1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 687 Professor Bruce's Kindness! Reinvestment! The Geniuses of the Manhattan Project!

The University of California, Berkeley, or Berkeley for short.

This university, located in California on the west coast of the United States, has a illustrious reputation in later generations and is one of the world's top universities.

Its achievements in physics, chemistry, life sciences, computer science and other fields are remarkable.

Although its name contains the word "branch campus," that's a historical issue; it is an independent university in its own right.

However, the school is now only well-known in the field of chemistry.

Because Professor Lewis, the current Dean of the School of Chemistry and Head of the Department of Chemistry, is one of the founders of chemical thermodynamics.

He proposed the famous "covalent theory," and the renowned "Lewis structure" is named after him.

In real history, he received a total of 41 Nobel Prize nominations in Chemistry.

Unfortunately, they didn't win an award.

But this does not affect Lewis's status in the chemistry community.

Several of his students later became leading figures in the field of chemistry.

Yuri, 35, holds a PhD from Berkeley and is currently an associate professor of chemistry at Columbia University.

He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for his discovery of deuterium.

He was responsible for separating uranium-235 using the gaseous diffusion method in the Manhattan Project. (At the time, the United States was experimenting with three methods simultaneously because they didn't know which one was better.)
Geok, 33, holds both his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from Berkeley and is currently a researcher at the university.

He was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating a temperature environment that was infinitely close to 0K.

Libby, 20 years old, is currently an undergraduate student at Berkeley.

He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960 for developing a method for radiocarbon dating (known as the "archaeological clock").

He participated in the Manhattan Project and assisted Yuri in separating uranium-235.

Seaborg, 16 years old, has not yet appeared. Both of us graduated from Berkeley.

He and his colleague McMillan were awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their outstanding work in the field of synthetic elements.

He led the team that created elements 94, 95, and 96. (Element 93 was discovered by Macmillan.)
并且他还和同事吉奥索等人一起，制备出97/98/99/100/101/102号元素。

Element 97, Berkeley, is named after Berkeley.

Giorso later led his team to create elements 103/104/105/106.

In recognition of Seaborg's achievements, and at the suggestion of Giorso and others, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry named element 106 "Goldenium".

But Seaborg was still alive at the time, so this broke the convention that chemical elements could not be named after living people.

This demonstrates Seaborg's exceptional position in the field of elements.

Giorso himself earned a Guinness World Record for his involvement in the discovery of 12 chemical elements.

Both of them participated in the Manhattan Project.

Of course, Seaborg is especially important.

He successfully obtained element 94, plutonium-238, by bombarding uranium with deuterium nuclei.

He then produced plutonium-239 and was surprised to find that it had the same fission potential as uranium-235.

This is incredible.

At the time, these documents were immediately sealed by the U.S. military and were not declassified until after the war.

This is also the basis for the United States' ability to use plutonium to create experimental atomic bombs. (As explained before)
Therefore, in the Manhattan Project, Seaborg was responsible for the chemical extraction and purification of plutonium.

Shortly after the war ended, he became the president of Berkeley and then the chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

This shows just how amazing Berkeley will be in the field of chemistry in the future.

Of course, Berkeley was not as glorious at this time, and its leaders were still growing.

While Lewis is a leading figure in chemistry, he is virtually invisible in the field of physics.

There were no top physics experts present, and the school had not published any groundbreaking articles.

But not long ago, Berkeley welcomed a young man.

Oppenheimer, 24, graduated last year from the University of Göttingen in Germany with a PhD in physics.

His research areas include nuclear physics, spectroscopy, quantum field theory, and so on.

He and his mentor Born jointly proposed a method for describing molecular wave functions, which attracted the attention of the academic community.

Currently, an increasing number of theoretical physicists are trying to apply quantum field theory to more complex material systems.

Oppenheimer also became a rising star in the field of physics, second only to geniuses such as Heisenberg and Pauli.

Born highly valued this young man from America, believing that "he was just as good as Fermi."

He invited Oppenheimer to stay in Germany to conduct research.

