1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 623: Shocking Conjecture! Dark Matter! The Most Amazing Form of Matter in the Universe! Imperceptible! Shocking Everyone!
Inside the lecture hall at Cambridge University.

The mass difference between the Milky Way and the Coma Cluster of galaxies left all the astronomy experts present at a loss.

Both Yu Qingsong's astronomical survey and Hale's corrected gravity have obvious flaws and are not recognized.

But this issue is very important, like a roadblock, blocking scholars' progress.

At this moment, when everyone remembered and called Professor Bruce's name.

Hope has arrived!
Li Qiwei stood up calmly and walked to the podium.

Ort and Zwicky had looks of crazy admiration on their faces.

Before the meeting started, they could only introduce themselves loudly at the outskirts of the crowd.

However, now, when the two of them came into such close contact with Professor Bruce, that vast aura shocked them in their hearts!

“This momentum is too strong!”

"When Professor Bruce stands there, it feels to me like the truth is standing there!"

"Nothing in the world can stop him!"

Under the gaze of everyone, Li Qiwei said:
"I just listened to everyone's discussion."

"In summary, all explanations can be divided into two types."

“The first is to consider it theoretically.”

“I think there are problems with the existing starlight method or gravity method itself.”

"For example, there are uncertainties in the luminosity of stars and the inapplicability of gravity on large scales."

“The second is from a material perspective.”

"I think the theory itself is correct, but the calculation results are wrong because the mass distribution of galaxies is not dominated by stars."

"The number of interstellar dust, planets, neutron stars and other types of celestial bodies in the universe may be far beyond our imagination."

"Personally, I prefer the second explanation."

Wow!
Yu Qingsong looked excited when he heard this.

"Professor Li's thinking is actually the same as mine!"

But soon, he became worried again.

Shapley's data provided strong evidence that stars do dominate the mass distribution of galaxies.

This angle also seems to be a dead end.

Hale, Hubble, Eddington, Shapley and others were all very confused.

Although the second explanation is good, it was the first to be falsified.

"Did Professor Bruce discover some unknown celestial body again?"

"But even if it exists, it can't be compared with the hundreds of billions of stars."

Everyone was puzzled.

Li Qiwei glanced around, looked at the countless puzzled expressions in the audience, smiled gently, and then said:

"I think the second explanation is the answer that goes straight to the heart of the matter."

"If both the gravitational method and the starlight method are correct, the calculated masses are many times off."

"According to logical deduction, there is actually only one answer!"

"That is, there must be some [invisible] matter inside the galaxy."

Wow!
Everyone was confused.

Everyone was a little suspicious whether Professor Bruce was distracted.

"Isn't this Yu Qingsong's answer just now?"

"Why did Professor Bruce say that again?"

"Oh my god! Is the idol starting to get old too?"

There was a lot of discussion in the audience.

At this time, Shapley could not help but say:
"Professor, the proportion of these invisible interstellar dust, planets, neutron stars, etc. is negligible."

However, Li Qiwei smiled slightly, and suddenly, with a domineering look, he said decisively:

"No!"

"you are wrong!"

"Who says interstellar dust, planets, neutron stars and other celestial bodies are invisible matter?"

"Venus, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon are right above our heads. Can't you see them?"

Wow!
Everyone was stunned!

They suddenly felt that things were not simple.

Shapley hadn't reacted yet. He explained blankly:

"The reason why those planets can be seen by the naked eye is not because they can emit visible light themselves, but because they reflect the light of the sun."

"But the light reflected by planets and other celestial bodies deep in the galaxy is extremely weak, so they cannot be observed by the starlight method."

Li Qiwei said:
"That's right!"

“So, the invisible matter I’m talking about is not the same as the invisible matter you’re talking about.”

"When I say invisible, I really mean invisible!"

"Even if I put the material in front of your eyes, you still can't see it! You can't see it even with an instrument!"

hiss!
Shapley took a breath of cold air!
This is simply like a fairy tale!
The matter is right in front of us, how can we not see it?
Even if it does not reflect visible light, it cannot be seen by the naked eye.

