1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 246 Superconductivity! The physics community is shocked again!
With the rise of Laue, the father and son of Bragg, Bakla and others, such brilliant achievements were made in the field of X-rays.

Rutherford and others quickly followed up, proving the nature of gamma rays and unifying the four major rays.

This gives all physicists a bright future.

The first Bruce Conference predicted that modern physics would be centered around relativity and quantum theory.

Research directions such as X-rays, radioactivity, elemental spectroscopy, and atomic research go hand in hand.

Now X-rays have made a major breakthrough.

But this is far from enough, because now physicists only know the nature of X-rays.

What is the mechanism of its production?
How does it interact with other substances?

These all require further in-depth research.

But the good news is that physicists at least have a general direction that guarantees they won't go wrong.

At the same time, everyone has almost reached a consensus that the main content of modern physics is the above.

However, physics never obeys human will.

Tiny humans think they can grasp the truth of the universe.

Little do people know that hundreds of years of research by countless physicists is just a glimpse of the universe.

The wonders of the universe far exceed anyone's imagination.

June 1910, 6, King's College London.

There were already more than twenty people sitting in the Physics Department's conference room.

In addition to Li Qiwei's team, there are also Bakla and others.

As the head of the Physics Department, Li Qiwei set a rule.

On the last day of every month, the entire physics department holds a meeting.

Specifically discuss the problems students encountered in experiments or the latest research results.

This is the model that Li Qiwei imitated for his own research group in later generations.

He had been tortured to death by his mentor before, and now he had to pay him back double.

The boys were out of luck.

Today's meeting was the turn of Qian Wushi, Qian Huzhou, and Deng Huaining.

Since the three of them were doing a systematic job, Master Qian Wu was the main lecturer.

"Professor Bruce, Qian Huzhou, Deng Huaining and I are currently conducting low-temperature experiments on the three elements of gold, platinum, and mercury."

Li Qiwei nodded and asked, "What refrigerant is used?"

Qian Wushi said: "We used liquid helium based on the advice of Professor Onnes of Leiden University."

"Because the temperature of liquid nitrogen can only reach -196.56℃ at the lowest, while liquid helium can be close to absolute zero."

"And helium is much more stable than nitrogen."

"So, considering safety and practicality, we finally chose liquid helium."

Bakla and his students Shadler and others had envy in their eyes.

The low temperature laboratory of Leiden University is world-famous.

Professor Bruce's students can easily visit and get help from each other.

This kind of intangible soft power can truly reflect the background of a physicist.

Although Sadler envied Qian Wushi and others, he still believed that his mentor Bakla was the best.

At this time, Master Qian Wu skillfully used the projector and displayed a data chart in front of everyone.

Qian Huzhou stepped forward and said, "This is the experimental data of how I used liquid helium to cool the temperature of gold and measured its resistance."

"You can see that as the temperature decreases, the resistance of gold continues to decrease."

“When it drops to a certain level, it remains at a fixed value.”

"This image measured 4.3K."

The so-called K is the Kelvin temperature scale, which was created by the late Lord Kelvin.

0K is absolute zero, which is -273.15℃.

4.3K is -268.85℃.

Then, Deng Huaining also shared a data chart.

"My experimental results are the same as Qian Huzhou's."

"I found that the resistance of platinum also reaches a fixed value when it approaches 4.3K."

At this time, Master Qian Wu also shared his mercury experiment.

"My experiment is a little different from theirs."

"I found that as the temperature dropped to 4.3K, the resistance of mercury continued to decrease, rather than becoming a fixed value."

"However, I suspect that the final result may be a constant value, just like gold and platinum."

"It's just because different elements have slightly different properties."

“Perhaps it will become a fixed value at 4.2K or 4.1K.”

“So, I didn’t do any data below 4.3K.”

Obviously, Master Qian Wu also thought that his experiment would not be anything special.

Gold, platinum and mercury are all metal elements and there can be no essential difference between them.

Li Qiwei looked at the three pictures quietly without saying anything.

Bakla suddenly said: "According to classical theory, the resistance of pure metals should decrease as the temperature decreases."

"At absolute zero, it drops to zero."

"Of course, since absolute zero can never be reached, the electrical resistance of a metal cannot be zero."

“This fixed value is indeed a bit abnormal.”

