1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 216 Invitation letters are issued, and the physics community is excited!
August 1909, 8, was just an ordinary day.

However, starting today, there will be a huge shock in the world of physics.

Around 10 o'clock in the morning, Thomson was busy in Cavendish's office, preparing for a big event.

In April this year, he was elected president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

This association was founded in 1831. Although it was only a spontaneous civil organization, it received strong support from the British government.

As the first country to initiate the two industrial revolutions, Britain attaches extraordinary importance to science and technology.

The content of the British Association for the Advancement of Science is not limited to physics, but also includes chemistry, economics, medicine, etc.

The association holds a large conference in a central town in the UK every year, inviting scientists from across the UK to gather together to discuss academic issues.

Sometimes foreign experts are also invited.

In February next year, the association will hold the 2th British Association for the Advancement of Science in Cambridgeshire.

As the president, Thomson naturally has full responsibility for this matter.

However, this type of meeting has been held many times and has a fixed procedure, so Thomson is not worried about any problems.

Just as he was thinking seriously, Wilson suddenly ran in excitedly.

"Professor, someone outside claims to send you an invitation."

"Could it be that Bruce sent someone to deliver it?"

"I asked him, but he didn't reply and said it must be delivered to the person in question."

Thompson was stunned. Li Qiwei had never told him about this in private.

Although he knew he would definitely be invited, the most he could do was write a letter to inform them.

Unexpectedly, someone came to deliver the invitation.

For a moment, a smile appeared on Thompson's face.

I didn't expect that this student of mine is quite capable in doing things.

This is just like the Nobel Prize, with great emphasis on ceremony.

"Wilson, go and bring him in."

"okay."

After a while, Wilson came in with his men.

"Hello, Professor Thompson. My name is Gregory, and I'm Professor Bruce's doctoral student."

"I'm here today to give you the invitation to the first Bruce Conference."

Professor Thompson laughed and said, "Oh? Bruce, you doctoral students are the ones who will send him off."

"He probably only has a few students."

“Are there very few people invited to this meeting?”

Gregory explained: "Professor, this is it."

"We were only responsible for delivering invitations to the Nobel Prize winners, while the rest of the participants were sent by people sent by Pioneer Group."

Thomson and Wilson suddenly realized that this was a blatant discrimination.

But you know what, this little detail is quite exciting.

"Professor, you go ahead. I have to rush back to London. I have a lot of things to deal with."

After Thompson thanked him, Gregory left immediately.

At this moment, Wilson suddenly sighed with a sad face and said, "Oh, I misjudged Bruce. He didn't even invite me."

"We have been good brothers for so many years, but he doesn't even remember our friendship. Sigh."

Thompson held the invitation in his hand, but did not open it immediately. Instead, he patiently explained, "Wilson, you have to understand Bruce."

"Since he has spent so much effort organizing this meeting, he must ensure the authority and fairness of the meeting."

"Although your cloud chamber has been initially completed, it has not yet been widely used."

"According to Bruce's classification, your current level does not meet the qualifications to participate in the meeting."

"If he uses his power to invite you, how will other people who are not invited look at him?"

"No one will believe him anymore."

Wilson nodded, and it was obvious that he felt that was the case.

If you were in Bruce's position, there are some things that need to be considered.

This was not the previous Young Scholars Conference in Brussels, where Bruce could invite whomever he pleased.

The first Bruce Conference was a conference that attracted worldwide attention, with all physicists watching closely.

Any flaw will affect Bruce's reputation.

As a good brother, Wilson must of course consider the other party.

"Haha, professor, don't worry, I'm just complaining."

"I'm definitely going to London and let Bruce make it up to me."

"It is said that he is very rich now."

"That Pioneer Group is his industry."

Thomson was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. When it came to the ability to withstand stress, his student was probably unique among physicists and was a super optimist.

Because of this, in real history, Wilson lived to be 90 years old.

He outlived all the famous physicists of his time.

It turns out that living long is the key.

However, Thomson still comforted him: "But Wilson, don't be discouraged."

