1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 692, "What is Life?", stunned the audience! Can physics explain life?
October 30, 1929, University of Rome.

The First International Conference on Nuclear Physics was successfully held at Fermi's call.

Nuclear physics scholars from around the world gathered to discuss the latest developments.

The attendees included not only experimental giants such as Chadwick, Irene, Compton, and Fermi, but also theoretical giants such as Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli, and Dirac.

Because many phenomena in nuclear physics require explanation using quantum mechanics.

The mechanism of beta decay, the possibility of heavy nucleus fission, and the study of atomic nucleus morphology, etc.

In the field of nuclear physics, experiments are currently ahead of theory.

So today is also a day for experimental physicists.

As the host, Fermi greeted the distinguished guests with a beaming smile.

Welcome!

"please!"

"."

The bigwigs chatted and laughed, sharing their experiences and insights.

When Yu Yin and Deng Huaining appeared, the meeting reached a minor climax.

Professor Bruce ultimately did not come.

Everyone's hopes were dashed.

Fermi quickly stepped forward, pulled the two aside, first thanked them, then said regretfully:

"Professor Yu, it's a real shame that Professor Bruce didn't attend this meeting."

Everyone nodded.

If Professor Bruce were here today, the event would definitely be even more exciting.

However, everyone can understand.

If we divide modern physicists into several generations according to the development of physics...

Planck, Thomson, Lorenz, and others were the first generation.

Ridgway, Rutherford, Einstein, Marie Curie, and others belong to the second generation.

Schrödinger, de Broglie, Heisenberg, Pauli, and others belong to the third generation.

Of course, there are also figures like Bohr, Laue, and Born, who fall between the second and third generations.

It took the efforts of three generations to finally build the edifice of modern physics we see today.

Today, that generation has long since retired, and we hear almost nothing about them.

Meanwhile, the second generation gradually retreated behind the scenes, becoming big shots who controlled various resources.

The current physics community is dominated by the third generation of researchers.

Therefore, Rutherford did not attend today's meeting and was replaced by Chadwick, and Ridgway also did not attend and was replaced by Yu Yin.

The previous generation is making way for the next.

Of course, Meitner, Hahn, and others, who are not considered big shots among the second generation, are also here today.

Yu Yin explained:
"The professor now rarely appears in public unless absolutely necessary."

"Like Professor Rutherford and others, he began to step back and mentor students."

"Besides theoretical research, he devoted most of his energy to science education."

Everyone nodded, understanding.

Suddenly, Yu Yin thought of something and added:

"Oh, right!"

"The professor has also recently written a book, which will be published soon."

"This book is very interesting, and I recommend that everyone take a look when it comes out."

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!
Professor Bruce has written another book!
This is even more shocking than the other side presenting a theory!

Fermi quickly asked:

Is it science fiction?

Yu Yin shook his head and said:

"No, this is a popular science book about physics, especially the application of quantum mechanics in biology."

"The book is called 'What is Life?'"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked again!
Professor Bruce has quite a wide range of interests.

"I only know that quantum mechanics can be applied to astronomy or chemistry."

"Professor Bruce is actually using quantum mechanics to explain biology?"

"That's definitely his style, so imaginative and unrestrained."

Everyone smiled knowingly.

Compton said impatiently:

"Yu Yin, could you tell us what Professor Bruce's book is mainly about?"

The crowd echoed:
"Yup!"

I really want to know!

Since everyone present was an acquaintance, Yu Yin wasn't worried about keeping things a secret.

Moreover, he felt that only the dean could have written that book.

So, he said:

"All I can say is that it shattered my understanding of science and life!"

"In this book, the professor raised and studied three questions."

"First, how does life inherit and reproduce?"

"Second, how does life continuously evolve?"

Third, how do living organisms maintain their own functions?

"The professor used knowledge of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics to explain the material basis of life from a purely physical perspective."

"Furthermore, he proposed the concept of 'life entropy,' which is truly amazing!"

"What's most shocking is that the professor wrote at the end of the book: Life feeds on negative entropy!"

