Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Berlin, Germany.

In a classroom at the University of Berlin, a bearded student got the teacher's permission, stood up and bowed and asked: "Professor, I have a question I really want to ask you, that is the relationship between distance contraction and time derived from the special theory of relativity." Wouldn't conclusions like prolongation cause you to panic?"

Putting the lecture notes on the podium, Max Planck motioned the students to sit down first, and smiled after a short thought: "These conclusions are unacceptable only when people appeal to their 'feelings', but physicists But it is the ability to transcend deep-rooted intuitions like space and time, and it is this ability that allows man to hope to establish a truly universal physics acceptable to both Earthlings and Martians."

Pausing for a while, looking at the students below, Planck went on to say: "Many electrodynamic theories use some kind of electron model, but Einstein's theory is the opposite, which makes those electrodynamicists anxious. brings relief"

Just as he was talking vigorously, a student went out through the back door without saying a word or making any gestures, carrying his schoolbag.

When Planck saw this, he immediately stopped talking, stopped speaking, and watched the student go out quietly. After the student went out completely, the back door was closed, and the smile on his face stopped abruptly.

The students looked at the back door, then at the professor on the podium, all were silent, and there was a different kind of breath in the air.

Faced with such a situation, Planck looked gloomy, sighed, took off his glasses and put them on the table, and said sadly: "Students, what's the matter? Why did you leave halfway through the class? This makes me very sad." Ah, you must have a pious heart when dealing with knowledge, and blaspheming her will only lead to your own academic failure."

Some students at the bottom clattered their books away and muttered: "It's not that they are not religious to knowledge, but that their patriotic heart can't bear this kind of insult. It's really a shame to talk about that traitorous idiot. Spoiler."

Fool (German: der Depperte) is Einstein's slow learning to speak when he was a child, and he especially liked to speak loudly. He was originally clumsy but wanted to show his timidity. His maid also picked up such a nickname after laughing at him. It's a pity that later Einstein slapped this maid in the face with practical actions. He was able to write scientific papers in his teens, and everyone knows what happened after that.

The origins of the traitors are more complicated. After Germany captured Belgium, newspapers in Britain and France published headlines: "We love the Germany of Goethe and Beethoven, and we hate the Germany of Bismarck and William II." In this case, the German academic community immediately drafted a "Book of Confession to Civilization" (German: An die Kulturwelt!), which was used to advocate the justice of Germany's war. Only the "German spirit" is the hope of all mankind.

There are 93 signatures of top scholars on this list, such as Nernst, who proposed the third law of thermodynamics, Roentgen, who discovered Roentgen rays, etc. Of course, the protagonist of this class, Max Planck, also signed on it, for Support the policies of the German government.

With the German academic circles generally holding a positive attitude, Einstein didn't sign it, and he took the lead in drafting another anti-war agreement, "Letter to the Europeans", which is bound to cause dissatisfaction among some people in Germany. Not listening to his words of praise, it seemed reasonable to leave voluntarily.

Planck saw the movement of the student and remembered it in his heart. He closed his eyes and pursed his lips, and became surprisingly silent. When he opened his eyes again, his eye circles were red.

A student who knew about it couldn't stand it any longer, stood up without raising his hand, glanced at the student who made the movement just now, and then looked at the teacher on the stage: "Professor, you misunderstood this matter, that student already suffered from dysentery, according to the The doctor ordered you to take a good rest and recuperate, but in order not to delay your class, you took the medicine and struggled to come out, but your body didn’t allow it, and you were sweating just now, and there is really no way to go out, or you have to be in class Make a fool of yourself, it really affected the class at that time."

Hearing this, Planck's eyes were filled with joy at first, then relieved, and then immediately sad. All kinds of emotions came together, and it turned out to be a little moist.

Turning his back, he didn't want the students to see this embarrassment, pretended to wipe his glasses, wiped his face quietly, quickly turned his head, and sniffed.

"Okay, let's put a paragraph on what happened just now, and let's continue with the rest of the class. You have to take notes on the classmate just now, and teach him in time after the patient recovers. If you don't understand, you can come to the office to find me."

