Although Einstein spoke poor English and never wanted to speak in public, it did not mean that he could not understand.
Apparently he learned about Chen Muwu's identity as an engineer from Chen Muwu's self-introduction to Chatterley.
I never thought that the joke about Sheldon looking down on Howard Wolowitz in "The Big Bang Theory" could be traced back to such a long history.
"With great pleasure."
Faced with Einstein's invitation to study abroad, Chen Muwu hurriedly agreed.
This was really an unexpected surprise in this meeting. He never thought that Einstein could be so proactive.
"However, you may have to figure out your own tuition fees. The Humboldt University of Berlin will not provide you with a scholarship as a foreign student. Fortunately, marks are now worth less than scrap paper, and studying in Germany does not cost much."
He actually told the truth.
This trip was the only time Einstein visited East Asia in his life. A large part of the reason why he was willing to travel such a long distance was because the German mark depreciated significantly after World War I, which forced him to go out to give lectures to earn some money. Strong pound and dollar to supplement household income.
"Also, have the solutions you obtained been published in papers? If not, I can attach a letter of recommendation to Professor Planck. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Physics."
Chen Muwu finally heard the words he wanted to hear most since he traveled through time.
He hurriedly took out the cardboard folder he carried with him and took out a thick stack of foreign paper. It was densely covered with letters typed on a typewriter. Everyone could see that he had already done this. Series preparation.
"Doctor, I have not submitted a paper to a physics journal on the exact solution of field equations. However, I have submitted another paper to a European physics journal. This is a copy of the paper. I hope you have time. If so, you can take a look."
"Oh? What is this article about?"
"Light quanta," in addition to the theory of relativity, light quanta is another major contribution of Einstein to physics. Chen Muwu really knows how to do what he likes, and flatters him. "You proposed it in your 1905 paper. The 'Light Quantum Hypothesis' has inspired me a lot, especially after it was confirmed by Millikan's experiment in recent years. I have been thinking about whether the light quantum theory can be applied to other places.
“Then I thought of Professor Arthur Ive of McGill University who began studying the absorption and scattering properties of gamma rays in 1904. He discovered that scattered gamma rays tend to be ‘softer’ than the incident rays.
“After that, further experimental research by David Florance, Joseph Gray and others gave more precise data and conclusions, but no explanation of this physical phenomenon was ever obtained.
"So I thought of the light quantum theory proposed by you, doctor, and further developed it. It is assumed that light quanta not only has energy, but also momentum, so that these light quanta with momentum and the free electrons in the scattering material will interact with each other. For elastic collision, the theoretical results obtained are in perfect agreement with the experiments.
"It's just that I don't have the conditions for experimental verification here, so I had to write the theory to explain this phenomenon into a paper and submitted it to the British Journal of Philosophy and the German Annals of Physics. I hope other places in the world can read it. The experimental physicists who came to this paper can do experiments to verify the explanations mentioned in this paper.
"The paper was sent out about a month and a half ago. Counting the time, it should have reached the editorial offices of the two journals by now. The only thing I am worried about is that the reviewers of these two journals will, because of my Chinese identity, Throw the paper in the trash without even looking at it.
"So I brought this paper to today's discussion. I hope that after reading the paper, if you think this paper is worth recommending, please help me write a letter of recommendation to the editorial offices of the two journals. At least let them read the paper instead of just throwing it in the trash.
"As for the method, the Siberian Railway has not yet opened to traffic [1]. Letters sent from here to Europe need to travel by sea for at least forty days. I hope you can send telegrams directly to these two journals, and also send electricity I will bear all the expenses required for the report.”
After hearing this, Einstein smiled and waved his hand: "Chen, I can see that you have a wide range of interests in physics, and your idea of giving momentum to light quanta is very novel. I really don't know what's going on in your brain. , how many such genius ideas are packed in!
"But I'm going to a banquet soon, and I don't have time to read this paper you wrote now, so I have to wait until I get back to the hotel room in the evening to read the masterpiece.
"If there is no problem, I can send telegrams to Germany and the UK tomorrow. As for the cost of the telegram, you don't have to worry. I think the guys at the German Consulate in Shanghai will be happy to do it for you."
As expected of a Jew, calculating money is a skill that is passed down from generation to generation in the blood, and Einstein was not exempt from this practice.
When Cai Yuanpei first invited Einstein to give lectures at Beida University, he was rejected because the remuneration was too small.
Einstein's original plan for this eastward trip was to go north after arriving at Sihai Lake and give lectures at Bei University for two weeks.
But because the Jews in Jerusalem urged him to support the Hebrew University, and the Swedish side urged him to go to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize, Einstein had to cancel his trip to Bei University.
After learning the news, Cai Yuanpei was naturally extremely disappointed, and he couldn't help but secretly tease him in an article in the "Beijing University Journal".
However, Chen Muwu is happy to see this happen, after all, it can save himself a lot of expenses.
Nowadays, sending a telegram is not cheap at all. A Chinese character in China costs 1.2 cents, and a foreign text costs 1.8 cents, not to mention sending it abroad.
If Chen Muwu really had to pay out of his own pocket, the astronomical figure would probably cost him a fortune.
During the conversation, the three of them had walked along Sima Road from Heluo Road where the Ministry of Industry Bureau was located to the end of Fusan Road.
Chen Muwu declined Chatterley's dinner invitation. He had no interest in attending a gathering of a group of Jews. After all, they were not the little Jews I pitied in "The Great Era", but rather fat-headed foreign devils.
What's more, although the situation of Jews in Europe and the United States is not good, in China and Taiwan, they are still a group of hateful colonial invaders.
To be politically incorrect, Chen Muwu has no sympathy at all for what these people did in the concession in China and what will happen to their compatriots in the future.
In front of the Yipinxiang Restaurant, he and Einstein said goodbye.
Chen Muwu was not worried that Einstein would not send a telegram recommendation after reading the paper.
Because he knew very well how important the paper he handed over to Einstein was in the history of physics.
If there is one person in the world who firmly believed in the existence of light quanta in the eighteen years from 1905 to 1923, then this person must be Einstein.
Now that Chen Muwu has handed over a paper on light quantum to Einstein, it will definitely arouse the latter's great interest.
A thousand miles begins with a single step.
Now that we have taken the first step, we can only "do our best and obey fate."
*****
[1] Author's note: The term "not open to traffic" here does not mean that the Siberian Railway has not yet been completed and put into use, but refers to the interruption of operation of the line due to the civil war in Soviet Russia. Moreover, at this time, the Beijing government of the Republic of China had not yet signed relevant documents with the Soviet Union regarding the use of the Siberian Railway for postal and passenger transportation. Therefore, at this time, the postal route between China and Europe had to rely entirely on sea routes.
