1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 645 A Milestone in Nuclear Physics! Come forth! Neutron! The audience was stunned!
When Li Qiwei uttered "something extraordinary," it instantly caused a stir in the entire audience.

Everyone was astonished.

"My God!"

"For Professor Li to call it extraordinary, what an amazing achievement it must be?"

What exactly is the nature of beryllium rays? Are they really that exaggerated?

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, feeling that they were about to witness something big.

Yu Yin also looked excited.

He was probably the only person in the room who could understand the weight of those words.

His teacher, Professor Bruce, who is widely recognized as the world's leading scientist, valued achievements that were at least Nobel Prize level.

Although Yu Yin was indifferent to worldly affairs, who could resist the temptation of winning another Nobel Prize?

"Teacher, what are your thoughts?"

Under everyone's gaze, Li Qiwei smiled and said:

“Your argument with Min-tae just now inspired me.”

"I also believe that beryllium rays are essentially a kind of particle stream."

"Yu Yin, think about it again."

"A completely new particle, with a mass large enough to collide with a proton, indicates that it should be of the same class as the proton."

"Furthermore, this particle is also uncharged."

"Isn't the answer obvious?"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!
"Answer?"

"what is the answer?"

"Why wouldn't I have thought of that?"

However, after hearing this, Yu Yin felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind!

"Could it be"

Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said firmly:
"That's right, the nature of beryllium rays—"

"It's a neutron!"

The voice just fell.

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

Everyone stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief!

"Oh my God!"

"It's a neutron!"

"This is incredible!"

"Neutrons really exist!"

Everyone went completely mad.

Rao Mintai and the others looked excited and were breathing rapidly.

If beryllium rays are indeed neutrons, then Professor Yu Yin's achievement will be earth-shattering!
The Institute of Atomic Science will leap to become the world's leading atomic science research institution.

As a result, their status also improved.

Someone couldn't help but ask:
"Professor Li, how did you determine that beryllium rays are definitely neutrons?"

Wow!
Everyone turned to look.

Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said:

"Your Professor Yu Yin did not improve this experiment thoroughly enough."

"We should not use Geiger counters to detect particles, but cloud chambers, which can better observe the properties of radiation."

"Of course, even in a cloud chamber, it is difficult to observe uncharged neutrons."

"However, I believe that by analyzing the trajectory, we can confirm that beryllium rays are neutrons."

The more they listened, the more excited they became.

Yu Yin suddenly realized.

Actually, he felt from the beginning that there was something wrong with using a Geiger counter.

However, since he was repeating someone else's experiment, he did not immediately improve on this aspect, but instead used paraffin to slow it down first.

Geiger counters and cloud chambers each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The former is extremely sensitive; it can detect even very small amounts of radiation or rays, and will emit a beeping sound or flashing light.

The latter is better at detecting the properties of rays and unknown particles, and can even directly calculate the momentum, charge, etc. of particles based on their trajectories.

Yu Yin guessed that Bote's laboratory might not have a cloud chamber, otherwise the other party might have tried using it.

At this point, Li Qiwei continued:

"In my proton-neutron model theory, the mass of the neutron is almost the same as that of the proton."

"So this is why it can bombard protons in paraffin."

"Based on the above theoretical analysis and the existing experimental results, I conclude that beryllium rays are essentially neutrons."

Finally, he looked at Yu Yin, then at everyone else, and continued:

"Alright, I'll have Professor Yu Yin repeat the experiment in the cloud chamber now."

“Let’s analyze it together on the spot.”

boom!
The entire venue erupted in cheers!
Professor Li actually wanted to lead everyone in conducting the experiment himself.

What an honor and fortune this is!

Yu Yin couldn't help but get excited.

He was now 99% certain that the beryllium rays might be the neutron his teacher had been waiting for.

And if it comes true.

He will discover the neutron in front of hundreds of people at the Institute of Atomic Science.

This feat would elevate his prestige within the institute to an unimaginable level.

Yu Yin gave her teacher a grateful look.

"Teacher, I know that you must have deliberately paved the way for me."

"You probably guessed it must be a neutron the moment you saw Bot's paper."

"But now, you've bestowed this honor upon me."

Yu Yin was not a pedantic person.

