1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 221 Should Classical Physics be Abandoned?
Li Qiwei's speech won applause from everyone in the conference room.

We all agree with it from the bottom of our hearts.

Li Qiwei deeply conquered everyone with his unparalleled physical intuition and far-sighted physical perspective.

At this moment, the bigwigs present seemed to understand one thing.

That is, the reason why Bruce has not produced any new results in six or seven years is not because he is wasting time or his inspiration has disappeared.

But even with his extraordinary intelligence and talent, who could be called the greatest genius in physics, it would take him nearly 10 years, or even longer, to complete it.

How terrifying is general relativity!
At this moment, the bigwigs have begun to look forward to the day when it will be released.

It will definitely cause the biggest shock in the history of physics!

It took so long for a genius to rival Newton. The brilliance of the theory of relativity is bound to exceed everyone's imagination.

However, the theory of relativity was almost a one-man show by Ridgway, with only Einstein being able to sit by and watch.

Therefore, those present will not discuss it in depth.

What they valued was the new theory mentioned by Ridgway, which was created with atomic research as its core.

This is an achievement that is no less than that of the theory of relativity.

And at present, Li Qiwei's research in this field is not much ahead of his peers.

At the same time, everyone admires his broad mind.

Obviously, there is already a specific direction and ideas, but the other party can just not bring them up and study them quietly on their own.

Wait until there are results before publishing them publicly.

But Ridgway made his ideas public without reservation, allowing all physicists to participate in this physics feast.

What kind of dedication is this!
Big names like Roentgen, Planck, Lord Rayleigh, and Thomson no longer dare to treat Ridgway as a junior.

The other party has fully grown up, has his own persistence and personal charm, and is unique.

Academically, everyone is equal.

Even in terms of academic level alone, they still need to look up to others.

At this time, Wayne suddenly asked: "Bruce, although you used quantum theory to explain the blackbody radiation problem, do you know the story behind blackbody radiation?"

As soon as Wayne finished asking the question, older generation physicists such as Roentgen and Lord Rayleigh suddenly thought of that era, and they seemed to have guessed what Wayne was going to ask.

Li Qiwei looked at Wayne and said respectfully, "I am still young, please tell me in detail, Professor."

Wayne said half nostalgically and half seriously: "More than fifty years ago, physicists at the time discovered a very common phenomenon."

"Iron objects emit different colors of light at different temperatures."

"For example, to keep warm in winter, you use an iron rod to move the firewood, and when the iron rod is heated by the flame, it will emit light."

"As the temperature increases, the color of the object changes from red, to yellow, and finally to blue or white."

"Later, physicists discovered that even if the materials are different, as long as their temperatures are the same, the color of the light they emit will be the same."

"And no matter what shape the material is made into, it does not affect its luminescence."

"At that time, Professor Kirchhoff of Germany was very interested in this phenomenon."

"He himself has a very deep knowledge of spectroscopy, so he wanted to figure out the principle."

"He knew that objects glow when heated because they radiate light and energy outwards."

"So he wanted to do an experiment to test the relationship between the temperature of an object and the intensity of its radiation at various frequencies in the spectrum."

"To put it simply, we heat the object to different temperatures, measure the different frequencies of light it emits, and calculate the intensity of each frequency of light."

"This is the energy distribution of the radiation spectrum of an object at different temperatures."

“This is a very good research topic.”

"Because once physicists have this data, they can reversely measure the radiation spectrum of the object to infer the temperature of the object."

"For example, you can measure the radiation spectrum of molten iron, and then you can infer the temperature of the molten iron."

"You can even measure the sun's radiation spectrum to deduce its temperature."

When Wayne said this, it immediately caused a small-scale exclamation.

The younger generation didn’t expect that there would be such a story about the black body radiation issue.

Li Qiwei was also very moved, saying that physicists are indeed the smartest people in the world.

I'm afraid Kirchhoff studied the energy distribution of radiation and then went on to conduct in-depth research on the spectral line distribution of flame color reactions.

Simply by analyzing the properties of matter on Earth, we can know the composition and temperature of the Sun, which is extremely far away from Earth.

At this moment, the mystery of the universe does not seem to be a big deal.

No wonder those wealthy people and nobles in Europe like to devote themselves to scientific research.

Compared with such great achievements, their material wealth and status seem so dull and insignificant.

The maid sister is not as fun as the sun.

At this time, Wayne continued: "In order for Professor Kirchhoff to study the distribution of radiation energy of an object theoretically, he had to create a perfect model."

"This model does not reflect any electromagnetic radiation. The light it emits is all emitted by itself."

“That’s also the concept of the black body.”

"But perfect black bodies don't exist in nature."

"So, Professor Kirchhoff came up with a clever idea. He wanted to artificially create a black body."

"He created a hollow sphere with a small hole on the surface. The surface of the sphere is an insulating layer, and inside is a material that can absorb electromagnetic waves."

