1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 395 I am the God of Physics and I should suppress all geniuses in the world!
When Li Qiwei saw the two people coming in, a smile appeared on his face.

After the end of World War I, another golden age of physics will follow.

It seemed that Europe had been suppressed by war for too long, so suddenly its underlying strength broke out.

Several geniuses emerged and left significant chapters in the history of physics.

The geniuses gathered together, ideas collided, and the show was equally exciting.

And now, with Li Qiwei, the great emperor of the time, we can suppress the long river of physics.

From the past to the future, from the macro to the micro, he is everywhere.

A slight movement can create a ripple that can lead to a Nobel Prize.

Worship for life but I don’t worship!

Who is the peak at the end of physics? Once you see the strange path, it becomes empty.

These super geniuses will definitely rise up against the will of heaven, challenge the emperor, and prove themselves.

Li Qiwei has made all preparations.

Three years later, the curtain will finally open!
At this moment, Compton and de Broglie who came in were two of the geniuses.

In real history, their papers lifted a corner of this curtain.

As Ridgway thought about it, he said, "Oh, it turns out to be Compton and de Broglie."

Although it was not the first time for both of them to meet Professor Bruce, they were still very excited.

Compton said excitedly: "Professor Bruce, thank you very much for taking the time."

"I'm so excited to see you again."

De Broglie followed up by saying, “Professor Bruce, congratulations on the great success of your competition.”

“The Physics Olympiad will surely become the most noble competition in the field of physics.”

Li Qiwei smiled but said nothing.

At this time, Compton took over and said, "Professor, I think this kind of competition can also be extended to other subjects such as mathematics and chemistry."

Li Qiwei said: "I have the same idea."

"However, given the current situation of the Science City, we cannot afford to host too many competitions at the same time."

“It can only be held with the power of the state.”

“So, your country may have the opportunity to host it in the future.”

The two nodded.

The City of Science serves as a model.

In the future, countries will definitely take turns hosting the event.

At this time, Li Qiwei said:

"Compton, you are here with de Broglie today. Do you two have any common problems?"

De Broglie nodded slightly toward Compton, indicating that the latter would ask the questions.

Compton calmed down and said, "Professor, my doctoral thesis is about the wave-particle duality of light."

"I will be defending my doctoral dissertation at the end of this year."

"So I want to ask you some questions."

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Oh? You actually chose this field as your doctoral research topic."

"The young man is very courageous."

Compton smiled awkwardly.

"So I have encountered many problems and need to ask you for advice, Professor."

Although Compton did not have to prove the wave-particle duality of light to graduate with a doctorate.

In that case, he wouldn't dare choose it as a topic.

He is preparing for independent research in the future.

If you want to achieve earth-shaking results, you must prove it perfectly.

Li Qiwei said: "What's the problem? Tell me."

Compton said: "My main goal is to verify the wave-particle duality of light experimentally."

“But I couldn’t find the right angle to cut in.”

"I initially looked for inspiration from the photoelectric effect."

"But the photoelectric effect can only show that light is quantized, and cannot strictly explain the particle nature of light."

"So, I think the key to the experiment is to use a mechanical method applicable to particles to test the behavior of light."

Li Qiwei nodded after hearing this.

"Compton, you're thinking exactly right."

"Even though I had published the theory of general relativity, there were still many physicists who did not agree with the concept of light's wave-particle duality."

"The fundamental reason is that they cannot imagine what light with wave-particle duality would look like."

"Unlike Bohr's quantum orbital model, although no one has ever seen it, everyone can imagine what it looks like."

"One small ball revolves around another small ball."

"But it's completely unimaginable that light is both a wave and a particle."

“Therefore, only by obtaining indisputable results through experiments can this concept be accepted by people.”

Compton knew that his subject was difficult.

But after hearing Professor Bruce's analysis with his own ears, he couldn't help but sigh.

"With Professor Bruce's current status and position, he is unable to convince everyone."

“You can see the weirdness of wave-particle duality.”

Li Qiwei added: "I can't help you with the specific experiments."

"But I recently came up with an angle that might be helpful to you in designing your experiment."

Compton was delighted to hear this.

"Professor Bruce, you haven't given up on your explanation of the wave-particle duality of light, either?"

"I thought you were studying quantum theory?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "After all, this is the concept I came up with. How could I give up?"

"I firmly believe it must be true, it just hasn't been proven."

Wow!
This confidence shocked Compton and de Broglie.

It's so domineering!
Compton was even more grateful and determined about his choice.

With the help of Professor Bruce, maybe he could really make a breakthrough.

Once the wave-particle duality of light is proven, he will immediately become a figure comparable to Professor Michelson.

