The Rong Mansion used to be really big, so Uncle Wang brought his son back to celebrate the New Year. Xiao Wang, who was almost sent to Liu Jingshen's operating room back then, has now been studying at Ding Haoliang's Beijing Chongshi School for more than a year.
According to the school's plan, he must study for at least three years before considering his next step. Uncle Wang admired Li Yu very much and kept telling Xiao Wang to study Western learning hard.
It just so happens that there are students and people like Yu Heqin in the house now. When I have nothing to do, I can make up for Xiao Wang's homework in the evening.
Xiao Wang is very interested in modern science and enjoys learning. Just like in later generations, many businesses will stop during the Chinese New Year.
Various departments of the imperial court even
"Seal" to prevent someone from secretly getting involved and working overtime. But some things cannot be stopped, and the postal service has not been suspended. To be precise, the international mailing service has not been stopped, because there are still some foreigners who need to send letters.
Einstein's letter traveled across the ocean and finally reached Li Yu's hands. Li Yu is in the capital, which is relatively convenient, otherwise this letter would have been delayed for nearly a month.
Zhao Qian goes to the Qing Post Office every day. This is a small daily task given to him by Li Yu. There is no other way. Now this is the fastest way.
When Postman Cui saw Zhao Qian, he immediately said to him: "There is a letter from your master, sent from Switzerland." Zhao Qian knew that letters from foreign countries must be full of strange foreign characters. Let alone foreign languages, he even recognized Chinese. It was not complete, so he asked: "Is it really the master's?" Postman Cui said: "It's true, you are the only one who has sent mails from abroad asking for Chinese people by name. Just wait, I will look for it." There are many mailboxes in the post office. International mail will be classified into boxes from different countries. Most of them are from Britain, France, Russia and Japan, but there are really few countries like Switzerland.
While looking for the letter, Postman Cui chatted with Zhao Qian: "We haven't seen each other for a long time, and you are already wearing such a good cotton-padded jacket." Ordinary cotton-padded clothes cost half a tael of silver, and Zhao Qian's quality is at least one tael. silver.
Zhao Qianliang took action and said proudly: "Not only do we have cotton-padded jackets, our master also gave us gloves!"
"Gloves?" Postman Cui raised his head and saw Zhao Qian wearing a pair of strange gadgets on his hands. Although gloves have long been available in China, they are not popular.
In the Qing Dynasty, the way to keep the hands warm was usually to put them in the sleeves on both sides, or to wear special
In "Hands of Hands". In addition, some clothing in the Qing Dynasty had a design called horseshoe sleeves, which was also designed to protect the hands from the cold.
Normally, the horseshoe sleeves are rolled up to the wrist; when going out in winter, they are lowered to keep the palms warm and keep out the cold without affecting the flexibility of the fingers. From this effect, it can be seen that the original design had combat needs.
Later, this design was incorporated into daily clothing. In the social life of the Qing Dynasty, dusting off horseshoe sleeves has always been an important step when greeting elders.
You must have seen Qing palace dramas. Before officials kowtow to the emperor, they often patted their sleeves on both sides. In fact, they were dusting off their horseshoe sleeves.
Starting from Huang Taiji, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty, this action was designated as a regulation for officials to worship, which is called
"Put wow".
"Waha" is the Manchu name for horseshoe sleeves. It was not until the late Qing Dynasty that gloves came into public view again with the arrival of foreigners.
It was discovered that both clergy and military officers in Europe liked to wear gloves. This is different from the living habits of wealthy people in the late Qing Dynasty. Rich people in the late Qing Dynasty liked to wear various finger rings or jade rings to show their status.
Perhaps this is also the reason why we have not paid attention to gloves. But now everyone sees that respectable Westerners like to wear gloves, and they follow suit.
Anyway, gloves are definitely a rare foreign item at this time. Postman Cui was really envious when he saw it. It was a cold day at this time, and his hand reached out to find the letter for a while before it became too cold.
Postman Cui shook his hands and said, "From now on, I will also remind the superiors to give us gloves." After a few minutes, he finally found a thick letter.
The letter was wrapped in an exquisite envelope, and the seal was covered with thick paint. At first glance, it looked like a typical Western letter.
