1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 592: The Uncertainty Principle! The Light Box Model! No One Can Solve It! Is Quantum Mechanics in Danger?

When the dragon picture appeared, everyone was shocked!

It vividly demonstrates the characteristics of quantum mechanics.

The concept of dragon also exists in Western mythology.

However, there are significant differences between Western dragons and Eastern dragons.

So, even though both have a dragon head and a dragon tail, the process in between is different.

This is very similar to the superposition state in quantum mechanics.

Soon, with Li Qiwei's careful explanation, everyone finally understood the principle of the delayed choice experiment.

The big guys all sighed:
“Quantum mechanics is too hard!”

“When studying quantum mechanics, you must abandon your old way of thinking and always use quantum thinking to study problems.”

“Even so, I still feel like I don’t fully understand it.”

Li Qiwei said:
“If someone is not puzzled by quantum mechanics, then he does not understand quantum mechanics.”

Everyone pondered over this sentence and found it very interesting.

In real history, Feynman, who proposed the third version of quantum mechanics, once said:
“No one in the world really understands quantum mechanics.”

You know, Feynman was a super expert in the field of quantum mechanics at that time.

Even he said this, which shows the mystery of quantum mechanics.

Lorenz suddenly laughed and said:
"Bruce, are you also confused by quantum mechanics?"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked and thought it was impossible.

Are you kidding? If even Professor Bruce doesn’t understand quantum mechanics, who else in this world dares to say that they understand it?

Proposed probability waves, uncertainty principle and complementarity principle.

The correctness of the theory was then proved using the single-electron double-slit interference experiment, the upgraded observer effect experiment, and the delayed choice experiment.

There is no other such a powerful and extraordinary person in the entire history of science!

The name Bruce Lee represents quantum mechanics!

However, to everyone's surprise, Li Qiwei shook his head slightly and said:

"of course."

“Any theory that is not the ultimate theory will inevitably be confused.”

"Quantum mechanics is currently only a complete framework, but there are still many details that need to be supplemented."

“That’s also the purpose of today’s meeting: to brainstorm.”

Wow!
Everyone was filled with admiration when they heard this.

Even though Professor Bruce is invincible, he remains so humble. He is truly a moral role model.

Everyone didn't care and thought it was just a humble statement from the boss.

But soon, they will understand the meaning of this sentence.

Li Qiwei's speech finally ended.

Lorenz concluded:
“Thank you Professor Bruce for a good start to today’s meeting.”

“I am confident that the fourth Bruce Conference will become the most prestigious conference.”

“It’s not because of the status or number of the participants, but because of how wonderful the meeting was.”

"Professor Einstein's keen insight and questioning forced quantum mechanics not to ignore any flaws."

"Only in this way can the theory be further improved."

“That’s what scientific conferences are for!”

"The truth becomes clearer the more it is debated!"

“I hope the young physicists present here will not be afraid of Professor Bruce’s authority and have the courage to question quantum mechanics!”

There was a sudden burst of applause in the conference hall.

Ridgeway protested:

"Professor Lorenz, why do I feel like you are treating me as a target?"

Everyone laughed.

Lorenz smiled and said:
"You're Bruce Lee."

"Everyone, this morning meeting is over. Please finish your lunch and continue with the afternoon meeting."

Originally, the meeting was expected to have at least five people giving reports in the morning.

As a result, Li Qiwei's speech was so shocking that it exceeded the time limit.

And it is foreseeable that there will be no shortage of debates to come.

Quantum mechanics itself is fraught with controversy.

While everyone was having dinner, Lorenz found Li Qiwei and discussed:

"Bruce, do you want to shorten the time for the other speakers?"

Li Qiwei rejected it:

"Need not."

“Everyone’s presentation is a refinement of quantum mechanics.”

"How about this, we can extend the meeting time then."

“I think everyone should be happy.”

Lorenz smiled and said:
"I am very sure of that."

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

So the two of them finished their discussion.

The meeting continued in the afternoon of the first day.

According to the original order, the bigwigs took turns to go on stage to give speeches.