"Today, atomic research is almost becoming the most mainstream direction in physics."

"As long as more people study it, your cloud chamber will definitely come in handy."

“The cloud chamber will surely demonstrate its importance in the future.”

Thomson nodded, very encouraged. Ridgway had said something similar to him.

He was naturally optimistic, and soon stopped worrying about it, and said impatiently:
"Professor, please open this invitation and take a look."

“It looks so exquisite.”

Upon hearing this, Thompson also began to look at the invitation letter in his hand.

I don’t know what the invitation letter is made of, but it feels heavy in my hand and exudes a faint fragrance.

There is a circle of gold around it, making the invitation look majestic and noble.

Wilson was shocked and said: "This invitation alone can probably be sold for 5 pounds."

"Bruce is really rich."

On the cover, there was a sentence written in Greek: "Give me a fulcrum, and I can move the earth."

Thomson's smile widened, and he was obviously very satisfied with this famous quote of Archimedes.

Without this sentence, the entire invitation would seem flashy and empty.

"This Bruce, where do all these weird ideas come from?"

"He can make a simple invitation letter look so fancy."

Although he said this, Thomson still agreed with it in his heart.

He gently opened the cover, and inside, the invitation was written in very beautiful fonts.

Including meeting time and location, etc.

The formal content was quite standard. After all, this was a high-end physics academic conference.

An invitation is just a symbol. If it is too fancy, it will lose its original meaning.

Wilson said with longing: "I am really looking forward to the day when the conference will be held."

“I don’t know who will be attending.”

“I think it must be very exciting.”

When Thomson and Wilson were studying the invitation letter, the physics community was already in an uproar.

Some people were calm and composed, some sighed with regret, and some beat their chests and stamped their feet.

Starting from August 8, people kept receiving invitations from Li Qiwei.

Then it caused a sensation in the local area.

And those invited are indeed big names in the field of physics.

From this point of view, Li Qiwei did not break his own rules. He did not even invite Wilson, who had the best relationship with him, which shows his fairness.

Manchester Institute of Technology, Rutherford looked at the invitation letter in his hand with a smile, a hint of fondness in his eyes.

"Bruce, Bruce, you are amazing."

"Even I am impressed by your little trick."

Rutherford's student, De Hevesi, said, "Professor, you have a very good relationship with Professor Bruce."

Rutherford laughed and said, "Just wait and see how I refute him at the meeting this time, haha."

Another student, Galton Darwin, echoed this: “I am really looking forward to this conference. I wonder how many new research directions will emerge.”

Rutherford said to the two men: "It is foreseeable that the development of physics will be greatly accelerated after this meeting."

In Germany, Roentgen and Planck sat together with smiles on their faces.

"Planck, you are a really good student."

“It’s very emotional.”

"I'm an old man, but I can still feel my blood boiling."

"My graduate students are even more excited than I am."

Plank said, "I'm afraid that after this meeting, we old guys will be eliminated."

"Bruce told me that he wanted to make a distinction between classical physics and modern physics."

“He thought classical physics had reached its end.”

Roentgen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was shocked by Li Qiwei's grand ambition. "Bruce is so ambitious."

"Is he going to become a great master like Newton?"

"Is he going to be the one who starts or even leads modern physics?"

“Perhaps this is a meeting between old and new physics.”

Planck looked into the distance with hope, wondering what kind of glory his most proud disciple in his life would create!
In France, Madame Curie held the invitation letter in her hand and shared it with Mr. Curie in front of his photo.

"Honey, look, Bruce is going to make something big in the physics world again."

The day Mr. Curie passed away, Madame Curie felt struck by lightning and heartbroken.

In the first two months, she was like a zombie, with a dazed look and dull eyes, numb from excessive grief.

Later, it was her husband, Dr. Lang Zhiwan, who took care of her meticulously and helped her come out of her grief.

Now she has taken over her husband's position and become the first female professor at the University of Paris.

Although she had two young children to take care of, Madame Curie never complained. She insisted that she was still young and capable of earning money to support her family.