After class, Planck returned to his office, closed the door, recalled what the student said just now, and combined with what happened to him in recent years, he covered his head with his hands and covered his eyes and couldn't help sobbing, tears kept flowing out from his fingertips penetration.

Regardless of the great reputation of Planck in later generations, there are only a handful of honors he received in his life. He founded quantum theory in 1900, and did not win the Nobel Prize in Physics until 18 years later, at the age of 61.In the middle, it was difficult to become a member of the Department of Physics and Mathematics of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. During the secret ballot, one-third of the people opposed his entry, and this was basically the greatest honor in his first half of his life. This situation did not gradually improve until his later years. , but still not worthy of his academic value.

The family seems to be a little bit more miserable. Last year, the big man Carl just died in the battle of Verdun in the European meat grinder. At the beginning of this year, Gretel also died of illness after giving birth. The son-in-law later married another daughter. Unfortunately, the same happened two years later. Died in childbirth, the second son seemed to be luckier. He was captured by the French army the year before last, and escaped by chance. Unfortunately, he later appeared on the stage and died in World War II. He is the German version of "Alive", the hero Fugui. .

Career and career are not going well, family and family are bumpy, and now because of signing the "Confession to Civilization Book", he is rejected by the European academic circles, because he sympathizes with Einstein, he is faintly dissatisfied by domestic colleagues, and he is caught in the middle. During the years, one son and one daughter passed away one after another, and the family photos on the table were all directly buttoned up, and they didn't dare to look at them again. The several blows made Planck's mood almost collapsed.

The man did not cry easily because he did not reach the sad spot.

Just at this moment, there was a rhythmic knock on the door.

"Professor, are you in the office?"

Plank hurriedly tidied up his clothes, wiped away the tears on his face, and straightened the photo frame, but he still didn't dare to look directly at the figure above, and moved his perspective to another place.

"Yes, I am here, the door is unlocked, you can come in directly."

"Okay, I'm sorry to disturb you." The person who opened the door was a staff member in the reception room. After taking off his hat and saluting, he respectfully handed over the document in his hand: "Professor Planck, it's like this. A telegram, the recipient is you, and you rushed over immediately after getting the item."

"Chinese Academy of Sciences? I don't remember any contact with that side. Besides, when did China have an Academy of Sciences, I have to ask those Chinese students later." Planck thought for a while, but he didn't expect any connection with that side, maybe It's just that it was sent by mistake, and I didn't pay special attention to it: "Okay, thank you, my old Leon."

"Huh? Professor, you still remember my name. It's really unexpected. Other professors only remember my nickname, but they never know my real name." Old Leon was very happy. This kind of big man who is incomparable to the janitor, being able to remember his name is a small honor, and it is worth going back to drink a glass of dark beer and show off: "It's okay, you just need to sign your name here, You can take the file."

"Here, okay." He took out a pen from his breast pocket and prepared to sign his name. Unfortunately, after a few strokes, only a white line appeared. It was obviously out of ink. In the end, it was Old Leon who took out his pen and signed his name. sign on.

Holding the receipt, Old Leon handed over the document and took off his hat again to thank him, but when he lowered his head, he suddenly found that the eyes of the man in front of him were bloodshot. Looking at the photo album at a strange angle, he suddenly understood something: "Professor Planck , if you can, you can sit with me at night and have a few drinks. My son and your son are still comrades-in-arms in the army, but it's a pity...you have to take care of your health."

After finishing speaking, he put his hat on, old Leon walked out the door with the receipt, closed the door softly, and the room was instantly silent again.

Holding this "weird" telegram, Pukron was not in such a bad mood in a trance, and even had the urge to go out and catch up with old Leon on the spot, venting all his recent unhappiness.

It's a pity that this telegram has a kind of magical power, it sticks firmly to the hand, and there is no room for other things.

"The sender, 'Tom Cheng', seems to have heard this name somewhere, and it always feels familiar." Looking at the name, Plank looked at the name, and there was a hint of familiarity in the strangeness, which was very weird, but he didn't care about it, and opened it After reading the content, you will know its content.

"Dear Max Planck, I am very glad that you took time out of your busy schedule to read this telegram from a strange country. First of all, let me introduce the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is a newborn, just born this year. Spread the spirit of science on the Eastern Continent, let more Chinese people feel the charm of knowledge and enjoy the fruits of the development of natural science. Of course, our foundation is still shallow. I believe you will see many valuable research reports from us in the future.