Wilson shared the application of cloud chambers in quantum mechanics.

"Professor Bruce previously predicted the existence of antimatter through quantum mechanics."

"Now many research institutions are trying to find its traces."

"The various high-energy rays in the universe are currently the best research objects."

"The cloud chamber can provide direct access to particle trajectory data for this purpose."

"Everyone, please look. This is the cloud chamber I modified specifically for studying high-energy rays."

“It works.”

Many people became interested.

Millikan even took notes as he listened.

His research topics also include cosmic rays, so he pays close attention to developments in this area.

“Perhaps I can communicate more with Professor Wilson next.”

If antimatter is really discovered, it will definitely be an important supplement to the theory of quantum mechanics.

Next up is Bose.

It was Bose's first time giving a report at such a high-profile conference, and he was a little nervous.

However, the content of his report was obviously carefully prepared.

"Based on the statistical principles that Professor Bruce and I proposed, I hypothesized such a model."

“I call it [gas in a box].”

“In a box, you have a lot of particles that don’t interact with each other.”

"The potential inside the box is zero, and the potential outside the box is infinite."

"In this way, the particles will always be trapped in the box and maintain thermodynamic equilibrium by colliding with each other."

"With this model, we can describe various quantum ideal gases."

"."

Bose's report opened everyone's eyes and was very interesting.

"No wonder Professor Bruce invited Bose. This Indian boy is quite something."

The gas in the box was later called Bose gas, and like Fermi gas, it has a very important role.

In real history, Bose was quite good at pretending to be cool.

Once, Bohr was giving a lecture on the stage and Bose was listening with his eyes closed.

Bohr encountered a problem at a certain point, so he asked Bose:

"Professor Bose, can you do me a favor?"

Bose opened his eyes calmly and solved the problem immediately. Then he closed his eyes again and continued to rest.

Just open and close your eyes and you're done pretending.

But on this occasion today, Bose would never dare to close his eyes.

Next came Heisenberg.

His speech today is about the uncertainty principle.

As another classic conclusion of quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle is also a hot topic in the physics community today. From quantum tunneling effects to quantum vacuum fluctuations, the uncertainty principle has a wide range of applications.

Heisenberg confidently summarized the current research on the uncertainty principle and made some improvements.

“There are two existing uncertainty principles: position-momentum uncertainty and time-energy uncertainty.”

"According to my research, in the quantum field, angular momentum and angle are also a pair of conjugate quantities, satisfying the uncertainty principle."

"Everyone, please look."

Everyone exclaimed.

Heisenberg truly deserves the title of genius.

Based on Professor Bruce's work, he enriched the content of the uncertainty principle.

Every step in this kind of breakthrough in the purely theoretical field is extremely difficult.

Soon, the atmosphere in the venue became lively and no less lively than in the morning.

Although the content of Wilson, Bose, or even Heisenberg's speeches could not compare with Professor Bruce's.

But in the eyes of many people, the branch applications of theory are just as important as the foundation.

If physics only had Newton and Newtonian mechanics, the world today would be no different than it was a few hundred years ago.

On the towering tree of science, every leaf is precious.

Soon, the last speaker of the day was Einstein.

Everyone looked excited instantly!

"Professor Ai looks very energetic and doesn't look depressed at all."

"It seems like he must have some hidden weapon."

Everyone became interested.

The principle of complementarity has been strongly demonstrated by three consecutive experiments.

It should be impossible for Professor Einstein to question it anymore.

So where would he start?
At this time, Einstein began his speech.

“Quantum mechanics is really a great theory.”

“I have also researched many topics myself.”

"It is undeniable that quantum mechanics has expanded into every aspect of physics."

“It’s the first pure theory that goes into the microscopic realm.”

“It’s as important to biology as the invention of the microscope to see cells.”

"But there is always one point that I disagree with Professor Bruce and others."

“That’s the completeness problem of quantum mechanics.”

“I think quantum mechanics is an incomplete explanation of the nature of the world.”

"For example, the uncertainty principle proposed by Professor Bruce."