Because this concept will reshape physicists' understanding of light.

Even the understanding of the universe.

The wave-particle duality of light is not the same as the front and back of a coin.

Because it involves the essence of the universe.

If this property really exists, then physicists need a theory to explain it.

This is equivalent to opening up a new direction.

So how could Compton not be excited.

He knew very well that if he made a breakthrough, it would be a groundbreaking achievement that would shock the entire physics community.

The Nobel Prize in Physics is a sure thing.

Looking at Compton's expectant eyes, Li Qiwei felt deeply moved.

Without his arrival, the real history would be like this:
In 1920, Compton began studying the interaction of X-rays with matter.

He discovered that most X-rays pass directly through matter without undergoing any change.

However, the angle of a small number of X-rays has changed, that is, they have been scattered.

Later, Compton asked his student Wu Youxun to conduct X-ray penetration experiments on several different substances and found that this scattering phenomenon occurred in all of them.

In 1923, the results were published, which is the famous "Compton scattering".

The so-called scattering means that there is a collision between light particles and material particles, and momentum and energy are conserved.

This experiment perfectly demonstrates the wave-particle duality of light.

In 1924, based on the wave-particle duality of light, de Broglie made a bold hypothesis:

Since waves like light have particle properties, then do physical particles like electrons also have wave properties in turn?
Going a step further, do all material existence in the world have the properties of waves?
Everything is wave?

So he wrote this idea in his doctoral thesis and gave the mathematical derivation.

Then he became the only genius in history to win the Nobel Prize in Physics based solely on his doctoral thesis.

unprecedented.

Then, in 1926, Schrödinger went further on the basis of de Broglie and thought:

If electrons are really waves, then they should have corresponding wave equations to describe their behavior, just like other waves such as sound waves and water waves.

So, in the holy place of retreat in the Alps, he and his lover had a tryst.

Schrödinger used up all his life's creativity and finally came up with the famous "Schrödinger equation".

That’s right, it was not derived step by step, but was put together by force.
Later, Schrödinger used his wave mechanics and Heisenberg's matrix mechanics to fight against each other for the unification of quantum mechanics.

Soon, Li Qiwei came to his senses.

Compton in front of him was still looking forward to it.

"I suggest you try studying X-rays first."

"X-rays have been shown to be a type of electromagnetic wave, which is light."

“There’s so much literature out there about it.”

“It expands your mind.”

"For example, how do X-rays interact with matter, and what properties reflect its particle nature."

"Of course, your biggest problem at the moment is the lack of theoretical guidance."

“That is, how to use mathematics to characterize the particle nature of light.” “Only by first giving a theoretical description can we design targeted experiments.”

"I can reveal a little information to you in advance. This is the question I've been thinking about recently."

“I’ve got some ideas at the moment.”

"In five years at most, or three years at least, there should be results."

"By then, you will have a better understanding of X-rays, so perhaps you can try to verify it."

Wow!
Compton was shocked instantly!

He didn't expect such a surprise from heaven.

Li Qiwei is right.

Compton's current research on the wave-particle duality of light lacks theoretical support.

It is like if Ridgway had not proposed the theoretical derivation of the photoelectric effect, Millikan would not have been able to conduct the photoelectric effect experiment in advance.

Compton is very self-aware. In terms of theoretical ability, he is far behind people of the same level.

What he is good at is what American physics is best at, which is experiments.

From Michelson to Millikan, American physicists are famous in the physics community for their experimental results.

Compton naturally inherited this fine tradition.

Now, when he learned that Li Qiwei was going to conduct in-depth research on the wave-particle duality of light, one can imagine how excited he was.

"Professor Bruce, this is the best news I have ever heard in my life."

"Your insistence on the wave-particle duality of light makes me feel infinite power."

“I will definitely continue on this path.”

In the face of Compton's flattery, Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

Of course he knew what the theoretical proof of the particle nature of light was.

However, he will not publish it now.

Instead, he would wait until the war was over and prepare it as an appetizer for his return as a king to Europe.

It's just a short essay.

But this great era must be opened by him personally!
Then, Li Qiwei changed the subject and said:
"Compton, I heard from Wu Youxun that he plans to go to the United States for a visiting scholar program after graduation and work with you to study the wave-particle duality of light."

"is it?"

At this moment, Compton really wanted to hug Wu Youxun as if he were his thigh.

With each other, the relationship between himself and Professor Bruce will become closer.

"Yes, Professor."

"Wu and I hit it off right away and had a great conversation."

“We both wanted to take a different path.”

"Quantum theory and relativity are studied by too many people."

"With you, Professor Einstein, Professor Bohr and other bigwigs around, we really don't have any confidence."

"But the wave-particle duality of light has been ignored."