Professor Li is his mentor, so it's only natural that he would give him a research topic.

Moreover, he improved the experiment himself, providing more substantial evidence for beryllium-ray neutrons.

He accepted this achievement with equanimity.

"Dissatisfied?"

"Then you should ask your advisor to give you a Nobel Prize."

Soon, Rao Mintai and his group restored order.

Surrounded by a crowd, Li Qiwei led Yu Yin to the laboratory.

Yu Yin suppressed his excitement and began to redesign the experiment.

He removed the Geiger counter and placed a brand-new cloud chamber where the rays passed.

This cloud room is clearly a high-end product, with many functions.

Ten minutes later.

Under the expectant gaze of everyone, Yu Yin successfully set up all the instruments.

Then, he glanced in the direction of the teacher.

Li Qiwei nodded, his face calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

"let's start."

Snapped!
With a crisp click of the switch closing, the experiment officially began.

In the dimly lit conference room, everyone held their breath; a faint hum of electricity could even be heard.

Yu Yin stood guard in front of the cloud chamber, intently observing the trajectory of the beryllium rays.

Swish!
Soon, the gas inside the cloud chamber was stirred up by the incoming rays, leaving obvious traces.

Yu Yin quickly used the cloud room's camera function to photograph these traces for later comparison.

He collected traces of dozens of beryllium rays.

Next, he found cloud chamber diagrams of protons, electrons, alpha rays, and other particles that the laboratory had previously created.

After careful calculation and comparison, Yu Yin smiled.

He walked up to Li Qiwei and said excitedly:

"Teacher, please look."

Li Qiwei took the information from Yu Yin.

He nodded as he looked at it.

Based on the analysis of the trajectory thickness and momentum, it is undoubtedly a neutron.

Then he announced loudly to everyone: "It can now be confirmed that beryllium rays are essentially neutrons!"

boom!
Everyone is excited!

A discovery that was enough to shock the physics community was made in such a dramatic way.

Everyone felt like they were dreaming.

But this is not a dream!

It's a legend unfolding right before our eyes!
"Good heavens!"

"I never imagined I'd witness history one day!"

"Without any thrills or twists and turns, the neutron appeared as if it were destined!"

Everyone was so excited they couldn't express it.

This achievement holds special significance for everyone present, and also for the Institute of Atomic Energy.

China has joined the ranks of players in the nuclear physics era!

A sense of national pride welled up in everyone's hearts.

Rao Mintai said with feeling:
"The proton-neutron model proposed by the president six years ago shocked the physics community at the time."

"Because it could explain almost all the known phenomena related to atomicity at the time."

"However, the existence of neutrons has always been an unsolved mystery."

"First of all, it is not charged, making it difficult to study through electromagnetic fields."

"Secondly, although a neutron is many times larger than an electron, it is still pitifully small compared to an atom."

“Studying microscopic particles like protons and neutrons is inherently very difficult.”

"Only a handful of laboratories in the world have the capability to conduct in-depth research."

"And now, Professor Yu Yin has discovered the neutron!"

"We made it!"

Looking at the almost frenzied state of the crowd, Li Qiwei felt the same way.

In real history, the neutron was almost first discovered by the Chinese.

After the Elenas published their paper on improving the Botter experiment, Chadwick initially believed, based on intuition, that beryllium rays were neutrons.

However, he also needs to verify this through rigorous experiments, and it is impossible for him to immediately publish this judgment.

However, as early as when Bot published his paper on beryllium rays, someone had already noticed the problem.

He is Wang Ganchang, who studied in Germany.

Wang Ganchang studied under Meitner (as mentioned before), so he was able to see papers published by fellow Germans as soon as they were published.

He believed that since beryllium rays could penetrate several centimeters of copper plate, it could not possibly be gamma rays.

Furthermore, he believed that a cloud chamber should be used instead of a Geiger counter to detect this type of radiation.

So he applied to his mentor Meitner to use the cloud chamber to repeat Bot's experiment and further investigate the properties of beryllium rays.

Unfortunately, his application was not approved.

Meitner believed that Botte's experiment did not require further verification, and perhaps she also accepted the gamma-ray hypothesis.

