1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 231 British Association for the Advancement of Science

On February 1910, 2, more and more people rushed to Cambridgeshire from all over the UK.

Because the annual British Association for the Advancement of Science will be held at Cambridge University on February 2th.

Judging from the number of participants, the British Association for the Advancement of Science was probably the largest conference in the UK and even in the world at that time.

In 1869, over 2000 tickets were sold for the meeting.

That was 19 people in the 2000th century, which was definitely considered a large conference.

Even as late as 1910, there were probably less than 1000 physicists in the world.

How did the conference attract so many people if there weren't so many scientists?

Because the British Association for the Advancement of Science is not only for scholars in various fields, it is also open to the general audience.

That's why so many people attended the conference.

It is also the only scientific conference that currently allows scientists and ordinary people to participate on an equal footing.

The conference's founders believed that if the public became more interested in science, it would encourage the British government to allocate more funding.

Before the creation of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the British government's agent for science was the Royal Society.

Later, many private scientists felt that the Royal Society was ineffective and slow to respond, so they prepared to rebel.

You have to know that at that time, those who could enter the Royal Society were basically aristocrats or upper classes.

Civilian scientists could only rely on the power of the emerging industrial bourgeoisie to establish the British Association for the Advancement of Science and compete with the Royal Society in the field of science.

Because the Society was open to the general public, it soon became more famous than the Royal Society.

Later, the two sides gradually merged, and today there is no discrimination.

Orthodox official scientists will also attend the meeting.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science held meetings in every city in Britain, even in the colonies, where debates were openly held.

The most famous of these was the debate between Huxley and Bishop Wilberford at Oxford University in 1860 on the topic of science and religion.

When these two words are put together, you can smell the smell of gunpowder just by looking at the words.

It can be said that the origin of science in Britain is far from as simple as imagined.

The reason why science can remain independent in the UK and not be controlled and interfered with by the British government is the result of the joint resistance of countless scientists.

By around the middle of the 19th century, science had been institutionally recognized by the British government.

That is, allowing the existence of such an organization on the same level as the government.

The 1910th British Association for the Advancement of Science was held at Cambridge University in Cambridgeshire in 79.

The conference included plenary speeches and sessions in various fields, which were held simultaneously.

Conference speeches are prepared for debates or speeches by famous people, and the audience will clap their hands and shout 666.

This is also in line with the characteristics of Western countries that like to use speeches for campaigning.

The chapters are specially prepared for 17 branches of science.

Including agricultural science, anthropology, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, economics, education, engineering, forestry, geography, geology, physics and mathematics, physiology, psychology, sociology, and zoology.

This year's meeting is destined to be extraordinary.

Because the president of this British Association for the Advancement of Science is Thomson.

Nobel Prize winner in physics, director of the Cavendish Laboratory, knight, and fellow of the Royal Society.
Any of these titles is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The most important thing is that he also has an extraordinary student, Bruce Lee.

Bruce's name is a household name in the UK, and the influence of artificial ammonia is huge.

However, this conference is, after all, a conference that interweaves various disciplines, with more than a dozen courses involved.

No matter how famous Li Qiwei is, it is in the field of physics.

The bigwigs in other fields think they are no worse than others.

Therefore, no matter how active physics is in recent times, it is just one of the subjects in the Association for the Advancement of Science.

In terms of fun, physics is not as intuitive as anthropology and zoology, where you can see all kinds of animals or fossils.

This kind of conference is destined to be a place where a hundred flowers bloom.

In the Cavendish Laboratory, Thomson, Wilson and Ridgway were talking.

Thompson smiled and asked, "Bruce, do you want to go up and give a speech at the conference this time?"

"As the president, I do have this authority."

"With your status, you are fully qualified to give a speech."

“Maybe it will be welcomed by everyone.”

"Besides, this meeting is different from previous ones."

“Whether it’s a conference on quantum theory or relativity, the attendees are all people in the field of physics, and at worst they are undergraduates.”

"The Association for the Advancement of Science is mainly composed of ordinary people, and their interests are different from those of scholars."

"You have to speak very plainly and directly so that they can understand what you mean."

"It's a good opportunity to exercise your abilities."

Li Qiwei smiled when he heard this and said, "Professor, I came here mainly to learn."

“I want to learn more about other fields.”

"So, it's better not to be in the limelight."

"This kind of scientific conference for ordinary people is my weakness. I am afraid that I will not be able to control myself and speak only professional terms."

Thomson and Wilson laughed and expressed their understanding.

Wilson said: "That's a shame, Bruce."

"I also hope that you can use your sharp tongue to teach some ignorant people a lesson."

"I've sat in on this a few times before. Wow, some people don't even have basic knowledge of physics, yet they dare to speak nonsense."

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to argue, so I could only leave in shame."

“That was in the past,” Thomson explained with a smile.

