Reborn and become a Great Scientist

Chapter 173

The year before last, Eddington gave Chen Muwu a copy of his book as soon as it was published.

Chen Muwu also said very politely at that time that he would definitely read it when he had time.

But this time has dragged on for two years, and Chen Muwu has never opened Eddington's book.

He feels embarrassed now.

It felt like, I had already said good night to someone on WeChat, and then when I was eating lamb kidneys at the barbecue stall downstairs, I was caught by others.

Chen Muwu's first reaction was to make excuses, to see if he could get this matter out of the way.

But he thought about how wrong he said, so he could only admit to Eddington with embarrassment that he really hadn't read the book he wrote carefully.

Of course, Eddington didn't really lose his temper because of such a big or small thing. He just had a resentment in his heart that he couldn't vent.

After all, anyone who worked so hard to write a book and gave it to someone specially, but found out after a few years that no one else read it at all, would be angry after knowing the truth.

Chen Muwu decided to divert the conflict a little bit, and made Li Daitao stiff.

According to Eddington's words, he certainly agrees with the theory of cosmic expansion, and also believes that the various equations and concepts summarized by Chen Muwu in quantum mechanics are all important discoveries in physics.

But the man who is coming to England thinks otherwise.

Chen Muwu thought that perhaps he could ask Eddington to help him persuade his stubborn old friend.

"Mr. Eddington, do you know that Dr. Einstein is going to the Royal Society in London to receive this year's Copley Medal?"

"I know there is such a thing."

"Sir Rutherford told me that this medal does not need to be collected on the spot, but after the Royal Society sent a letter to Einstein, he still stated that he would come to the scene to receive the medal in person.

"I always feel that receiving the medal is just one of his excuses for being in the UK. Dr. Einstein's real purpose may be to come to the UK to teach me a lesson."

"I don't understand what you mean, Chen."

What he said was really out of his mind. Eddington could not associate the Copley Medal with teaching Chen Muwu a lesson.

Chen Muwu could only explain the probability wave of the wave equation and the uncertainty principle. Einstein has repeatedly stated, directly or indirectly, that he does not accept these two concepts.

Not only did he write letters to persuade Chen Muwu to give up fallacies, but he also voiced his opposition through the "Berliner Zeitung" many times. After Chen Muwu won the Nobel Prize, he also asked Blackett to give him a message through the Born of the University of Göttingen, inviting himself Go to Germany for an exchange visit.

His two good friends, Bohr and Ehrenfest, also intentionally mediated the academic conflicts between him and Chen Muwu.

And the latter, under the banner of mediation, secretly hoped that Chen Muwu would surrender to Einstein.

Faced with such waves of offensives, Chen Muwu has always been retreating and retreating, hanging high on the gold medal.

But now that Einstein has hit the door, Chen Muwu can only fight.

I just hope that Einstein is not patriotic, and don't scold him at the end that young people don't talk about martial arts.

While describing the series of events that happened during this period to Eddington, Chen Muwu also somewhat understood why after he put forward many viewpoints on quantum mechanics, there was no situation where he was able to stand against Einstein like Bohr.

After all, it was because I was too young and did not accumulate a lot of academic reputation like Bohr because of the atomic model. Even if I couldn't catch up with Einstein, I could still become the No.1 under him.

Now one is a young man with less than two years of academic life, and the other is a leader who has been engaged in academic research for 20 years since publishing a paper on the photoelectric effect.

Although Chen Muwu won the Nobel Prize, there are still many people in the world who, because of Einstein's status and reputation, faintly favor him in this debate.

Chen Muwu felt that if he wanted to establish a school like Bohr, he still had a long way to go.

Hearing Chen Muwu's narration, Eddington also frowned.

As an old friend, I seem to have done a bit too much on this issue.

In several papers, Chen Muwu has clearly described the wave equation describing the state of electron motion, probability waves and the principle of uncertainty.

But why does he keep opposing these views?

Eddington seemed to have forgotten that the reason he came to Chen Muwu this time was actually to question him.

Instead, he comforted: "Chen, I firmly believe that the views you put forward in quantum mechanics are correct. If Albert really wants to trouble you, I will always stand by your side.

