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

Chapter 469
Li Yu asked Rutherford: "Professor, are you ready to continue the experiment in Manchester?"

Rutherford said: "It should be possible, but my assistants have not come back yet. McGill University in Canada cannot let everyone go at once."

Of course, McGill University did not want Rutherford to leave. At this time, Canada was also a desert of culture and science. Rutherford almost single-handedly made this university among the top ranks in physics.

Before Li Yu's time travel, McGill University was still firmly among the top three universities in Canada, but at this time it absolutely could not afford the price of Rutherford's entire team leaving.

If that really happens, once we go back to before liberation, not only McGill University, but also the entire Canadian physics scene will be set back by more than ten years.

However, if Geiger and others see Rutherford leaving, there is a high probability that they will follow him.

Rutherford was very determined to return to the UK. Not only was Canada unable to retain him, but top universities in the United States were also unable to recruit him.

American universities are very wealthy, offering high salaries of at least three to four thousand US dollars, and they are first-class universities such as Yale University and Columbia University.If we can produce results, it will be no problem to continue doubling our income.

But Rutherford gave up.

Li Yu said: "If the professor were to wait another year, it would be more difficult to leave Canada."

"You don't really think I'm going to win the Nobel Prize, do you?" Rutherford asked.

Li Yu said: "Anyway, if you lose, you have to agree to my conditions."

Rutherford spread his hands: "In fact, the environment in Montreal, where McGill University is located, is very good, far better than the polluted air in Manchester. However, the research environment of McGill University cannot be compared with that of the University of Manchester. There is a brand-new laboratory that has just been established here.

"Also, it's unbelievable. The cost of living in Montreal is higher than in London. I have to spend almost one-fifth of my income to pay rent. Just a small house costs 100 pounds a year! For comparison, I live near Manchester. I rented a stone villa for only 10 pounds. And Montreal is a French-speaking city, with French road signs everywhere.”

Li Yu said: "Are you confused by French?"

"There are so many differences between French in Quebec and French in France, it's crazy," Rutherford said.

Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city after Paris. Almost [-]% of the people in the province of Quebec where it is located speak French.

Li Yu said: "Whether it is the University of Manchester, at least you can go to the Cavendish Laboratory which is much closer."

"Yes, I was very excited when Professor Thomson discovered electrons at the Cavendish Laboratory ten years ago," Rutherford said. "After all, at that time, everyone still thought that atoms were a bit like small marble balls. It is an indivisible substance; the reason why atoms can be combined to form molecules is because of the influence of some electric force that connects them together.

"In the Nature magazine back then, I remember that one issue even talked about the fact that atoms are filled with electrons, and electrons make up atoms. This idea has many fans, because it can greatly simplify the problem."

Of course Li Yu understood this idea and replied: "They must think that nature should be simple and perfect, but they unknowingly made a stupid mistake."

Rutherford said: "I have done experiments specifically, and it is no surprise that the mass of an electron is one thousandth of the mass of the lightest hydrogen atom, and it always only carries a negative charge. It is obvious that there is something inside the atom." Something else.”

Li Yu actually knew these contents completely, but for physicists at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was really unbelievable.

Li Yu said: "Nature is beautiful, but it is not simple. In the future, the microscopic field will set off more turbulent waves than macroscopic physics."

"I really hope so, because this is what I want physics to be like!" Rutherford said, "The life of a scientist is full of passion - revealing some of the mysteries of nature and solving some long-term problems. The joy and excitement brought by people's puzzling questions are indescribable, just like reading the most exciting science fiction novels, which makes people unable to calm down for a long time. Yes, I also like your Star Wars series very much .”

"The professor doesn't seem worried at all," Li Yu said.

"What's there to worry about?" Rutherford asked.

Li Yu said: “For hundreds of years, apples have fallen to the ground every day and every moment, but now, suddenly, it seems that the apple does not always fall to the ground, but has a new place to go.

"The discovery of X-rays, the electromagnetic effect, the determination of the speed of light, and especially the birth of the theory of relativity... all of these seem to be putting the law of universal gravitation founded by Newton into serious crisis."

