Reborn and become a Great Scientist

Chapter 335 74 Lord Niu returns to Cambridge

Fortunately, as Wittgenstein said, he really only encountered some physics problems in the process of studying "Lectures on Quantum Mechanics" and did not turn today's after-class Q&A work into a pair of philosophical questions again. Some discussion of the issue.

And those questions he asked were limited to the scope of the lecture notes compiled by Chen Muwu, Dirac and others, and the knowledge content involved was not very advanced, so Chen Muwu could deal with them calmly and with ease.

It didn't take long for him to explain the questions raised by Wittgenstein one by one.

If Wittgenstein were himself, after Chen Muwu's fluent explanation, his first reaction would definitely be to blurt out: "Sri Guoyi!".

But it is a pity that he is only an Austrian and has never been exposed to himself or the culture in this life, so he will not do what Chen Muwu imagined.

However, after all the questions he raised were explained clearly, Wittgenstein did not hesitate to praise him.

"Dr. Chen, there is still a big difference between physics and mathematics. I studied Professor Russell's "Principles of Mathematics" by myself. That book was much thicker than the current "Lectures on Quantum Mechanics", but at that time I had fewer problems than I do now.

"Of course, it may not be because of the difference between mathematics and physics, but because my foundation in physics is too weak. Forcibly learning quantum mechanics is like building a castle in the air without a foundation.

“Fortunately, I met a smart person like you at Cambridge University who can explain problems in a simple and profound way. With just a few words, I was able to suddenly understand a problem that I had been struggling with for a long time.

"The key is that you can not only explain it, but you are also the inventor of this brand-new physics discipline. I feel that your contribution to physics, if you use mathematics as an analogy, is that of Euclid who created geometry. In physics, it is Sir Isaac Newton who wrote "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" and Professor Einstein who invented the theory of relativity."

What Wittgenstein said made Chen Muwu feel a little untrue.

Isn’t it said that this person’s character is very withdrawn?Why can we talk about rainbow farts in different ways?

Before that, Chen Muwu had become accustomed to people comparing him to Einstein, thanks to those British newspapers that did not take it too seriously.

Today in Wittgenstein's temporary residence in Cambridge, it was the first time that he heard someone compare himself to Newton.

Chen Muwu hurriedly declined modestly: "Mr. Wittgenstein, you have over-praised me, you really have over-praised me. Whether it is Sir Newton or Professor Einstein, these two pinnacles of physics, I cannot compare with them." "

"I don't think so," Wittgenstein said with a calm expression on his face as he shook his head, "If you were born in Newton's era, you might have come up with his three laws of kinematics;

"And if you had been born 20 years earlier, maybe even the theory of relativity would have been named after you."

Wittgenstein's words became more and more outrageous. Even Chen Muwu couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head after hearing this.

The theory of relativity could have been invented 20 years earlier?How could it be so easy?

I'm afraid this is a bit unrealistic.

Even if he, Chen Muwu, traveled through time not in 1922, but in 1902.

When Einstein, who had just graduated from college, was still stuck in Milan sending resumes around to find a job, he appeared in the 28th year of Guangxu in a Tatar country in the East with his braided hair. Not to mention proposing the theory of relativity, could he It was a problem to survive in the troubled times when Guangxu and Cixi had just returned to Beijing from hunting in the west.

Even if he proposed the theory of relativity, wrote this theory into a paper, put it in an envelope, and traveled across the ocean to the editorial office of a European professional physics journal, if Einstein had not sent a telegram in advance to make an introduction, the editor of the editorial office would have If you don’t know how to open envelopes, reading papers is a problem.

And taking a step back, even if this paper is successfully published, will Westerners recognize the academic achievements of a backward country in the East?

Even Einstein, a white man, had been criticized for many years. It was not until Eddington led a team to observe the solar eclipse that his theory was finally proven correct more than ten years later.

If Chen Muwu had proposed the theory of relativity in 1902, no one would have been willing to spend a lot of money to form an astronomical observation expedition team and travel thousands of miles across the ocean to Africa and South America to observe the solar eclipse.

As for traveling back in time to the seventeenth century, before Lord Newton could find an apple tree full of fruit, sit down and learn the truth, watch eagerly as the apple fell and hit him on the head, and then accidentally discovered the "law of universal gravitation" ", and then discover the three laws of kinematics?
That's more or less putting the cart before the horse.

At that time in the seventeenth century, it was either the late Ming Dynasty or the early Qing Dynasty, or Dorgon had just entered the country with Xiao Shunzhi, or Kang Mazi had just ascended the throne and had not had time to deal with the powerful official Obai in the court.

If Chen Muwu traveled to this time, he would first have to face the question of how to survive in that turbulent era, and then whether to grow his hair or not. Next, as a time traveler, his mission is to consider How should we start the Tatar rebellion, drive out the Tatars, and restore China? What should we think about should not be where to find an apple tree.

Even if he takes a step back, Chen Muwu is willing to be an obedient citizen. After discovering the law of universal gravitation and the three laws of kinematics, he reported his research results to Kangxi, the wisest emperor of the most powerful country in the world at that time. There is no reward in exchange, and if you are unlucky, you may be refuted by the emperor, saying that it is some miraculous skill, which is completely ridiculous.

There was no International Postal Union at that time, so it was impossible for Chen Muwu to convey his theories to Europe through letters. The only way he could get in touch with Europe was through the few missionaries in the Qing Dynasty. They sent a letter for themselves.

However, the problem arises again. The missionaries represent the Holy See, the most reactionary theological center that also least respects science.

Even if this letter reaches Europe, I am afraid its ultimate fate will still be disastrous.Wittgenstein's statement was too whimsical, but he was indeed praising himself, which made Chen Muwu embarrassed to express his true thoughts.