At this time, Bohr suddenly retorted: "Professor Bakla, is it possible that this theory is not applicable to extremely low temperatures?"

"After all, Professor Einstein's theory of quantum specific heat only works at extremely low temperatures."

"Perhaps the resistance of the metal could reach a minimum and then increase again."

"At absolute zero, the electrical resistance of metals may be infinite."

Bohr and Bakla's views made everyone present ponder.

Obviously, both theories make sense.

However, it seems that at extremely low temperatures, the properties of matter do not seem to be anything special.

Whether it continues to decrease or first decreases and then increases.

They all seem ordinary and there is nothing worth studying.

Anyway, absolute zero cannot be reached and the resistance of metal cannot become zero.

This made Master Qian Wu and others feel a little depressed.

Could it be that Professor Li Qiwei made a mistake?

Perhaps the research direction of ultra-low temperature is not worth investing in.

However, the three of them did not have any complaints.

This situation is very normal in the scientific research community.

Even someone as strong as Professor Li Qiwei cannot be 100% successful.

Others present had similar views.

Buckla had long known that Li Qiwei was doing cryogenic research.

In his opinion, this direction is a typical thankless task.

Acquiring low temperature environment is very difficult in this era.

Don't think that liquefying helium is easy. It requires countless attempts and is also very dangerous.

Even if the properties of matter can change at low temperatures, that is certainly to be expected.

It's just getting bigger or smaller.

In Bakla's opinion, Li Qiwei's direction is likely to fail.

He felt sad in his heart, he never expected that Bruce would fail one day.

The physics community has been in turmoil recently, and many people even feel that Professor Bruce is a bit out of touch with the times.

Now, he encountered problems in one of his directions again.

I guess he must be feeling stressed.

Bakara looked at Li Qiwei, and saw that the other's deep eyes were staring at the temperature resistance curve of mercury, and there seemed to be a gleam of light in them.

Bakara was shocked, and Li Qiwei's momentum just now made him tremble a little.

As if he himself was a childish child who had said something wrong.

At this moment, everyone in the conference room felt a sense of oppression.

They all looked towards the main seat at the same time.

Li Qiwei sat in a relaxed posture, as if he was a king, and listened quietly to the discussions.

At this time, the sound became smaller and smaller and gradually became quiet.

Then, Li Qiwei finally spoke.

"Fifth Master, the experiments on gold and platinum can be suspended." "The resistance of metals cannot be fixed to a constant value."

"I think it was the impurities in the metal that affected the experimental results."

"And mercury can be purified infinitely by distillation."

"You will then be conducting experiments using extremely pure mercury."

At this moment, everyone in the venue couldn't help but be shocked.

As expected of Professor Bruce, he saw the problem at a glance.

Why didn't they think of impurities as the cause?

At this time, Li Qiwei continued:
"Fifth Master, you can't rely on guesswork when doing experiments."

"You just subjectively assume that mercury has the same properties as gold and platinum."

“But you have no theory to back it up.”

"Since mercury's resistance continues to drop at 4.3K, let's try a lower temperature."

"The example of quantum specific heat shows that certain quantum changes will occur under low temperature conditions."

"If 4K is not enough, try 3K. If 3K is not enough, try 2K."

“You have to push yourself to the limit.”

"When doing experiments normally, they are always a little off, and when it comes to the really critical moment, they are also a little off."

"If you miss even a little bit, you might miss out on a great discovery."

Li Qiwei's deafening words shocked everyone present.

This is the charm of top physicists.

never give up!
Always challenge your limits!

Master Qian Wu and others suddenly felt ashamed.

They wanted to give up so quickly, but Professor Li Qiwei never gave up.

Yes, mercury is obviously different from gold and platinum, so why not continue with it?

This is the subconscious mind at work.

Only at this moment did Master Qian Wu and the other two feel Li Qiwei's pure scientific passion.

At the same time, you can feel lucky to receive the other party's teachings.

Decades later, Master Qian Wu and his colleagues had already become academic leaders and were highly respected.

But they mention this meeting every time they are in public.

"Without Professor Li Qiwei's strictness, there would be no us today."

This meeting allowed everyone to see Professor Bruce's strict side.

Especially the students, whether it was Bohr or Sadler, they were all extremely scared.

When Li Qiwei spoke, they even stopped breathing.

Especially Sadler, who thought to himself: When I become a professor in the future, I will also hold a conference!