Secondly, as the dean, my research focuses more on mathematical number theory, and the results I have made are not particularly remarkable. I just solved one of Hilbert's conjectures recently, so you may not be very familiar with my name. But this is not the point. My partner and I are also very interested in quantum theory. Mathematics and physics are also interlinked. I will definitely visit you in the future

We sincerely invite you to participate in the first scientific conference held in China at the end of this year. You are very welcome. If possible, I hope you can give us an academic report, and we will organize it for you to the highest level.

Of course, if you yearn for a better, freer and purer academic research environment with more funds, you are also welcome to come. I believe that the Chinese Academy of Sciences will give you enough surprises.

Finally, on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I would like to express my deepest condolences for what happened to your son and daughter, and may their souls rest in peace and return to the embrace of God.

In addition, Chinese traditional medicine has a lot of research on maternal and child health. If you need it, you can contact me at any time. "

The career card and the family card were dispatched at the same time. Although Cheng Nuo didn't take the idea of ​​inviting Cheng Nuo to join the job, he was too unfamiliar after all. How could he easily hand over his fate to such a strange person and place? Just an individual, in front of the bright German academic circle, is far from enough to see.

But when he thinks of his daughter and grandson who died together in dystocia just now, his heart feels like a knife is twisted. He also has a second daughter, and similar things may happen in the future, making him who has always believed in his intuition uncomfortable.

Now being excluded in the academic world in Germany, going out to relax is just to give an academic report. It seems that it is not a big deal, and I can get away from this haze for a while, and I am really excited for a moment.

Putting the photo on the table upright, looking at the smile of his second daughter, Plank secretly made up his mind, picked up the phone on the table, and called the school library.

"Is it Simon? I'm Max Planck. Do you have any papers about Chinese mathematics professor Tom Cheng? Please make an appointment for me. I'll go over and read them right away. By the way, are there any books about traditional Chinese medicine? I will also make an appointment, thank you."

Turning his attention back to the country, besides Planck in Germany, Cheng Nuo also sent telegrams to other people who had experienced similar situations. Or a cryptic invitation to avoid the war, or an invitation to participate in the first annual scientific meeting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to participate in academic reports, etc.

The purpose is to let these people come over and truly experience the charm of the Academy of Sciences. If these people really agree to come, then the matter will be at least half successful.

Jiang Jiangzuo packed up the written telegram, browsed it briefly, and said a little puzzled: "Zhiyuan, you said that it is normal for you to send telegrams to Planck, Hilbert and others, but to Zhukovsky and Pablo Husbands can also understand that the fame and strength are great, but the problem is that some people are not poor in their country, on the contrary, they are very popular. Isn’t it useless for us to do these jobs? Why do people look at us who are poor and famous? ?”

Cheng Nuo glanced at him, dipped the pen in some ink, and buried his head in writing, explaining, "If you have dates, you have to pay for them, and if you don't have dates, you have to pay for them. You're not the person involved, so how do you know they're doing well?" Ruyi? Our telegrams are just a head start, which is equivalent to sending invitations and worshiping the top of the mountain. If we want to have a long-term development in the international academic circle, we have to make a name for ourselves."

"Yes, I understand all of these, but there are some drafted telegrams, why do you still have to invite them to join the job?" Jiang Jiangzuo was still a little puzzled, and asked: "Just greet directly, and force this to attract attention, will it attract attention?" Their dissatisfaction was really shooting themselves in the foot at that time."

Rustle, there was a sound of writing on the desktop, and after writing this paragraph along the line of thought, Cheng Nuo raised his head and replied: "We are not well-known at the moment, but after the efforts of our comrades, it may not be better than these 'academic gathering places. It’s bad, the people we invited at that time think back, the feeling must be different, maybe there are people who are willing to come, this is also a mutual achievement, if one in a hundred telegrams is willing to come, that’s enough.”

Adjusting the angle of the desk lamp, Cheng Nuo said, "Everything is difficult at the beginning. Now that Mr. Tesla has joined, the latter's psychological burden and grievances will be much less. The day when the second international person arrives will not It’s too long ago. We don’t need to be greedy for many things, we just need to be a candidate for these university students, and when they really encounter difficulties, they will carefully consider us.”

