1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 642 The Low-Key Protagonist of Planck! A Brand New Ray! Beryllium Rays! The New King of the Nuclear Physics Age!

Berlin, Germany, Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology.

This national research institution, established in 1887, was closely associated with the rapid development of Germany's electrical equipment and machinery manufacturing industry at the time.

The institute aims to improve the quality of industrial products through precision measurement technology, with the core mission of promoting standardized metrology technology.

After more than 30 years of development, the Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology has provided strong technical support for Germany's industrialization process.

Its research scope is no longer limited to the field of engineering and technology, but extends to basic science, interdisciplinary fields and other areas of exploration and development.

For example, the Geiger counter, a well-known measuring instrument in the field of radiology, was invented here.

Its inventor, Geiger, worked at the research institute.

He also had a close friend named Bot, who was a student of the famous Professor Planck.

Bote's early life was also quite bumpy.

He had just received his doctorate when the world war broke out.

As a result, he was captured by the Russians and imprisoned in the desolate Siberia.

There, he did not give up and continued to study mathematics and Russian every day.

After returning to his country in 1920, he was assigned to work at the Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology.

However, since then, he has become introverted and low-key, rarely making public appearances in the physics community.

This may be why he was later unwilling to apologize for helping Germany develop nuclear weapons.

But this does not diminish his significant achievements in the field of physics.

During his time at the institute, Bot and Geiger collaborated to develop the "conformity method" theory based on the Geiger counter.

Based on this theory, he invented a device that could accurately measure the angular momentum of particles.

This was also the most important foundation for him to later win the Nobel Prize in Physics.

In addition, Bot has studied cosmic rays, and his experimental data shows that cosmic rays are not all photons, but contain high-energy particles.

This provides strong evidence for the great debate on cosmic rays.

He also creatively filled a cloud chamber with hydrogen gas, which allowed him to observe the recoil trajectories of X-rays and electrons, proving the particle nature of light.

In actual history, this result even predates Compton's discovery of Compton scattering by several months.

This shows that Bote's experimental skills are definitely among the best, but he himself is not well-known.

Recently, Bote has become interested in the hot topic of nuclear physics.

He found it amazing that so many incredible phenomena could be discovered through the simplest act of bombardment.

For this purpose, he also specially recruited a student and assistant, Becker.

After all, bombardment experiments are notoriously time-consuming and laborious, and he would probably be exhausted if he tried it all by himself.

On this day, Bote was conducting Becker's experiment.

He planned to follow Elena's experiment to see if he could discover artificial radioactivity in new elements.

Therefore, he also used alpha rays, but the bombardment target was changed to other elements.

While the two were assembling and setting up the experimental equipment, Becker raised a question:
"Professor Bote, why do we get different results when we use alpha rays to bombard the same object?"

"For example, Professor Rutherford discovered the proton by bombarding nitrogen nuclei with alpha rays."

"Dr. Elena discovered artificial radioactivity by bombarding aluminum foil with alpha rays."

"Some people have bombarded other elements with alpha rays, but nothing has happened."

What could be the reason for this?

Bote looked at Becker with satisfaction. This young man had a strong thirst for knowledge and a determination to get to the bottom of things.

However, he himself didn't understand the answer to this question.

"Many people say it's because Elena and Rutherford used different alpha ray sources."

"But I think that might only be one factor."

"If we want to explain it from a more fundamental perspective, we need to thoroughly understand the internal structure of the atom."

"The essence of bombardment experiments is actually the interaction between matter and matter, and between electromagnetic waves and matter."

"At present, only a number of scattered theories can explain individual phenomena."

"No single theory can uniformly explain all bombardment phenomena."

Becker murmured:

Is there really such a theory?

Bote said:

“I heard that Professor Bruce has recently been paying attention to the field of nuclear physics, and he should be the most promising one.”

Becker looked on with envy.

Unfortunately, Professor Bruce had already returned to Asia, so it was impossible for him to hear the lecture.

"Let's just stick to doing the experiments."

Soon, the two were ready.