It will definitely reflect X-rays and gamma rays, and then be seen by the detector.

How is it possible that it cannot be seen even with instruments?
At this moment, Shapley even felt that Professor Bruce was teasing him.

"impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Not only him, but everyone present was shocked.

This is really hard to imagine.

Previously, when Yu Qingsong said that there was a huge amount of invisible matter in the galaxy, no one reacted much.

Because in the field of astronomy, the so-called "invisible" refers specifically to being invisible to optical telescopes and the naked eye.

There are generally two situations.

In the first case, the object involuntarily emits or passively reflects [visible light], which is electromagnetic waves with a wavelength between 400-760nm.

But they emit electromagnetic waves of other wavelengths.

For example, pulsars can emit electromagnetic waves with wavelengths between 0.01 and 10 nm, which are called X-rays.

In the second case, although the object emits visible light, it cannot be seen because it is too far away from the earth and the light intensity is too low.

However, everyone understood that what Professor Bruce meant by "invisible" was a true sense of invisibility in the electromagnetic sense!
That is: this substance neither emits nor reflects electromagnetic waves of [any wavelength]!
Therefore, it cannot be seen with the naked eye, optical telescope, radio telescope, or even any electromagnetic wave detector!
It is because people understand that they find it incredible, unbelievable and unbelievable!
No form of matter that has been discovered meets the properties of this magical substance.

“Absolutely not!”

After everyone was shocked, they all came to the same conclusion.

Yu Qingsong opened his mouth in shock.

Professor Li’s wild imagination is truly admirable!
Regardless of whether this conjecture is correct or not, the mere birth of this idea is enough to cause a sensation in the astronomy and even physics communities!
"Compared to Professor Li, I am still too naive."

Yu Qingsong could think of the existence of matter like interstellar dust, but he could never think of matter without electromagnetic radiation.

Ort and Zwicky looked at the figure in front of them, and huge waves rose in their hearts!
“Is this the realm of a big boss?”

“It’s really beyond reach!”

"If I can come up with such a conjecture in my lifetime, it will be easy for me to leave my name in history."

Hale, Hubble, Eddington and others were shocked. They were waiting for Professor Bruce's further explanation!
This shocking conjecture is so terrifying!

After everyone calmed down, Li Qiwei continued:

"Looking at everyone's expressions just now, I guess everyone doesn't agree with my guess."

"Don't be impatient. Let's assume that this invisible substance exists and then analyze its properties."

"First, this matter has mass, so it can participate in gravitational interactions."

"But what are the fundamental particles that make up this matter is still unknown."

"Second, this material does not participate in electromagnetic interactions, so it does not emit or reflect any electromagnetic waves." "As a result, neither optical telescopes nor radio telescopes can detect its existence."

"In addition, since the material has no electromagnetic interactions, it is not only invisible, but also does not generate frictional heat."

"All human sensory behaviors are based on electromagnetic force, so humans cannot perceive this substance."

“Even if you reach out and hold it, you won’t be able to sense its existence.”

Wow!
It’s hard for everyone to imagine!

The magic of this substance is beyond imagination.

The biggest reason why the world is so colorful is the existence of electromagnetic force.

Human vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, color, flavor, and delicacy are essentially the interaction between electromagnetic forces.

Even if you fall while walking, it is because of electromagnetic force.

If a substance has no electromagnetic interaction, then it will be completely beyond human sensory cognition.

Its existence can only be confirmed by indirect means.

Li Qiwei said:
"These are the two fundamental properties of this invisible substance."

"With these properties, we can explain the mass differences."

"In the Milky Way, the mass of this invisible matter is five times that of ordinary matter."

"The gravitational method includes this matter, but the astral method excludes it."

"So the mass measured by the former is five times that of the latter."

"That's the explanation for the Milky Way's spin problem."

