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

When Li Yu's paper on "Single Photon Double-Slit Interference Experiment" was published, it did not cause the usual uproar.

Because in the eyes of most scientists, even if this experiment cannot be done, the thought experiment seems to make sense.

After all, everyone thinks that light is a wave at present!So light should interfere.

It's just that after making an advance assumption of the concept of "photons", it seems that this experiment is "deliberately" increasing the difficulty. After all, everyone can't accept that a single particle can interfere.

But the concept of waves is too deep in the body and mind, and the evidence is conclusive. If "photons" really exist, then hell!

Another reason is that there are still many scholars who insist on classical mechanics and cannot even accept the atom theory. Photons are obviously too advanced.

Wen En from the Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology quickly found Li Yu with the "Physical Yearbook".

Wien is the one who proposed the Wien formula for black body radiation. The difference between Planck's black body radiation formula and his is that there is an extra "-1" in the denominator.

"Although your Excellency already has a high reputation in the field of mathematics and physics, I still think that Mr. is playing tricks." Wayne said straight to the point.

"Why did the professor say that?" Li Yu asked.

Wien is currently the director of the Department of Physics and Research Institute of the University of Würzburg. This position is quite unusual because he is Roentgen's successor.

Wayne was almost a die-hard Roentgen fan.

Now that Roentgen's reputation in the European scientific community is quite high, it can be seen that Wien's status is not weak at least.

"Your Excellency gave a plausible mathematical explanation, but I always felt it was far-fetched," Wien said.

Li Yu said: "If the professor has seen the derivation process, he will know that there are no mistakes."

"Even if there is no mistake, if the starting point is wrong, it can only be interpreted as a coincidence of the result," Wien said.

Li Yu said with a smile: "Professor Wayne, I have spent a lot of space on mathematical derivation. You should also be able to see that although there is only an extra '-1' in the denominator, because it is a differential form, its mathematics is very difficult. It’s not a star and a half, and it can even be said that it’s not the same thing.”

Anyone who has studied advanced mathematics with indefinite integrals should have experienced it. Although it is just a simple change such as multiple "+1" on the denominator, it feels harmless to humans and animals, but the difficulty is simply from the novice village directly to the boss battle.

There is a very classic saying in advanced mathematics: "Adding one to the denominator will make it dilute in place."

To give a simple example, if you want to find the indefinite integral of one-fifth power of x, it is very simple, just use a formula, and it will be done in a few seconds.

But if you add 5 to the 1th power of the denominator x and then find the indefinite integral, the answer becomes very inhuman!

Basically, it can be regarded as a big problem in advanced mathematics competitions!
Just so perverted.

What's more, Wayne's formula itself is very complicated, far from being as simple as the fifth power of x.

So don't look at the small changes, in fact, it directly caused the formula to become very difficult mathematically.

This is also the reason why Planck was unable to give the correct mathematical derivation of black body radiation before.

In the eyes of many physicists, this is not a physics problem at all, but a mathematical problem, because it has exceeded the mathematical ability of all physicists at this time.

It is true that most physicists at this time do not pay much attention to mathematics, and they have to consult specialized mathematicians for many mathematical problems, even Einstein is no exception.

Hilbert, who is not a particularly fast-headed person in the mathematics world, can mock Einstein's mathematical ability very casually...

"That's why," said Wayne, "I think there's something wrong with your statement. It's just a mathematical gimmick."

Li Yu said: "Mathematics is the language to explain the natural world. If it cannot make sense mathematically, then any formula will be water without a source and tree without roots. To some extent, the formula of the professor is also a kind of half Empirical formula, right?"

Wien's black body radiation formula is really not purely deduced.It's just that his "experience" is too rich, he has studied the black body for many years, and even the original strict definition of the "black body" was given by him.

Wien said: "Even if it is an empirical formula, my formula is much more concise. Physics should be concise, and it should have an explanation of the nature of physics."

Li Yu said: "I agree with what the professor said. Physics is indeed concise and beautiful, but simplicity and simplicity are two completely different concepts. As for the explanation of the nature of physics, I think Mr. Planck's article makes it very clear."

"Quantum?" Wayne asked.

Li Yu nodded: "Don't you think that with such a simple setting, the physical explanation can become extremely concise and aesthetically pleasing?"

Wayne shook his head vigorously: "On the contrary! The concept of 'quantum' is like a ghost, no, it should be a demon! It seems to be beyond the scope of science, and is approaching an unscientific religion."