At that time, Wang Ganchang was just a young man from China, and in Maitner's mind, he certainly did not hold a certain weight.

Thus, Wang Ganchang had no choice but to abandon the experiment.

Ultimately, he missed out on the Nobel Prize-worthy discovery of the neutron.

Meitner later deeply regretted his decision and personally apologized to Wang Ganchang, believing that he had made a grave mistake.

Later, Chadwick used a cloud chamber instead of a Geiger counter to finally determine the neutron nature of beryllium rays.

At that time, 12 years had passed since Rutherford first proposed the neutron idea.

Bote and Becker, Elena and her husband, Wang Ganchang and Maitner, Chadwick.
Perhaps there are many more unsung heroes, all connected to the neutron.

But in the end, all the credit goes to Chadwick.

Perhaps this is the cruel side of scientific research.

In this life, under Ridgway's guidance, Yin replaced Chadwick and was the first to discover the neutron.

The fates of countless people will also be changed!

As for Wang Ganchang, another extremely important achievement awaits him.

The discovery of the neutron is considered a milestone in the field of nuclear physics.

With neutrons, experimental physicists now have the most powerful bombardment source: neutron flux.

Its penetrating power exceeded that of all known rays at the time.

Most importantly, neutron bombardment of atomic nuclei has unparalleled advantages.

Because it is uncharged and unaffected by the Coulomb force of the atomic nucleus, it can more easily shatter the atomic nucleus.

This is also why Fermi became so brilliant later on.

He found the most powerful neutron source and bombarded the periodic table with it.

Each bombing raid shocked the academic world.

World history was changed when a neutron bombarded the nucleus of uranium.
At this moment, everyone in the research institute seemed to be swimming in a sea of ​​joy.

Yu Yin solemnly said:
"Teacher, I have not failed you!"

Li Qiwei laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder.

"You did very well!"

"If it weren't for you, the neutron probably wouldn't have been discovered so quickly."

"Let's organize all the data as soon as possible, publish the paper, and let the world see the strength of our Borneo Atomic Institute."

Wow!
Everyone was shaken.

Just as Ridgway and others were excited about the neutron.
-
Cavendish Laboratory, UK.

Chadwick was very happy today because his older brother Geiger was in England on a business trip.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they naturally had a long chat.

Geiger had been Rutherford's assistant, and Chadwick was Rutherford's graduate student at the time.

Thus, the two, who were nine years apart in age, forged a deep friendship.

Later, Geiger completed his studies and returned to Germany, and their contact gradually decreased.

At this moment, led by Chadwick, Geiger revisited the site, touring the dramatically transformed laboratory, and remarked with emotion:
"It's still better here!"

Chadwick laughed:

"Then you can stay."

"I think Professor Rutherford would certainly welcome it."

The two of them burst into laughter.

Then, the two began to talk about some academic topics.

Suddenly, Geiger had a sudden inspiration and said:
"Little Cha, have you read the paper that Bot published about beryllium rays?"

“He and I were in the same lab, we got along very well, and I even participated in the final part of the testing in the lab.”

Chadwick recalled for a moment and said:

"I vaguely remember."

"It seems he has discovered a completely new type of high-energy gamma ray."

"It's a pity it's not a new particle ray; it's less important."

Geiger added:
"On my way to England, it suddenly occurred to me that Bote shouldn't have used a Geiger counter to detect the properties of radiation."

"Instead, we should use cloud rooms."

"It's a pity our lab doesn't have one. You must have an advanced cloud room here."

"I think you could repeat his experiment."

"Haven't you been studying nuclear physics lately?"

"Perhaps there will be some new discoveries."

Chadwick was deeply moved upon hearing this.

The older brother still remembers him.

As the inventor of the Geiger counter, the other party must have a deeper understanding of this instrument than anyone else.

Perhaps Bot used the wrong method during the testing process.

"Okay, Brother Gai."

"Let's have a good get-together tonight, and I'll try using the cloud room to test it tomorrow."

"Come on, I'll take you to see Professor Rutherford."

Clearly, Chadwick did not take this experiment particularly seriously.

In his view, such a simple experiment could not possibly yield any significant results.

However, we must give face to the elder brother.

However, he may soon stop laughing.

(End of this chapter)