1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 681: Paper Published! Academic World Shocked! Particle Frenzy! The Muon Decay Problem! Rigdwell Takes Action!

1928 3 Month 15 Day.

Li Chengdao's paper on meson theory was successfully published on the cover of the journal Nature.

The paper caused a complete sensation in the physics community.

Following quantum electrodynamics, the second theory of quantum field theory has been born!
This time, the strong force is explained by the meson theory.

"My God!"

"This theory not only explains the mechanism of the strong force, but also predicts a new particle."

"Moreover, the mass of the new particles has been calculated."

"That's awesome!"

When everyone saw the author of the paper, there was another gasp of surprise!
"The author is Professor Bruce's eldest son!"

"The other person is still a senior undergraduate student!"

"Like father, like son!"

Immediately, a barrage of praise followed.

"He inherited Professor Bruce's theoretical and intuitive talents."

"Just like Heisenberg back then, he appeared out of nowhere!"

"."

Li Chengdao officially entered the mainstream physics community's field of vision.

Sakura Clan, Kyoto Imperial University.

Hideki Ogawa and Shinichiro Tomonaga, who were preparing for the Physics Olympiad, were stunned when they saw the paper.

"By the grace of Amaterasu!"

"Li Chengdao is too strong!"

As physics geniuses, the two were well aware of the value of the meson theory; it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was groundbreaking.

However, this groundbreaking theory was created by a young man of the same age as them.

Li Chengdao is 22 years old this year, the same age as Tomonaga Shinichiro, and only one year older than Ogawa Hideki.

However, the gap in their academic standing is now immeasurable.

They are still at the level of "academic superstars", while Li Chengdao has already transformed into a dragon and officially entered the ranks of "scholars".

Hideki Ogawa didn't even hear Shinichiro Tomonaga's remark.

At that moment, he had nothing but the content of the paper in his eyes.

"π meson transport, Lagrangian quantity, and electron mass are 200-300 times greater."

"This theory is too perfect."

For some reason, he suddenly felt a great sense of loss, as if he had lost something most precious.

The current meson theory is a huge blow to Hideki Ogawa.

He was hailed as a physics genius of the Sakura clan and was a key talent handpicked by Professor Nagaoka for training.

He could easily obtain countless honors and opportunities.

However, he was utterly disheartened by the achievements of his peers.

It turns out that there really are people in this world who are even more talented than geniuses.

Without a doubt, Li Chengdao belongs to this category.

Hideki Ogawa murmured:

"I used to think I could surpass Professor Li Qiwei, but now I'm not even as good as his son."

He suddenly found the Olympiad utterly boring.

What good would it do to win 10 gold medals?
Can it compare to a formula in meson theory?

Obviously, that won't work!

Just then, the optimistic Shinichiro Tomonaga shouted:

"Ogawa-kun! Wake up!"

"You shouldn't be basking in the glory of others; you must pull yourself together!"

"You bear the weight of the future of science for our Great Sakura Imperial Clan!"

Wow!
Hideki Ogawa was suddenly awakened.

He looked around blankly, finally realizing he was back in reality.

call!
He said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Asanaga-kun!"

"I was just spacing out."

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be afraid; instead, I should strive to improve myself.”

Shinichiro Tomonaga put his arm around his shoulder and laughed:
"That's right."

“You are no less capable than Li Chengdao, but you lack an opportunity.”

"Borneo is our opportunity."

"Therefore, we must not slack off in this Olympiad, but instead work even harder to achieve a good ranking."

"If we can study under Professor Li Qiwei, I believe we can also achieve extraordinary success."

Hideki Ogawa smiled.

The Shinichiro Tomonaga I am always so optimistic and positive, like a ray of sunshine in his gloomy inner world.

However, this ray of sunlight was a little too golden.

"Hideki, I heard that a new Kabukicho restaurant opened in Shinjuku."

"How about we go take a look?"

"Perhaps there will still be a chance to use mesons?"

Hideki Ogawa understood immediately and hurriedly waved his hands in fright.

"No no no~"

If young geniuses like Hideki Ogawa were filled with envy and admiration.

The true physics giants, on the other hand, were utterly astonished, as if they had discovered a priceless treasure.

