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

Many people have always felt that the Chinese do not have a few Nobel Prizes in the field of natural sciences. It seems that they are really weak in the field of science and technology. In fact, they should have been awarded very early.

And it is a very critical Nobel Prize.

One is the discovery of antimatter!This is a very remarkable result.

That's right, in fact antimatter was first discovered by Chinese Zhao Zhongyao, but at that time some people were prejudiced against him and kept criticizing him, but it turned out that the critics were wrong, but the Nobel Prize had already been awarded to Anderson at that time.

Anderson himself admitted that he was inspired by Zhao Zhongyao.

The other is Wu Youxun. The Nobel Prize for the Compton effect should be awarded to him, at least jointly.

The two elders were later the first batch of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in New China, but their honors are far more than that. It goes without saying that the weight of the Nobel Prize in the field of natural science is not much to say.

Although the two of them didn't say much because of the lack of the Nobel Prize, the older generation of scientific researchers really didn't care much about money and status, and their moral character was unbelievably noble.

But Li Yu was not as noble as them, and he really couldn't swallow this breath.

Why! ?

It should be ours and we have to come back!

It's just that there is no rush on this matter, because one of the two big brothers has just been weaned and the other has just entered elementary school. Li Yu can't help for the time being, and will definitely help in the future.

At least these two heavyweight Nobel Prizes will not run away again!
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As for the liquid helium that Onnes is working on, it is just the liquid helium itself, and the water inside is also very deep.

Anyway, in the final analysis, there are many interesting phenomena in low-temperature physics, and superconductivity is just one of them.

But to realize these discoveries, there must be no liquid helium.

Therefore, Onnes is fully qualified to win the Nobel Prize based on the achievement of liquid helium alone.

Li Yu also presented Einstein's paper and discussed it with Lorenz.

Lorenz had never heard of Einstein before, but after reading the paper, he immediately found that his own theory was used in it.

Lorentz was greatly surprised: "These mathematical transformations are just to prove the relationship between the motion of the earth and the rest of the ether, how can they be used in the discussion of time and space?"

Li Yu said: "Professor Lorenz, is there a possibility that ether does not exist at all?"

"No, no, no!" Lorenz said three nos in a row, "I know you will definitely mention the Michelson-Morley experiment again, but this experiment can at most only show that the earth is stationary relative to the ether."

Li Yu laughed and said, "Isn't this still relative?"

Lorenz shook his head again: "I want to reiterate my point of view, I still believe that the ether is absolutely static."

Li Yu spread his hands: "Then how do you explain the Michelson-Morley experiment?"

Lorentz thought for a while and said: "The movement of the earth in the ether is like the resistance that a person encounters when swimming in water. This resistance will deform the ether near the earth, similar to the shock wave generated when a person swims."

Li Yu's mind turned quickly: "You mean, it is the deformation that causes the ether in front of the earth to be compressed, and the light path becomes shorter, just like the ripples of water, so the light speeds up in front of the earth; similarly, behind the earth Slow down?"

Lorentz nodded and said: "The experimental instrument can't measure the change of the ether, so no matter whether it is in the front or the rear, what we observe is that the light travels the same distance in the same time, so we can't see the ether. Any situation in which the earth moves relative to the ether"

Li Yu rubbed his chin. Although Lorenz's words were a little bit unreasonable, this explanation still made sense.

Li Yu said: "But in this case, the mathematical processing will become very complicated, unimaginably complicated, because there will be many high-order terms that are difficult to reduce, and the listed differential equations of motion cannot be solved at all."

Just like using the geocentric theory to forcibly explain the movement of the solar system, a problem that could have been solved with just a few simple quadratic equations has abruptly turned into a complicated set of high-order equations.

It feels like when you are about to enter a critical battle with a girl, you only need to take off your pants, but suddenly you find that there is a combination lock on your underwear, and you need to solve a second-order partial differential equation!

Not only did the girl fail to make love, but she was also ridiculed for her intelligence, which was too uncomfortable.

Lorentz’s starting point is still the absolute space-time view in classical physics. He looked at Einstein’s paper and said: “However, I still have to admit that the treatment method in the paper is very simple. From the perspective of relativity, it can even be It is very ingenious to obtain the exact same motion formula as the static system, whether it is physical thinking or mathematical demonstration."

Li Yu pointed to the Lorentz transformation mathematical formulas and said: "When the professor used these mathematical techniques before, didn't he discover that they can directly get the conclusion that the speed of light in the ether system is equal to the speed of light in the earth system, without using the ether system at all?" to explain the contraction and expansion of

Lorenz said: "But in this case, relativity must be admitted; and once relativity is admitted, what ether is needed?"

