1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 649 Ultimate Reversal! Antimatter Appears! Shocking the Entire Audience!

The conference room of the Institute of Physics.

A unique group meeting is about to begin.

Today's meeting is for only one person: Zhao Zhongyao.

Today, he is even more famous than his mentor, and is almost a household name in Borneo.

However, after nearly two months of silence, he seemed to have disappeared from everyone's sight.

Just when everyone thought that Dr. Zhao's high-altitude experiment might yield little result and felt sorry for him.

But this led to today's temporary, exclusive group meeting.

Immediately, everyone present began to discuss the matter.

"I have a feeling something big is about to happen!"

"I just saw Professor Deng was very excited, so I guess Zhao Zhongyao has made an important discovery."

"And Professor Li is here too!"

"My God! What kind of achievement could have alarmed even him?"

"."

Since the beginning of the 20th century, physics has seen an explosion of achievements, giving rise to many subfields.

Even the big shots these days wouldn't dare say they understand every field.

Therefore, even within physics, there is a saying that different fields are like different worlds.

The era of all-round masters is over; now it's the era of specialization and in-depth cultivation.

Therefore, most people present were not familiar with the direction of cosmic rays.

They had absolutely no idea what groundbreaking results would be achieved.

At this moment, Zhao Zhongyao was preparing meeting materials at the front, a smile he couldn't help but wear on his lips.

His gains from this high-altitude trip far exceeded his expectations.

At an altitude of 8000 meters, with almost no obstruction, the intensity of cosmic ray radiation is incredibly high.

The Geiger counter he carried beeped incessantly, without stopping for a moment.

However, with the protection of the protective suit, Zhao Zhongyao was bold yet meticulous. He used the rich experience of the two navigators to test various conditions.

In the end, more than 3000 photos of the cosmic rays' trajectories after entering the cloud chamber were taken.

The shape and thickness of these orbits allow us to study the composition and properties of rays.

Among these photos, there are several that are extremely bizarre.

Just as everyone was waiting, Li Qiwei and Deng Huaining walked in.

Zhao Zhongyao immediately stepped forward and said:
"Professor Li, Professor Deng."

Li Qiwei said with a smile:

"It seems you've made a significant discovery."

"Your advisor can't wait to contact me."

Zhao Zhongyao smiled sheepishly.

Deng Huaining smiled and said:
"The main problem is that we're not sure about the outcome."

"I hope you, Principal, can oversee this process."

Li Qiwei greeted everyone and sat down in the front row.

"let's start."

Snapped!
Zhao Zhongyao turned on the projector and began his report.

"Hello, teachers and students."

"My research focuses on the composition and properties of cosmic rays."

"At an altitude of 8000 meters, I used an improved cloud chamber to collect 3124 tracks left by cosmic rays."

Wow!
The audience was shocked!
Everyone admires Zhao Zhongyao's research capabilities.

Most people have used cloud chambers, but getting good particle paths is not an easy task.

Not to mention that Zhao Zhongyao was high in the sky, making the situation even more complicated.

However, the other party achieved so many results.

Deng Huaining smiled and nodded.

In his view, Zhao Zhongyao's success was only a matter of time.

This thirst for knowledge is definitely not something an unknown person can possess.

"Because the academic community has not yet fully understood the precise composition and properties of cosmic rays."

"So I divided these paths into two types."

"One is the path of charged matter, and the other is the path of uncharged matter."

"Statistical results show that among all the paths, the path of uncharged matter accounts for only about 2%, and the rest are all paths of charged matter."

"Therefore, I suspect that this 2% of matter may be electromagnetic waves, neutrons, etc."

"For 98% of charged materials, I conducted further measurements."

"I added a very strong magnetic field to my cloud chamber, so that charged particles in the rays will be deflected when they enter the cloud chamber."

"The right-hand rule can be used to determine whether a particle is positively or negatively charged."

"Furthermore, if the mass of a particle is relatively large, then the path it leaves is relatively thick; conversely, if the mass is relatively small, then the path it leaves is relatively thin."

"Everyone should be able to understand this."

“I conducted a statistical analysis on 98% of charged materials and found that coarse paths accounted for 20% and fine paths accounted for 80%.”

"Finally, I compared the existing particle trajectories with the trajectories left by cosmic rays using the path comparison method."

