shadow of britain

Chapter 541: Talents are recruited regardless of their background
Please believe that the light of truth behind the dark clouds and dust will eventually shine through and dispel them with a smile. Twenty-seven years ago, I said this to Ohm, and today, I will give it again to my friend Mr. Charles Darwin.

—Arthur Hastings

Dear father:
When you read this letter, I have already boarded the carriage to Göttingen. To be honest, I don't know how this journey will turn out, let alone whether I can succeed in the academic path of natural philosophy. However, after several years of darkness, I am going to give it a try.

As a natural philosopher, Martin and I do not have a distinguished background like other natural philosophers. There is no "Fon" in our names, and we have never inherited large tracts of land and livestock. But the poverty of our family did not affect your desire to provide Martin and me with the best education possible.

Because my mother passed away very early, you had to work to support the family during the day and raise us children at night. But even so, you still didn't feel bothered by your fate. Every day before going to bed, you would smile and tell us the science stories you learned by yourself.

You told us about Newton, Priestley, Euler, Laplace and Herschel. It was from you that I discovered the wonders of natural philosophy. You taught us those annoying mathematical formulas and those amazing physical phenomena. When we were older, you felt that you could no longer give us more guidance, so you took half a lifetime of savings and gritted your teeth to send Martin and me to college.

In Erlangen, which locksmith's son would go to university?

Only you and locksmith Joan Ohm's two sons are college students.

Your character and sentiments make all of Erlangen proud. No one calls you the locksmith from the east of the city anymore. Now, everyone who sees you introduces you to outsiders as "This is the father of Dr. George Ohm and Dr. Martin Ohm - the respected Mr. Joan Ohm."

Actually, I shouldn't have said these words today. You know, your son is not the kind of person who is pretentious.

I am writing this letter to you today just to say sorry to you.

Compared with my brother Martin, I, your eldest son, have disappointed you. Martin also studied at the University of Erlangen, but later he studied for a doctorate at the University of Berlin and successfully stayed at the university to become a professor of mathematics. As for me, I am far from being as worry-free as Martin.

When I first entered the University of Erlangen, I was immediately dazzled by the colorful world of the university. I put all my energy into dancing, skating and billiards, and I dropped out of school for a while. I still remember your expression when you took me home. It was the first time in my life that I saw such an angry expression on your face.

I lowered my head all the way and dared not look you in the face. After we got home, you bought two bottles of wine, and we sat at the table and drank our wine without saying a word. Then you stood up and sent me to Switzerland. Before I left, you threw my luggage into the carriage and said, "George, you have disappointed me and your dead mother."

I got a job as a math teacher in a primary school in Gottstadt, Switzerland. When I saw the eager eyes of the children in the class, I finally recalled the nights when you told us stories of natural philosophy in my childhood. It was only then that I regretted it and finally understood what was most important to me.

I longed to return to the university classroom and the ocean of knowledge that was once at my fingertips. I contacted Professor von Langsdorfer of the University of Erlangen, hoping that he would allow me to continue my studies at the University of Heidelberg. However, von Langsdorfer told me that the University of Heidelberg might not be willing to accept a student who dropped out of the University of Erlangen, so he suggested that I teach while studying mathematics on my own.

Although I was unwilling to accept it, I also knew in my heart that Professor von Langsdorfer was right. Because I made a mistake, I had to bear the consequences. I stayed in Switzerland for five years. During these five years, I taught during the day and conducted natural philosophy research at night. Only then did I understand your hard work.

Five years later, I returned to the University of Erlangen with my thesis "Light and Color", for which I was awarded my doctorate.

Then I passed the Bavarian state exam, obtained a government-recognized professorship, and taught mathematics for three semesters at the University of Erlangen as a private lecturer.

However, the mistakes I made when I was young still affected me. Perhaps because of my previous bad experience, I was never able to obtain a formal professorship at the University of Erlangen, and therefore could not obtain academic grants and salaries granted by the state.

At that time, you knew that my financial situation was very bad, so you offered to help me. However, you also know that you are a strong German man, and so is your son. I can't accept your help because you have suffered for most of your life, and I can't let your later years become more unhappy because of me.