"In addition, you can go to Professor Russell of Trinity College, about the theory of causality that Albert has always insisted on, maybe he can bring you unexpected surprises."

Although the subjects are different, Chen Muwu and Russell are very familiar. He was the one who recruited himself into the Cambridge University Apostles Club.

It's just that he doesn't understand why Eddington introduced a philosopher to help him?
However, Chen Muwu is still as good as others. After returning to Cambridge University to attend the first regular meeting of the Apostles Society, after finishing the ceremony organized by the apostles to celebrate his Nobel Prize, he proposed to Russell the recent relationship between him and love. A series of unpleasant things happened between Einstein.

Chen Muwu asked Russell if he had any opinions on the differences between his and Einstein's academic views.

Beginning with David Hume, these British philosophers have never treated causality as a golden rule.

Today, the British philosophical community generally believes that causality is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to accurately capture, rather than a simple logical relationship of "because...so...".

After listening to Chen Muwu briefly talk about several controversies in today's quantum mechanics, Russell was very interested in several of them.

He believes that when Chen Muwu abandoned the electron orbit, the "observability principle" proposed by Mach was in line with the epistemology in empirical philosophy.

The uncertainty principle also reflects the complexity of causality, which is what British philosophers have always insisted on.

Russell, a fellow of the Royal Society, expressed support for Chen Muwu and his quantum mechanics.

He also promised that if Einstein challenged him during the awarding of several Royal Society medals, Russell would stand by his side and say a few words for him.

Chen Muwu originally thought that being elected as a fellow of the Royal Society should be quite an honor.

I didn't expect that anyone around me would be a member. This does not mean that this status is worthless, but it only shows that the strength and level of Cambridge University are too strong.

Now that I have Eddington and Russell by my side, I wonder if I can fight Einstein?
Chen Muwu was able to return to the Cavendish laboratory after finally dealing with the matters accumulated in so many days.

After more than two months, the laboratory gave Chen Muwu a "big gift" on the first day he returned.

Someone electronically wrote a little poem and posted it prominently on a bulletin board outside the Cavendish Laboratory gate.

"Oh, hear the sad plea we send to you electronically,

"Please free us from the dominion of the nasty quantum perspective,
"Because we've all been left behind by its dire uncertainty.

"Except you, our hero! Please, set us free!

"In the past we have lived in a pleasant order,

"Following a classic formula, he told us where we should go.

"We vibrate in the atom, and then there's a beam of light.

"We don't have any structure, just mass, charge and velocity.

"But now, everything has changed, and we don't know whether we are a particle, a Ψ, or a wave.

"We also don't know if we are real or not, where exactly we are, or why.

"According to Chen, we are infinite in a vacuum.

"And there is a brother with an opposite charge, which is the hole in the vacuum."

Even before leaving Cambridge University, Chen Muwu had been at the request of Kapitsa and Rutherford

, gave two lectures on the quantum mechanics he created within the scope of the Kapitza Club and the Cavendish Laboratory.

But some people in the Cavendish laboratory still don't agree that Chen Muwu turned the cute electron into something weird.

That's why someone wrote such a poem. If it is placed in normal times, then this poem should be able to win the sympathy of many people.

But it appeared on the first day Chen Muwu returned to the Cavendish Laboratory, so this poem also has the meaning of declaring war on Chen Muwu.

Thirty years ago, the Cavendish Laboratory was the place where old Sir Thomson discovered electrons, and you, a little Chen Muwu, were never allowed to make false statements.

It is said that electrons are a kind of wave, and it has been proved now, that's all.

Now it is said that electrons will be distributed according to a certain probability in space, and then it is said that positrons still exist in the world, then you should conduct an experiment and let us shut up!
Chen Muwu decided not to pay attention to this kind of idiot who wrote a poem but didn't even dare to sign his name.

He didn't even tear the little poem directed at himself off the bulletin board, it stuck there prominently.

Anyway, one day there will be experiments to prove that what I said is correct, but not now.

Chen Muwu, who was not disturbed by the poem, walked into the Cavendish laboratory, and there was still good news waiting for him inside.

In the more than two months since he left, Professor Aston imitated a vacuum pump with higher vacuum efficiency based on the vacuum pump that de Broglie donated to the laboratory before. Also shortened a lot.

