1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 662 The Dawn of Particle Physics! Another New Particle to Predict? Nobel Prize Announced! PN Junctions and Binary!
With Fermi's first use of neutrons in a bombardment experiment, experimental physics experienced an unprecedented neutron boom.

All experiments that used to bombard with alpha particles should now be repeated with neutrons; perhaps new discoveries will be made.

Some people want to create a stronger neutron source than Fermi used, such as the Elena couple.

Some people bombard single particles with neutrons, hoping to produce a different effect.

For example, Chadwick had a sudden inspiration: what would happen if he bombarded protons with neutrons?

and many more.

In short, under the imaginative hands of experimental physicists, the neutron was quickly put to creative use.

Of course, the most orthodox experiments in neutron bombardment are still the artificial radioactivity experiments led by Fermi's team.

Fermi would publish a new paper approximately every month.

At this point, everyone will simultaneously know:
"Professor Fermi has switched to a new element for bombardment."

Soon, the experimental physics community became numb to it.

Can't compare, can't compare.

In fact, Fermi's speed was relatively slow compared to real historical records.

He now needs to explain the nuclear reaction mechanism of each artificial radioactive substance, which takes him longer.

Moreover, sometimes it's impossible to write the reaction equation.

This shows that there are still many secrets waiting to be discovered in the field of nuclear physics.

At the same time, the field of theoretical physics is also undergoing a revolution.

The ideas of quantum field theory began to permeate various fields.

In particular, it has become even more closely integrated with the development of particle physics.

Particles are the core elements of quantum field theory and an important extension of atomic science.

For a time, the fundamental particle physics proposed by Ligvii began to take shape.

Leading physicists began to consciously focus on understanding particles.

University of Hamburg, Germany.

Pauli has been feeling rather down lately.

Today, both theoretical physics and experimental physics are flourishing.

Dirac, Fermi, and others made groundbreaking contributions, leading research trends and stirring up the physics community.

Pauli, known as the Scourge of God, has been silent for a long time.

Although he has recently published many papers, such as the Landé factor which he proposed to explain the relationship between magnetic moment and angular momentum in the anomalous Zeeman effect.

This can be considered an important achievement of quantum mechanics.

However, it pales in comparison to the groundbreaking discoveries of Dirac Fermi and others.

It seems that the incompatibility principle is his pinnacle.

This was unacceptable to Pauli; he was so young and couldn't bear to have accomplished nothing.

So he began to study quantum mechanics within the atomic nucleus more deeply.

Professor Bruce has now established the framework of quantum field theory; all that remains is to fill it in.

Electromagnetic interactions and photons have been terminated by quantum electrodynamics.

Based on Einstein's previous experience, gravity involves the essence of spacetime and is difficult to reconcile with electromagnetic force.

Therefore, Pauli, like many others, began to pay attention to the strong and weak forces predicted by Professor Bruce.

How can we use quantum field theory to study these two potentially existing fundamental forces?

With continuous breakthroughs in the study of atomic nuclei and neutrons, the physics community now almost universally accepts the existence of strong and weak forces.

The reason is that it is currently recognized as one of the two major unsolved mysteries.

First, what force binds protons and neutrons together?
Second, why do neutrons undergo beta decay? What is the process like?
Clearly, if the combination of protons and neutrons is considered a new force, then the decay of neutrons must be due to another force at work.

Otherwise, why didn't the former force bind the neutron and the electrons it emitted?

Therefore, strong and weak forces must exist!

However, we still know nothing about their nature.

Over the years, Pauli has thoroughly explored the subject of the atomic nucleus while teaching undergraduate students.

Amidst a jumble of clues, he decided to start with some smaller issues.

For example, Chadwick once mentioned a strange phenomenon in his paper.

"According to the proton-neutron model, when a neutron undergoes beta decay, it will become a proton and an electron."

"After electrons are emitted, they form what are called beta rays."

"However, in this process, the energy of the released electrons is a continuous energy spectrum, with a maximum value and a minimum value."

This is very strange!
for example.

Take the decay of hydrogen 3 into helium 3 as an example.

Hydrogen 3, also known as "tritium", is an isotope of hydrogen, with one proton and two neutrons in its nucleus.