Jiang Jiangzuo frowned, thought carefully, and said with emotion: "Yes, it is a good thing to become their second choice besides the motherland, but it is extremely difficult to do so. But the problem is, apart from In addition to these well-known scholars, why did you send telegrams to so many people who are not well-known and have never even heard of them in the academic world? This is not old or young."

Cheng Nuo smiled, picked up the roster prepared by his side, counted carefully and said, "Not many, only one or two hundred people, these are really my main goals, and they are also important potential stocks. Right now, I am at the peak of my life. In the low valley, you can give them some sunshine and they will shine brightly. To be honest, I sent telegrams to so many celebrities. In a sense, it also promoted our Academy of Sciences. Add some shine."

"Improve the grade, add luster?" Jiang Jiangzuo repeated, and soon understood what was going on, and sincerely praised: "Well, you Zhiyuan, this is the reason why you really sent telegrams to those famous scholars, right? The purpose is to make these 'little guys' you think receive the telegram and think that they have gained the same respect as well-known scholars. In ancient times, they might die for their confidantes."

"Academic respect is the most important thing for them at this stage." Cheng Nuo looked at the list and agreed, "I hope these people can appreciate my good intentions. Our Academy of Sciences has a large territory. I’m willing to accept as much as I want, and I will never treat them badly.”

After reading the drafted entry preferential conditions on the telegram, Jiang Jiangzuo's eyes glowed: "With your conditions, it is rare in foreign countries. Fortunately, I have already joined our Academy of Sciences, otherwise I have to pack up and directly Come here, don’t even want to pack your things, just bring a boat ticket.”

However, what he didn't know was that Cheng Nuo relied on foresight and knew that the other party could indeed produce results before he dared to offer such a high condition. Otherwise, he really dared to bet on someone, and the Academy of Sciences' money would not It wasn't caused by strong winds, and there was no room for wasting a penny of funds.

So this kind of seemingly favorable conditions, that is, the Chinese Academy of Sciences can open it, no matter whether it is London, Berlin, or Paris, they will not take such a big risk at all. Resources are limited after all, so invest more in this person. , the other ten people may lose a dime, not to mention that after investing, they may not necessarily gain something.

Cheng Nuo smiled and continued to work hard: "If you really want to say that, then our manpower will not be so short, but in the final analysis, you need to be hardworking yourself, and you have to return to cultivating your own people after all. , Don’t say anything about borrowed things, and don’t feel at ease when you use them.”

After dealing with the telegram here, Cheng Nuo pulled Tesla together and went to the Watson Electric Factory together.

At present, many powers are busy with World War I, and there is only one competing product in the market. It is an excellent window for the development of domestic products. I missed this village. What's more, there were still so many compradors waiting to be fed, and the situation at that time was quite unsatisfactory.

After greeting the guards, Cheng Nuo didn't disturb the leaders of the factories, and directly led the people to push open the gates of the factories.

"Dean Cheng, is this the affiliated enterprise of the Academy of Sciences you mentioned? It looks very large, and these workers and masters seem to be very motivated." Tesla looked up and down and said.

"Yes, this factory is currently developing fans in order to quickly capture market share." Cheng Nuo introduced from a safe distance away from the lathe: "At present, its core is the fan motor, but unfortunately the technology is not yet mature enough. After the successful research and development, the production cost cannot be reduced, but fortunately, it happens to be the alternating current technology that you are good at, so I invited you here."

The previous interest was already there. When he heard that AC technology could be promoted, the interest on Tesla's face became even stronger: "Then what is it? Is it the speed is not enough, it is difficult to start, or the no-load current is unbalanced, and the three-phase difference is large. .”

As expected of an expert, as soon as Cheng Nuo raised his head, Tesla's chatterbox was completely opened up. He mentioned more than a dozen common problems in a row, and was even able to give optimization and troubleshooting solutions.

It's a pity that Cheng Nuo's research on motors is too little, so he won't be able to talk to him later.

At this moment, Yang Jichuan, who heard the report from the workers below, trotted over from another corner of the factory in a hurry. His face was even stained with oil, and his body was a little thinner than last time. It was obvious that he had been going into the workshop recently. drill.

