Chapter 460 The mystery of the fourth quantum number! Finally appeared! If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight!
Leiden University Library, Netherlands.
Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit sat opposite each other.
On the table in front of them, manuscript papers were arranged messily, with dense calculation formulas on them.
Although it seems complicated, it is actually anything but simple.
Uhlenbeck's face was filled with smiles.
He remembered again how he and his teammates discovered the fourth quantum number some time ago.
It was a story full of drama.
At that time, in order to catch up with Pauli, Gudsmit spent almost every day in the library after class.
In order to save time, he sometimes even only eats some fruits for lunch to satisfy his hunger.
It can be seen how badly he was sprayed by Pauli, even when preparing for the Physics Olympiad, he was treated so hard.
It just so happened that Uhlenbeck also came over that day.
During this time, he was fascinated by the fourth quantum number.
He almost memorized the contents of Li Qiwei's speech in Germany.
However, he still had no clue.
The two of them sat together, staring at each other with helpless expressions on their faces.
Gudsmit sighed.
"Am I going to always be beaten by that guy Pauli?"
“I’m really unwilling!”
"The fourth quantum number, you mysterious elf, where are you hiding?"
After complaining a lot, he could only read papers on quantum theory.
Hope to find some inspiration.
At this time, Gudsmit picked up the apple next to him.
He was about to take a bite when he suddenly remembered that he couldn't eat in the library.
So, I endured it.
Then, he turned the apple unexpectedly.
Although the apple is irregular in shape, the upper and lower parts are relatively flat, and it can still be turned around.
Gudsmit looked at the apple, his mood improved, and he even laughed.
At this time, Uhlenbeck on the opposite side was attracted by Gudsmit's laughter.
He raised his head and looked at the other person, then looked at the rotating apple next to him, and smiled.
"Dagu has been tortured to the point of being so boring."
"Oh, if he can't think of it anymore, I might as well persuade him to forget it."
"Without the fourth quantum number, physics has other important unsolved mysteries."
"It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge."
Yet when Uhlenbeck took one last glance at the apple.
boom!
It was as if a huge thunder exploded in his ears!
Almost instantly, he felt a flash of light that seemed to come from the birth of the universe.
It illuminated all the darkness in his eyes, allowing him to glimpse the light of the sky.
"Oh!"
"Oh!"
"Oh God!"
"I know!"
"I know what the fourth quantum number is!"
Uhlenbeck's heart was roaring crazily.
A surge of blood surged into the sky.
His face was even twisted with excitement.
"Ah~~~!"
He suddenly stood up and yelled.
I want to vent my excitement.
Everyone in the library was shocked.
"Holy crap, what kind of lunatic is this!"
"There's something wrong!"
"What qualities!"
They immediately looked in the direction of Uhlenbeck, with contempt on their faces.
Gudsmit was very embarrassed. He quickly pulled his friend to sit down, and then apologized to everyone.
"Uhlenbeck, what's wrong with you?"
"Is there anything wrong?"
"I will never compete with Pauli again. Let's study hard."
At this moment, Uhlenbeck finally calmed down.
He quickly apologized to everyone in the library in a very soft tone.
However, he excitedly said to Gudsmit:
"I know what the fourth quantum number is!"
"I was inspired by the apples you played with."
Wow!
After hearing this, Gudsmit was suddenly startled.
His eyes widened with disbelief on his face.
"Really?"
"Uhlenbeck, you didn't lie to me!"
"Oh my God! Say it!"
"I can't wait!"
Gudsmit could not describe his feelings. He felt that his blood was about to boil.
The fourth quantum number is about to become his nightmare.
Uhlenbeck breathed a long sigh of relief and said:
"The Pauli-Bruce Exclusion Principle proves that electrons must have a binary nature."
"The electron is like a point, moving around the nucleus."
"In three-dimensional space, up and down, left and right, front and back, these degrees of freedom have completely described the movement of electrons."
"These are the three quantum numbers of electrons."