When one of the neutrons in hydrogen 3 decays, the atomic nucleus becomes two protons, one neutron, and releases an electron.

Clearly, the atomic nucleus at this point is helium-3, an isotope of helium.

However, according to quantum mechanics, the ground state energies of the nuclei of hydrogen-3 and helium-3 are very stable.

Therefore, the kinetic energy of the electrons they emit should be constant.

Based on experiments and calculations, this value is approximately 18 keV.

This should be easy to understand.

Because all phenomena in atomic science are discrete, such as the spectrum of hydrogen.

However, the actual result is that the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons is not a fixed 18 keV, but varies in the range of 0 to 18 keV.

Moreover, the vast majority of them fall within the range of 2 to 5 keV.

This is utterly perplexing.

It remains a mystery to this day.

Pauli has been thinking about this issue for some time now.

And just now, he suddenly had an important inspiration.

He discovered that by drawing on ideas from particle physics, it was easy to arrive at a bold conjecture:

"When a neutron undergoes beta decay, it not only produces a proton and an electron, but also a new particle!"

"It was this new particle that took away the lost energy and turned it into the particle's own kinetic energy!"

In this way, the problem Chadwick discovered can be perfectly explained.

Pauli was immediately excited, feeling that he was making an incredible discovery!
That could very well be a new type of particle!

It will absolutely shake the physics community.

Furthermore, Pauli found a small piece of evidence.

That is the conservation of quantum numbers.

中子的自旋量子数是±1/2，质子的自旋量子数是±1/2，电子的自旋量子数也是±1/2。

More and more experiments now show that quantum numbers should be conserved, just like the law of conservation of energy.

Although this claim is not yet universally accepted, many leading figures in quantum mechanics believe in it.

Pauli is no exception.

If the spin quantum number is conserved, then the spin of a neutron should still be ±1/2 after it transforms into other particles.

However, currently, the spin quantum number of a proton plus an electron can only be 0 or 1.

Therefore, there must also exist a particle with a spin of ±1/2.

Wow!
Pauli's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he felt that his thinking was completely correct.

"However, it still needs to be studied in more depth from a theoretical perspective."

Pauli, who was always strict and cautious, was not blinded by joy; he wanted to wait until he had carefully polished his theory.

Just as Pauli was holding his breath...

Bohr, Heisenberg, Dirac, Fermi, and others were all busy.

Everyone is working quietly, hoping to shock the academic world at the Fifth Bruce Conference next year! October 20, 1926.

The annual Nobel Prizes have been announced.

There are three Nobel laureates in physics this year.

They are Compton from the United States, Wu Youxun from China, and Wilson from the United Kingdom.

Compton and Youxun Wu were awarded the prize for their discovery of the Wu-Compton effect, which proved the particle nature of light.

Wilson was awarded the prize for inventing the cloud chamber, a method for displaying the trajectory of charged particles through the condensation of water vapor.

The fact that these three people won the Nobel Prize was almost expected by everyone and did not cause much of a stir.

Wilson was moved to tears; he had finally done it!
Wu Youxun became the first Chinese person, besides Li Qiwei and his direct disciples, to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.

This caused a great stir across the country!
Borneo, Pontianak.

In the northeastern part of the city, there is a huge building complex covering nearly 10,000 acres.

This is the Alpha Labs.

This laboratory, hidden in the northeast corner of the city, is arguably the world's most advanced laboratory.

It owns a variety of professional institutions, forming a perfect closed loop from theoretical research to technology transfer to engineering implementation.

One scientific invention after another was born here and fed back into the industry.

Every day, many companies come here with funds, just to sign cooperation agreements with the laboratory.

Within the laboratory campus, the 15-story main building of Alpha Labs is extremely futuristic, far surpassing the aesthetics of this era.

It was designed by a master architect whom Ridgway hired from Europe at great expense.

Everyone who comes here to visit can't help but exclaim in amazement:
"Even the corridors here are being innovative!"

"I get dizzy after just a few steps."

Innovation is the lifeblood of Alpha Labs.

At this moment, outside the main building, Wu Youxun, who had just learned that he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, was all smiles and full of high spirits.

Before the lab members could even celebrate with him, Professor Bruce was about to arrive.