"He thought it was impossible to determine both the position and momentum of a quantum simultaneously."

"But I think individual quantum objects have definite physical quantities that we just can't yet pin down."

“Perhaps when quantum mechanics is truly complete, we can get rid of the uncertainty principle.”

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!

Heisenberg had just touted the uncertainty principle, but now he was immediately questioned by Einstein.

A faint smell of gunpowder permeated the air.

"Now it's interesting."

In fact, many people agree with Einstein's views in their hearts.

Because the uncertainty principle does make a bit of sense.

Many people have questioned this, for reasons similar to Einstein's.

“It’s not that the world is inherently uncertain, but that the existing theory of quantum mechanics is imperfect, so it’s uncertain.”

It is like Newtonian mechanics is just an approximation of relativity under macroscopic low-speed conditions.

Quantum mechanics may also be an approximation to another more advanced theory.

And within that more advanced theoretical framework, quantum particles may have a definite state.

In real history, it was precisely because of this that Einstein refused to accept quantum mechanics.

Instead, he worked harder on his unified field theory.

Because he firmly believed that quantum mechanics was just a by-product of unified field theory.

As long as the unified field theory is completed, there will be no need for quantum mechanics to exist.

However, Einstein obviously could not deny quantum mechanics with just a few slogans.

Although Heisenberg is young, he should not be underestimated.

What's more, the uncertainty principle is that man's theory.

Not everyone can commit fraud.

Einstein came prepared!

"To demonstrate the flaws of the uncertainty principle, I propose a thought experiment."

"Everyone, please take a look."

Snapped!
The projector displayed a schematic diagram drawn by Einstein.

"Now there's an opaque box."

"It contains some photons and a clock."

"Also, there was a small hole in the box."

"The clock acts as a timing device, connected to the aperture and able to control the opening and closing of the aperture."

"The whole device is hung on a bracket with a scale by a spring, and a weight is hung below it."

"Now, adjust the time of the clock in the box to the clock outside so that the time of the two clocks are synchronized."

Wow!
Everyone was confused after watching and hearing it.

I had no idea what Professor Einstein was going to do.

"This thought experiment seems a bit complicated."

"But what does it have to do with the uncertainty principle?"

For a while, no one knew what was so magical about this thought experiment.

Bohr and others frowned.

Whenever someone questions quantum mechanics, they have to take it seriously.

Heisenberg, in particular, widened his eyes.

The uncertainty principle was derived from his matrix mechanics and could not be wrong.

It is also related to a series of theories such as quantum vacuum fluctuations.

So, he studied it carefully, not missing any details, trying to find the flaw next.

At this point, Einstein continued:
"Now, let the thought experiment begin."

"First, the tiny hole in the box opens momentarily, then closes again, allowing only one photon to escape."

"The extremely short time t from the opening to the closing of the small hole can be measured by the clock outside."

"Because the clock inside the box is synchronized with the clock outside the box."

"So we can measure the physical quantity of time change t."

"After the photon escapes, the mass of the entire box will decrease, and the mass change m can be directly measured according to the scale."

"According to the mass-energy equation E=mc, we can calculate the energy change E of the photon."

"At this moment, we have precisely measured both the timing and the energy change of the photon simultaneously."

"According to the uncertainty principle, the time change and energy change of microscopic particles cannot be accurately measured at the same time."

“So, there’s a problem with the uncertainty principle.”

“That’s my light box thought experiment.”

Wow!
The whole audience was shocked!

The principle and process of this experiment can be said to be very simple.

However, because the experimental precision requirements are so high and impossible to accomplish in reality, it can only be expressed in the form of a thought experiment.

Everyone immediately understood what Professor Einstein meant.

As he said, there are indeed problems with the uncertainty principle!
No one expected that Professor Einstein would actually make a fatal shot!

"Professor Einstein is indeed a genius of the same generation as Professor Bruce!"

“His imagination was equally wild.”

For a time, everyone was talking about it.

Bohr, Heisenberg and others looked shocked.

This experiment seems a bit difficult to solve.

(End of this chapter)