Heisenberg immediately published an article highly praising Li Chengdao's paper.

Furthermore, he used his proposed isospin theory to explain the three types of π mesons.

"The isospin quantum number of the π meson is 1."

"Therefore, it has three projections in space, namely 1/0/-1."

"These three isospin states correspond exactly to the three charge states of the π meson."

It must be said that Heisenberg was exceptionally quick-witted.

This directly provided another application for his theory.

Furthermore, this application will have great value in the future.

Dirac smiled slightly after reading the paper.

When Li Chengdao asked him questions, he knew that the other party's research was extraordinary.

This has indeed shocked the academic world.

Dirac also added some points.

Based on Li Chengdao's method, he predicted through calculation that if π mesons were to be produced through collisions, at least several hundred megaelectron volts of energy would be required.

Commonly used natural radioactive particles have energies in the range of several megaelectron volts, while current accelerators can reach tens of electron volts.

But that's not enough.

Borneo, Kuching.

Li Chengdao immediately found Yu Yin and asked with a hopeful expression:

"Brother Yu, is our accelerator not working either?"

Yu Yin was very happy with Li Chengdao's achievements.

He also understood the other party's anxious feelings at the moment.

Only by actually finding the π meson can the meson theory be proven to be correct.

Just like Pauli's neutrino theory.

Yu Yin said:

"It's really not possible."

"Several hundred megawatts of energy would require a much larger accelerator."

"It's still in the planning stage."

"I think you can think about cosmic rays."

"Go find Zhao Zhongyao and ask him what he thinks."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengdao suddenly understood.

"Yes, such high energy can only be found in cosmic rays."

So he went to the Institute of Physics to look for Zhao Zhongyao.

Although Zhao Zhongyao is older than Li Chengdao, if we were to rank them based on Li Qiwei's status, he would be a generation younger than Li Chengdao.

However, Li Chengdao laughed and said:

"Brother Zhao, let's each talk about our own issues."

Zhao Zhongyao laughed heartily, and then said:

"Chengdao, don't worry, I will definitely keep an eye on the π meson for you."

"We will notify you immediately of any news."

Li Chengdao was relieved.

Next, he just needs to wait quietly.

Soon, after Dirac's paper spread, everyone knew that the only way to find the π meson was through cosmic rays.

With the addition of neutrinos, cosmic rays are now being viewed with great promise.

However, compared to neutrinos, most people believe that the π meson is more likely to be discovered.

Because neutrinos are not only smaller in mass but also uncharged, they are extremely difficult to detect.

However, the π meson is different; it not only has a greater mass but also carries an electric charge, making it easy to detect.

Suddenly, Zhao Zhongyao, Anderson, Compton, Blackett, and others who studied cosmic rays became highly sought-after.

Countless eyes were focused on them.

United States, Rocky Mountains.

On a very high peak, Anderson and his small team are installing experimental equipment.

This time, his goal was clear: he came specifically for the π meson!

One of the young undergraduates who came to help with the internship asked:

"Dr. Anderson, why do we have to come to such a high mountain?"

"Can't we study rays and search for new particles on the ground just the same way?"

Anderson smiled slightly upon hearing this, as if he had returned to his student days.

He explained patiently:

"The nature of cosmic rays has now been clearly understood; their main component is protons."

"These extremely high-energy protons may produce new particles after colliding with nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the Earth's atmosphere."

"Our current location is exactly where the air is the densest, which greatly increases the probability of proton collisions and makes it easier to discover new particles."

The students suddenly understood.

This is completely different from Zhao Zhongyao's experience of riding in a hot air balloon, where he hoped that cosmic rays would not collide with each other so that their composition could be studied.

Indeed, every subject has its own techniques.

Anderson then stayed here permanently.

During the day, he would go up the mountain to observe the equipment, and at night he would return down the mountain to rest.

He was very confident because if the π meson really existed, it should be relatively easy to discover.

A month passed in this way.

One day, while Anderson was routinely organizing the day's data, he was surprised to find a strange trajectory on the instrument's display screen.

"Oh!"

"what is this?"