"So how do you explain the 50-fold difference in galaxy clusters?"

"It's very simple."

"This invisible matter exists not only within galaxies, but also in the space between galaxies."

"In other words, this substance is everywhere in the universe."

"When we consider the galaxy cluster as a whole and measure its mass using gravitational methods, this matter between galaxies is also included."

"Because the essence of the gravitational method is to infer the mass based on parameters such as the speed of an object."

"The movement of galaxy clusters involves not only galaxies, but also the matter between galaxies."

"Even though individual galaxies are massive, the spaces between them are even larger."

“So, in galaxy clusters, invisible matter accounts for a larger proportion than ordinary matter!”

“The calculation process is as follows.”

Click, click, click!
Li Qiwei calculated the mass ratio based on the size of the galaxy cluster and the distribution of galaxies.

"That's why there's a 50-fold difference in mass in the Coma Cluster."

quiet!
Deathly silence!

Everyone was stunned by this explanation.

Although the existence of this substance is incredible, it perfectly explains the problem of lack of mass.

Even more perfect than the Corrected Theory of Gravity!
"My God!"

"If this substance really exists, then the answer is too simple."

“The law of gravity allows us to study it without modifying any existing theories.”

The big guys in the front row were in turmoil.

They could imagine what a shocking impact this substance would have on astronomy once it was actually discovered!
It will directly rewrite the existing pattern of cosmic matter!

The universe is dominated not by visible matter, but by invisible matter!
Even the Big Bang theory has to reconsider the impact of this matter.

Hai Er sighed:

"You still say I am fanciful."

"I am only modifying the law of gravity a little, not denying it."

"Look at Professor Bruce, this is really breaking the sky."

"If this invisible substance really exists, it will definitely be the biggest subversion in the history of astronomy!"

Everyone couldn't help but nod.

The reason why no one questioned it immediately was because they were still immersed in their imagination.

To the big guys, Professor Bruce's imagination is more important than right or wrong.

At this moment, Ort's face turned red with excitement.

Suddenly, an irresistible impulse arose in his heart.

He wanted Professor Bruce to explain his confusion to him.

He didn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After a struggle between heaven and man, Ort mustered up the courage to ask:
"Professor Bruce, I have a question!"

Wow!
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on him.

This put a lot of pressure on Ort.

he asked:
"Professor, I studied physics in undergraduate studies."

"I know that the currently known elementary particles are protons, neutrons, and electrons."

"But obviously, none of them match the composition of the substance you are talking about."

"Why do you imagine such a substance to exist?"

Li Qiwei heard this and smiled slightly, saying:

"Good question."

"That's why I advocate that astronomy and physics be studied together."

"If you knew a little better, you would know."

"The field of atomic physics is now ready to search for new elementary particles!"

"The mystery of the composition of matter is far more complicated than we imagined."

"But what should the new particle look like?"

"Without actual evidence, I can't make any guesses."

"Because imagination without a basis in reality is just a mind game and has no value."

“If it weren’t for the questions you and Zwicky raised today, I would never have thought that such a particle existed.”

"From today on, I have more confidence in the existence of other elementary particles!"

Wow!
Everyone listened attentively!

Professor Bruce elevated the content to a higher level in just a few words.

No matter how bizarre this speculation is, it is based on logic and observational data from the real world.

In other words, suppose someone now comes up with a "super particle" where the energy of one particle can destroy the world, what would be the point?

No one will take it seriously.

Not every conjecture qualifies as a conjecture.

At this time, Zwicky came back to his senses and asked curiously:
"Professor Bruce, what are you going to call this substance?"

“Is it called [Invisible Matter]?”

"I want to study it carefully when I return."

Everyone also became interested.

No matter what the result is, Professor Bruce's conjecture is bound to shock the academic community.

Having a formal name also makes it easier to spread.

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

“I thought of a very fitting name.”

“Just call it: dark matter!”

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

Good name!
(End of this chapter)