1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 76 The boss was also sharp when he was young

On August 1901, 8, the first conference of young scholars in physics and chemistry was held at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

At the physics meeting, a dozen people sat casually on both sides of a long table.

Sitting at the head of the long table were naturally Li Qiwei and Rutherford, the two big guys, sitting on both sides.

In front of them, there was a one-meter-high board with white paper on it for everyone to calculate and write at any time.

Li Qiwei stood up first and gave a brief speech on the original intention of holding this conference and welcomed all the young talents who came to participate.

Then let Rutherford start by describing the current achievements of the Cavendish Laboratory in the field of atomic structure and his research on radioactivity.

Rutherford was not arrogant because of his status, and he would not look down on those present just because they were his students.

In the field of physics, the most accomplished ones always come first, and status is not the only factor that determines a hero’s status.

On the contrary, he spoke in a more detailed and easy-to-understand manner than at the European Radiology Conference, without any impatience.

All the scholars in the room were fascinated by the lecture. They cherished the opportunity to have access to such high-end knowledge and some were even taking notes.

"Ever since British physicist Dalton founded the atomic theory, for a long time people believed that atoms were solid balls that could not be divided."

"But in 1858, German physicist Plücker discovered a strange ray while doing a gas discharge experiment."

"Later in 1876, German physicist Goldstein optimized the experiment again."

"He placed two electrodes on either side of a transparent glass tube."

"Then when a voltage of nearly 10,000 volts was applied between the electrodes, a faint fluorescence appeared on the wall of the glass tube."

"Because this fluorescence was emitted from the cathode of the electrode, Goldstein named it cathode ray."

"Since then, many physicists have studied the nature of cathode rays. Some believe they are electromagnetic radiation, while others believe they are charged particles."

"Finally, my mentor Thomson used a variety of different materials as cathodes and found that the charge-to-mass ratio of the cathode rays obtained was the same."

"Then he measured the mass of the particles that made up the rays through experiments and found that its mass was 1/2000 of that of a hydrogen atom."

"This shows that there are even smaller structures inside atoms, and my mentor named it 'electron'."

After saying that, Rutherford drew a pudding model of the atom on a piece of white paper and added the corresponding equation of motion.

"This is the atomic structure model proposed by my mentor, and the laws of mechanics can perfectly explain the movement of these electrons."

"But we still know nothing about the positive charge inside atoms, and we don't know what form it takes."

"My mentor believed that positive charge is evenly distributed inside the atom."

"My research direction is to explore the internal structure of atoms."

Li Qiwei looked at Rutherford with admiration. He was indeed a genius who could teach several Nobel Prize-winning students.

Not only is it clear and organized, but it is also vivid and graphic. Even someone who doesn't understand physics can understand what Rutherford is talking about.

This proves his solid foundation in physics, because only when he fully understands it can he explain it to others with ease.

He complained in his heart that if he had a teacher like this in the future, he might be able to win the Nobel Prize.

At this time, Laue raised his hand cautiously. Li Qiwei said, "Laoe, relax. This is not your graduation defense. If you have any questions, just ask."

This sentence made everyone laugh. Laue touched his head embarrassedly and said, "Hello, Professor Rutherford. I have been learning about X-rays from Professor Roentgen recently."

"I want to know, what is the difference between X-rays and electron rays and so-called radioactive rays?"

Rutherford smiled and said, "If you had listened to my previous lecture in Paris, you would have understood it more clearly."

"When Professor Roentgen discovered X-rays, he didn't know the existence of electrons." "At that time, he discovered X-rays when he bombarded the anode metal target with cathode rays."

"We now know that X-rays are new substances produced by some interaction between electrons and metal atoms."

"I think you have seen that whether it is X-rays or electrons, their production requires certain specific conditions."

"Natural radiation is different. No matter what physical or chemical conditions are imposed on radioactive materials, they will spontaneously emit radiation."

Laue suddenly said, "Does that mean that there must be more than just electrons inside an atom? Otherwise, how could there be all kinds of rays?"

Rutherford was shocked. What sharp insight and logical ability, this guy was no ordinary person.

So he said, "Laue, right? As expected, a good teacher produces a good student. Your idea is very interesting and can almost prove that there must be another structure inside the atom."

"At least from the known nature of alpha rays, electrons alone cannot explain these phenomena."

Li Qiwei also looked at Laue in shock. It turned out that the boss was already very awesome when he was young. It could only be explained by talent.

At this time, Born suddenly asked: "Professor Rutherford, since there are many electrons inside atoms, and you said that the movement of electrons conforms to the laws of Newtonian mechanics."

"So how do electrons keep moving? What is their energy source?"

"If we solve the equation for the centrifugal force of circular motion, where does the electron go after it falls into orbit? Is it emitted?"

"This..." Rutherford was suddenly speechless, thinking to himself, Bruce, where did you find these monsters? Each one is more powerful than the other.

He really had no way of explaining it, except to say that electrons had always been that way.

Even this question made Li Qiwei stunned, and he couldn't think of how to explain it for a moment.

They both felt lucky that they didn't act arrogantly, otherwise they would have been embarrassed now.

Rutherford cleared his throat. At this moment, he no longer dared to underestimate these young people. Although they were undergraduates, their thoughts were extremely jumpy.

This meeting also made him feel very satisfied and challenged.

"I can't answer this question for now. Bruce and I are both skeptical about the current date cake model."

"Perhaps in the future, when my research makes further progress, I may be able to answer your question."

Born nodded, still expressing his gratitude.

Li Qiwei looked at him and thought that he was worthy of being the person who would work with Heisenberg to create the matrix mechanics representation of quantum mechanics. His sharpness was already beginning to show.

At this time, Millikan spoke again: "Professor Rutherford, I would like to ask, what instrument and method did Professor Thomson use when measuring the charge of the electron?"

Rutherford knew that he was the one who proved the photoelectric effect, an outstanding experimental physicist.

However, he was not particularly proficient in instruments, so he asked Wilson to answer the question for him.

Wilson finally found an opportunity to show off and talked about everything he knew, from mechanical design to circuit construction.

Then he mentioned how awesome his cloud chamber was.

Millikan's eyes lit up when he heard this and he felt like he had found a treasure.

In real history, Millikan was inspired by the cloud method and accurately measured the charge of the electron through experiments in 1909.

Soon, the next one to share was Li Qiwei.

Thank you to all the book friends for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes.

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(End of this chapter)