Rutherford said: "It is true, but I haven't done much research on the theory of relativity because it cannot be tested. In my opinion, the first task of scientists is to observe and study the material world through scientific experiments, relying only on mathematical theories It’s dangerous to make inferences about ever-changing natural phenomena.”

Rutherford was the quintessential experimental physicist.

Li Yu said: "Physics is naturally inseparable from experiments, but if mathematics and theory can provide guidance and predictions in advance, the experiment can have a clear direction."

Rutherford said bitterly: "But that always feels like making a wedding dress for others, spending all your efforts to help others verify their theories."

Li Yu said: "The theory of relativity is too special and different."

"Okay, but I still have to wait for more conclusive evidence to come out before I believe it," Rutherford said instead, "It's dinner time soon, let's go to my little villa."

They walked out of Rutherford's office and happened to meet a few people, including one who was Japanese.

Rutherford asked, "Dr. Schuster, who is this?"

Schuster is also a professor of physics at the University of Manchester. He said: "I am accompanying Minister Kikuchi to visit the University of Manchester. Minister Kikuchi is the Minister of Natural Sciences of the Imperial Academy of Japan. He is also an honorary doctor of law from the University of Glasgow and our University of Manchester."

Li Yu met Kikuchi when he was lecturing at Tokyo Imperial University. His full name is Kikuchi Oeroku. He is a second-generation leader in Japanese mathematics. He later became the dean of the Imperial Academy of Japan and has a high status in Japan's education industry.

Kikuchi said: "It turns out that Academician Li Yu is here, and both of them are so young."

Li Yu and Rutherford shook hands with him politely, "Nice to meet you."

Kikuchi said: "I heard that Professor Rutherford is a contemporary alchemist. The ancient alchemists tried to extract gold from base metals, and you realized this dream using rare metals in the laboratory."

Rutherford said helplessly: "Those are all taken out of context by newspapers. They don't understand physics at all. They report indiscriminately and can easily mislead the public. I must explain that although it is not impossible to change one metal into another, at least It will be impossible to make money from this for quite some time."

After hearing this, Kikuchi showed a somewhat regretful expression on his face, but it passed quickly and continued: "If possible, there is still hope."

It was difficult for Rutherford to understand Japanese psychology, but adhering to the rigorous attitude of a physicist, he gave Kikuchi a good lecture on physics.

Kikuchi studied in the UK in his early years and studied mathematics. However, after returning to China, he has been engaged in education and has not continued to pay attention to new developments in science. Moreover, he is not very familiar with physics.

"We don't even fully understand what atoms are, so how can we use them?" Rutherford said, "If I were an atom, I would definitely laugh at the idea of ​​​​human beings and want to possess me even if they don't understand me."

After hearing this, Kikuchi laughed and said, "Professor Rutherford's metaphor is too intuitive."

Rutherford said: "Many reporters interviewed me with questions about the so-called alchemy. Some even asked, is it the end of the world?" After Kikuchi chatted with them for a few more words, he continued to inspect other colleges. .

-

After finally leaving the university, the two came to the small villa that Rutherford rented. Rutherford's wife served Ceylon black tea and placed a copy of the day's newspaper and a few letters.

Rutherford was a little confused after seeing the letter.

Li Yu also discovered that the envelope was signed by Becquerel, the French scientist who won the 1903 Nobel Prize together with the Curies.

Rutherford said: "The French are so persistent!"

Li Yu asked: "Could it be that there are some differences of opinion between the two of you?"

"Yes," Rutherford said. "When I first returned to England, I mentioned in a lecture at the Royal Society that if alpha rays were hit on a thin metal sheet, their speed would be greatly slowed down, and they would be more susceptible to damage. It was deflected due to the influence of the magnet. But Professor Becquerel denied this statement and wrote many letters to engage in fierce debate with me."

Li Yu said: "Now that the experiment has not been fully completed, I'm afraid the debate is just on paper."

Rutherford said: "Yes, so I can only reply a letter casually, praise the French's elegance, and let him calm down temporarily."

Li Yu said: "What a move for the golden cicada to escape from its shell."

Rutherford was indeed a man who was very capable of making both ends meet.

"The golden cicada escaped from its shell?" Rutherford didn't quite understand.

