African Nationhood

Chapter 416 Hertz and Einstein (Part )

"Okay, you came to see Dr. Hertz, you must have some questions to ask.

If you don't mind me being in the way, I can listen to your problem. "

Einstein waved his hands hurriedly, "Your Excellency, please don't say that. Dr. Hertz is very knowledgeable. I really came here to ask some questions."

Hertz nodded, "Please sit down first, young man, your questions should not be too difficult, because my brain cannot think about too difficult questions.

But Lord Henry is very accomplished in physics, and maybe he can give you the answer. "

Hearing that Dr. Hertz, whom he admired, praised the Chinese Lord in front of him so highly, Einstein was curious about the Chinese Lord's physics attainments.

A humble smile appeared on his face, "Okay, I'm here to ask you about the existence of 'ether'."

……

The term "ether" originates from the Greeks and is used to represent the basic elements that make up celestial objects.

In the 17th century, Descartes and later Christian Huygens pioneered and developed the "ether" theory.

They believe that "ether" is the medium through which light waves propagate. It fills all space, including vacuum, and can penetrate into matter.

The theory of ether has also developed greatly: the propagation of waves requires a medium, and the medium for light propagation in vacuum is ether, also called "light ether".

Hertz was a conservative scholar who was very enthusiastic about the "ether" theory. When he proved Maxwell's equations, he was the first to assume the existence of "ether".

This theory proves theoretically and practically that light is an electromagnetic wave within a certain frequency range, thus unifying the wave theory of light and the electromagnetic theory.

"Oh, Lord Henry, you?"

But he still did not abandon "ether" because the "ether" theory was too important.

In the 18th century, Newton's "particle theory" prevailed, and in the 19th century, the light wave theory had an absolute advantage.

(Note: This experiment is a famous experiment in physics. It was originally intended to prove the existence of ether, but the experimental results were the opposite, which made many physicists very frustrated.)

The development of electromagnetism was initially integrated into the framework of Newtonian mechanics. However, when explaining the electromagnetic process of moving objects, it was found that it was inconsistent with the principle of relativity followed by Newtonian mechanics.

Different from the "ether" theory, Newton proposed the particle theory of light.

"I'm sorry Dr. Hertz, but I don't agree with you."

It is this theory that tenaciously supports the absoluteness of Newton's classical mechanics theory (including the concept of simultaneity, the concept of absolute space and time, etc.).

Until the end of the 19th century, physicists had been trying to find "ether", but they had never discovered ether experimentally.

Therefore, when he used Maxwell's theory to describe the electromagnetic wave phenomenon, he found that the introduction of "ether" made the calculation very cumbersome and complicated.

"It seems to me that 'ether' exists..."

That's why Einstein wanted to ask questions about "ether" in front of his idol.

Mr. Shi's words immediately stunned both Hertz and Einstein.

At the same time, electromagnetism developed vigorously. Through the efforts of Maxwell, Hertz and others, a mature dynamic theory of electromagnetic phenomena—electrodynamics—was formed.

Shi Jintang smiled, "Dr. Hertz, we are just discussing the issue. The 'Michelson-Morley Experiment' (Note 1879) in 1 is enough to prove that 'ether' does not exist."

……

"Ether" is not only the carrier of light waves, but also the carrier of electromagnetic fields.

If you remove the ether, the calculation will be much simpler.

Newton believed that the luminous body emits a stream of particles moving in a straight line, and the particle stream impacts the retina to cause vision.

According to Maxwell's theory, the speed of electromagnetic waves in vacuum, that is, the speed of light, is a constant.

However, according to the velocity addition principle of Newtonian mechanics, the speed of light in different inertial systems is different.

“For example, two cars, one approaching you and one moving away.

You see the lights of the car in front of you approaching you and the lights of the car behind you moving away.

