Chapter 41 Conversation with Confucians
With Lord Kelvin’s words: The speech is over, please raise your hands to speak, and the venue suddenly became lively.
The exciting atmosphere filled the air instantly, and everyone worked hard for fear of missing a word.
No one in the venue responded first, everyone was waiting and watching.
After a while, an old man with white hair raised his hand, and Lord Kelvin immediately signaled him to ask a question.
"Hello, Bruce, I am Professor Close from the Department of Physics at Oxford University. My main research field is classical mechanics. I would like to ask you a question."
Li Qiwei also responded quickly: "Hello, Close Professor, please ask.”
Cross said: “The great sage Leibniz once said: There is no continuity in nature. The calculus he and Newton founded is based on the fact that the quantities dealt with must be continuous. 'This principle."
"If, as you said, energy is distributed one by one, wouldn't it violate the sages' conclusion? "
Li Qiwei said? : "Galileo used the results of the leaning tower experiment to prove that the heavier the object, the faster it does not fall. He shouted 'Aristotle was wrong!'."
"Thomas Young proved that light can also interfere through the double-slit interference experiment. He believed that Newton's particle theory may be wrong."
"So even the sages will make mistakes sometimes. We cannot The words of the sages are regarded as absolute truth.”
“I respect those great scientific predecessors, but I respect the greater truth of the universe even more.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received a round of applause.
The answer is very beautiful. If you say that I go against the conclusions of the sages, then I will not prove that I am right. Instead, I will say that the sages also made mistakes.
Planck and Lord Kelvin looked at Ridgway with great satisfaction.
At this time, another Oxford professor raised his hand to speak, his temper was obviously not good, "Bruce, you are sophistry."
"I ask you, since energy is discontinuous , then why the energy our human body perceives is continuous, such as flames, sunlight, etc."
Many people nodded slightly in agreement, this question is from a good angle.
Li Qiwei said: "That is because our human senses cannot accurately receive information from the microscopic world."
"Under the guidance of Professor Thomson, I studied atoms and their structures. Although I can't see what atoms look like with my naked eyes, through instruments, I can know that they are particles one by one."
"And It is not possible for atoms to exist as the sages once thought. "
"Similarly, energy is also distributed at an extremely microscopic scale, but it is impossible to observe and measure it with existing instruments."
The professor then asked: "Since it cannot be observed, how can you prove that it is correct?"
Li Qiwei said: "My paper has proven that using the [quantum] concept Any situation that can perfectly explain black body radiation has been supplemented by Professor Planck's experiments."
At this time, Planck continued: "Yes, the experimental results show that the predicted value of the [Li-Planck radiation formula] is no different from the experimental value."
"And, with [Quantum] After understanding the concept, the Wien formula and the Rayleigh-Jeans formula can be perfectly integrated using the interpolation method."
"I have published the relevant experimental results in the "Annals of Physics", if you are interested. , you can read it.”
After saying that, he nodded towards the two big guys in the audience, Wayne and Riley.
Professor Oxford was speechless after being rebutted, and could only sit down angrily, his expression a little unnatural.
At this time, suddenly a young man did not follow the rules of the meeting. He stood up and cursed: "This is nonsense." Discontinuously, he must be sent by the Qing Dynasty to disrupt our European science."
"Down with Bruce Lee, the heretic."
There was a commotion in the venue, and Lord Kelvin's expression was obvious. changed.
He shouted loudly: "Guard, expel this rude person quickly. This is a sacred scientific discussion and no arrogance is allowed."
He then apologized to Ridgway and those present. The scale of this meeting is too large, so it is easy for some people with ulterior motives to sneak in.
Everyone quickly quieted down. They were all high-quality human elites. No one took this episode seriously. Instead, they were all thinking about how to understand [Quantum].
At this time, another physics professor from Oxford asked a question. When everyone heard him reveal his identity as Oxford, they all laughed in unison.
As for the overt and covert struggle between Oxford and Cambridge, everyone present was happy to watch the excitement. Anyway, as long as it was a normal academic confrontation, everyone agreed.
"Hello, Bruce, assuming your [quantum] theory is correct, doesn't it mean that the three pillars of classical physics are all wrong?"
"Since energy is discontinuous, how can The force that generates energy must be discontinuous, so F=ma is wrong. ”
“Electromagnetic waves are also energy, so they must be discontinuous, so Maxwell’s equations are wrong. ”
"Heat is also a type of energy, so thermal science and statistical mechanics are also wrong."
"If we continue to reason like this, doesn't it mean that everyone present and what they have learned throughout their lives are all wrong? Do you think this Is it possible? ”
"But if we are really wrong, then why can we invent the telegraph, predict the trajectory of celestial bodies, let steel ships gallop on the sea, and let cars completely liberate human legs."
"If classical physics Is it wrong? Is the whole world an illusion? "
As expected, the professor's question was too lethal and went straight to the core. Everyone present was moved, even Lord Kelvin looked solemn. .
He can understand that feeling very well, the sense of loss as if being abandoned by physics.
Professor Planck was even stunned, because it touched his heart.
Historically, within five years after Planck published his [quantum] theory, he had been trying to find ways to overturn his own views.
Because this completely went against his three views, he tried hard to summarize [quantum] under the framework of classical physics, but it turned out to be impossible.
So during that period, he was often in a trance and did not communicate with others.
Li Qiwei rarely answered immediately, but was thinking quietly, because this question was so heartbreaking, and he had to think of the right wording.
There was silence in the venue, everyone was waiting for his response.
Finally, Li Qiwei spoke, "I have always believed that existing physical theories are only approximations of higher-level theories."
"When we discuss macroscopic, low-speed and other situations, using the concept of approximation can often Save a lot of calculations. ”
“For example, for a group of molecules, we don’t need to know the precise properties of each molecule, but we can use statistical mechanics to explain and predict the macroscopic properties of the group composed of these molecules. "
"Just like we cannot explain the origin and mechanism of human consciousness, we can still use it to create physical concepts, observe the world, and explain the world."
"So, I think [quantum]. Concepts are components of higher-level physical theories. ”
"Under that theory, even everything in the world is composed of [quantum]."
"However, none of this affects our use of approximate theories to explain everything."
"Nature contains deeper truths in flowers, plants and trees. Even if we cannot understand them, we can appreciate their beauty, or cultivate flowers and plants, and burn trees to improve our lives."
Finally, Li Qiwei Added, "I think this is the Creator's mercy towards mankind."
Wow!
The venue was completely shaken, and everyone was extremely shocked by Li Qiwei's explanation.
Regarding the issue of adding updates, dear bosses, it is very unfavorable to add new books in each period, so I beg everyone to understand. Lao Xu has not read enough, and now there are fewer recommendations. Adding more updates is a dead end. ah. I will polish the plot and try to make it enjoyable for everyone to watch.
(End of this chapter)