Li Yu said: "Hundreds of years ago, when the microscope saw human cells for the first time, it was the first time that everyone knew that life is composed of such tiny things. Cells are composed of even smaller atoms. Atoms can still be subdivided, such as the electrons discovered by Professor Thomson before. But does the professor think it will be subdivided infinitely?"

Wayne was somewhat stopped by the question, thought for a while and said, "This is a good question, I didn't realize it before."

Li Yu said: "If it could be infinitely subdivided, then physics would not need to exist, because everything is mathematics."

Wayne immediately said: "I cannot accept such a result!"

Li Yu said with a smile: "According to Professor Planck's formula, everything has a minimum lower limit. Doesn't this give physics the best initial foundation?"

"It seems... there is some truth," Wayne said, "but what you said is somewhat involved in the field of philosophy, and I need to study it carefully."

Li Yu said: "After a few years, professors may not think it looks like abstract philosophy, but real physics."

"Although I can't fully agree with your point of view, I admit that there is a partial explanation of the nature of physics to a certain extent, and I will conduct in-depth research on this." Wien said.

In fact, Wayne is quite self-motivated, and the Nobel Prize that should not belong to him did not make him lose himself, and he has continued to learn the latest theories since then.

Li Yu said: "Professors are welcome to correct my theory at any time."

Wayne is also not polite: "I will try to find the loopholes in it."

Li Yu said: "If this is the case, it is also a spur to myself."

Wayne said: "But if your conclusion is correct, my years of hard work may be in vain."

"Not at all," Li Yu said, "At least the professor's formula fits very well in the short-wave field, and the calculation is simple. It is still no problem to use an optical pyrometer to measure temperature."

This is the reason why Wien's formula has not been completely discarded since then.

But this is a problem at the application level, so it is natural to pursue simplicity.

Wayne sighed: "That's the only way."

And he definitely didn't want that in his heart.

Li Yu said: "Science must always advance. I thought of a sentence to send to the professor, Let's kill the dark ones."

Li Yu thought of the hero VN in the League of Legends, Wei En. Many people must be familiar with this classic line: "Let's hunt those who fall into the darkness."

Wayne was a little shaken, and smiled wryly, "I'm the one in the dark?"

Li Yu said: "The two dark clouds are too big now. I am afraid that most people are living in darkness."

Wayne felt a little better: "I hope I can see the light."

In the past 100 years, science has developed so fast that many scholars are afraid that they will not be able to keep up with the pace.

While Wien was a little uncomfortable, Einstein was very happy to see Li Yu's paper on single electrons.

Almost every sentence of the article touched his heart, and Einstein fidgeted in the patent office: "It's wonderful! If it is really what Li Yu said, then many problems that have troubled my mind for a long time will be explained. .”

He didn't care about the patent review work at hand, and thought about it with the "Physical Yearbook": "But if there are mistakes, wouldn't it be a failure? But there should be no mistakes, right? After all, we all thought of going together..."

Einstein was a little hesitant, because he himself knew it was counterintuitive.

"Forget it, just try it, if you make a mistake, it's a big deal and try again!"

At this time, Einstein was young after all, and he had every chance of trial and error.

The director coughed: "Einstein, today's patents on suspension and carburetors must be examined carefully."

Einstein quickly withdrew his thoughts: "Okay, Director, I will do the job at hand well."

The director said: "These patents come from Austria and Germany. Regarding the requests of customers from these two countries, we must not be careless."

After all, Switzerland is a small country and cannot do without the markets of other countries.

"I understand," Einstein said.

But even if he is working, his mind is full of thinking about cutting-edge physics.

As soon as the director left, Einstein immediately found the telegraph machine of the Patent Office and sent a telegram to Li Yu who was in Siemens, Germany: "Mr. Stay in Europe for a while longer, and I will definitely go to Berlin when I have time. -Albert Einstein."

Li Yu is happy, it is really not easy to make the young Einstein make such a request, but he is an idol anyway, so I should go to him in the future, and I also happened to go to Switzerland to see the snow in the Alps.

Cough, take a girl to be romantic...

So Li Yu replied: "Mr. Einstein, you don't have to worry about this, I will go to Switzerland myself."

Even if Einstein has weekends, the round trip is not so fast now, the time is too tight.

Einstein was very happy: "I look forward to your arrival! Also, it is best to choose a weekend, because I have a lot of questions to discuss with my husband."

It's not easy being an office worker!