Oppenheimer's father was a German Jew who immigrated to the United States with his family in his early years. He seized the opportunity and, through hard work, amassed a modest fortune.

(When Oppenheimer's father passed away, he left him a $30 inheritance, so if you don't have money, don't try to study physics.)
However, Oppenheimer declined Born's invitation and chose to return to the United States.

Through a friend's introduction, he was directly hired as a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

At Oppenheimer's current level, if he were in Europe, he would at most be considered an associate professor.

However, in the United States, the requirements can be lowered a bit.

Moreover, Berkeley's reputation is so low that it's a huge blessing for the school that a genius like Oppenheimer is willing to join.

Regardless of his academic level, Oppenheimer's connections alone are enough to attract investment from the university.

Berkeley President Sproul has high hopes for Oppenheimer.

He hoped that the other party could, like Professor Millikan revitalized Caltech, transform Berkeley into a top-tier STEM university in the United States.

Oppenheimer was young and ambitious, and he certainly wanted to achieve great things.

He immediately patted his chest and guaranteed:

"I want to make Berkeley physics a proper noun."

So he settled here and began his physics research, which has lasted for more than half a year now.

In the past six months, he has made many contributions to the field of physics at the university.

First, in terms of personal achievements.

He has published excellent papers in the fields of cosmic rays, quantum field theory, and radioactivity.

While these papers may not be the most cutting-edge, they are definitely among the top-tier research achievements in the United States.

The school is very satisfied with this.

Next is the aspect of talent development.

Oppenheimer himself served as a lecturer in theoretical physics at the school, teaching undergraduate students.

His rigorous and meticulous teaching style quickly won the praise of his students.

In addition, he also recruits graduate students.

In real history, Robert Lamb, the 1955 Nobel laureate in physics who discovered the Lamb shift and propelled the development of quantum electrodynamics, was Oppenheimer's doctoral student.

Of course, Lamb was only 15 years old at this time and had not yet made his debut.

In addition, there was Bohm, who was hailed as a "scientific thinker" and was also Oppenheimer's doctor.

Finally, there's the aspect of discipline development.

He founded the Oppenheimer Center for Theoretical Physics, which attracts top scholars from around the world.

Lawrence was the first to receive the invitation and come.

Oppenheimer recognized Lawrence's talent at a glance, and although the latter had not yet achieved any significant results, he was convinced that his judgment was correct.

Lawrence's first words upon arriving at Berkeley were:

"I want to build a cyclotron."

The field of nuclear physics is booming, and cyclotrons are the sharpest swords.

The best proof is the artificial synthesis of element 43, the metal disk.

The era of cyclotrons has arrived!
In real history, Lawrence only took off after joining Berkeley.

Here, he invented the cyclotron and created element 43 artificially for the first time. The university built a radiation laboratory just for him, and he reported directly to the principal—the same treatment he received as Oppenheimer.

This radiation laboratory later became the famous Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Seaborg, McMillan, and others mentioned earlier worked in this laboratory.

McMillan was Lawrence's doctoral student.

Lawrence and his students later participated in the Manhattan Project, where he was responsible for separating uranium-235 using electromagnetic methods.

At that moment, Oppenheimer only thought for three seconds before agreeing to Lawrence's request.

He gritted his teeth and said:
"I'll figure out the money!"

So he traveled all over the United States every day, looking for investment opportunities.

With the rise of science, America's wealthiest individuals began investing in promising projects.

They established many foundations.

Strictly speaking, this is also a trend started by Ridgeway.

His Bruce Group has become a mecca for tech entrepreneurs worldwide.

As long as you have a good idea, you won't have to worry about not getting angel investment.

Oppenheimer secured several sponsorships thanks to his intelligence and connections.

But his center for theoretical physics was only just beginning to be built, and Berkeley itself wasn't very well-known.

Although both were geniuses who participated in the Physics Olympiad, the value of the Olympiad began to depreciate as various Olympiads emerged.

Most importantly, a cyclotron is no small feat; it is extremely difficult to build.

Therefore, Oppenheimer was able to raise limited funds.