“Meetings are becoming more formal nowadays.”

“But every time there is a meeting, only a few physicists are willing to come.”

“Because the audience is not interested in physics, or rather, they are not interested in cutting-edge physics.”

"They just want to see the kind of little experiments that are very boring from a physicist's point of view."

“So I didn’t invite many physicists this year, mainly those from the Royal Society.”

Li Qiwei nodded, showing his understanding. Even in later times, middle school teachers still like to do some simple experiments in class to attract students.

Pure theory and mathematics are too unfriendly to ordinary people.

But truth often needs to be expressed through mathematics.

On February 1910, 2, the largest conference hall at Cambridge University was already crowded with people.

According to Thomson's statistics, more than 4000 people attended the meeting.

This is a very scary number.

Fortunately, Cambridge University is large enough to easily accommodate so many people.

With Wilson's introduction, Li Qiwei felt the strong scientific atmosphere.

Wilson shouted loudly to ensure that Li Qiwei could hear him:

“I basically wouldn’t go to any previous conference unless it was held in a city near Cambridge.”

"It's mainly because it's too noisy and there's no order or anything."

“See those podiums on both sides?”

Li Qiwei looked in the direction of Wilson's finger. There was a platform on each side of the main venue.

The shape looks a bit like a newsstand in later times, just big enough for one person to stand there and give a speech.

There is a sound amplification equipment inside to ensure that the speaker's voice can be heard clearly by thousands of people in the audience.

The audience had no seats, they could only stand on the ground.

But this does not dampen their enthusiasm at all.

After all, ordinary people don’t have many opportunities to come into contact with science.

Although you need to buy a ticket to the conference, it is also very cheap.

By spending such a small amount of money, you can learn so much cutting-edge knowledge, which is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

Li Qiwei looked at it for a while and suddenly exclaimed, isn’t this the exposition of later generations?

It just turns various products into scientific theories.

The only difference is that the conference has a debate session, which is very interesting.

European culture was inherited from ancient Greece.

Thousands of years ago, ancient Greece loved and was good at debating.

Because the truth becomes clearer the more it is debated.

There are only two kinds of science in the world.

One is reasonable and the other is unreasonable.

As long as it is reasonable science, it must be subject to debate.

As long as both parties accept a common benchmark, right and wrong will be determined in the end.

That's what debate is about.

Li Qiwei found it quite interesting for a moment.

It would be impossible for him to see these things in the Qing Dynasty.

Are you kidding? Does the official need to debate with you?

You should be thankful that I don't beat you up, and you still dare to talk back.

Of course, don't think too highly of Britain at this moment.

When Huxley debated with the bishop, even though he had mastered the scientific truth, he still could not convince the other party.

To put it bluntly, it is impossible to convince people.

If he can be persuaded, then he won't need you to persuade him, he can figure it out on his own.

The reason he is not convinced is that the purpose of his debate is not for the truth but to trick you.

This is true throughout history, both in China and abroad.

Therefore, Li Qiwei had no interest in this kind of debate.

If the two of them sat down to discuss it alone, he would still be somewhat interested in proving himself theoretically.

But in such public occasions, what the audience needs is not precision, but excitement.

Whoever has the most explosive opinion will receive the most applause.

This is just like the university debates of later generations, which have lost the original meaning of debate and turned into pleasing the audience.

After all, when you said something, there was no reaction from the audience; but when the other person said something, the audience burst into applause.

Don’t care whether others are right or wrong, you have already lost in terms of momentum.

At this moment, Li Qiwei, who was daydreaming, suddenly heard cheers from the audience.

He looked towards the stage and found that it was an old man, but he looked energetic and full of energy.

Li Qiwei only vaguely heard something about "evolution", and then it caused a sensation in the venue.

So he asked Wilson, "Who is that old man?"

Wilson looked at him in surprise and laughed, "Bruce, you are serious, right? You have been at Cambridge University for several years, and you don't even know him?"

Li Qiwei was confused. Is the other party so awesome? Why should I know him?

Wilson said, "His name is Francis, and he is currently a professor of botany at Cambridge University."

"His father is the famous Charles Darwin."

Li Qiwei exclaimed in surprise. No wonder Wilson was so strange.

It turns out that the other party is Darwin's son, which really makes him very impressive.

However, he had always focused on physics, so he really didn't know anything about other subjects.

So, even though Francis was in Cambridge, Ridgway never met him.

And the other party never contacted Li Qiwei.

Obviously, although Li Qiwei is extremely talented in the field of physics and is known as the number one genius.

But compared with Darwin, it may be slightly inferior.

After all, a certain deceased great man once said that the three major discoveries in natural science in the 19th century were: cell theory, the law of conservation of energy, and the theory of evolution.

This shows Darwin's status.

Li Qiwei became curious and wanted to see what the status of evolution was in this era.

(End of this chapter)