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

With just one sentence, it seemed to make everyone feel the scientific principles behind the Creator's creation of the miracle of life.

Absolutely breathtaking!
Although everyone present was a physicist, they all had some understanding of the biological concept of heredity.

Just like biologists also have a general understanding of quantum mechanics.

Therefore, they can easily understand the book's analysis of life.

Life is viewed as an ordered structure that maintains its own order by consuming energy from the environment.

This way of thinking, which explains the essence of life from a physical perspective, is simply imaginative!
Fermi murmured:
"Oh, God!"

"This is absolutely the most shocking and amazing explanation of life I have ever heard."

"As expected of a book written by Professor Bruce."

"So profound!"

"I can't wait to read this book!"

Everyone present, like Fermi, was immersed in Professor Bruce's imagination.

Science, life, and rationality are perfectly integrated.

So stunning!

Schrödinger was the most awestruck among the crowd.

He kept pondering the last sentence: "Life feeds on negative entropy."

"It seems to be some kind of underlying rule of the universe."

"Because of this one sentence, even life must submit to the laws of physics."

Physics, chemistry, and biology are the three major natural sciences, and chemistry is the most frustrated one.

Physics, needless to say, is the foundation and framework of the entire natural science system.

In the eyes of many physics gurus, chemistry is merely an appendage of physics, or rather, an application of physics to the changes in matter.

The essence of chemistry is physics.

However, the essence of life is not chemistry, or rather, it cannot be explained by chemistry alone.

Because life has consciousness and genes, things that pure chemistry cannot explain.

It cannot even be explained by physics.

Therefore, chemistry is an appendage to physics research and a means of studying biology, making it a truly tragic tool.

Now, Rigvii's viewpoint, however, incorporates biology into the framework of physics.

What a shocking idea!
Schrödinger was suddenly moved; he felt that the ideas in the book "What is Life?" coincided with his own thoughts.

Then, he gave a self-deprecating laugh:
“Professor Bruce is such a person, how could I possibly compare to him?”

In real history, Schrödinger published the book "What is Life? - Physical Insights into the Cell" in 1944.

The contents are a compilation of his lectures at the university.

In this book, he uses physical concepts such as aperiodic crystals, negative entropy, genetic code, and quantum leap mutations to explain phenomena such as heredity, variation, and continuation of life. The book immediately caused a stir in the physics community upon its publication.

This book has attracted a large number of physicists to devote themselves to molecular biology research.

People hope to use the cold and profound laws of physics to explain the warm and passionate mystery of life.

It is said that Wharton and Crick chose to study DNA after reading this book, which led them to propose the double helix structure.

Of course, it's also possible that the big shot is just bragging after achieving success.

Regardless, "What Is Life?" is undoubtedly one of the most influential books in the history of science.

In this life, Ridgway stands at a higher level than Schrödinger did, so he added a lot of entirely new content to the book.

Even true geniuses can write some amazing papers just by reading this book.

At this moment, Schrödinger came to his senses and asked Yu Yin with a smile:
"Does the professor intend to study biology?"

Yu Yin laughed:

"Perhaps there really is such a possibility."

"Everyone should know about the previous penicillin incident."

"This incident deeply affected the professor."

"He once revealed that he was very curious about life and genetics."

"That's why he wrote this book, hoping to inspire biologists."

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!

Professor Bruce truly deserves to be called a scientific leader.

He was deeply concerned with various fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy.

His inspiration often brings surprises to everyone.

Some even joked:
"I have a feeling that Professor Bruce might win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine someday?"

"You know what, it's actually possible!"

"Perhaps one day he will figure out the nature of genetic material."

"Wow! That's incredible!"

"."

Somewhere in the venue, Oppenheimer and Lawrence watched Fermi, Yu Yin, and others chatting.

Because the two received sponsorship from the Bruce Group to develop a cyclotron, Fermi extended an extra, more formal invitation to them.

Lawrence remarked:

"Is this the prestige Professor Bruce enjoys now?"

"He didn't even show up, but the entire room was talking about him."