"That should be this one. It's quite thick. Let me look at the stamps. 70... francs?" Zhao Qian asked: "What is a franc?" Postman Cui said: "I don't know what it is specifically, but it is usually sent from the UK. The letters coming here all cost almost 3 pounds, and I think Switzerland might be about the same." Postman Cui has been exposed to a lot of Western letters and has a preliminary understanding of European geography.
"The pound is amazing!" Zhao Qian was also very proud of his master, and felt that he had a very respectable face.
"Our master can have high-level exchanges with foreign adults." Postman Cui said with a smile: "No, Master Li is the emperor's master after all." Zhao Qian collected the letter and then asked: "Do I need to pay more money? "Postman Cui said: "No, this Swiss man named Short Stan has already paid for it, which is 70 francs in stamps."
"Short Stan?" Zhao Qian wondered. Postman Cui said: "Don't you know, there are many people in foreign countries called Stan." Zhao Qian said: "Foreigners have really weird names, short people? How can anyone be called this!" It's not what he can understand now, Zhao Qian said Qian collected the letter and returned to the mansion.
As soon as he left, a young man stepped out. It turned out to be Xiao Zuoxiang brought by Konoe Akiyuki. Little Zuo Xiang and Postman Cui exchanged glances. Postman Cui leaned out and looked outside, and then said, "Come inside and talk." When they came to the back room, Little Zuo Xiang asked, "The Empire of Japan values you very much. I hope you can Don't let us down." Postman Cui said: "Looking at what you said, I will definitely not dare." Xiao Zuo Xiang continued to ask: "How do you think about the things we entrust you to do?" Postman Cui muttered: "I I'm not the head of the post office, some things are really inconvenient to operate." Xiao Zuo Xiang raised his voice and said, "What's so difficult about this?"
"I..." Postman Cui said,
"After all, Mr. Li and I have no grievances..." Xiao Zuo Xiang said: "Of course you and him have no grievances, but we can be kind to you." Postman Cui said: "I..." Xiao Zuo Xiang said Xiang snorted: "How much money can you make as a bad postman? As long as you complete a small task for us that is easy for you, you will have a lot of money." Postman Cui asked: "You really said that Can you do it?" Little Zuo Xiang glanced at the direction Zhao Qianyuan was going and said, "Not only money, but also do you want to have gloves and cotton-padded jackets like that? He is just a little slave, and he can do better than you. You see Do you want to go down?" Postman Cui swallowed and finally said: "I want it." Xiao Zuo Xiang laughed and said: "Isn't this right! Those who know the current affairs are heroes! I will come to see you again after a while." Postman Cui sighed: "I understand, little one." Little Zuo Xiang patted him on the shoulder: "Do things for the Japanese Empire, and the Emperor will not forget your benefits." - In Li Yu's mansion, he got Ain I didn't expect Stan's letter to be so thick. When I opened it, I found two papers.
The first article is relatively thin and is called "A New Method for Determining Molecular Size". This article may be less famous, but it is also one of Einstein's miracle years. This paper actually analyzes and proves the existence of molecules.
Yes, at this time, the scientific community still cannot fully believe that molecules exist; or some people believe it, but cannot prove it.
The second article is thicker and titled "An Instructive Viewpoint on the Generation and Transformation of Light." That is, an article about using the light quantum hypothesis to explain the photoelectric effect.
Einstein's only Nobel Prize in Physics was based on this paper. Einstein also appended another letter: "Dear Mr. Li Yu,
"There is a sacred silence thousands of miles away between us. This is the absolute distance in time and space. If I break it with insignificant words, I think it would be a kind of blasphemy.
“In view of our previous communication that was full of whimsical ideas and insight into the truth of the universe, I wrote the following paper - of course, it is not just that.
"The first paper is about a recent thought experiment of mine. I had previously read the 1901 paper by Mr. Jacobs Vantoff that won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He mentioned that particles in solutions are similar to those in gases. .
"So I thought if the same thing happened in a liquid, wouldn't it be like a magical sugar cube dissolving in coffee, where the water molecules surround the glucose molecules and separate them from the sugar crystals.
“And as you add more sugar, the coffee gets sweeter and sweeter.