In the end, even with the school's sponsorship, they were still $10 short.

Finally, Oppenheimer, with Lawrence and his business plan, arrived at the Bruce Corporation.

This world's leading technology group can help everyone realize their dreams.

That's why he arrived last; he wanted to leave himself with a glimmer of hope.

Soon after, Liu Shiwei, manager of the scientific investment department of Bruce Group, personally met with Oppenheimer and Lawrence.

Like Xu Handong, Liu Shiwei was also a graduate of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy.

He started out as a teacher at Shanhe Elementary School.

However, as he continued to develop, he demonstrated extraordinary talent in the field of technology management.

So, three years ago, he was assigned to the Bruce Group in the United States as an investment manager.

This is definitely a core position.

After several years of training here, Liu Shiwei's future is also limitless.

After listening carefully to their project plan, Liu Shiwei solemnly said:

"Please wait a moment, your project has met our company's special investment plan criteria."

"I need to report this to management."

Wow!
Oppenheimer was immediately startled!
Although I don't know what that special investment plan is, it sounds incredibly sophisticated.

He and Lawrence exchanged a glance, feeling confident that this trip was going to be a success.

This so-called special investment plan was a rule set by Ridgeway.

The purpose is to enable the Bruce Group to invest in people or projects that are not favored as soon as possible.

After all, Li Qiwei's energy is limited, and there are so many innovative inventions in the field of science and technology that he cannot personally control them all.

Therefore, he compiled some of the most important basic scientific and technological invention ideas.

“Any project related to these must be reported to the highest level of the meeting.”

So, the scene just now happened.

Ao and his companion waited for nearly two hours, but Liu Shiwei still hadn't returned.

But they did not get impatient because of this.

"The processes of such a large group must be very complicated."

Just as the two were talking in hushed tones.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Liu Shiwei said with a smile:

"You two are so lucky!"

“Our chairman personally reviewed your project.”

"He issued instructions via telegram, deciding to increase the investment to $50!"

Wow!
Oppenheimer and Laurence immediately widened their eyes.

They couldn't believe their ears.

Of course they know who the chairman of the Bruce Group is!
"My God!"

"Professor Bruce actually invested $50 in us!"

"We are building a cyclotron, so we are competitors with the Institute of Atomic Energy."

Even so, he was still willing to invest.

At that moment, the two felt a sense of awe and reverence.

What makes a true master is not skill, but breadth of mind!

The two of them stood up abruptly.

Oppenheimer sincerely stated:
"Please convey my gratitude to Professor Bruce!"

"We will never forget his help."

Liu Shiwei said with a smile:

"It's not easy for me to meet with the chairman."

"You should thank him in person when he comes to the United States next time."

Oppenheimer laughed:

"I hope Manager Liu will let me know when the time comes."

After saying that, the two exchanged contact information.

Being able to build a good relationship with the investment managers at Bruce Group is something many people would love to do.

Liu Shiwei was also very happy.

He was also praised by the chairman for this project.

In the telegram, Ridgway asked him to pay more attention to Oppenheimer, believing that the man had great potential.

Liu Shiwei never doubted the chairman's judgment, so he would personally follow up on this investment project.

Ridgway was willing to invest $50 not because he was kind.

One reason is because of the name Oppenheimer; it's always good to make a good connection now.

On the other hand, he wanted to project goodwill towards the United States to facilitate the continuous transfer of funds from the US in the future.

In real history, Lawrence received a $100 million investment from Rockefeller when he was building the cyclotron.

This demonstrates the importance of money in scientific research.

With money and manpower at their disposal, Oppenheimer and Lawrence took on the mantle of Berkeley's physics leadership and began to work tirelessly.

Oppenheimer later became the chief scientist of the Manhattan Project, where he managed more than a thousand researchers conducting top-secret research in various locations.

You should know that these scientists are not easy to manage. For example, Feynman, a troublemaker, liked to crawl in and out of the lab through dog holes.

But Oppenheimer still managed to win people's hearts.

His entrepreneurial experience in Berkeley may have laid a solid foundation for his future leadership.

(End of this chapter)