Chapter 427 Unified Field Theory! Defeat God! "Bruce, this time I will surpass you!"
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, Germany.
The German government has realized the importance of scientific research a long time ago.
And as the scale of research continues to expand, the government alone cannot sustain the input of funds.
As a result, the German government established a specialized research institution called the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Promotion of Science.
The first president was Planck.
The society provides research space for scientists and accepts donations from business and industry.
There are many research institutes under the Society: Chemistry Research Institute, Physics Research Institute, Electrochemistry Research Institute, etc.
Among them, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics was founded in 1917, and its first director was Einstein.
The establishment of the institute was almost abandoned.
As for the reason, it is very simple, that is, no money.
During the war, all resources in Germany were used for the military, and no one could care about a research institute.
Fortunately, it was finally completed under the operation of Planck, Nernst, Haber and other big guys.
After the end of World War II, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics was merged into other institutes.
But in real history, this institute had a profound impact on the world.
In 1921, Laue became the second director.
In 1941, Heisenberg served as the third director and became the leader of Germany's development of the atomic bomb.
He has an important assistant, Hahn.
Hahn was the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry and the discoverer of uranium nuclear fission.
If not the plan ultimately failed.
The institutes named by Emperor William will probably become the number one research institutes in the world.
However, at this moment, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics is just an ordinary research institute.
Although it is well-known in Germany, there is still a certain gap between it and top research institutions such as Cavendish Laboratory.
Originally, Germany wanted to invite Li Qiwei to be the director of the Institute of Physics, but he refused.
So, at Planck's suggestion, Einstein became the director.
At the same time, Einstein was also a professor of physics at the University of Berlin.
Although classmate Lao Ai no longer has the general theory of relativity, he is still a proper physics boss by virtue of his achievement of jointly publishing the special theory of relativity with Li Qiwei.
Being the director of a research institute is more than enough.
At this moment, in the director's office.
Einstein was holding his pipe with one hand and writing and drawing on the manuscript paper with the other hand.
Opposite him sat his friend Laue.
Laue is also now a professor of physics at the University of Berlin.
In his spare time, he often came to the Institute of Physics to discuss problems with Einstein.
But at this moment, he didn't speak, just smoked quietly and looked at his old friend.
Einstein's expression was profound, but there was also a hint of excitement.
Because the content on the manuscript paper is all his hard work in recent years.
A theory that is enough to shock the world of physics!
Unified field theory!
This theory, created to unify gravity and electromagnetism, is the embodiment of Einstein's ambition.
As the physicist who co-published the special phase with Ridgway, Einstein is often compared.
But now, Li Qiwei's strength has far surpassed him.
Although this does not affect the relationship between the two, Einstein is obviously also a competitive person.
"Since Bruce is called the God of Physics and the God of Physics, then I will defy God and defeat God!"
"As long as I perfect the unified field theory, I will definitely surpass Bruce."
call!
Laue blew out a smoke ring and asked in a deep voice:
"Einstein, are you really ready to publish your paper?"
"At the second Bruce meeting, Bruce said that it was too early to study a unified theory for the time being."
“He also asked us attendees to keep it secret.”
"Now, how confident are you that you will be the first to make it public?"
In real history, Einstein published the first paper on unified field theory in 1922.
This began his more than twenty-year journey to unification.
The so-called unified field theory refers to a physical theory that describes the nature and internal connections of interactions from the perspective of "field".
We know in later generations that there are four basic interactions in nature: gravity, electromagnetic force, strong force, and weak force.
But at this point in time, physicists have only discovered two forces: gravity and electromagnetism.
Although Ridgway predicted at the Second Bruce Conference that other fundamental forces may exist, there is no evidence so far.
Moreover, even with the evidence, Einstein’s idea is:
"Then I can unify gravity and electromagnetism first, and then use this framework to gradually unify other forces."
I have to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Lao Ai’s idea.
It's just that he was so unlucky that he encountered the gravity bug first.
Because gravity is so special, it is difficult to connect it with the other three forces.
According to some speculation, gravity could only be unified under the extremely harsh conditions at the initial moment of the Big Bang.
So no wonder it failed.
The theoretical basis of Einstein's unified field theory is as follows:
In general relativity, the gravitational field is described as the curvature of space-time.
So if you want to unify gravity and electromagnetism, you can consider connecting the electromagnetic field with the geometric properties of space and time.
For example, the electromagnetic field is the rotation of space-time? Or is it the folding of space and time?
etc.
In this case, the changes in space and time can be used to describe gravity and electromagnetic force, thereby achieving the purpose of unification.
This is the central idea of Einstein's unified field theory.
To put it figuratively, a unified field theory is the geometrization of physics.
Theoretically, this is indeed a feasible idea, and it is in line with the unified aesthetics.
If gravity hadn't been so weird, Einstein would have succeeded long ago with his IQ.
In real history, other methods have emerged.
For example, Kaluza-Klein's five-dimensional space-time model.
The idea is to incorporate the electromagnetic field into the five-dimensional space-time system by adding another dimension.
The two men believed that unification would only occur at high latitudes.
All kinds of forces in four-dimensional space-time are just projections of some kind of higher-dimensional existence.
However, after more than two decades of efforts, all theories that want to unify gravity and electromagnetism, including unified field theory, have failed.
Because these theoretical plans only consider classical field theory (that is, macroscopic gravity and electromagnetic phenomena).
But it does not involve the quantum effects of fields.
This is because Einstein at that time actually had a prejudice against quantum mechanics.
He did not want to mix his noble unified theory with something as deviant as quantum mechanics.
This is also an important reason for his failure.
There is no way, the bigger the boss, the more stubborn he is and it is difficult to change his mind.
Unless a more powerful boss wakes him up.