Today's experiment involves bombarding element number four, beryllium, with alpha rays.

Beryllium is a lighter element than nitrogen, and its atomic nucleus is also smaller, so it is highly likely to be bombarded with protons.

As for radioactivity, that's uncertain.

There is currently no evidence to suggest a relationship between artificial radioactivity and atomic number.

The experiment begins!
Snapped!
At the instant the electricity is applied, the alpha rays collide with the beryllium element, immediately producing a new type of ray.

Berke was overjoyed:
"Wow, there really is artificial radioactivity!"

"Many people have recently tried to replicate Elena's experiment, but with unsatisfactory results. We succeeded on our first try."

"Professor Bote, you're amazing!"

Hearing the students' admiration, Bote was pleased inside, but calmly said on his face:

"Don't rush, it might not be radioactive."

"Shut down the bombardment source and see if the radioactivity persists."

Snapped!
Becker did as instructed, covering the alpha ray source with a cover.

Something bad has happened!

To Belk's astonishment, the ray disappeared!

This indicates that the rays just produced were not actual radiation.

Otherwise, even if the alpha ray source is turned off, beryllium will still produce artificial radioactivity.

Becker exclaimed:
"How could this be?"

"Did the experiment fail?"

Bote was much calmer; at 34 years old, he had seen his share of ups and downs.

"Try doing it again."

Becker then turned on the radiation source again and found that after the alpha rays bombarded the beryllium element, the same radiation was produced again.

However, this new ray disappears immediately as soon as the ray source is turned off.

In response to this phenomenon, Bote analyzed:

"This should not be artificial radioactivity."

"Artificial radioactivity is a spontaneous property of elements. Once activated, it can spontaneously produce radiation even without continuous particle bombardment."

"I think we may have bombarded protons, just like Professor Rutherford."

Becker couldn't help but nod.

This is highly likely.

Verification is quite simple; just introduce this new ray into a magnetic field and observe its deflection.

Just do it.

The two acted simultaneously and quickly created a favorable magnetic field.

However, strange things happened again.

This new ray did not deflect at all!
This means it is uncharged and definitely not a proton!

They had discovered a completely new type of ray. In an instant, Becker went from being disappointed to being overjoyed.

Because this is absolutely a remarkable discovery.

"This could be a new type of ray."

Bote remained calm.

He approached nuclear physics with a tentative attitude and didn't have high expectations.

It's best if there are results, but it doesn't matter if there aren't.

Moreover, even if a new ray were discovered, it wouldn't be that appealing to him.

It's not 30 years ago anymore.

Various types of rays have lost their mystique in the eyes of physicists and are no longer considered mysterious.

Even a new type of ray is essentially nothing more than an electromagnetic wave of a specific wavelength or a new combination of different particles.

This is common in radiology.

For example, some bombardment behaviors can simultaneously emit electromagnetic waves and matter flows, appearing as a completely new type of ray.

Seeing Becker's excited expression, Bote explained:

"Let's test its penetrability again."

In radiology, penetrability is a common method for identifying the type and nature of radiation.

Even in Rutherford's radiology handbook, there were already standard methods.

The benchmarks for comparison are alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays.

Alpha rays have the weakest penetrating power; they can be blocked by even a piece of paper.

This is why, when using it for bombardment experiments, the target material is often made into a very thin "foil" shape, so that the rays can penetrate it.

By simply increasing the thickness of the "foil", alpha rays can be blocked.

Beta rays have a stronger penetrating power; they can easily penetrate not only paper but also thin metal plates.

Only by increasing the thickness of the metal plate can bebeta rays be blocked.

Gamma rays have the strongest penetrating power and can directly penetrate relatively thick metal plates.

Extremely thick concrete or lead plates would be needed to completely block it.

Some people may wonder: What is the most penetrating ray in the world?
The answer is: high-energy neutrino flux.

Calculations show that a lead block about 80 light-years thick would only be able to block half of the neutrinos from passing through.

Such incredible penetrability is self-evident.

The human body is punctuated by hundreds of millions of neutrinos every day.