Anderson was immediately startled. With his extensive experience with cosmic rays, he could tell at a glance that the trajectory represented a new type of particle!
He was overjoyed:
"Could this be the pi meson?"

Anderson immediately calculated the particle's energy based on its trajectory and then deduced its mass in reverse.

When the final result came out, he roared:
"I've found the pi meson!"

"Its mass is 207 times that of an electron, which is in line with theoretical predictions."

Wow!
The team members were overjoyed.

This achievement will absolutely shock the academic world.

Anderson's paper was published soon after, causing a sensation.

After reading it, Li Chengdao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Success!"

However, just over ten days later, the Cavendish Laboratory published a paper showing that:

"The particle Anderson discovered is not the π meson because its interaction with the atomic nucleus is very weak."

"Even at very close distances, it did not exhibit properties exceeding those of electromagnetic forces."

However, according to theoretical predictions, the strength of the Magnetic Force far exceeds that of the Electromagnetic Force.

如果把强力的强度当成1，那么电磁力的强度是10^-2，弱力的强度是10^-13，引力的强度是10^-38。

Some people might have the following question:
"Gravity can bind planets and even stars together, how could it be so much weaker?"

An example will make it clear.

When you hold an apple up, you are actually resisting the gravitational pull of the entire Earth on the apple.

But you lifted it with just a little effort, doesn't that prove that gravity is very weak?

Subsequently, more and more studies have shown that this new particle is indeed not a π meson, but rather more like an enlarged version of an electron.

Therefore, the new particle was renamed "muon".

Although the π meson was not discovered, the discovery of the muon still greatly excited physicists.

This confirms Professor Bruce's conjecture in particle physics.

There are far more than just a few fundamental particles in the universe!

μ-ions are the best proof!

Professor Bruce has once again led the way!

According to Ligvii's classification, the physics community classifies muons as leptons.

But soon, as the research progressed, a new problem was discovered:
"Like neutrons, muons also decay."

"Although its decay mechanism and decay products are not yet clear, its half-life is known to be 2.2 microseconds."

"This will bring up a problem."

"Mu particles are produced in the atmosphere at a depth of about 5 km. Their resting lifetime is only 2.2 microseconds. According to calculations, their travel distance is only 0.66 km."

"But we detected muons on the ground."

"Logically speaking, muons would never have a chance to reach the ground before decaying into other particles."

Wow!
The question immediately perplexed all physicists.

This doesn't make sense.

Even Anderson, the discoverer of muons, could not explain this problem.

He discovered muons high in the sky; at the time, he hadn't even considered this issue.

Only then did he understand why Professor Bruce had singled out particle physics.

Particles hold many unknown secrets.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Li Qiwei made his move!

He stated:
"The speed of a muon is infinitely close to the speed of light. According to the time dilation effect of special relativity, its lifespan appears to be extended to researchers on Earth."

"That is, a distance of 5km, in our view, would take a muon 30 microseconds to reach, which exceeds its lifespan."

"But in the muon's own spacetime system, it doesn't take 30 microseconds to travel 5km; it might only take 1 microsecond."

"Therefore, we are able to detect these particles on the ground."

Wow!
Li Qiwei's explanation immediately shocked everyone.

Unexpectedly, the muon decay problem has indirectly proven the correctness of special relativity.

This is incredible!
Particle physics and relativity have also become connected!
In real history, muons have many other unique properties.

For example, in later generations, physicists discovered that the muon has a "wobbling" property, but its wobbling exceeds theoretical predictions.

Therefore, some believe that muons may be related to a completely new force.

That mysterious force is influencing muons.

The universe created three sets of leptons with different masses, perhaps for a specific purpose.

In summary, the discovery of the muon and the question of its lifetime have greatly advanced the study of particle physics.

Many leading theorists and experimentalists have begun to delve into this area.

This is another hot field after transuranic elements.

Li Chengdao, however, was left disappointed.

He took Zhao Zhongyao's hand and said:
"Brother, believe me, the pi meson definitely exists!"

"Perhaps the muon is formed from the decay of the pi meson."

Zhao Zhongyao said he would do his best.

Just as the physics community was buzzing with excitement, Rigdwell once again visited the Institute of Biology.

Penicillin was invented!

(End of this chapter)