The car driving towards you will emit light with a speed greater than c (assuming the speed of light is constant), that is, the speed of the light emitted by the car in front = speed of light + speed of the car;

The speed of light emitted by the car leaving is less than c, that is, the speed of light emitted by the car behind = speed of light - speed of the car.

But according to Maxwell's theory, the speed of these two kinds of light is the same. It can be seen from here that classical mechanics is contradictory at the speed of light.

By proving Maxwell's equations, you finally prove that electromagnetic waves do exist, and that light is also an electromagnetic wave.

Why are you so confused on such an obvious issue?

Scientific theories have always become clearer with each passing day. You ignore the actual evidence and experimental results and remain stubborn in your opinion. I doubt that your thinking has become so rigid? "

Shi Jintang's conversation was really the limit of his innermost inventory. If he continued talking, his secret would be revealed, so he cut off the topic in time.

Hearing this, Einstein's mind suddenly became clear.

Before he came here, he already had the knowledge that "ether" did not exist.

Now he found an ally in the Chinese Lord, which made Einstein very excited.

"Your Excellency, I am very inspired by the clearness of your views. I have carefully studied Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, especially the electrodynamics developed and elaborated by Dr. Hertz and Professor Lorentz (famous physicists).

I found that if the 'ether' was not used, the calculations used by the two to prove Maxwell's electromagnetic theory would be much simpler and would have no impact on the results.

In addition, I firmly believe that the electromagnetic theory is completely correct, but the existence of the absolute reference system "ether" is disturbing.

I have read many works and found that all attempts to prove the existence of 'ether' have failed.

Therefore, I have long had the idea that 'ether' does not exist. Now with Lord Henry's words, I have become more firm in my opinion. "

Hertz's mouth opened slightly. He really couldn't find any reason to convince the two people in front of him, so he could only admit defeat temporarily.

Hertz rubbed his temples, nodded and said: "Well, since we have different opinions, there is no need to force others to believe in ourselves. In the days to come, I will find a way to prove 'ether', and then I will try to convince You two."

Shi Jintang chuckled: "Okay, Dr. Hertz, I'm waiting for the day when you refute me. At the same time, Mr. Einstein, do you have any ideas or ideas to verify that 'ether' does not exist?"

Einstein shook his head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Lord Henry, my knowledge in physics is not enough, far inferior to yours.

But I can now confirm that Mr. Hertz is not telling lies, and that your attainments in physics are indeed profound. "

Shi Jintang waved his hand, "Let's not talk about this for now. How do you two view time?"

Hertz was a little curious about Shi Jintang's question, "Why did you remember to talk about time?"

Shi Jintang smiled at Hertz and looked at Einstein, "Do you also firmly believe in the absolute time domain of Time Newton?"

Einstein was also a little confused, "Lord Henry, I haven't thought about this in depth. What is your opinion?"

"I have some ideas, but this idea is very immature."

"Immature ideas are also ideas. You say it and we all think about it together. Maybe we can help you improve it."

"Well, we can now determine that the earth beneath our feet is in constant motion.

So I feel that time does not exist, time is just a distance.

A day is the distance it takes for the Earth to rotate once, and a year is the distance it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun.

The only thing that is certain in this world is that objects are in eternal motion.

Absolutely stationary objects do not exist. What we call 'stationary' is only relative stationarity. "

Hearing this, Einstein's eyes lit up, and a light lit up in his mind. This light made his eyes clearer and clearer.

"'Relative stillness', that's amazing!

Lord Henry, you are right. I have been inspired by you and I have a lot of ideas. Although they are still vague, I think I should be able to improve this theory. "

This is the result that Shi Jintang is most happy to see, "Well, then you need to calm down most now, sort out the theories in your mind, determine those problems that need to be solved, and wait until those problems that need to be solved are solved , then your theory will take shape.

come on! "

Then the three of them talked for a while. Einstein took the initiative to leave, and Shi Jintang followed suit. Hertz was left alone to sit there glumly, feeling alone...

(End of this chapter)