But the other party still had no intention of stopping, and continued to blow Chen Muwu's rainbow fart: "Although you were not born 20 years earlier, you discovered the theory of relativity earlier than Professor Einstein.

"But in the face of various papers and experimental results that have been published for a long time, Dr. Chen, you invented quantum mechanics earlier than Professor Estein. Doesn't this mean that you are better than him?"

It can only be said that a philosopher is indeed a philosopher, and his way of thinking about problems and his conclusions are different from ordinary people.

Let Einstein invent quantum mechanics?
He was originally the biggest resister of quantum mechanics. He felt that many theories in it were incorrect throughout his life and he was always on the road of falsifying quantum mechanics. How could he possibly invent quantum mechanics?
Wittgenstein became more and more interested as he talked, and finally he couldn't help but start to imagine: "Dr. Chen, do you think that if Sir Newton had lived in our era, would he have invented quantum mechanics?"

The questions he asked were more exciting than the last. Chen Muwu had been a listener from the beginning, but it was not appropriate not to answer a question, so he chose to answer Wittgenstein's questions quickly to stop him from being unreasonable. Asked further.

"Mr. Wittgenstein, I don't know if Sir Isaac Newton will invent quantum mechanics when he comes to our time, but I know another thing, that is, he will be angry half to death."

"Where did this sentence come from? Is it because the development of physics today is completely different from Sir Newton's original vision? Or is it because Britain is not as prosperous as it was in his time, or is it because the University of Cambridge is xenophobic today? Does the policy make him feel dissatisfied?"

Wittgenstein's last question obviously refers to the affair between the current school supervisor Balfour and Chen Muwu. Even he, an outsider who has lived in seclusion in the Austrian countryside for many years, has heard about it.

"No, no, no, it's not what you imagined at all," Chen Muwu shook his head, "If we imagine that Sir Newton suddenly appeared in Cambridgeshire again, although after hundreds of years of development, the University of Cambridge is located on this land. The scale continues to expand, but the positions of the major ancient colleges have not changed. However, the robes he wears are not much different from the robe styles that have been preserved according to tradition.

"Aside from the conspicuous long golden curls on Sir Newton's head, others who saw him would not think that he was out of place here.

"Listening to the students from Cambridge University who passed him by, speaking English with a slightly awkward accent, Sir Newton probably understood what time it was now, which was hundreds of years later than the era he lived in.

“He must be very curious about how people’s scientific level has developed in this era, so he followed the memory in his brain and walked along the banks of the Cam River back to Trinity College where he once studied and worked.

"Sir Newton walked to the college library and picked up a calculus textbook in alphabetical order from the bookshelf marked with the letter C. This was his proud work in mathematics.

"As a result, after opening the book, Sir Newton was almost furious with the content in the book, because the calculus symbols used in it were actually the symbol system of his old enemy Leibniz.

"Fortunately, before he died, he casually opened a mechanics book from the bookshelf marked with the letter D. When he saw the 'flow number' symbol in the book, he still used his own method. So I took a breath of relief a little bit.”

Newton and Leibniz, one living in England and the other living in Germany, independently invented calculus, a mathematical calculation tool, at about the same time, and the symbols they used were different.

For derivatives, or flux numbers as Newton named them, the symbol he used was to add a dot to the letter of the "flow" (which in Newton's formulation was the function) to be derived.

As for the integral, a "`" symbol is added to the top of the integrand, which is easily confused with the derivation symbol of adding a dot to the letter.

Leibniz's calculus notation system is undoubtedly much simpler and clearer. The derivative is written as dx/dt, and the integral is ∫xdt, which is clear at a glance.

The dispute between Newton and Leibniz over the right to invent calculus has always been a famous academic joke. After Chen Muwu finished speaking, Wittgenstein, the owner of the room, just smiled knowingly and continued: " I think this is not only the case, maybe Sir Newton will also go to the row of bookshelves marked with the letter O and take down a book on optics. When he saw it said, 'Light is a wave' If you come to this conclusion, you will probably be so angry that you throw the book to the ground again, right?
"Or he will take another paper from the bookshelf that has been published in recent years. After reading it, he will start asking around the campus who is this doctor named Chen Muwu of Trinity College who can single-handedly bring order to the chaos. Light has become a particle again, which is really a great achievement!"

While talking, Wittgenstein made another joke on Chen Muwu.

However, the person involved, Chen Muwu, felt that the scene arranged for Newton did not seem to fit the Sir Alex Ferguson's character.

According to Lord Niu's character, after reading the current calculus symbols, he was very angry by his then opponent Leibniz, and he would definitely vent his anger on others.

He probably wouldn't have walked around a row of bookshelves, as Wittgenstein said, from C and D all the way to O's optical bookshelf.

Just after passing the row of bookshelves with the letter E, Lord Niu will see a set of tomes called "Encyclopedia Britannica" on it.

He will definitely take this set of books off the shelf, and then start searching for his own name in it to see what future generations think of him as a person, and at the same time appreciate his beauty in the portrait attached next to the entry. Yan.

After reading his own entry, Sir Niu probably had to search through the names of other scientists, mathematicians, theologians, enemies and political opponents of his time, and found that these names either did not appear in the encyclopedia, or It only has a few lines of text, which is far inferior to the rainbow fart in my own entry.

Especially for Robert Hooke, the number of words in the entry was not of the same order of magnitude as his own, and there was not even a portrait next to it, which made Lord Niu slap his thigh with joy.

Thinking of this, Lord Chen - not the Lord of Dai Ying, but the Lord of the Republic of China - couldn't help but laugh on his face.

However, he did not express his inner thoughts to Wittgenstein. He just wanted to end today's conversation quickly, for fear that while chatting, the topic would change to philosophy again.

(End of this chapter)