A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 154 Sports
Li Yu was ready to do it in one step: "It's just a long-wheel cart."

The shopkeeper smiled happily: "Good eyesight, the material of the long-wheeled car is good, and it is also much more expensive. The body is 120 taels of silver."

Well, it really is better to buy than to sell!
Unknowingly lead myself into the consumption trap~
Li Yu continued to bargain: "60 taels?"

The shopkeeper actually said directly: "Deal!"

I'll go, it's so refreshing to cut down the middle, but I still fell into it.

Anyway, Li Yu is now a serious family with a house and a car, and he can be regarded as a well-performed Beijing drifter.

However, the maintenance cost of this thing is much more expensive than buying a BMW car. After all, it is a living horse, not just adding gasoline.

Li Yu said to Zhao Qian, "You will be busy in the future. You have to learn how to drive a carriage, and you need to be able to take care of the horses."

Zhao Qian said carefully: "Such an expensive horse, you really have to look after it! Don't worry, sir, I won't let it shed a single hair. If it doesn't work, I'll sleep with it in the stable!"

What Zhao Qian said also made Li Yu realize that after buying horses and carriages, he would occupy a lot of space. It seems that he needs to rent a house next to the house as a stable. Otherwise, if the two horses are really placed in the courtyard, The taste is also a bit too much.

Like buying a new car, Li Yu couldn't help but immediately rode home.

Zhao Qian took a lot of effort to lift the rickshaw into the carriage, and then pulled the carriage home.

He still doesn't know how to sit in a cart and drive a carriage. It's really a technical job, and it can't be mastered immediately. At least it takes a while to master it.

However, Zhao Qian's mood is as good as Li Yu's, and he has been promoted to a level.

After Li Yu got home, he arranged for Uncle Wang to go to the teahouse to find Cui Laosan to rent the three private houses next to his courtyard.

After finishing these tasks, Einstein's telegram also arrived:

"Dear Mr. Li Yu, I was very surprised to receive your reply so soon. To make a long story short, what I am currently thinking about is the issue of the speed of light. If the speed of light remains unchanged, whether it can be extended to different inertial systems."

Li Yu replied: "I also firmly agree that the speed of light remains unchanged, no matter how the reference system changes. However, unlike the conventional mechanical system, to ensure that the speed of light remains unchanged, a new transformation method must be introduced, and there is a fixed constant in it. It is the speed of light, which is the mathematical method created by Professor Lorentz."

The content of the telegram should not be too long, but Li Yu made it very clear, and Einstein must have understood it.

Li Yu didn't want to touch the theory of relativity at first, but now that Einstein himself approached him, he might really become the co-founder of the special theory of relativity.

But it’s okay, although the importance of special relativity is much lower than that of general relativity, but its popularity is much higher.

As we all know, special relativity has two basic assumptions:
The speed of light in vacuum is the same in any inertial frame of reference;

The laws of physics are the same in any inertial frame of reference.

The subsequent special theory of relativity is based on these two assumptions, just like Euclid introduced the entire "Elements of Geometry" through five postulates.

Of course, after the modification of the fifth postulate, two kinds of non-Euclidean geometries have been introduced, and the Riemannian geometry has deeply influenced the general theory of relativity.

Now Li Yu has directly pointed out that the most critical of the two assumptions is that the speed of light remains unchanged. This point alone is already very advanced.

It should be known that as early as 1887, Michelson and Morley confirmed that the speed of light is the same in different inertial systems and directions through the famous Michelson-Morley experiment, which also negated the ether hypothesis.

But there are really very few people who believe this, because this experiment can be said to be shaking the entire building of physics.

It is precisely because of its astonishing potential "destructive power" that it can be rated as one of the "two dark clouds" by Lord Kelvin.

Li Yu also pointed out the transformation method, that is, how to explain the constant speed of light, which is even more precious.

It's just that the telegram is too short, and Li Yu can only talk about an idea for the time being.

But this is also very incredible. I don't know how Einstein will respond after seeing it.

Li Yu was not in a hurry, because according to the historical process, Einstein would not put forward the complete special theory of relativity until 1905.

So although the telegram two people in this scientific discussion currently only communicate once or twice a day, it is actually very fast.

After finishing this, the mid-term exam of the Imperial University will also begin.

The other students were very nervous, but Li Yu was the only one who had time to relax.

As for why, of course, the title is too simple.

As mentioned before, the math questions in the entrance exam are almost at the level of elementary school math application questions. Although this time it is a bit more difficult, it is at best the first year of junior high school math.

Other subjects such as physics, chemistry, and geography were no problem for Li Yu, as they were all junior high school knowledge.

It's just that the topic of Chinese studies was really difficult for Li Yu again, it was really difficult, and he didn't even understand the topic:
Gu Tinglin's dissertation must have the purpose of the Six Classics, and the current affairs, try to explain its theory.