So, I took the initiative to leave Erlangen and traveled to various German states. First in Bamberg, then in Cologne, and finally in Berlin like Martin. However, although we were both in Berlin, Martin taught at the university, while I taught at the middle school.

But even though we teach in different places, Martin and I have the same dream. I want to be like the characters in your stories, and I am eager to make my own achievements in the academic field. Temporary suffering will not knock me down, because I have a strong father like you as a role model.

Although the scientific instruments in high school are far from being as complete and good as those in university, I am the son of the best locksmith in Erlangen. This little obstacle is not a problem for me at all. I can do everything, whether it is carpentry, turning or locksmithing.

Since the 19th century, Volt invented the voltaic pile, Ampere proposed Ampere's law, and Oersted discovered the magnetic effect of electric current. New discoveries in the field of electricity have been made one after another, and countless people have rushed into this hot field.

So, I naturally turned my research focus to electricity. I made a torsion balance using the magnetic effect of electric current discovered by Oersted, and made a voltaic pile using the materials available at hand. However, due to the unstable voltage, I gritted my teeth and bought a newly invented thermoelectric battery.

I worked day and night to conduct experiments, and whenever I had time, I would go to the laboratory to record data. Finally, my hard work paid off. Amidst the piles of data, a flash of inspiration in my mind allowed me to glimpse the truth given by God to mankind - in the Galvani circuit, the magnitude of the current is proportional to the total voltage!

This huge discovery instantly overwhelmed my mind. I wrote a paper titled "Determination of the Law of Metal Conduction" overnight and sent it to the Journal of Chemistry and Physics early the next morning.

Dad, I wish you were by my side at that time. If you were, you would definitely remind me to stay calm and that researchers in natural philosophy must do things with a rigorous attitude.

But I was so happy at the time that I didn't proofread the paper. This is what happens every time I get carried away, and this time was no exception. The formula I sent was wrong, and the results calculated using this formula were inconsistent with my later experimental results.

I immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and planned to retract the published paper, but when I rushed to the editorial office of the Journal of Chemistry and Physics, it was too late. They told me that the new issue of the magazine had already been sold.

I thought I would take this opportunity to make a comeback and get rid of the stain of my early years. However, my rash and hasty approach made me suffer again. Researchers all over Germany were angry about my behavior. Everyone thought I was sensationalizing and pretending to be an expert.

Overnight, I became the laughing stock of the entire scientific community. Everyone was disdainful of me, an academic fraud who wanted to squeeze into the scientific community. I was filled with ridicule, sarcasm, and even bad words. They called me a high school teacher, a locksmith's son, and a professor of paper fraud.

All of this makes me feel like I'm falling into an ice cave, but this is not because of the harm I have suffered, but because I feel very sorry for you. I made a mistake and deserved to be punished, but this is not a reason to implicate you. I don't think there is anything shameful about being a locksmith's son. I am proud of being a locksmith's son.

Born in a poor family, but I have achieved achievements that even the noble professors have never achieved. I originally wanted to repay your kindness in this way. However, due to my mistakes, not only did I become a clown in the scientific community, but you were also blamed and became the father of a liar.

I was panicked by their attack, but because of the previous lesson, I didn't dare to draw a hasty conclusion this time. I spent a year summarizing and organizing the previous experimental results, and carefully verified them, and then launched my academic monograph "Mathematical Calculation of Electric Current".

I thought this book would settle the debate, but I didn't expect that my bad reputation had already been established, so they didn't even bother to read the book carefully. Most people who could understand it didn't want to spend time on academic fraud, while those who couldn't understand it followed suit and accused me.

Even those experimental physicists who really know the subject, perhaps because of my reputation as an "academic fraud", did not believe the concept of resistance I proposed. Instead, they thought I was making up some non-existent imaginary products.

Johann Poggendorff, editor of Protz-Analei, Johann Pfaff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Gustav Fechner and Ludwig Kamz of the University of Leipzig, etc. They all rushed to criticize my conclusions.

They insisted that my conclusions were contrary to common sense in physics. How could the current generated by a battery be related to the electric potential?

What hurt me most was that even my friend Georg Boll, who received his doctorate at the University of Erlangen in the same year as me, directly criticized my book. He said: "People who look at the world with a pious eye should not read this book, because it is pure and incredible deception, its only purpose is to desecrate the dignity of nature."