"They are the quantum number of orbital number, the quantum number of orbital shape, and the quantum number of orbital direction."
"But we put our perspective on the electron itself."
"What if it is no longer a point, but an apple?"
Gudsmit was puzzled when he heard this.
Think of an electron as an apple?
What's the point?
If electrons are the size of an apple, then the atomic nucleus is probably the size of the earth.
Now it's just an apple moving around the earth.
There is essentially no difference.
So, he asked:
"What's the point of this?"
Seeing that Gudsmit had not yet reacted, Uhlenbeck smiled and said:
"How did you make Apple move just now?"
Gudsmit blurted out without thinking:
"Just make it spin, just like a top."
"Is there anything special about this?"
Uhlenbeck just smiled and said nothing, staring into Gudsmit's eyes.
suddenly!
The latter was suddenly startled.
"Rotate?"
"The apple is spinning?"
"Oh!"
"Oh my God!"
"The electrons are spinning!"
"Yes, yes, this is the fourth quantum number."
"And it's the nature of the electron itself."
"Uhlenbeck, you are the strongest genius!"
At this moment, Gudsmit went completely crazy.
The electron spin made him suddenly enlightened, parting the clouds and seeing the light.
There is also a feeling of enlightenment.
"It's so clever, so amazing!"
Pleasant words poured out of his mouth.
Uhlenbeck smiled and said:
"Yes, I think the fourth quantum number is the electron spin."
"If you imagine an electron as a solid sphere, then it has the concept of rotation."
"The electron will rotate around its central axis."
"According to the different directions of rotation, it can be divided into counterclockwise rotation and clockwise rotation."
"This exactly corresponds to the binary nature of electrons."
"That is, the fourth quantum number has two values."
"In this way, not only the Pauli-Bruce exclusion principle can be explained."
"Even the anomalous Zeeman effect can be explained."
"Because electrons have spin, they produce spin magnetic moments."
"When it interacts with a magnetic field, electrons with different spins will cause slight differences in their own energy states." "As a result, the spectral lines are further split."
"This is why the anomalous Zeeman effect occurs."
boom!
Gudsmit was listening to the sounds of nature.
This analysis made him feel addicted.
It’s so exquisite!
He said excitedly:
"Uhlenbeck, you are going to be famous in the world of physics!"
"I have a hunch that electron spin must be the fourth quantum number that the physics community is looking for."
"Oh my God! I didn't expect it to be so simple."
Indeed, when Gudsmit really knew the existence of the fourth quantum number, he found it very simple.
Spin!
This is the most basic mechanical concept.
Any physics undergraduate can calculate various spin formulas.
However, before it was discovered, no one among the many big names in physics could have thought of this.
At this moment, Gudsmit felt the greatness of Professor Bruce.
Going from 0 to 1 is so difficult!
Moreover, the fourth quantum number was born on such a solid foundation.
He sighed:
"Professor Bruce, Bohr and Yu Yin did not discover the anomalous Zeeman effect."
"Okay, plus a Pauli."
"It is simply impossible to discover the fourth quantum number out of thin air."
"Original physics research is indeed a game of genius."
After listening to Gudsmit's words, Uhlenbeck smiled and said:
"Dago, you just said something wrong."
"It's not that I want to be famous in the world of physics."
"It's the two of us who are famous all over the world!"
"Without your help and inspiration, I would never have thought of electron spin."
"This honor belongs to both of us."
Wow!
Gudsmit was so excited that he couldn't contain himself.
He grabbed Uhlenbeck's hand and said tremblingly:
"Good brother!"
Uhlenbeck smiled and said:
"There is only one part left, which is to determine the specific value of the spin quantum number."
"Dagu, you are better at math than me, so you can put more effort into this part."
Gudsmit ambitiously said:
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
Snap!
At this moment, Uhlenbeck was awakened by the sound and came back from his memories.
There was a faint smile on his lips.
The experience of the two discovering the fourth quantum number was full of fun.
Maybe it will become a good talk in the field of physics in the future.
On the opposite side, Gudsmit just put down his pen and stretched.