What is the function of the six classics classification and characters?
Li Yu only knew that Gu Tinglin was Gu Yanwu, and he also knew Gu Yanwu's phrase "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world", and some of Gu Yanwu's life, but how could he know what Gu Yanwu had in terms of Confucian classics.

Helpless, this subject is likely to fail again!
Tragedy, it seems that it will become a "good (xiao) story (hua)" again.

Fortunately, Weiliang Ding and the principal Zhang Baixi knew Li Yu's level, and he was already an emperor's teacher after all.

So Martin found some exam questions from American universities and gave them to Li Yu.

Li Yu was much more comfortable doing this kind of serious questions in modern universities, but Martin was really ruthless, choosing some of the most difficult questions for the graduation exams of the University of Chicago or Yale University.

But Li Yu is a person who has been beaten by many years of examinations. He was not able to pass the postgraduate entrance examination in mathematics back then. This kind of difficulty is completely manageable.

Moreover, Li Yu also made use of his expertise in Japanese, German, and English, which can be regarded as extra points in other aspects, so in the end he was rated as the first.

But Confucianism is indeed a failure!Li Yu is really about to give up...

The most I can do is to memorize some ancient prose, so lie down!
In short, once this exam is over, Li Yu can continue to be chic again.

After the announcement of the list, the principal Zhang Baixi also found Li Yu. Li Yu thought it was a reward, but Zhang Baixi said to him: "During this time, I carefully read the pedagogy paper you wrote for the entrance exam. The more you read it, the more exciting it is. I think a lot of things can be adopted in the university hall."

At that time, Li Yu wrote it completely according to how he went to school in his previous life. It was all his own experience. He must be very familiar with it, so he asked, "What point should the principal adopt?"

Zhang Baixi said: "I saw in your article that you mentioned that physical education should be emphasized from the beginning of elementary school. I thought about it and found that it is quite reasonable, but the specific system and curriculum details have not been thought out yet."

Physical education is definitely the students' favorite. Unexpectedly, Zhang Baixi mentioned this, and Li Yu also agreed: "The principal is right! As for the content of physical education, it is very simple, nothing more than track and field and ball games. Have you ever heard of the Olympic Games, there have been two editions now."

Zhang Baixi said: "I just heard about it briefly."

Li Yu said: "It's good to have heard of it. The sports of the physical education class should be set according to the Olympic Games, such as running and high jump. By the way, there is another more interesting one, which I almost forgot."

Zhang Baixi didn't expect Li Yu to have so many ideas, so he continued to ask, "What's interesting?"

Li Yu said: "There is a ball game that is very popular in Europe today, called football."

"Football?" Zhang Baixi had never heard of it.

Li Yu thought for a while and said, "You can understand it as a sport that existed in our country before—cuju."

Zhang Baixi knew it as soon as he heard about cuju, "It is said that the courtier Gao Qiu in the Song Dynasty was a master of cuju. This kind of sport may have the appearance of subjugating the country."

Li Yu said: "It wasn't Cuju that subjugated the country. Song Taizu also liked Cuju, didn't he! And the football I mentioned is a bit different from Cuju, which is very popular in the West now."

Zhang Baixi said: "If it is beneficial to the construction of the school, it can be introduced."

"Of course it's beneficial!" Li Yu said, "Football was included in the Second Olympic Games that just ended more than two years ago."

Zhang Baixi also trusted Li Yu, and heard that such a grand sports event also had football events, so he asked with a mentality of giving it a try: "What does this football look like?"

Li Yu said: "Maybe there are none in the capital, but I think there must be one in the British Concession in Tianjin. Let them ask and they will find it soon."

Modern football originally originated in the UK. It goes without saying that the British love football. Their concession is huge, so they must have brought football here long ago.

In history, Jingshi University actually had a football team very early on, and Li Yu also liked playing football in his previous life, so he was also willing to introduce it to the university.

It's just that the follow-up of Chinese football is really hard to describe.

But now the whole of East Asia hasn't had much contact with football, maybe Li Yu can lead the football team of Beijing Normal University to win against Japan and South Korea...

By the way, there is no South Korea yet, it should be said that North Korea, let alone North Korea.

Zhang Baixi said: "It seems that you know football very well, you can worry about asking about this."

Li Yu said: "No problem! In addition, our school can also hold sports games, which is also a routine practice in Western universities."

Zhang Baixi nodded: "This suggestion is very good, I will adopt it."

Historically, the Beijing Normal University will not hold its first sports meeting until two years later, and Li Yu is pushing for an early start.

Sports must be beneficial to the university, and the body is the capital of the revolution!
Later, Tsinghua University even chanted the slogan of "working for the health of the motherland for 50 years".Moreover, Tsinghua also attaches great importance to sports, and those who fail in sports cannot even graduate.

Naturally, this is also to urge everyone to exercise, but who can say that there is something wrong with exercising.

In Li Yu's heart, there is a bit of playfulness mixed in: material life is too scarce now, and Li Yu is not a nerd. The introduction of football can really make school life happier.

(End of this chapter)