"The following conclusions were drawn: alpha particles mainly leave coarse paths, while protons mainly leave thin paths."

"Therefore, based on my measurements, cosmic rays are composed of 78% protons, 20% alpha particles, and 2% of the remaining matter."

"The remaining matter may include microscopic particles such as neutrons, electromagnetic waves, and electrons."

Wow!
Everyone was deeply shocked after hearing this.

Zhao Zhongyao went to space and actually studied cosmic rays so thoroughly.

The precise proportions of all the substances have been calculated.

According to his results, Millikan's conjecture was completely wrong.

Cosmic rays are primarily composed of particles, not electromagnetic waves.

Deng Huaining smiled at Li Qiwei and said:
"Once Zhao Zhongyao's results are out, Compton's expedition can return home immediately."

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

Zhao Zhongyao's measurement results were very close to the data of later generations.

According to the latest ultra-high precision measurements, cosmic rays are 89% protons, 10% alpha particles, and 1% atomic nuclei of various heavy elements.

The remaining 1% of the matter includes electrons, gamma rays, neutrinos, etc.

In addition, there are extremely rare special particles.

Of course, Zhao Zhongyao's results only represent the cosmic ray situation in the space region of Borneo.

There might be subtle differences in a different location.

Regardless, once the results are published in the form of a paper, they will definitely shock scholars in the field of cosmic rays.

This is very informative.

However, it wasn't long before someone noticed something was wrong.

"This achievement is impressive, but it shouldn't be enough to alarm Professor Li."

Although the people present did not understand cosmic rays, it did not mean that they could not objectively evaluate the importance of the results.

Even scholars outside the field of atomic science know what a groundbreaking achievement it is to discover neutrons and artificial radioactivity.

Compared to that, understanding the composition of cosmic rays is somewhat insufficient.

Seemingly sensing everyone's confusion, Zhao Zhongyao smiled mysteriously and continued:

"Of course, if it were just the above, it wouldn't be enough to take up everyone's time to come and listen to my report."

"I've made another discovery!"

Wow!
Everyone instantly perked up!

It wasn't that simple after all!
At this moment, Zhao Zhongyao released a seemingly ordinary photo of the path.

"This path is the most unique one I found among more than 3000 paths."

"Judging from the direction of deflection, it should carry a positive charge."

"At first I thought it was a proton or an alpha particle, or perhaps the nucleus of an unknown element."

"But everyone, look carefully!"

"This path is extremely narrow!"

"It does not conform to the thickness of the proton or alpha particle path at all."

"This means it's a completely new type of positively charged particle!" Whoosh!
Everyone's eyes lit up immediately!
This could very well be a new type of particle!
Moreover, it's a particle with a very small mass, at least smaller than that of a proton.

This is definitely a major discovery for atomic science.

This is why Deng Huaining rushed to find Li Qiwei.

The allure of the new particles was too great.

Moreover, the purpose of the project that Rigdwell gave to Zhao Zhongyao was to find new particles.

They finally did it!
Zhao Zhongyao also grinned, feeling triumphant.

"Professor Li, I have not let you down!"

However, at this moment, Qian Huzhou asked sharply:

Is it possible that the particles along this path are not positively charged, but negatively charged?

what?
Everyone was instantly dumbfounded!
"Even a middle school student can tell at a glance how positive and negative charges deflect in a magnetic field."

"The direction of deflection along this path is clearly positive."

"How could Professor Qian not know this?"

Qian Huzhou is one of the leading figures at the Institute of Physics, and his abilities are widely recognized.

It's impossible for the other party to make such a simple mistake.

Sure enough, he continued:

"I've also used cloud rooms."

"If the charged particles enter the cloud chamber from the bottom, then when you look at it from the front, the direction of deflection is exactly the opposite."

"Therefore, we arrive at the case of a positively charged state."

"This path may actually carry a negative charge, taking into account the thickness of the particle's path."

"Then it is very likely an electron!"

"Perhaps the electron hit the ground of the hot air balloon and then bounced back into the cloud chamber, which caused this situation."

"If you put this path and the electron path together, their thickness and shape should be the same."

hiss!
Everyone's eyes widened.

Is this the power of a true master? It's terrifying indeed!
"Brilliant!"