"Then I thought that if I could calculate the osmotic pressure, I could calculate the accurate Avogadro constant, thus proving that the molecules really exist." Li Yu read this and finally understood why Einstein deserved his reputation. The greatest physicist of the 20th century, his thought experiments are simply ridiculously powerful. The starting point is so simple, but the truth is so profound!
After drinking coffee, I thought of how to prove the existence of molecules. Li Yu immediately guessed that he should have encountered some mathematical difficulties and experimental difficulties.
You can try to calculate Avogadro's constant, but this paper involves the field of thermodynamics, so it must be obtained through experiments to be convincing.
It is not easy for most experimental physicists to measure such ultra-super astronomical numbers at the level of 10 to the power of 23.
Li Yu had no choice but to hope that Jean Perrin from the University of Paris in France would speed up the progress. After all, this constant is indeed critical and useful.
In mathematics, Li Yu has some ideas. Li Yu opened the letter and continued reading: "Mr. Li Yu, you know, there are not many people who believe in the molecular or atomic hypothesis. I have contacted many university professors, but they are not willing to accept or review my paper. And I remember that you have used Professor Boltzmann's theory many times, so I know that you believe in the existence of atoms and molecules. And in mathematics, your achievements are as tall as a thousand-year-old tree, so I hope you can help me revise some Mathematical errors.
“With your name on it, physics journals will be happy to publish my paper.
"And this paper is related to whether I can get a doctorate from the University of Zurich." Einstein did rely on this paper to get his doctorate. Li Yu didn't expect that he could help him.
The degree of completion of Einstein's thesis is actually very high, but there are still some minor omissions in mathematics.
Fortunately, the mathematical content involved was within Li Yu's ability. Li Yu turned to the second page of Einstein's letter: "The second paper is about a demonstration of a photoelectric effect. The most critical point is Mr. Planck's quantum theory. I know that this has nothing to do with the physical system in the academic world.' The hypothesis of infinite divisibility of energy is contradictory, but I find it to be the most perfect explanation of the results of Mr. Lenard's photoelectric experiments.
"You must understand that how to explain the mysterious Planck constant proposed by Mr. Planck is the key to the problem, because my formula just uses it. But Mr. Planck thinks that this constant is just a method used in mathematics. , has no physical meaning. But I think I discovered the truth behind it.
"You have used profound mathematics to perfectly demonstrate Mr. Planck's theory, so I think you can also be the most suitable reviewer.
"...
"Einstein, written in Bern, Switzerland." Li Yu closed the letter and opened two papers. The first article about proving the existence of molecules is actually not difficult to handle. Although the exact value of Avogadro's constant cannot be obtained through experiments at present, a rough value can be estimated temporarily using mathematical methods.
——In fact, Li Yu knew the specific value in his heart. Einstein was somewhat rusty in mathematics because he had been a patent clerk for two years, but his talent in physics was unreasonably strong.
The errors in the paper are not particularly serious and can only be corrected slightly. As for the paper on the photoelectric effect, I need to answer a letter carefully.
Li Yu spent a whole day carefully reading and revising the paper, and then wrote a telegram and sent it first: "Dear Mr. Einstein,
"Thank you for your trust! I have completed the revision of the papers, and they will soon be on the passenger ship bound for Europe.
"As for what you said about Planck's constant, I think it can be understood this way.
"Just as any periodic function in mathematics can be decomposed into a sine wave using Fourier series, the frequency of the sine wave can only be taken to be related to the period t),
"Planck's constant is very similar in meaning. After expanding Professor Planck's blackbody radiation formula, the energy at frequency v can only take discrete values such as hv, 2hv, 3hv, etc. h can be considered as the expansion of the blackbody radiation function The subsequent expansion coefficient.
"So it can indeed be regarded as a unit of quantity. Even for physical thinking, its specific amount is not important. It is enough to know that it is a very small positive number.
"Because it doesn't affect your interpretation of the photoelectric effect.
"..." What Li Yu said was very basic, but for Einstein, physical thought was more important, so what he said was enough.
With a brain of Einstein's level, there is no need to talk nonsense at all. He was just too ahead of his times. He was inevitably hesitant, and the times were also resisting his ideas.
