You have a very good relationship."

Rutherford was surprised:

"Ah? So you two have this kind of relationship?"

“It’s such a small world.”

Hahn felt a little embarrassed.

He said with emotion:

"Yes."

“Meitner and I were very good friends, and we studied and researched together.”

“Although she is a lady, she has a stronger character than men. I admire her very much.”

"Meitner even boasted to me about attending that speech, saying that I missed something more precious than diamonds."

"Alas, I was abroad at that time and missed Professor Bruce's lecture. What a pity!"

Li Qiwei smiled slightly and thought:

You two have such a good relationship now, how come you become enemies because of nuclear fission?

Is scientific honor really more important than friendship?
Perhaps Hahn is what the average scientist really is.

At this time, Rutherford comforted:
"It's okay, Hahn."

"I remember that speech had nothing to do with radioactivity or nuclear physics."

"Even if you go, you won't gain much."

"You must listen carefully to today's speech. You will definitely discover something that is countless times more precious than diamonds."

"Don't think that Professor Bruce is a theoretical physicist and ignore his insights into experimental physics."

Everyone smiled knowingly.

With the precedent of the Fourth Bruce Conference, no one will have such stupid prejudice again.

Whatever a great boss does is great!
Soon, surrounded by the crowd, Li Qiwei, Rutherford and others walked towards the conference room.

(End of this chapter)