"If light enters through a small hole, it will be completely absorbed by the material inside and no radiation will be emitted."

“The heat from outside is also blocked by the insulation.”

"In this way, as long as we pass electricity to heat the ball, the radiation it emits must be its own radiation."

"Since this model was proposed, it has immediately been favored by physicists."

"In the following decades, many people studied the problem of blackbody radiation."

"Everyone wants to find a formula that can perfectly describe the relationship between the radiation intensity and spectrum of a black body at different temperatures."

"Everyone knows what happened next." "I discovered the radiation formula in the short-wave region, and Lord Rayleigh discovered the radiation formula in the long-wave region."

"But neither of these two formulas can perfectly match the experimental data."

"It wasn't until Bruce and Planck's quantum theory came out that this thorny problem was solved."

After Wien finished telling the story about the blackbody radiation problem, younger people like Bohr were fascinated by it.

These stories are impossible to find in physics textbooks, they will only learn the formulas.

However, these stories are the background and foundation of physics, and are the best material for cultivating physical thinking.

Memorizing formulas by rote is like buying the box and returning the pearl, which is missing the point and ending up in a disadvantageous position.

At the same time, Bohr was glad that if he had not participated in such high-level meetings, he would never have heard the stories behind this knowledge.

Even Ridgway was drawn to Wayne's story.

This story perfectly illustrates how physicists do research and is a model.

Discover daily phenomena, analyze causes, propose hypotheses, and verify them through experiments.

The seemingly simple logic actually contains the efforts and sweat of countless predecessors.

Li Qiwei knew that Professor Wayne could not simply want to tell a story, he must have a profound purpose.

Sure enough, Wayne continued, "Bruce, I'm not telling you this story to show off my achievements."

The crowd laughed.

"But I was touched after listening to your explanation of classical physics and modern physics."

"I am worried that after this statement is made, more and more young students or scholars will give up studying classical physics."

"Because classical physics has obvious errors and unexplainable phenomena."

"Then why don't they just learn the more advanced theory of relativity and quantum theory."

"No one will study classical physics anymore."

“However, it was precisely because of his in-depth research and thinking on classical physics that Professor Kirchhoff discovered the shortcomings of classical physics.”

"This shows that the potential of classical physics is far from being fully tapped."

“I don’t want it to become history.”

"Bruce, do you think classical physics should be abandoned?"

Wow!
When Wayne asked his final question, those present finally understood the painstaking efforts he put into telling the story.

This is how the older generation of physicists feel about classical physics.

After Professor Wien proposed the Wien radiation formula, he never achieved any major results.

In the past decade, the endless stream of physical theories and phenomena has dazzled him and even caused him to feel frustrated.

He felt that he was old, unable to keep up with the times, and had been abandoned by young physics geniuses.

He suddenly realized why Lord Kelvin, who was obviously a highly respected authority in the field of physics, agreed to the bet with a young boy like Bruce.

I think he was also stimulated by the discoveries of X-rays, radioactivity, electrons, etc.

He needs the thoughts and passion of young people to keep himself sensitive to physics.

Li Qiwei had great respect for Professor Wayne.

He respected not Wayne alone, but the group that he represented.

It was they who built the first three floors of the physics building.

Even though cracks are beginning to appear on these three floors, the builders’ contribution cannot be denied.

The importance of the first three layers cannot be denied.

Without the first three layers of foundation, relativity and quantum mechanics would not be possible.

Li Qiwei said firmly: "Professor Wayne, I understand what you mean."

“I have made a distinction between classical physics and modern physics, and I have also pointed out several cracks in classical physics.”

"But this does not mean that I deny the value of classical physics."

"Although I believe that the special theory of relativity has overturned Newtonian mechanics and the concept of space and time, of course, no one recognizes it yet."

Everyone smiled knowingly.

"But I would never think that Newtonian mechanics is useless."

"Newtonian mechanics is still the most applicable theory when dealing with various daily mechanical problems."

"Because at macroscopic low speeds, there is no need for relativity at all."

“Similarly, although many new physical phenomena have been discovered, they cannot be explained by classical theories.”

“But that doesn’t mean they’re useless.”

"Whether it's wired telephones or wireless telegraphs, they are all based on the theories of classical physics."

“It has profoundly impacted our world.”

"The older generation of physicists will not be abandoned, and their achievements will always be remembered by future generations."

"It is our responsibility as the younger generation to build on their foundation and open up a broader future for physics."

“As Newton said: I can see farther than others because I stand on the shoulders of giants.”

As he spoke, Li Qiwei looked at the older generation in the field and said in a resounding voice: "And you seniors are our giants."

“Classical physics is the giant of modern physics.”

"Classical physics should not and will never be abandoned!"

boom!
Thunderous applause broke out in the conference hall again.

Li Qiwei's remarks will make both the older and younger generations like him.

His emotional intelligence is almost as high as his IQ.

(End of this chapter)