1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 223: A few words, all Nobel Prize-level achievements

Several big guys took turns asking questions, and Li Qiwei answered them easily.

With confident words and passionate expressions, he exudes the aura of a great physics master.

Bohr and Morris, who were taking notes, were completely impressed.

These two people are not young masters from ordinary families.

Bohr's father was a professor and his mother was extremely wealthy, and various high-level gatherings were held at home every week.

Not to mention Maurice, who had just inherited the Dukedom, he was truly a man of great scholars, talking and laughing with all the wise men around him.

However, at this moment they were both infected by Li Qiwei's aura.

Aura is a mysterious thing. It cannot be seen or touched, but you can definitely feel it.

No wonder Professor Bruce said that field is an unsolved problem.

The physicists present felt the same way.

It was not the first time for most of them to meet Ridgeway.

Can clearly feel the changes in the other person.

If the previous Bruce was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, emitting cold light and extremely sharp, like lightning breaking through the air, shaking the world.

Now Bruce is like a sword put back into its sheath, all its sharpness hidden, and a heavy and cold aura emanating from the sword.

It seemed as if there was a tangible but invisible pressure that made people who approached it involuntarily bow down in worship.

He is undergoing the transformation from genius to master.

Just look at Bruce's actions and you will know that he casually gave Bohr a topic that could overturn Nobel Prize-level achievements.

From his words, one can even feel that Bohr will definitely succeed because he has the support of his mentor.

This is the strong confidence that Li Qiwei brings to everyone now.

Strong, domineering, mysterious, and upright.

Genius is not enough to describe him. Genius can only be seen at a glimpse when he pauses for a moment.

Soon, everyone recovered from their stupor.

Those were just illusions and have not yet become reality.

Bruce has not yet reached the heights that everyone looks up to.

However, everyone is already very interested in the atoms and quantum he mentioned.

At this time, Nernst said, "Bruce, I wonder if you have read the paper published by Einstein that uses quantum theory to explain the specific heat of solids."

When Einstein heard that he was being talked about, he couldn't help but straighten his clothes and sit up straight.

Ridgway looked at Einstein with a smile, then said to Nernst: "Of course I have studied this famous paper carefully."

"This theory is another powerful verification of quantum theory."

"So far, quantum theory has achieved remarkable results in three areas: blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect, and specific heat of solids."

“That’s why I have such confidence in quantum theory.”

Nernst continued, “Yes, Einstein’s theory is perfect. I verified it experimentally, and the results are very consistent with the theoretical predictions.”

"This is also an important advance in the field of thermodynamics."

"This experiment is very difficult because Einstein's quantum specific heat theory can only show significant changes at extremely low temperatures."

"For this, I used the temperature of liquid hydrogen, which is minus 252.9°."

Einstein suddenly continued, "Professor Nernst, it seems that the liquefaction of hydrogen has only been achieved not long ago."

“There are probably still some problems.”

Nernst said, “Yes, so my students and I made many improvements and finally completed the experiment successfully.”

"What a remarkable achievement," Ridgeway exclaimed.

Nernst smiled and continued, "I'm not saying this to show off myself."

"But I found that under ultra-low temperature conditions, the properties of objects seem to change."

"However, since my low temperature environment could not be maintained for too long, I did not have time to conduct the experiment."

"Bruce, do you think cryogenics and quantum have anything to do with each other?"

“Why does Einstein’s theory of specific heat assume that the specific heat of a solid will decrease significantly as the temperature drops only at extremely low temperatures?”

After hearing this, Li Qiwei almost blurted out: "Superconductivity!"

In real history, Dutch physicist Onnes discovered superconductivity in objects in 1911, and then won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913.

This shows the importance of superconductivity, and Onnes himself became the founder of low-temperature physics.

The phenomenon of superconductivity is considered one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century.

The so-called superconductivity refers to the phenomenon that the resistance of metal materials is zero when the temperature drops to a certain level.

The temperature here is at least minus 100 or 200 degrees Celsius.

In the future, if someone can develop room-temperature superconductivity, that is, metals still have superconductivity under normal room temperature conditions of 20 to 30 degrees.

Then there is no doubt that he will immediately become one of the greatest men in human history.

Room-temperature superconductivity, controlled nuclear fusion and quantum computers are collectively known as the "three holy grails of physics."

With room-temperature superconductivity, mankind will directly usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, step into the sea of ​​stars, and enter a new human era.

When Li Qiwei thought of this, he could only feel sorry for Onnes in his heart. I, Li, would take the title of the father of superconductivity.

"Professor Nernst, I'm not very good at thermodynamics."

"At extremely low temperatures, the properties of objects change, which is easy to explain in principle."

"I think it has to do with the behavior of the quantum itself."

"I can give you a suggestion."

“The process of testing the specific heat of an object is cumbersome and time-consuming.”