Fortunately, neutrinos hardly interact with electromagnetic forces or the strong force; otherwise, there would be no life in the entire universe.

At this moment, after Bot had finished testing the penetrability of this new ray with Becker, he pondered and said:

"This new ray has a slightly stronger penetrating power than normal gamma rays."

"It can even penetrate copper plates several centimeters thick."

"It seems that it should not be a particle, but a higher-energy electromagnetic wave."

"I tend to think it is a high-energy gamma ray."

After listening to his teacher's analysis, Becker felt that it made a lot of sense.

Particles cannot have such strong penetrating power, and since they are uncharged, they can only be electromagnetic waves.

Although it wasn't a groundbreaking success like artificial radioactivity that shocked the academic world.

But it’s not bad.

Bote also had no intention of pursuing further research.

After all, he wasn't a specialist in atomic physics, and the Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology where he worked didn't have the advanced instruments found in the Cavendish Institute or the Radium Institute.

Therefore, he can only perform some basic measurements.

"Becker, repeat the experiment a few more times, compile the results, and publish them as a paper."

"This new gamma ray is an innovative discovery and should be published in a good journal."

"You could try submitting it to Nature."

Becker was very excited.

Although Professor Bote didn't think much of the result, it was more than enough for him.

Publishing a paper in Nature, even a sub-journal, during one's student years would be of great benefit to one's future development.

He instantly became a promising young talent in the eyes of others.

Finally, Becker asked:
"Teacher, how about we give this new ray a name so it's easy to refer to?"

Bote initially felt it was completely unnecessary.

In today's physics community, this discovery doesn't seem to deserve a proper name.

But seeing the expectant look in the other person's eyes, he still smiled, which was unusual for him, and said:

"Let's call it beryllium ray."

Becker was overjoyed.

Over the next period of time, he systematically repeated the experiment and also experimented with several other elements.

However, only beryllium can produce this special kind of radiation.

To prevent others from discovering it someday, he worked day and night to finish the thesis.

Then it was submitted directly to the journal Nature.

After conducting several bombardment experiments, Bot gradually lost interest in this direction.

Nuclear physics is great, but it relies too much on luck and has almost nothing to do with intelligence.

This made him feel that it wasn't science at all, but just random guesswork.

He still enjoys the scientific exploration process that requires logic and mathematics.

So soon he began researching new areas, preparing to continue his collaboration with Geiger.

He also forgot about the beryllium ray issue and left it entirely to Becker to handle.

1925 11 Month 20 Day.

The latest issue of the journal Nature has been published.

The cover article is a paper from the Cavendish Laboratory in the UK.

Building on Elena's work, Rutherford's team successfully discovered artificial radioactivity in a second element, causing a sensation.

This provides strong evidence of the existence of artificial radioactivity and gives confidence to others.

This also demonstrates the formidable strength of the Cavendish Laboratory.

Nobody else can find it; only there can it be done.

Rutherford smiled slightly:
"This blast of mine is the culmination of 20 years of skill. Can you withstand it?"

Many people lamented:
"In the age of nuclear physics, Professor Rutherford should probably be revered."

"Professor Bruce is still a step behind in the field of nuclear physics experiments."

"How terrifying! The Cavendish duo, one ruled over theory, the other ruled over experimentation."

In this issue of Nature, everyone undoubtedly focused on the study of artificial radioactivity.

Few people noticed that a paper from the German Institute of Physics and Technology was published in a sub-journal of Radiology.

Researchers have discovered a new type of gamma ray through bombardment experiments, which has a stronger penetrating power than normal gamma rays.

From an innovation standpoint, this paper absolutely deserves the title of Nature.

However, compared to the paper on artificial radioactivity on the cover, it seems insignificant.

Even if some people noticed it, they thought it was just an ordinary result.

Physics is advancing rapidly, with countless new discoveries every day in its various branches.

Unless it reaches the groundbreaking level of artificial nuclear fission or artificial radioactivity, it will only attract the attention of people in that specific field.

However, to everyone's astonishment, that supreme being actually cast a glance down upon them.

(End of this chapter)