Training the Heavens

Chapter 299 The Silent Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Physicists eligible to vote for the Nobel Prize gathered in a conference room at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Academician Edlund, the chairperson, announced the agenda for the meeting. "Gentlemen, the deadline for nominations for this year's first Nobel Prize in Physics has arrived. We have received hundreds of nominations. Now it's time to select one or more winners from among them."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has a very long history, dating back more than a hundred years. It was founded in 1739 at the order of King Frederick of Sweden, modeled after the Royal Society for the Advancement of Natural Science in London and the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris at the time.

The first president was the famous biologist Carl von Linnaeus, who first proposed the species classification system of kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus and species. He can be said to be one of the most well-known members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

When the society was first founded, a countess was elected as a member of the Academy of Sciences because of her husband's fame. However, due to historical inertia, there are very few women who can become academicians, and there is not even one in this meeting room now, so Edlund did not mention the ladies at all.

The academicians present included scientists from Sweden as well as scientists from other countries. Foreign academicians were also eligible to make the selections, and their say even mattered more, because Sweden's own scientific research level is still not as good as that of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the United States and other countries. Naturally, the words of famous academicians from these countries are influential.

Edlund had the original nomination letters and the list of nominees, which had been reviewed and compiled, laid out to the attendees. He explained, "Based on the nominations and preliminary screening, the most popular candidates are: Professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen of the University of Munich in Germany, who discovered X-rays."

"Professor Antoine Henri Becquerel of the Sorbonne University in France, who discovered natural radioactivity, and Dr. Pierre Curie and Dr. Marie Curie of the same university, and their joint research on the radioactivity discovered by Professor Antoine Henri Becquerel."

"Dr. John William Stratford of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, for his measurements of the densities of gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, and for his discovery of argon by measuring nitrogen."

"Professor Albert Abraham Michelson of the University of Chicago, for his inventions of precision optical instruments and his use of them in spectroscopy and metrology, which have had a profound impact."

"Professor Gabriel Lipmann of the Sorbonne University in France, for his invention of the capillary potentiometer and his method of reproducing color in photographs using the phenomenon of interference."

"Professor Johannes Diederik van der Waals of the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, for his discovery of intermolecular forces and his formulation of the law of corresponding states."

If Zhang Xingjiu was present, his expression would definitely be very interesting, because this list lacks Hendrik Anton Lorentz and Peter Zeeman of Leiden University in the Netherlands, Philipp Lenard of Kiel University in Germany, Joseph John Thomson of Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, Marconi from Italy, Karl Ferdinand Braun of Strasbourg University in Germany, and Wilhelm Wien of Würzburg University in Germany.

These people all won the Nobel Prize in Physics in the next ten years, but now they have no chance because their award-winning achievements were achieved ahead of time by Zhang Xingjiu.

Until this point, the expressions of many academicians present were still relatively calm, because these nominations were within their expectations. These were all outstanding people in the field of physics and were indeed qualified to win the award. In fact, they did win the Nobel Prize in Physics later.

But when Edlund announced the next name, they could no longer sit still.

"And Zhang Xingjiu, a visiting professor at the Sorbonne University in France and a doctor from China, discovered an error in Wien's equation through blackbody radiation experiments. He used a new equation to solve the ultraviolet catastrophe problem and proposed the Zhang Xingjiu constant."

"Through his study of cathode rays, he discovered the electron and proposed many important theories related to gas conductivity."

"Invented the cathode ray tube and applied it to wireless telegraphy, making wireless telegraphy a new technology suitable for large-scale commercial use."

Other people's achievements are often summarized in just one sentence, but when it comes to Zhang Xingjiu, there's a lot of talk. It can't be helped; Zhang Xingjiu has so many achievements that qualify him for the award. In fact, if it weren't for him, these achievements would have been enough for nearly ten physicists to win the Nobel Prize.

"Boom!" There was an uproar at the scene. The academicians present couldn't accept this result for a moment. How could a Chinese scholar suddenly appear among a group of European and American scientists? And he was the one who was mentioned the most during the introduction. Was he going to be awarded the first Nobel Prize?

If this were the case, it would be embarrassing for many physicists in Europe and the United States.

"Who nominated him?" someone couldn't help but ask. They couldn't question Zhang Xingjiu's achievements, so they could only find fault with these small details.

If Zhang Xingjiu's nominator is not strong enough, this reason can be used to reduce his chances of being elected.

However, Edlund's answer disappointed them. "Many people nominated Dr. Zhang, including Professor Lipmann of the Sorbonne University. He is the head of the best physics department in France and even in the world. His nomination carries a lot of weight!"

“There was Professor Thomson, director of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, who particularly admired Dr. Zhang’s achievements in gas conductivity.”

"There is Professor Wilhelm Wien of the University of Würzburg in Germany, who is very grateful to Dr. Zhang for his revision of Wien's equations and his outstanding contributions to the field of blackbody radiation."

"."

Many scholars whose achievements were snatched away by Zhang Xingjiu nominated him. There was nothing they could do about it, because if Zhang Xingjiu won the award, it would mean that their research field was very important. If Zhang Xingjiu ate the meat, they could also have a share of the soup.

But if Zhang Xingjiu had not won the award, the influence of these achievements would have been limited to the academic field, and they would not even be able to get a sip of the soup.

Moreover, they also have hope of achieving breakthroughs in these areas. Zhang Xingjiu can't always walk on the same path with them and always be ahead of them, right?

If I give him a chance to win the award now, then when I make a breakthrough in the future, won’t I also have a chance to win the award?
Although this is only the first Nobel Prize, the prize money of 20 kronor has made the award a worldwide attention. You know, this amount of money is equivalent to a university professor's salary for years. How many people can resist the temptation of such a good thing of gaining both fame and fortune?

"His Excellency William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, former President of the Royal Society."

When Edlund read out the name, the meeting fell silent again.

(End of this chapter)