Lorenz's mathematical intuition is indeed excellent, and he actually sees this clearly, but he just doesn't want to admit it.Perhaps it was more painful because of the fear that years of study and research would turn out to be all wrong.

Li Yu said: "The professor doesn't need to worry about how relativity will cause damage to the building of physics, at least your theory is used in it; just like Mr. Maxwell's formula, it can be separated from the ether to prove that the speed of light is constant."

Lorenz sighed: "I can't predict how this theory will develop. I'd better wait for it to be published and see how the whole physics community treats it."

There is nothing wrong with Lorenz saying this. After all, he and Planck belong to the same kind of people in essence. In this turbulent era, classic physical concepts cannot be easily discarded.

Planck came up with quanta for the same reason that Lorentz used new mathematical tricks: out of desperation.

But this step they took out of desperation is crucial to the future development of science.

The coercion of the times!

After closing Einstein's thesis, Onnes said: "These theoretical things make people drowsy, let's go and see my laboratory, aren't you also interested in low-temperature physics. "

Li Yu readily agreed: "This is an important purpose of my coming to Leiden University."

When he came to the famous cryogenic laboratory of Leiden University, Li Yu was a little surprised when he first entered. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

Van der Waals immediately said: "Don't hold back, I know what you want to say, do you think this is like a brewery?"

Li Yu said frankly: "Yes, it's too similar!"

Van der Waals laughed out loud, and then reached out to Onness: "You lost!"

Onnes then handed him a 10 guilder note.

Li Yu asked in surprise, "This is the two of you?"

Van der Waals accepted the money with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "I made a bet with Professor Onnes that you would think this place is a brewery at first sight, and he still doesn't believe it."

"That's right," Li Yu said shyly, "I didn't do it on purpose, but it's really too similar."

Van der Waals and Onnes had a close relationship, and the two had worked together for decades.

Onnes's low temperature production is inseparable from the van der Waals equation.

Although physics is not as rigorous as mathematics, it is not just a joke.

It was van der Waals' doctoral thesis, which extended the rational gas equation of state to the liquid theory 30 years ago, that gave theoretical support to gas liquefaction.

The van der Waals equation has a great influence on the industry, because the isotherm of almost any gas can be obtained from it, and it is known under what conditions these gases can be liquefied.

Because the principle of multi-stage refrigeration is used, there are many tanks in the laboratory. It is indeed very vivid to say that it is a brewery.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, look," Onness pointed at some jars, "There are some jars of suitable size, I just went to Mr. Heineken to get them."

Li Yu almost forgot that Heineken beer is in Amsterdam.Anyone who has watched the UEFA Champions League is no stranger to the Heineken beer advertisement.

Li Yu smiled and said, "No wonder I smell some hops."

Lorenz pointed to another corner: "Your nose is very sharp. There is an unopened can of Heineken beer over there, which is a gift from Mr. Heineken. I come to this laboratory every now and then because of these beers."

Onnes explained dumbfoundingly: "Actually, I told Mr. Heineken that I no longer lack cans, and he still regularly sends a lot every week."

Lorenz waved his hand: "Let him continue delivering."

Li Yu saw some customs forms again, and asked curiously, "Could all the helium used in the laboratory be imported from the United States?"

Onness said: "It was shipped from the United States. It is said that the Americans discovered an oil and gas field rich in helium in Kansas last year."

Lao Mei was really lucky. At that time, the natural gas in this oil and gas field could not be ignited. It was scientists who discovered helium in it.

Laomei took advantage of the trend and basically controlled the global supply of helium.

However, at this time, there is no superconductivity, no rocket propulsion, and no high-end chip manufacturing industry. The main use of helium is military, that is, helium airships.

Li Yu said: "Aren't you afraid that the Americans will be able to liquefy helium ahead of time for their experiments at a close distance?"

Onnes said, "They don't have the skills!"

Van der Waals also said confidently: "Don't talk about helium, they can't even liquefy hydrogen!"

"It's the Germans that we worry about," Onness added.

Li Yu said: "Could it be that they are afraid that they will make airships and purchase helium?"

Onness said: "That's it. Last month we shipped a batch of helium gas, and it was almost cut off by Zeppelin's people. Of course, it wasn't an obvious robbery. They wanted to pay 20% more for the purchase. Cut it, don't say it." I will not accept 20%, 100%!"

Li Yu said with a smile: "Everyone regards the United States directly as a source of raw materials!"

Onnes blinked: "Isn't it?"

Li Yu sweated wildly: "It is... right!"

The Europeans are really confident at this time, and they don't take the Americans seriously at all.