"Just one book was enough to make all the big shots admire him to the point of prostration!"

"I'm so envious!"

Oppenheimer certainly knew what Lawrence envied.

How could he not envy him?

As a genius, he also possesses the pride of a genius and a desire to surpass his predecessors.

But Professor Bruce is like a mountain, blocking countless geniuses.

The other person's name, along with Newton and Maxwell, has become one of the three great suns shining over the physics community, illuminating all ages!

Oppenheimer has a clear understanding of his own position; he is currently far from being as good as Fermi, let alone comparable to Professor Bruce.

However, despite his eccentric nature, he was full of confidence in himself.

"It's alright, even Professor Bruce will grow old."

"We still have a chance!"

A glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Lawrence was both amused and exasperated; he felt Oppenheimer was being a bit too optimistic.

Doesn't the other party know that Professor Bruce gets more awesome as he gets older?

In a corner of the venue.

A group of young people gathered together, including Frisch and Taylor.

Everyone looked excited, thrilled to be able to attend such a high-profile meeting.

They all came to the meeting as observers, accompanied by their mentors, elders, or friends.

The young people quickly became familiar with each other.

"Wow! You're Professor Bohr's student! My apologies for not recognizing you!"

"My mentor was Heisenberg."

"."

Everyone has a strong academic background.

However, their conversation never strayed from the bigwigs at the center, their eyes filled with envy.

Someone looked ahead and said:
"I don't know what Professor Fermi and the others are talking about; they seem quite shocked."

"I think I heard someone publish a book?"

These young people don't care who writes books; they're only interested in the latest physics research.

At this moment, Taylor said mysteriously:

“I heard from my mentor, Professor Heisenberg, that Professor Bruce is researching the theory of everything.”

Wow!
Everyone was shocked!
Frisch followed Bohr and was very knowledgeable, but he had never heard of any of them.

"I only know the Grand Unified Theory. What is the Theory of Everything?"

Taylor said:

"The theory of everything is the theory that can unify the four fundamental forces."

"It seems that some bigwigs nowadays like to unify two or three forces first, which is also called a unified theory."

"So Professor Bruce defined the term 'theory of everything' in order to clarify the differences."

"That is the ultimate pursuit of physics!"

"It's said to have circulated within a small circle of high-end individuals, and ordinary scholars have no idea about it."

Wow!
The crowd was puzzled but impressed.

I think Taylor is really impressive; he even knows such inside information. No wonder he's Dr. Heisenberg.

The "small circle" he's referring to is probably only a dozen or so people.

Those are the real big names in the physics community.

Frisch said:
"Professor Einstein proposed a unified field theory a long time ago, but he failed."

"Professor Bruce seems to be following the path of quantum field theory."

"I wonder if he will succeed."

Taylor said in a boastful tone:

"I think it's a bit far-fetched."

"Professor Bruce is quite old, he's 49 this year, and he's already entered the twilight years of a physicist's career."

"The theory of everything is the ultimate theory, even more difficult than general relativity."

"If Professor Bruce were in his twenties now, it might actually be possible."

Everyone nodded.

In their view, Professor Bruce was ultimately just a mortal and had to follow his biological instincts.

The older a person gets, the worse their thinking ability becomes.

The theory of everything has nothing to do with the amount of knowledge; it's only related to creativity.

Historically renowned scientific giants almost all achieved their most important accomplishments in their twenties or thirties.

This age limit can be extended to 40 years old at most; beyond that, it becomes extremely difficult to achieve significant results.

Taylor continued:

"Quantum field theory has only solved the electromagnetic force and the strong force so far; gravity and the weak force remain."

"At present, both of these remaining forces are very difficult."

"Not to mention the unification of the four great powers."

"Personally, I think it will take at least 50 years, or even longer."

"But we all have a chance!"

The audience listened with great enthusiasm, filled with dreams for the future.

At this moment, Frisch laughed and said:

"The theory of everything is too far removed from our present reality."

"Let's study nuclear physics today."

Everyone smiled at each other, and the air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)