Training the Heavens

Chapter 355 Academic Leader
It was August when I returned to Shanghai. People were talking about the war that had just ended in Xuzhou. The Northern Expedition Army fought fiercely with the Zhilu Allied Forces of Zhang Zongchang and Sun Chuanfang in Xuzhou. This battle resulted in the deaths of two famous generals of the Northern Expedition Army, Wang Tianpei and Chen Gan.

This reminded Zhang Xingjiu of a line, "Xu Zou Di Fang, Li Dai, playing turtle touch increase chiseled five colors here, dead fly to take the marsh, Nanyi on the shrink bait silk years ago, I onion Xu Zou collapsed Sang how to plan, opened Si Liaodi children second wave punishment, Zong Hua Qiu Begonia master, although the turtle fish chair pain, running crotch this handsome shrink knife money thick, dish Zong sister Cen changed Yin, how can I be afraid of the accumulation of strength sweet four, that Zong uncle Bo Sen chicken, evening fog brocade hair Jin borrow, there is in front of you"

But this will happen next year. Although the Northern Expedition Army suffered a temporary setback in Xuzhou, it will not affect the overall situation. The Beiyang warlords have long lost the support of the people. If the army sets out again tomorrow, it will soon achieve nominal national unification.

However, China did not become prosperous and strong because of this, and would soon face an even greater disaster. Fortunately, in the end, China was reborn from the ashes and stood up again, just like it had done many times in history.

After reuniting with Ma Xiangbo and others for a few days, Zhang Xingjiu returned to Aurora University and gave a speech as a greeting to his classmates whom he had not seen for a long time, and then boarded a passenger ship to Europe.

After returning to Paris, he reunited with Langevin, Madame Curie, de Broglie and others, gave a lecture at the Sorbonne University, and then took a train to Brussels together. Although Ernest, who founded the Solvay Conference, has passed away, the tradition has been preserved, and this year is the fifth session.

It was also the largest Solvay Conference in history, with 30 scientists from different countries participating in the event, 18 of whom had won or were about to win the Nobel Prize.

The winners include Zhang Xingjiu, Lorentz, Marie Curie, Lawrence Bragg, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Arthur Compton, CTR Wilson, Irving Richardson, Louis de Broglie, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, Max Born, Irving Langmuir, and Peter Debye.

Those who did not win the award are not mediocre. Herzen, Brillouin, Martin Knudsen, Hendrik Kramers and others are also famous figures in the history of science.

Scientists gathered in Solvay and, as usual, took a group photo. Zhang Xingjiu once again sat in the center of the front row, which was the seat where Einstein sat in the original history.

Later, when people saw this photo, they called it the most intelligent group photo in human history. For nearly a hundred years thereafter, no other photo could compare to this one.

Some people say that two-thirds of the intelligence on Earth is contained in this photo. In a sense, this is not an exaggeration: our entire current understanding of the world, and the modern civilization based on this understanding, are already built on the framework they have built.

Originally, the organizers wanted Zhang Xingjiu to host the meeting, but Zhang Xingjiu declined on the grounds that he had not been to Europe for many years. So the host was replaced by Lorentz, who had the most experience, and the theme of the meeting was set as "Photons and Electrons".

The meeting schedule is very concise: 1. Reading of 5 reports; 2. Discussion.

These five reports are: Bragg's "The Intensity of X-ray Reflections"; Compton's "Inconsistencies between Radiation Experiments and the Electromagnetic Theorem"; de Broglie's "The New Dynamics of the Quantum"; Born + Heisenberg's "Quantum Mechanics"; and Schrödinger's "Wave Mechanics".

They also invited Zhang Xingjiu to give a presentation, but he still declined. This was a relief for the organizers and other scholars. If Zhang Xingjiu had read his paper and the other presenters had discovered a conflict between their own and Zhang Xingjiu's, the presentation would have been ruined. Even they would have felt they were at fault, not to mention others. This was the power of Zhang Xingjiu's continued high productivity for thirty years. He had built a storied reputation for himself with one great success after another, and other scientists would have thought twice before questioning his theories.

Another person who received an invitation but did not give a report was Einstein. After all, he was one of the most talented scientists in human history. Even though most of his achievements were taken away by Zhang Xingjiu, he was still able to achieve remarkable results. It’s just that his influence was not as great as in the original history. This time, he could only squeeze in the second row for the photo.

The meeting started off normally. Bragg and Compton gave reports, other scholars commented and exchanged views, and even Zhang Xingjiu gave a few words of encouragement. Only Einstein did not speak.

The next day was lively. As soon as de Broglie put forward his views, he was strongly attacked by Pauli, with Born and Heisenberg supporting him. De Broglie wanted to ask Einstein for help, but was only met with silence, so he had to admit defeat.

On the third day, Heisenberg and Born gave reports first, while Einstein sneered in the audience; in the afternoon, Schrödinger issued a statement on wave mechanics, which was considered as support for de Broglie, and was attacked by Bohr, Born, Heisenberg and others.

The meeting was adjourned on the fourth day, and from the fifth day onwards, things became lively. The Copenhagen school of Bohr, Born, Pauli, and Heisenberg and the school of Einstein, Schrödinger, and Dirac were arguing fiercely.

Zhang Xingjiu, Bragg, Compton and others were enjoying the show with relish. As the battle deepened, it eventually became a one-on-one duel between Einstein and Bohr. Einstein gradually became exhausted and said in a fit of anger, "God does not play dice."

Finally, everyone's attention turned to Zhang Xingjiu, hoping to hear his comments. Zhang Xingjiu finally lived up to their expectations this time and said frankly, "On a test paper on what quantum mechanics is, the Copenhagen group handed in the most convincing answer at the time. Einstein didn't turn in his paper, but he felt that answering the questions left out by Schrödinger would make it a perfect answer. The Copenhagen group clearly got a few questions wrong, but they didn't get them wrong."

"So you think the Copenhagen School's theory is correct?" de Broglie asked immediately, feeling very disappointed.

Zhang Xingjiu shook his head decisively. "No, they believe that 'quantum mechanics is a complete theory, and its basic physical and mathematical assumptions cannot be further modified.' This is as absurd as the physics community saying 'the edifice of physics is complete.' Bohr was terribly wrong, but not in the way Einstein believed."

He did not give any arguments, but simply expressed his own views. Bohr fell into great depression, while Einstein and others were both excited and ashamed.

These world-class scientists almost immediately believed Zhang Xingjiu's conclusion. This is his status as a leading figure in academia.

(End of this chapter)