She even refused the pension offered to her by the French government.

But she is doing physics research after all, and even as a professor, her salary is not as much as one might imagine.

So, Li Qiwei took action.

He asked Pioneer Investment Group to hire Marie Curie as a scientific advisor at a high salary.

Nowadays, radioactivity is widely used in industry, and things like radium water and radium milk are very popular.

Vanguard Group has also invested in these industries, and it is the foreigners who are being cheated anyway.

As a pioneer in the field of radiology, it was only natural for Madame Curie to be invited as a consultant.

Of course she knew that this was Li Qiwei's good intention, but she did not refuse.

Because she believed that she gained wealth through her own knowledge, not from charity.

As a consultant, she has to look at the information of several companies every week, evaluate their products, and help companies make investment decisions.

Madame Curie felt very fulfilled and of course was very grateful to Ridgwell.

If Lang Zhiwan filled her spiritual emptiness, then Li Qiwei supplemented her material life.

These two men are equally important to her.

In the United States, Michelson and Millikan sat opposite each other.

Millikan said with emotion: "I didn't expect Bruce would invite me."

“I didn’t even think I’d be invited.”

Michelson smiled and said, "Millikan, don't underestimate yourself."

“You demonstrated the photoelectric effect experimentally and measured the charge of an electron with great precision.”

"These two achievements are enough to make you an ordinary physicist."

"I think the minimum requirement for Bruce to invite people to this conference should be ordinary physicists."

Millikan nodded. At present, not all invitations have been sent out, so he doesn't know the specific situation.

At this time, Michelson continued: "Well, I am worried that you and I are the only two people in the United States who have been invited."

“It shows how low our country’s status is in the field of physics.”

"Millikan, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders."

“You need to pay more attention to the training of graduate students.”

"Look at Bruce. He recruited seven doctoral students in one go."

"I even doubt whether he has so many subjects."

Millikan smiled and said, “Bruce’s research covers a wide range of fields, including relativity, quantum theory, and atomic research.”

“I think he definitely has a lot of new ideas.”

"This meeting is a good opportunity to test his bottom line."

“I always felt like he was hiding something.”

Michelson nodded, always thinking about the future of American physics.

Lorentz of the Netherlands, Lord Rayleigh of Britain, and Lippmann of France, three Nobel Prize winners, also felt Ridgway's sincerity.

Especially Lippmann (Chapter 47), who had met Ridgway at a quantum theory conference.

At that time, his opponent was just a promising newcomer in physics, but now he has grown into a giant in physics.

His every word and action can stir up the world of physics.

In addition to the Nobel Prize winners mentioned above, many physicists have also received invitations.

They were like chosen children, extremely excited.

Of course, some are happy and some are sad.

In Switzerland, Kleiner and Einstein sat together.

"Einstein, please attend this meeting on behalf of the teacher."

"I was wrong at first."

"I apologize to you."

Einstein is no longer the young and energetic man he used to be. He has become mature.

He quickly stood up and said, "Teacher, you don't have to do this."

"I am able to achieve what I have today thanks to your strict teaching."

"We're all about physics, aren't we?"

Kleiner smiled with relief and then discussed the meeting enthusiastically with Einstein.

Of course, there are a very small number of people who hate and despise Li Qiwei.

Leonard, the fifth Nobel Prize winner in physics from the University of Kiel in Germany (Chapter 196), said with jealousy: "Damn the Qing people, and the Jewish Einstein."

"I don't even bother attending this bullshit meeting."

Of course, Li Qiwei didn't invite him at all.

Li Qiwei has absolutely no good feelings towards such extreme racists.

His heart is bad, no amount of persuasion will help.

At this moment, he was sitting in the office, listening to the reports from Gregory and others, with a smile on his face.

It seems that the meeting preparations went more smoothly than expected.

However, this is not enough.

After all the invitations have been sent out, he will also publish a public article in Nature to announce all the participants of the conference.

It was he who made this conference known to the world and made physicists the trendsetters of the era.

(End of this chapter)