In this way, it is equivalent to progress in the research and development of electron microscopes. Now the cavity of the microscope can be customized from the manufacturer. It is estimated that in three to two months, the world's first electron microscope used for experiments, No. [-], will be launched. can come out.

In the original time and space, the first electron microscope developed by the Germans in the laboratory had a magnification of only a dozen times, which was not as high as that of the most common optical microscope.

It was not until a few years after de Broglie proposed the concept of matter waves that they realized that electrons are a kind of wave, and they improved the electron microscope with this, and finally succeeded.

Now Chen Muwu doesn't have to make detours like them, and he has solved the most critical problem of vacuum efficiency. This time, he shouldn't make a joke of magnifying more than ten times.

However, Chen Muwu didn't care too much about the electron microscope during the ten days of waiting for the meeting of the Royal Society.

He just stayed in his own laboratory and office, and began to think about what questions the other party would ask after meeting Einstein, and how he should respond.

Chen Muwu felt that if Einstein only proposed thought experiments such as slits and light boxes, it would be easy to deal with.

After all, with the Boer Pearl Jade in front, I just need to touch it to cross the river.

I am only afraid that Einstein will get angry in a hurry and create that paradox more than ten years in advance.

Although there is an inequality that can refute the paradox, the key is the experimental verification of this inequality. Given another three to forty years, Chen Muwu will not be able to do it!
……

After returning to Cambridge University, Chen Muwu re-invested in academic research.

And his elder brother, Chen Muqiao, went to various parts of the UK to study education alone.

He went north from Cambridge, first to Birmingham, then Manchester, and finally to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Aberdeen, where Sir Thomson Jr.'s son was.

Thanks to the existence of his younger brother, the universities that Chen Muqiao visited along the way basically have connections with Cambridge University.

He finished the study trip comfortably, and before the Lunar New Year, he returned to Cambridge University and spent a year in a foreign country with Chen Muwu and the two Chinese students.

He bought his boat ticket back to China after the Chinese New Year, just a day or two earlier than the meeting date of the Royal Society.

Chen Muwu and Rutherford applied. He wanted to go to London a few days in advance, and after sending his elder brother on board, he would go to the Royal Society to meet his teacher and the others.

After learning about his lover's thoughts, Rutherford thought about it for a while and came up with another plan.

That is, he and his brothers also went to London ahead of schedule. After Chen Muqiao left, Rutherford planned to take Chen Muwu to visit Old Prague, the director of the David Faraday Laboratory under the Royal British Research Institute.

Chen Muwu thought that Rutherford wanted to take him along to thank Old Prague for nominating him for the Nobel Prize in Physics last year.

But after the Spring Festival, he sent his eldest brother away, and followed the teacher to the laboratory, he found that it was completely different from what he thought.

"Congratulations, Dr. Chen! Congratulations, Sir Rutherford!"

They both have big beards and have also lived in Oceania, but Old Prague, who was born in the UK, is much more gentle than Rutherford, and his voice is not as loud as Rutherford.

Old Prague was very happy to see Chen Muwu again.

As expected, this young man lived up to his expectations and successfully moved back from Sweden for another Nobel Prize in Physics.

"I still want to thank Sir Bragg for nominating me before. Without your nomination, I might not have this Nobel Prize in my hand."

Don’t forget the man who dug the well. It was on the ship returning to England from Belgium that Old Prague proposed to Rutherford that he should nominate Chen Muwu. After that, Rutherford wrote letters to physicists all over the world. that scene.

"Dr. Chen, you don't have to be humble, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, although they are old and stubborn, they are not fools.

"If it weren't for your strength, I think those people would never award you the Nobel Prize with just a few nominations.

"Obviously you have made so many inventions and discoveries, but in the end you won an award for an optical experiment. It can be seen that your image in the eyes of the Swedes is not very good now!"

Who said no!
Chen Muwu originally thought that the old Prague would bring him and Rutherford to his office, but unexpectedly, the two of them were taken to the laboratory, and the old Prague even acted as a tour guide and began to introduce the laboratory under his jurisdiction .

"Although our laboratory is not as good as the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University, it has a long history.

"It was here that Michael Faraday discovered the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction and invented the disc dynamo.