These conflicts were so intense that my friendships and collaborations with almost all of my German physics colleagues were broken off. I could no longer conduct my research or even my teaching at school.

After all, even high schools are reluctant to hire an academic fraudster as their teacher.

So, in 1827, the same year that Electric Current and Mathematical Computations was published, I took the initiative to resign from the school without informing you in advance or informing Martin and Barbara.

Dad, I have to apologize to you. I swear to God that I cut off contact with my family. It's not that I don't love you anymore, but I don't want to continue to implicate you. I came to a small town in the countryside of Bavaria under an assumed name. Although it is not far from Erlangen, I don't have the face to go back to see you.

I worked as a tutor there to earn a meager income. During this time, although I wanted to do research, the experiments were not very smooth due to economic constraints. I thought that I might go to the grave as a "fraudster Ohm" in this life.

Perhaps it will take many, many years for my theories to be accepted by the world. Perhaps...

Sorry, Dad, I'm getting a little emotional as I write this.

I don’t know why. I am already 40 years old, but I always can’t control my emotions like a child.

Maybe you don’t know why I am so excited. It’s because a few days ago, just a few days ago, I saw a glimmer of dawn on the endless horizon.

I heard from others that Sir Arthur Hastings, a famous British electromagnetic researcher, crossed the English Channel and came to Germany. You must have heard of this name because he was an assistant to Mr. Faraday, the "blacksmith's son" whom both my father and I liked.

Mr. Faraday's story is widely circulated in the European scientific community. What a noble man he was! So noble that he seemed to have walked out of the Bible.

Although my speculation is unreasonable, I wishfully believe that Sir Arthur Hastings, who was deeply influenced by Mr. Faraday, must also be a person of high moral character. Moreover, unlike the German researchers, he does not know the mistakes I have made in the past, so I think he may be able to analyze my academic achievements from a more objective perspective.

With such an unrealistic fantasy in mind, I sent him a copy of my book.

But the delusion didn't last long. By the next day, I regretted it. I thought he might throw my book into the wastebasket and spit on it. Even if he didn't know me, the professors at the University of Göttingen would tell him how notorious Georg Ohm was.

You know, he is the academic supervisor of the University of Göttingen, a big shot!

So, if he said something bad about me, the impact would definitely be much worse than those German professors.

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep for days.

Slowly, as time passed, my mood gradually calmed down.

I thought to myself that he must have thrown my book away, or maybe he didn't even look at it.

Because I can guarantee that there must be a lot of researchers who want to attract his attention like me. How can he possibly read all the books and monographs?

When I thought of this, I felt a little lost but also a little relieved.

For me at that time, being scolded less would bring me countless comfort.

However, when it came to the second week, on Monday morning, the postman carrying a mail bag knocked on the door of my rented house and handed me a letter.

The little postman, who was only a teenager, made my heart rise to my throat with just one sentence.

"Your letter, sir, comes from Göttingen."

I felt like I was dreaming, and I was shaking all over as I held the letter with Sir Arthur Hastings' personal stamp.

I was both excited and afraid. I was looking forward to receiving his affirmative reply, but I was also afraid that the letter would be filled with malice.

A letter weighs only a few dozen grams, but I felt as if the entire British Isles were weighing on my hands.

I washed my face first, stared at my face in the mirror for a long time, then took out a letter opener from the drawer and cut the letter bit by bit.

I took out the letter with trembling hands.

However, this piece of letter, which I value more than my life, only contained a few casual words.

—Dear Mr. Ohm:

——Your book is very good, but I still have doubts about some parts. If you are free, can you come to Göttingen to have a chat? I have attached the travel expenses on the back of the letter, a total of 50 ducats. You can use the extra money to eat something good on the way.

—Arthur Hastings

Dad, can you understand how I felt when I saw the check attached to the back of the letter?
I couldn't believe my eyes. For a moment I thought God had finally noticed his suffering child. Otherwise, how could Arthur Hastings, a stranger to me, treat me like this?
Göttingen, this is probably my only chance in this life.

If you can read this, please pray for me in Erlangen, where I will clear my name, not only for your sake, but for mine as well.

George Ohm
1833 December 7

(End of this chapter)