Li Yu quickly explained to him: "This is one of the "36 Strategies" in the Chinese Art of War."

"I saw Chinese art of war books in the bookstore," Rutherford said, "I just didn't expect you to stop reading physics books and start reading art of war."

Li Yu smiled and said, "Just take a look."

Rutherford took a sip of black tea and said, "Mr. Becquerel is not easy to get in touch with. His writing always has a condescending feeling, as if he wants to guide me in doing things, but he has never even done any experiments on alpha particles."

Li Yu nodded: "In comparison, the Curies are much more approachable."

"When it comes to Madame Curie," Rutherford put down the tea cup, "I was so impressed by her. Her face was pale, she was obviously overtired, and she looked much older than her age. Her work was too tiring, She is very weak, and the sight of her makes me feel very sad."

Li Yu said: "It also indirectly shows that rays are harmful, especially the powerful radiation produced by radium, which is very scary."

"Oh!" Rutherford said, "But even if you know it, you still have to do it. How do you say that in Chinese?"

"Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, I prefer to go to the Tiger Mountains." Li Yu said.

"Yes! That's it. Isn't this the attitude that scientific workers should have?" Rutherford said.

The next day, the two returned to the University of Manchester again, and Li Yu visited his laboratory.

The physics laboratory facilities at the University of Manchester are very new. After all, this laboratory was just established in 1900. In terms of facilities alone, it is one of the best in the UK. Without it, Rutherford would not have come back.

After Rutherford entered the laboratory, he first asked a temporary assistant: "Has the news come back from Vienna?"

The assistant immediately took out a telegram: "The Vienna Society said that they cannot lend us all of their half gram of pure radium."

"Why?" Rutherford said, "Don't they know we are in a hurry? And we have the best experimental conditions in Europe."

The assistant continued: "The Vienna Society said that almost at the same time as they received our letter, they also received the same request from Sir Ramsay (the 1904 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry). So the Vienna Society was initially puzzled whether we were the same person. Dude. But after they investigated, they found out that wasn’t the case.”

Although Rutherford is a well-rounded man, his current relationship with Ramsey is not particularly good.

The main reason is that both of them are engaged in radiation research, and currently the entire Europe is short of the most important experimental raw material - pure radium.

Rutherford asked: "What was the final decision of the Vienna Society?"

The assistant said: "What they want is for us to share the half gram of pure radium equally with Sir Ramsay."

Rutherford said: "What a joke! Sir Ramsay is a chemist. How can he know more about rays than me? Send him a telegram and say that the University of Manchester is very short of radium. The entire university only has 7 milligrams! And I The follow-up work of the project urgently needs radium, otherwise it will be seriously hindered."

Ramsay is currently at University College London, and the exchange of telegrams is very fast. It didn't take long for them to receive a reply from Ramsay:

"In fact, I don't even agree to divide the radium equally. If the radium is divided equally, its practical value will be greatly reduced. Therefore, I suggest that this half gram of radium should be kept by me for a year or a year and a half so that I can use it for scientific research. Study it and then give it to you for use.”

Rutherford was very anxious when he saw it. For a year and a half, the day lilies were cold.

He suddenly felt a little envious of several universities in the United States, which at least would not face difficulties due to the huge amount of funds required to purchase radium.

Now he is "borrowing" from Vienna in a cowardly manner and has to share it equally with others, even waiting for a year and a half.

Rutherford immediately sent a telegram back to Ramsay: "I really can't accept it! In fact, you want to occupy all the borrowed radium samples for a long time. And my experiment is even more urgent because I have already Prepare the experimental equipment, if it is delayed, all the efforts will be wasted."

At present, there are so many scientific restrictions, and it is difficult for everyone to give in.

And Rutherford knew very well that if he delayed it for so long, he might not be the first one to get there first.

He already has some vague ideas about the atomic model in his mind, but it requires many experiments to prove it. Radium is an indispensable and important preliminary material.

Rutherford sent a telegram, hoping that Ramsay could be more reasonable. In Ramsay's eyes, it seemed that only those in chemistry could experiment with radium.

Physics is the leader!Rutherford thought to himself that the other subjects were just collecting stamps.

(End of this chapter)