"Dr. Chen, I heard from your teacher, Sir Rutherford, that you plan to engage in research on low temperature physics recently?"

"Sir Bragg, there is such a thing."

Although he didn't know why his teacher said this to Old Prague, Chen Muwu answered the question honestly.

"Then you should come and see here," said the old Prague in his 60s, still walking vigorously.He brought the two people in front of a huge glass container, "This is the first Dewar bottle invented by Sir Dewar, and he was also the first in the world to produce liquid and solid hydrogen in this laboratory. .

"Sir Rutherford told me that you want to build a low-temperature physics laboratory in the Cavendish Laboratory.

"In my opinion, instead of spending so much money to start from scratch, it is better to come directly to the David Faraday Laboratory, where the experimental equipment is ready-made, and in low-temperature physics, decades of experience have been accumulated .”

Rutherford also nodded, and said in agreement: "Sir Bragg is right, Chen, if you want to study low temperature physics, this David Faraday laboratory at the Royal Academy is indeed better than our Cavendish laboratory. A laboratory is more appropriate.

"This is also the reason why although I recognized your idea at the beginning, I never gave a specific response."

Although Rutherford showed a look of "I'm actually doing it for your own good", Chen Muwu could still read his teacher's inner thoughts from his dodging eyes.

He just didn't want to spend the hard-won funds on low-temperature physics with no future.

Even if it was Chen Muwu himself who made the funding for the Cavendish Laboratory who came up with this idea, he couldn't do it.

Rutherford knew very well that even the leading figure in the field of low-temperature physics in the UK, the Dewar mentioned by Old Prague just now, at the end of his scientific career, ended his research on low-temperature physics due to lack of funds. To study the surface tension of air bubbles that doesn’t cost much money, all you need is a basin of water or other liquids.

Chen Muwu could understand his teacher's thinking. After all, he was afraid of being poor before, and the thought of careful calculation and careful planning had been deeply ingrained, and he couldn't reverse it in a short while.

But he was still a little upset, you don't want me to study low-temperature physics, right?
Then after these things come to an end, the buddies will start to develop the accelerator.

This is a sharp weapon for nuclear physics research, and it is also a gold-eating beast that eats more money than low-temperature physics.

Rutherford would definitely not refuse the temptation to suddenly accelerate low-energy charged particles thousands of times, and would definitely grit his teeth while happily paying out money.

After the visit to Old Prague, the meeting of the Royal Society is finally about to begin.

The first plenary meeting held after the new year, the meeting has many items, including summarizing the achievements of the society in various scientific disciplines in the past year, remembering the members of the society who have passed away, and so on.

As an observer, Chen Muwu persisted until the third day, and finally came to the process of adding him as a new member of the Royal Society.

For the past three days, he has always been the most conspicuous presence while sitting in the venue.

It is one aspect that he won the Nobel Prize last year, but it is not the main reason. After all, there is no shortage of Nobel Prize winners in the Royal Society.

As the only person of yellow race present, skin color is also one of the aspects.

But the most important point is age.

Sitting among a group of middle-aged and elderly people who started at the age of 40, Chen Muwu in his 20s is really too young.

Some people were also a little dissatisfied with him being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society at such a young age, thinking that Chen Muwu only relied on the relationship of a good teacher to obtain this unworthy status.

Until they heard President Sherrington on the stage, introducing Chen Muwu to the members.

"Gentlemen, Newton was one of the greatest physicists in our British history.

"130 years after Newton's birth, British physics welcomed another genius, Thomas Young.

"He used an optical experiment of double-aperture diffraction to prove to the members of the Royal Society that light is a wave in our present room, thus overturning Newton's theory of particles.

"And after Yang was born, another 130 years later, a new genius finally came to the world again.

"And this time, Dr. Chen Muwu used his gamma-ray scattering experiment to prove that neither Newton's theory of particles nor Yang's theory of waves is perfect, and the superposition of their two theories is the true face of light.

"I don't know if another genius will come to our world in another 130 years and he will come up with a new theory about the nature of light.

"But I know only one thing now, and that is for us all to welcome Dr Chen from the University of Cambridge as an honored Fellow of the Royal Society."

(End of this chapter)