However, this strictness is not directed at individuals, but to help students discover and solve problems.

Soon, Master Qian Wu and others will worship their mentor forever because of his strictness this time.

Even Bohr and others ran to the office, wanting Li Qiwei to scold them as well.
-
On July 1910, 7, Ridgway was reviewing documents in his office.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the room.

It seemed to be the voices of Qian Wushi, Bohr and others, and later the voices of Bakla and Sadler appeared.

The sound was getting louder and moving towards the office.

Li Qiwei smiled knowingly. The boys finally did it.

"No, I have to stay calm. It's just a superconductor. It's not worth mentioning."

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside the office.

"Enter."

boom!
Master Qian Wu took the lead, followed by more than a dozen people.

Everyone's face was filled with disbelief and an unstoppable smile.

Master Qian Wu was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He shouted excitedly:
"Professor, we did it! We did it!"

Li Qiwei had a big smile on his face. He did not interrupt Master Qian Wu, but let the other party vent his emotions.

After a while, Master Qian Wu finally calmed down. He said tremblingly:

"I experimented with purified mercury and found that the resistance of mercury decreased very rapidly between 4.2K and 4.19K."

"At 4.19K, the resistance of mercury suddenly becomes zero!"

"It is incredible that the electrical resistance of mercury becomes zero without reaching absolute zero."

"Later, I experimented with several other metals."

"When tin is at 3.8K, the resistance becomes zero; when lead is at 7.2K, the resistance also becomes zero."

"Professor, we have discovered a new phenomenon."

"The properties of metals really change in a special way at extremely low temperatures."

At this moment, everyone in the office became extremely excited.

Even students can tell that this is definitely a Nobel Prize-level achievement.

And it is the kind that is undoubtedly going to win the Nobel Prize.

After all, Nobel Prize-level achievements do not necessarily mean that you will win the Nobel Prize.

When the temperature is not absolute zero, the resistance is zero!

Everyone can imagine what this means.

The heating problem of metal has always been the key to energy loss.

The essence of heat generation is due to the existence of resistance.

If resistors no longer exist, then all electrical energy can be transmitted 100% in the future.

And physicists are thinking even further ahead.

Among the crowd, master and disciple Buckla and Sadler were simply full of admiration for Li Qiwei.

"Professor Bruce, this is truly horrible."

"A normal person under pressure would have been upset by that kind of experimental result."

"But he was like a stabilizing force. His motto, 'You can't always make mistakes when doing experiments', has almost become a catchphrase in the physics department."

At this moment, everyone felt the greatness of Li Qiwei.

Bakla said with emotion: "The key to Professor Bruce's success, in addition to his brilliant mind, is his spirit of pursuing the limit!"

Those present were equally happy because this was achieved at King's College.

After this achievement wins the Nobel Prize in the future, the reputation of King's College will surely rise.

They also feel proud of it.

When you go out, you can proudly say: "I graduated from the Department of Physics at King's College."

Li Qiwei felt happy when he saw everyone so excited.

At this time, Master Qian Wu suddenly said, "Professor, why don't you give this phenomenon a name?"

"We can also call it by the name when we publish the paper next time."

After saying this, Master Qian Wu chuckled.

Bohr and the others were stunned for a moment, thinking to themselves, Master Qian Wu, you are really good at flattering people.

No, they also have to figure out how to shoot it.

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Since the resistance of the metal has become zero, it means that it has super conductivity."

"Let's call this phenomenon superconductivity."

Master Qian Wu and the other two savored this word and thought it was very good.

It is both vivid and grand.

It was immediately decided to publish the paper under the name of superconductivity.

Bohr and others felt so jealous that they drooled with envy.

On August 1910, 8, Nature published an extra issue overnight, with the paper by Qian Wushi and two other students on the cover.

At the same time, Bruce's name is listed as the corresponding author of the paper.

Nowadays, when people publish papers in Nature, there are naturally various reviews.

But Li Qiwei only needs one sentence.

The paper discovered for the first time that the resistance of a metal suddenly becomes zero at extremely low temperatures, and named it "superconductivity."

Once the paper was published, it caused a huge sensation in the physics community.

This time the impact was even greater than Laue's X-rays.

Because this simply opens up a whole new field.

And it is a field with endless application potential.

boom!
The whole world is shocked!

(End of this chapter)