“I also use cloud rooms frequently, but I’ve never considered this angle before.”

"Professor Qian is usually low-key, but when he does make a move, it's absolutely overwhelming."

Clearly, everyone thought Professor Qian Huzhou's explanation was reliable.

Zhao Zhongyao may have made a huge blunder.

At that moment, his heart felt as if it had fallen from heaven to hell.

He also felt that Professor Qian's explanation was impeccable.

This is most likely caused by electrons entering the cloud chamber from the bottom.

Zhao Zhongyao really wanted to try again, but he figured Professor Li wouldn't agree again.

He looked at his mentor Deng Huaining's face and found that the other man had a solemn expression, as if he was thinking about something.

Finally, he could only say helplessly:

"Thank you for your explanation, Professor Qian."

"Maybe I'm mistaken."

call!
Everyone in the room sighed in dismay.

Zhao Zhongyao risked his life to conduct experiments, but the final results were not satisfactory.

For a genius like him, it was clearly not enough to simply measure the composition of cosmic rays.

But there's no way around it; that's just the daily reality of experimental physics.

Effort does not guarantee success; luck also plays a significant role.

Just as Zhao Zhongyao was feeling disheartened and preparing to end his report.

suddenly!

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

It was as if a snow lotus had bloomed in everyone's hearts.

Everyone's spirits lifted!
"Does Professor Li have a different opinion?"

Zhao Zhongyao looked at Professor Li with hopeful eyes, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Qiwei said:
"I have a slightly different idea about this route."

"According to Huzhou, the mass of a charged particle should be similar to that of an electron, but it carries a positive charge."

"This easily evokes the image of electrons reversed."

"But we can make a bold assumption."

"What if it's not reversed, meaning it's positively charged?"

Everyone was stunned.

It has the same mass as an electron, and it's positively charged?

What kind of particle is that?

However, at that moment, Deng Huaining and Qian Huzhou were suddenly startled!
"Could it be!"

Zhao Zhongyao was still in a daze.

Li Qiwei laughed heartily and said:

“That’s right, I think this path might have been left by anti-electrons.”

"According to the relativistic quantum mechanics I proposed earlier, antimatter should exist in the universe, and every particle has a corresponding antiparticle."

"The antiparticle of an electron is the antielectron, which carries a positive charge."

"Zhao Zhongyao may very well have discovered antimatter for the first time!"

boom!
As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp filled the room.

Everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Holy crap! It's antimatter!"

"This is a discovery that has shocked the world!"

"Antimatter really exists in the universe!"

"A Nobel Prize, a Nobel Prize in the beginning."

"Dr. Zhao Zhongyao is about to take off!"

"."

Soon, a deafening scream erupted in the room!
Deng Huaining looked excited; the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

If it's an electronic rebound, why are there so many electrons, yet the rebound only followed one path?
This doesn't make sense.

Zhao Zhongyao was completely stunned at this moment.

He has just gone from heaven to hell, and now he has gone from hell to heaven.

No, that's a place even happier than heaven.

He couldn't imagine the glory that would come if he actually proved the existence of antimatter.

He immediately rose to the ranks of top experimental physicists.

Zhao Zhongyao was well aware that antimatter was proposed by Professor Li at the Berlin Physics Society meeting in July 1924.

It is a corollary derived from the Bruce equation.

When the hypothesis was first proposed, it caused a great sensation in the academic community, but the impact quickly subsided.

Because many physicists have conducted numerous experiments, yet they have not found any trace of it.

Therefore, for a moment, none of the people present considered antimatter.

At this point, Li Qiwei continued:

"Of course, Huzhou's viewpoint has some merit and needs to be verified."

"The verification method is very simple."

"If you place a lead plate at the bottom of the cloud chamber, and if electrons do enter the cloud chamber from the bottom, then some of their energy will be absorbed by the lead."

"Its deflection angle will increase in the cloud chamber."

"In this way, we can determine exactly where the particles entered the cloud chamber from."

"If it is ultimately proven to be a head-on entry, then it is highly likely to be an anti-electron."

Although Zhao Zhongyao was extremely excited, he still said with a bitter face:
"But Professor Li, cosmic rays cannot be preserved, and I cannot find a second path."

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

"Zhao Zhongyao, you need to go to space again!"

(End of this chapter)