"As the gold medalist of the first Physics Olympiad, Wu wanted to prove himself."

“And I also want to prove myself and at the same time improve America’s strength in the field of physics.”

“So we hit it off.”

"I believe that with Wu's participation, our experiment will be more successful."

Li Qiwei saw through Compton's thoughts at a glance and said with a smile:

"come on."

At this time, he looked at de Broglie again and asked:
"And you, de Broglie?"

De Broglie does not have as complicated a mind as Compton.

He is of noble birth and likes physics purely out of interest, or perhaps because he is bored and wants to find something difficult to do.

Obviously, the liberal arts he had studied before could not satisfy him.

De Broglie had no desire for fame. He was a member of the upper class, and a top-level aristocrat at that.

His only purpose in studying physics was to understand the nature of the universe.

But the wave-particle duality of light was something he could not understand no matter how hard he tried.

Neither quantum theory nor relativity gave him this feeling.

Even if the length of a ruler shrinks, the time of a clock slows down, and space-time curves, de Broglie can imagine it.

"Professor Bruce, I am also very interested in wave-particle duality."

"To me, this is a concept that is completely beyond human reason."

“Because it’s unthinkable.”

“It’s as if the Creator has put a yoke on the light, making it confusing and never revealing its true nature.”

"Professor, what do you think of this concept?"

"And what kind of impact it will have on physics."

Li Qiwei looked at De Broglie with his deep eyes, thinking that the other party was indeed a peerless genius.

With this level of thinking depth, it’s hard to imagine that the other person used to study liberal arts.

“Very good question!”

“Then I will share my opinion.”

"Light is a quantum, so it must be closely related to quantum theory."

"But current quantum theory only applies to microscopic particles such as atoms and electrons."

“So how do you get the light in?”

"It's very simple. All we need to do is turn light into microscopic particles."

"So, if we prove that light has particle properties, we can use quantum theory to analyze light."

"So the wave-particle duality of light seems to me to be crucial."

“It was only after Bohr perfected quantum theory that I re-examined light and discovered this.”

"The wave-particle duality of light is bound to revolutionize physics."

Wow!
De Broglie and Compton were shocked.

Li Qiwei's analysis shocked the two.

Because it is so profound! (I am not exaggerating, I think my analysis is awesome)
Compton felt the difference between himself and the top physicists.

And de Broglie deeply realized that the so-called genius was nothing in the eyes of Professor Bruce.

Li Qiwei did not finish his words and continued:
"Besides, there are still many unresolved problems in quantum theory."

"In fact, three quantum numbers may not be enough."

"Because my doctor, Yu Yin, has made a breakthrough in his recent research."

"He discovered an anomalous Zeeman effect."

"Existing quantum theory cannot explain this effect."

"Perhaps, it's time to add another quantum number."

"So, physics still has many secrets waiting to be discovered."

Compton and de Broglie were stunned.

The quantum number of the number of orbitals, the quantum number of the orbital shape, and the quantum number of the orbital direction.

The three quantum numbers of quantum theory are said to have put an end to spectroscopy and officially established quantum theory, the pillar of modern physics.

Anyone who works in the field of physics has almost heard of the three major quantum numbers.

After all, that meeting was so shocking.

Professor Bruce, for the sake of his beloved student Bohr, challenged several Nobel Prize winners alone and never lost in any debate.

And now, there has been another breakthrough in quantum theory.

Yu Yin is one of the seven doctors under Professor Bruce.

Although the other party is not as famous as Master Qian Wu, he is also one of the discoverers of the GKY effect and is not an unknown figure in the field of physics.

So, they both naturally knew him.

Compton was surprised:

"Oh, God!"

"This is amazing!"

"I can already imagine the sensation in the physics community."

At this moment, they finally felt the horror of China.

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "So, I have a very strong feeling."

"When the war in Europe is over, physics will surely explode again."

"There will be countless geniuses who will come out and perfect the great theory of quantum theory."

"Compton, de Broglie, maybe you will get involved."

At this moment, Li Qiwei's momentum suddenly exploded, and his domineering figure filled the world.

"And I am looking forward to your performance."

“I hope someone will emerge who can challenge me and raise quantum theory to the level of being on par with the theory of relativity.”

"Because I have been lonely for too long."

Compton's eyes widened and he forgot to breathe.

Even with de Broglie's calmness and self-control, he couldn't help but get excited at this moment.

It seemed as if the next moment, he would put on armor and hold a sword, fighting Professor Bruce for three hundred rounds.

However, what he didn't know was that Li Qiwei hadn't said the next sentence yet.

"I am the God of Physics and I must suppress all geniuses in the world!"

(End of this chapter)