Although Einstein failed, his contribution and the significance of the unified field theory cannot be denied.
After all, he was the first to try it.
His ambition inspired countless physicists.
Over the next hundred years, generations of geniuses came one after another, just to take a crucial step on the road to unification.
When Dirac combined special relativity and quantum mechanics and proposed the concept of "quantum field theory", the road to unification was on the right track.
Within the framework of quantum field theory, several amazing theories were born, getting closer and closer to the road to unification.
But quantum field theory is still helpless when it comes to gravity.
Therefore, some people want to combine general relativity with quantum mechanics and propose the concept of "quantum gravity".
But there are still no good results yet.
From this we can see the difficulty of gravity and the difficulty of unification. However, at this moment, Einstein did not know that his future was destined to fail.
He is now full of confidence, as if he sees a bright future.
Punch Bruce, kick Rutherford.
"I don't know what Bruce is worried about."
"But for unified field theory, I already have a theoretical foundation."
"I think this is a viable path."
"The current quantum theory is just a theory describing microscopic particles."
"To put it bluntly, it is still within the category of electromagnetic force and has no impact on the unified field theory."
"This time, I think Bruce is wrong!"
"He should not wait so long for the development of quantum theory."
"The road to unity is the most critical."
Wow!
Einstein's bold words made Laue open his mouth in surprise.
This friend of mine is a bit too fierce.
It seems that Bruce had a great influence on Einstein.
"Anyway, my mathematics is very poor, and I have no chance of getting involved in unified field theory."
"I'll just watch you gods fight quietly."
"Maybe Einstein can surpass Bruce and Newton and accomplish this great feat."
After hearing this, Einstein smiled and said modestly:
"Haha, that's not enough."
“This paper of mine is of the nature of provoking new ideas.”
"I agree with Bruce's words: The ultimate goal of physics must be unity."
"Although I am confident, I am not arrogant."
"The unified field theory is just my path, it does not mean it is necessarily correct."
"But, I will never give up."
At this moment, Laue felt Einstein's strong desire.
That is the ultimate belief in physics.
This best friend of mine, like Professor Bruce, has a pure heart for physics.
They are all warriors walking alone in the dark.
Moreover, he is very optimistic about Einstein's unified field theory, and his ideas are very amazing.
I'm afraid even Professor Bruce himself has never thought about this.
Maybe we can really unify gravity and electromagnetism.
At that time, Einstein's name will definitely shock the whole world.
However, Laue still reminded:
"Einstein, would you like to write a letter to Professor Bruce."
"Communicate your thoughts with him."
"The Third Bruce Conference is about to be held, and your unified field theory will definitely cause a sensation."
"Perhaps we can announce the contents of the second session."
Einstein nodded.
"That's a good idea."
"However, I don't know what Bruce has been busy with recently."
"I have invited him many times to come to Germany to give lectures, but he always said he didn't have time."
"This time I have published a unified field theory, so I don't believe he won't come."
Laue laughed.
"That must be fun."
"Your unified field theory excludes quantum theory, and Professor Bruce established a quantum research institute specifically."
"Now Einstein, like Professor Rutherford, will probably have a debate with Professor Bruce."
Einstein smiled:
"This is the physics I like."
"I would rather have a question that has no answer than an answer that cannot be questioned."
"It has always been my dream to play against Bruce."
Laue felt a little lost.
Even though I have won the Nobel Prize, why do I still feel so far behind you?
I didn't even have a topic to discuss with Professor Bruce.
Soon, Einstein wrote a letter outlining his ideas about a unified field theory.
He wasn't worried about any leaks.
After all, the concept of unity was first proposed by Li Qiwei.
He is the pioneer of unified theory.
And Einstein wants to be the first founder and even the successful one.
This is destined to be an extremely difficult road.
——
At the Quantum Institute, when Li Qiwei received Einstein's letter, he felt a sense of emotion in his heart.
In this life, his glory shines on the entire physics world, but he still cannot resist the challenge of those big guys.
First Rutherford, now Einstein.
In the future there will be Bohr, Heisenberg, Dirac and so on.
Although Professor Bruce is extremely powerful, he can still be surpassed by the boss.
This is what Li Qiwei wants to see.
"The heroes of the world are really like the crucian carp crossing the river!"
"However, when all the waves are gone, I will remain standing!"
Li Qiwei did not want to see Einstein being delayed by the unified field theory for the rest of his life, just like in real history.
So, he has to make some changes.
bite!
Li Qiwei rang the bell gently, and Wang Zhengyang walked in.
"Zhengyang, go and call Irena."
Soon, Irena walked into the office with doubts.
She noticed that Uncle Bruce had a serious expression on his face, and it was obvious that something important was on his mind.
Seeing her coming, Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"Irena, I give you a task."
"If the nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons, then there should be a repulsive force between protons and protons."
"If we rely solely on gravitation and electromagnetic force, will it be enough to overcome this repulsive force and press protons and protons, protons and neutrons together?"
"You can think of a way to do an experiment to verify your calculation results."
"This is a test of your ability."
Wow!
Irena was suddenly very excited, and her chest was heaving.
This topic is a bit too high-end.
"Professor, is this task too important? I'm afraid of screwing it up."
Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"I believe you. If you encounter a problem, you can go to Schrödinger to discuss it first. His mathematics is very good."
After hearing this, Irena became confident.
"Don't worry, Professor, I will complete the task."
Looking at Irena's leaving figure, Li Qiwei smiled softly.
That's right, he is going to propose the concept of strong and even weak force at the Third Blues Conference.
He wants to gather the four basic forces in advance.
This will be a huge challenge for unified field theory!
Li Qiwei muttered:
"Einstein, how will you face this situation when the time comes?"
"Should you continue to adhere to your unified field theory, or should you embrace quantum mechanics and take another path?"
(End of chapter)