1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 203 Nobel Prize only plays with Nobel Prize

On February 1909, 2, after more than a month of turbulent sea voyage, Ridgway finally arrived in London.

He did not stop in London, but took a train directly to Cambridge University.

Ridgwick is not stupid. With his own achievements and a great mentor like Thomson, he can dominate the entire British academic community.

Thomson's opinion will be crucial wherever he is posted next.

After all, he is no longer in the country, and he has absolute authority in the field of education.

But in Europe, although Li Qiwei is still among the top ones, he is not far ahead.

There is more than one Nobel Prize.

So he needed a platform to independently publish those theories that shocked the world.

Ridgeway didn't want to start a university in the UK. Firstly, the conditions didn't allow it, and secondly, it would be of no use to him.

His goal is to find a professor at a university and train a group of students.

Then gain greater influence in European academia, thereby increasing bargaining chips for future negotiations with the UK.

In short, the more famous he is, the better it is for him.

Therefore, this time he will not hide his shortcomings, but will go all out to suppress the physics community.

As for which university to choose to work at, he has not yet decided, so he can consult Thomson.

After arriving in Cambridgeshire, Li Qiwei and Li San returned to their original rented place.

Coincidentally, the landlord was there and the room was currently vacant.

So Li Qiwei continued to rent the house.

The landlord took good care of his house and kept it spotless, which made Li Qiwei very satisfied and he moved in right away.

He looked at the familiar furniture and furnishings and sighed inwardly, as if everything had happened yesterday.

After packing, it was already 5pm, so Li Qiwei waited until tomorrow to go to Cambridge University.

But there is another thing that can be asked to Li San to do.

Thinking of him, Li Qiwei suddenly became curious, so he asked, "Third brother, I hope your sister-in-law has no objection to you coming out with me this time."

Li San laughed and said, "Well, those brats in my family make her mad every day. How can she care about me?"

"When we return to China and the children are grown up and can support themselves, I will take her to farm."

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Third brother, what are you talking about? Don't worry, when we go back, I will let my sister-in-law come to work at Shanhe Group directly."

"If she wants to go to Borneo, she can go to Borneo. If she doesn't want to go, there are branches in China that will definitely satisfy her."

"When the children grow up, I'll take care of whatever they want, whether they want to go to college or work."

Li San quickly thanked, "Thank you, young master."

This freed him from any worries.

Although Li San knew that as long as he proposed it, the third young master would definitely agree.

But he is an honest man and never seeks convenience for himself.

Li Qiwei certainly knew about Li San's family situation. He had thought about this a long time ago, and now it was a formal promise.

This is what Li San deserves.

He waved his hand and changed the subject, "Third brother, there's no need to talk too much between you and me."

"It just so happens that I have something I need you to do."

"There are quite a few Chinese students studying in the UK right now. Find a way to get in touch with them."

"This is the list of international students, take a look."

After Li San took the list, he saw that each person's information was clearly written on it. He just had to follow the instructions, so he agreed.

As the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education and the Education Commissioner of Guangdong in the country, it was of course a piece of cake for Li Qiwei to have such a list in his hand.

"Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow. Go to bed quickly today." After saying that, the master and servant went back to their rooms.

The next morning, Ridgway arrived at Cambridge University.

He strolled through the slightly chilly campus, looking at the familiar scenery, feeling inexplicably good.

Six years have passed, and I'm afraid there aren't many people in this school who recognize me anymore.

Otherwise, why hasn't there been any screams until now?

Li Qiwei thought narcissistically and laughed at himself.

Soon, he arrived at the Cavendish Laboratory.

The laboratory now seems to have been renovated and the overall appearance is more beautiful.

There are also several additional spaces nearby, I don’t know what they are used for.

It seems that the Cavendish Laboratory has sufficient funding.

After all, three Nobel Prize winners were born here, which is definitely a first for the UK.

The funding is abundant.

At this moment, Wilson suddenly discovered him and was stunned for a moment, just like he had done a few years ago.

It took him five seconds to react and he said excitedly, "Yeah, Bruce, you're finally back. I missed you so much."

Li Qiwei looked at him and saw that Wilson, who was only 40 years old this year, had a lot of white hair on his head.

It turns out that time is the most powerful force. No matter how stunning and beautiful you are, you cannot escape the passage of time.

He recalled the class nine years ago, when Wilson was full of energy and confidently asked questions.

This story has now become a classic in major universities and is used specifically to screen geniuses.

In the first class, lecturers and professors would write a question directly on the blackboard.

Then he said, "Whoever can solve this problem will get full marks in this course."

Full of routines.

Li Qiwei came to his senses and gave Wilson a big hug.

And asked with a smile: "Wilson, why do you have white hair now?"

"Are you thinking too much about the Nobel Prize?"

Wilson rolled his eyes at Li Qiwei and thought that it still tasted authentic and hadn't changed at all.

This made him feel relieved. He was afraid that Li Qiwei would develop psychological problems if he was away from academics for too long and would not be able to adapt to the environment here.