It was the sound of his pen that woke up Uhlenbeck in his memory.
He said with relief:
"Oh, I finally figured it out."
After Uhlenbeck received the other party's results, he looked at them.
"Based on the above calculations it can be known:"
"The values of electron spin quantum number are [﹢] and [﹣]."
He smiled and said:
"Dago, I really belong to you."
"This completes our theory."
"± corresponds exactly to binary nature."
At this moment, the calm and low-key Uhlenbeck finally felt relieved.
Gudsmit said with longing and confidence:
"Professor Bruce's seminar on quantum theory, I can't wait for it to start."
"Pauli will surely pass too."
"When the time comes, I want him to open his eyes and see our theory."
"The fourth quantum number is no worse than his exclusion principle."
"Hmph, let's see if he dares to mock me as a scumbag in the future."
Uhlenbeck smiled helplessly.
"Pauli, Pauli, why do you want to mess with Dagu?"
In his opinion, even a genius like Pauli would be defeated this time.
After all, the discovery of electron spin was definitely a major event that shocked the world of physics.
It is also a major event in the field of quantum theory.
Uhlenbeck could already imagine the shock of so many big guys present when they heard about this concept.
Even Professor Bruce would be surprised.
He thought beautifully.
However.
How can it be smooth sailing on the road of physics research?
Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit will soon be left speechless by a question.
There is a huge bug in their electron spin quantum number!
In real history, after Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit wrote their paper on electron spin.
They first handed their papers to their supervisor, Ehrenfest.
The latter was shocked after seeing it.
Because this idea is too bold.
No one had ever considered that electrons had spin.
Ehrenfest was a little unsure.
But he cherishes the students' hard work and is unwilling to bury their talents.
So, he sent the paper to Professor Lorenz, who had retired long ago.
Although Lorenz retired, he is still the spiritual leader of the Dutch physics community.
Many juniors will ask him for advice when they encounter problems.
"Hurry and invite Ancestor Lorenz!"
Lorenz was also shocked when he saw the paper for the first time.
He felt that this paper was very important.
But as a master of classical physics, Lorenz was too familiar with the concept of spin.
If the electron is really spinning.
So
After a lot of calculations.
Wow!
Lorenz discovered a huge problem.
If an electron is to spin, it must break some kind of boundary.
And this limit, logically speaking, cannot be broken. (Guess what)
This is amazing.
When Lorenz fed back the results, Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit immediately panicked.
Because according to Lorenz's calculations, their paper had a fatal error.
This mistake is even common sense and embarrassing.
As the leader of the Dutch physics community, Lorenz could not possibly make mistakes in his calculations.
This is embarrassing.
But Ehrenfest loved his disciples deeply.
So, he waved his hand and comforted:
"Don't be afraid, you two."
"The paper will be published as usual."
"Young people, it doesn't matter if you make mistakes."
"Maybe it's not a mistake?"
Thus, Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit's paper on electron spin was published.
Immediately, it caused an uproar in the physics community.
The big guys had mixed reactions.
Both Einstein and Bohr believed that the errors in Lorentz's calculations were not real errors.
It can be explained using the concepts of quantum theory.
Pauli, however, remained firmly opposed.
Because just before that, he slammed Kronig's paper.
The content of the latter's paper is almost the same as that of Ugu's two papers.
Of course, it later turned out that Pauli was indeed wrong that time.
But, in this life.
At the upcoming symposium on quantum theory, it will be up to Pauli to discover this problem.
Once Pauli finds out, given his character, Ugu and Ugu will probably shut themselves up on the spot.
Among those present, it is estimated that it would be difficult for anyone to convince Pauli that the mistake was actually not a mistake.
Unless
Li Qiwei takes action!
At this moment, the low laughter of Uhlenbeck and Gudsmit resounded in the library.
The two of them will soon understand what it means to wear a crown and bear its weight.
When a brand new physics theory is born, it is bound to be questioned.
Only by crossing it will the sky be brighter.
(End of chapter)