"Since your low temperature environment can't be maintained for long, you can try to test other simpler properties of the object."

"For example, testing the resistance of metal and so on."

"Maybe this can help you better explore what happens to objects at low temperatures."

After that, Li Qiwei suddenly added: "Well, this is a good topic." He said to Bohr: "Bohr, please write down my idea just now and make it our research topic. Don't write it in the public document."

Bohr said, "Yes, Professor."

Nernst nodded, but he did not take Li Qiwei's words to heart and prepared to go back and throw it to his students for research.

Because he felt Bruce didn't understand thermodynamics.

He was not very satisfied with the answer just now. Li Qiwei did not explain the core mechanism. What kind of behavioral change did quantum bring?

However, in the future, Nernst told everyone how much he regretted it and how stupid his student was.

Because Nernst's students forgot to measure the low-temperature resistance, they missed the important discovery.

"Oh, don't mention it. I really regret it."

"Bruce is just horrible."

"He just said a few words casually, but I didn't expect that they would lead to Nobel Prize-winning results."

"I have asked my students to each have a collection of Bruce's quotations and to ponder over every word he said."

This also led to a classic joke in later generations: Want to win the Nobel Prize? Then study what Bruce said.

Li Qiwei could only wave his hands helplessly. If you don’t want the Nobel Prize that is right in front of you, then you can’t blame me.

Sometimes, physics research also requires a bit of luck.

Li Qiwei had an even weirder feeling.

He believes that he should not talk too much, because if he is not careful, a Nobel Prize may come out.

X-ray crystal diffraction, isotopes, etc., as soon as these terms are mentioned, the bigwigs present can immediately figure out what is going on.

Li Qiwei now seemed to be speaking the law of heaven, and every word he said represented a universal truth.

He is much more powerful than the emperor.

Because the emperor's truth is false, and his truth is true.

Just as Li Qiwei was being narcissistic, Madame Curie, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.

The look she gave Li Qiwei was complicated, with gratitude, admiration, and a hint of uncertainty.

And Lang Zhiwan's eyes never left her for more than ten seconds. No wonder Xiao Lang didn't achieve much later on and used all his energy to do other things.

Marie Curie asked, "Bruce, you once told me to be aware of the harmful effects of radiation."

"Do you think radiation can cause damage to the human body?"

"But current evidence shows that it can actually treat diseases such as cancer in the human body."

Women's thinking is indeed different from men's.

The male physicists were asking purely academic questions. As for the danger? They didn't care.

There is no such thing as risk-free experimentation.

For these big guys, as long as their minds don't become rigid, physical injuries are just minor problems.

There are too many scientists who have been injured while doing experiments.

Li Qiwei sighed softly, it seemed that Madame Curie still did not listen to his warnings.

In real history, the notebook in which Madame Curie studied radium was still highly radioactive more than a hundred years later.

Because radium itself is one of the most radioactive elements.

If placed in a Western fantasy magic world, Madame Curie's notebook would be a veritable holy object with maximum real damage.

"Marie Curie, I have developed several mines in my country."

"My goal is to study the application of uranium and other elements in ceramics."

"We found in our experiments that radioactive elements such as radium can cause normal skin to feel itchy and other sensations."

"So, for safety, I have put in place strict protective measures, just in case."

"If you are exposed to this kind of radiation for a long time, even if it is beneficial, it will have a counter-effect."

"I hope you can pay attention to this."

Speaking of this, Li Qiwei suddenly remembered that he wondered if the old witch Cixi in the underground was glowing now.

Madame Curie's beautiful eyes moved and she said softly, "Okay, I'll remember that."

Li Qiwei felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange and quickly changed the subject.

Next, Thomson, Lord Rayleigh, Planck and others discussed the relationship between atoms and quantum with Ridgway.

The bigwigs present all expressed their views on the application of quantum.

Thanks to the emergence of Li Qiwei, more and more people now support the concept of quantum.

But Li Qiwei really didn't dare to say too much, especially about the quantization of electron orbits.

This concept is the key to unlocking the next decade of quantum research.

It also marks that the old quantum theory is about to reach its peak.

This key must be opened by Bohr himself.

But the old quantum theory still has not broken free from the constraints of classical physics.

Because the word "orbit" clearly has the style of classical physics.

This was also the influence of Ridgway on Bohr, who firmly remembered that classical physics should not be abandoned.

As the discussion became more in-depth, everyone was more and more shocked by Li Qiwei.

Whether it is classical physics or modern physics.

Whether it is theory or experiment.

There is no area that the other party does not know.

Planck looked at Li Qiwei with satisfaction. He felt that the other party must have worked hard in the past few years since he returned to China.

He did not rush for success, but instead integrated what he had learned.

Look at the development of physics from a higher perspective.

And the others only had one thing to say: Bruce is stronger!

(End of this chapter)