Wu Youxun, along with several senior executives, prepared to welcome them.

Vice President Davidson spoke fluent Mandarin:

"Dr. Wu, I think Professor Bruce came here specifically to congratulate you."

When Davidson was preparing to relocate his laboratory, he resolutely decided to move to Borneo to develop the business.

Wu Youxun certainly wouldn't treat him unfairly, and directly appointed him as the vice president of Alpha Labs.

The other party's discovery of the wave nature of electrons is enough to convince the public and make them qualified for this position.

Wu Youxun was in a great mood and started joking.

"Hey, my achievements aren't enough to warrant the professor coming in person."

Everyone smiled in agreement.

At this moment, Wu Youxun said to someone next to him:

"Team Leader Shockley, you need to be prepared."

"The transistor research and development work you are in charge of is definitely the focus of the professor's visit."

"He has already boasted that the transistor will definitely change the world!"

"We must achieve this goal!"

Shockley was an American physicist who came to Borneo at the invitation of Davidson.

Li Qiwei and Wu Youxun were never stingy with their resources when it came to those who were willing to come in the early stages, allowing them to take charge of cutting-edge projects.

Therefore, Shockley cherished this opportunity very much.

His research group included Bardeen, Bratton, and others.

Although they were not well-known in the physics community, they had a solid foundation in semiconductor electronics.

The semiconductor field, which has been very popular recently, is a solid-state physics developed based on quantum mechanics.

It belongs to a very specific branch of physics.

Therefore, the top physicists generally don't study it.

But that doesn't mean it's unimportant.

Shockley, in his early thirties and dressed like a typical scientific researcher, said:
"Please rest assured, President Wu, my research team is very confident."

Wu Youxun nodded with a smile.

Just as everyone was chatting, Li Qiwei and his group finally arrived.

Wu Youxun quickly stepped forward and said happily:
"Dean, you've arrived."

That title of "Dean" was probably only understood by the two of them.

Li Qiwei patted him on the shoulder and laughed:
"Youxun, I came here specifically to congratulate you."

"Your Nobel Prize was hard-won!"

"With a Nobel laureate like you here, I have no worries about the future of the lab."

Everyone smiled knowingly.

Next, Wu Youxun began to introduce the main people who came to greet Li Qiwei.

"This is Shockley, the team leader in charge of the transistor project."

Li Qiwei looked at the other person and said, "Not bad, not bad."

The latter was very excited.

After exchanging pleasantries, Wu Youxun led Li Qiwei on a tour of several key projects in the laboratory.

He knew that the dean's visit was not only to congratulate him, but also to check on the lab's progress.

This is because it concerns the interests of the company and the group, and it will also be the financial engine for the company's massive future plans in Borneo.

The group first visited the transistor project.

After Shockley finished his introduction, Ridgway suddenly mentioned:

"Could we use a PN junction to make better transistors?"

Wow!
Shockley and the others were immediately taken aback.

P-type semiconductors and N-type semiconductors are relatively new concepts in the field of solid-state physics, and I was surprised that Professor Bruce knew about them.

He quickly said he would try it right away.

Li Qiwei smiled and nodded.

Next, he visited key projects such as lasers and solar cells.

Finally, he also listened to Wu Youxun's report on "The Possibilities of Electronic Computers".

In his speech, Wu Youxun highlighted the current challenges in computer research and development:
"There is a lack of a concise and efficient coding rule."

In response, Li Qiwei suggested:
"Could we consider using a binary method?"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!
Currently, almost all research on computers uses the decimal system, which is also the most familiar system to humankind.

Professor Bruce actually wants to use binary?

Li Qiwei laughed:
"Don't be surprised."

"As early as the 17th century, Leibniz invented the binary system of counting, using 0 and 1 to represent all numbers."

"Whether it's a vacuum tube or a transistor, their main function is simply to turn things on and off."

"Doesn't this correspond exactly to 0 and 1?"

Wow!
Wu Youxun suddenly understood.

This might actually be a good idea.

After completing his visit to Alpha Labs, Ridgeway returned to Kuching that same day.

For him, both computers and transistors fall under the category of technology.

He can simply give a straightforward hint.

Clever engineers can always come up with various ways to achieve this.

(End of this chapter)