"Hey, who says it's not?"

“We now have three Nobel Prize winners in our lab.”

"You know what people say in private?"

Li Qiwei was puzzled and asked curiously, "What did you say?"

Wilson put on a sad face and sighed: "Everyone says that Nobel Prize winners will only play with Nobel Prize winners in the future." "Lecturers like us can only listen from the sidelines."

"As the founder of the Cavendish Laboratory, I am Alexander."

After saying that, Wilson sighed heavily.

Li Qiwei burst into laughter.

Only in front of Wilson would he laugh so wildly.

Because he knew that the other party would not be devastated by this setback.

"Don't worry, Wilson. I'm different from other Nobel Prize winners. I like playing with you."

After hearing this, Wilson pulled Li Qiwei inside and said, "Go, go, go away."

"Go find Professor Thompson right away."

Li Qiwei's arrival did not cause a sensation in the laboratory, because a new group of people had been replaced here and almost no one knew him.

Richardson, whom he knew, had also left and was recommended by Thomson to become a professor of physics at Princeton University in the United States.

In real history, Richardson returned from the United States in 1914 and returned to Britain to serve as a professor of physics at King's College London, and was soon promoted to director.

I wouldn't say this career path is exactly the same as Rutherford's, but I can say there is no difference at all.

From this we can see how happy it is to be a student under Thomson.

Richardson also had a sister who married his doctoral student at Princeton University in the United States, who later became an American physicist, Davidson.

Davisson discovered electron diffraction in 1927, confirming the wave nature of electrons.

This phenomenon strongly proves de Broglie's view of wave-particle duality.

Coincidentally, in the same year, British physicist George Thomson also discovered the electron wave phenomenon using a different method.

The two published their papers almost at the same time.

As a result, the two of them jointly won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physics.

George Thomson was the son of Thomson, the director of the Cavendish Laboratory.

This year, he will be admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge University, to study mathematics and physics.

The world is so wonderful that almost everyone in the high-end circle of physics can be connected.

Compared with Rutherford, Richardson and Ridgway, Wilson's talent is indeed a bit lacking, and he is still a lecturer.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have given up studying physics long ago.

But Wilson persisted, and that's why he reaped the honors in his later years.

In the field of physics, there are the brilliance of geniuses as well as the perseverance of ordinary people.

At this time, Li Qiwei had already arrived at Thompson's office and knocked on the door gently.

"Enter!"

When Thomson saw Li Qiwei, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

He stood up, walked quickly to Li Qiwei, and looked at him carefully.

"Bruce, when did you arrive in England?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "I just arrived in Cambridge last night, and I came to visit you today."

How could the simple and honest Thomson withstand such a sugar-coated bullet, especially when it was given by his best student.

Sure enough, Teacher Tang laughed even more happily.

"Oh, you should take a good rest for a few days and adjust to the jet lag. Your health is the most important thing."

"Come and sit down quickly."

Having said that, he pulled Li Qiwei to sit down.

Thomson asked Ridgway about his experiences in the country and listened to his interesting stories.

Then he said, "It's good that you're back. Although you wasted six years, it's still within an acceptable range."

"There haven't been any breakthroughs in physics yet. You're back just in time."

Li Qiwei smiled and didn't explain.

Thomson asked again: "Bruce, what are your plans for the future?"

Li Qiwei said seriously: "I will probably be developing in the UK for a long time to come."

“So I want to find a position at a university so that I can conduct my research independently.”

"Yeah." Thompson nodded, "I guess that's what you plan to do, too."

"Any college you'd like to go to?"

Li Qiwei shook his head. "Except for Cambridge University, I don't know much about other universities in the UK."

“I’m not too sure about the requirements for a position at a British university.”

"I just happened to ask Professor today to recommend one to me."

Thompson thought for a few seconds and said, "Even if you didn't mention it, I would have suggested you do this."

"With your qualifications, don't worry, any university will accept you."

“Rutherford previously worked at McGill University in Canada, and Richardson now works at Princeton University in the United States.”

"Since you have decided to stay in the UK."

"Then there are several good options."

"After Rutherford came back, I recommended him to Manchester Polytechnic University to be the head of the physics department. It would not be appropriate for you to go there again."

"First, it's Cambridge University, but if you stay here, I'm afraid it will limit your development. You should know what I mean."

"Others in London include University College London and King's College London."

"In China, there are the University of Birmingham, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow."

"Also, you may want to consider the recently established Imperial College of Technology. Its strength should not be underestimated."

After that, Thompson handed Li Qiwei a document with the basic information of these universities.

After listening to Thomson's analysis, Li Qiwei was deeply moved.

The other party takes his own affairs to heart, otherwise he would not consider it so comprehensively.

"Thank you so much, Professor. This means a lot to me."

Thomson suddenly added, "Bruce, you must not go to Oxford University."

Li Qiwei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't worry, professor, even if they asked me to be the principal, I wouldn't agree."

The two of them burst into laughter in the room.

(End of this chapter)