"Professor Cheng, when will you come over, you should tell me in advance, so I can make special preparations, so I can't be rude to you." Yang Jichuan wanted to reach out his hand, but suddenly found some oil on his hand, so he wiped it vigorously on his body. It's a pity that the overalls on his body were not clean, and he couldn't clean them after wiping them, so he had no choice but to say hello: "The workshop is too noisy, why don't we go out and talk."

Cheng Nuo smiled, bowed his hands to return the salute, and said sincerely: "Old Yang, it seems that you have suffered a lot these days. The last time I called you at the party, you were pushed away. There is a limit in work, and you will be exhausted sooner or later. of."

Yang Jichuan rubbed the back of his head, led the way in front and said with a simple smile: "It just so happened that I had inspiration in those few days, you know that thing, it is fleeting, and we are stupid, so we can't do it if we don't devote ourselves to it, but after the busy days, Much better."

Cheng Nuo nodded. He didn't want to get involved in matters related to life, so he pointed to Tesla beside him and introduced, "This is him."

Yang Jichuan's eyes had long been on Tesla, and before Cheng Nuo finished speaking, he said first: "This is the famous Mr. Tesla, I have admired him for a long time, and finally I can meet a real person, you Well, hello."

Because he speaks Mandarin, although Tesla is also learning Mandarin these days, it is limited to the ones that are commonly used to say hello. After listening to this with a smile, he can only understand the last "Hello", and then He also smiled and said in a blunt tone: "Hello, hello, nice to meet you."

But after finishing speaking, Tesla couldn't help but look at Cheng Nuo and winked at him.

After Cheng Nuo received the hint, he introduced in English: "This gentleman is called Yang Jichuan, he is the director of this factory, and he is in charge of everything in the workshop. In the future, many of the electrical technologies of our School of Application and Engineering will be in this factory. The factory area is going to the market, by the way, most of the future funds of your college will also depend on them, the benefits are more, and the funds will naturally be more."

The word "funding" completely touched Tesla's heart. When he was in the United States, this was the most troublesome thing for him. Last year, relying on patents for vehicle counters and headlights, plus other miscellaneous things, he earned less than two dollars. Ten thousand U.S. dollars, this money will soon be invested in the next experiment, and it can't even cover the scientific research expenditure, otherwise he wouldn't have been renting the hotel all the time, who wouldn't want to live in the big house.

Thinking of this, the smile on Tesla's face became even bigger: "Director Yang, if you have any technical difficulties in the factory, just tell me, I will find a way to help you solve them, especially the AC motor technology. I have very rich experience in this area. A small fan is definitely a no-brainer."

Who would have thought that Yang Jichuan didn't understand English, so he frowned and listened for a long time, only to say: "Sorry."

Cheng Nuo, the instigator, almost couldn't hold back his laughter, and quickly translated the original words, which solved the embarrassment between the two of them.

While the two looked at each other and smiled, they also secretly vowed in their hearts that it was really important to learn another foreign language.

In this way, through the intermediary Cheng Nuo's translation, the two of them also got to know each other to a certain extent, and soon turned to technical issues, that is, the motor technology that Huasheng Electric Manufacturing Factory is currently most concerned about and troublesome.

When I came to the exhibition room, I turned on the fan on the spot. After the power was turned on, except for a bit loud noise, basically there was no accident of black smoke from the last time.

Looking at the fan, Yang Jichuan was still dissatisfied and said: "It sounds like it can spin up, but the actual production cost has not yet come down, and the overall use comfort is still a bit worse than that of the American Qiqi brand electric fan, so we just got it on the market. Come on, I'm not willing."

After Tesla circled the fan, he took a look at a motor from the display shelf next to it, and found the original design drawings. After reading it carefully, he was surprised and sighed: "It's hard to imagine, this is a motor. I have never been able to design a product that has been designed by a person with professional electrical training. I am very inspired by the unconstrained design, but unfortunately the foundation is not stable, and there are many small mistakes. A single one may be harmless, but the accumulation is more. The problem has emerged, so let me re-tell you the basic equations of the three-phase AC motor and lay the foundation again."