On the night when the generator was successfully developed, Rutherford spent his own money to invite several young men in this group to drink at the Eagle Bar.
After three rounds of drinking, his eyes were hazy and in a trance, the more he looked at him, the more he found himself, the Chinese student Dr. Chen, more pleasing to his eyes.
Chen Muwu has been at Cambridge University for more than three years and has achieved more achievements than he can count with two hands.
During this time, he won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
Although most of the reasons behind winning the award are Chen Muwu’s own talent and hard work.
But doesn’t he, as a teacher, have any merit?
Without his help in connecting academic circles across Europe and America, and asking friends, colleagues and students to nominate, would Chen Muwu still be able to win this Nobel Prize?
It is estimated that, uh, if nothing unexpected happens, of course it will be possible, after all, he has achieved too many results.
But no matter how you say it, Chen Muwu was clearly trained by him.
The elder Prague in London trained his son Prague Jr. to become the youngest Nobel Prize winner at the time. This was because of his deep love and a certain degree of selfishness.
But cultivating Chen Muwu by himself was not self-serving, but only beneficial to others. Apart from the relationship between master and apprentice, there was no relationship between the two of them.
Chen Muwu can break the record of the youngest Nobel Prize winner in Little Prague. To a certain extent, doesn't it mean that his education level is very high?
According to a proverb in Dr. Chen's hometown, this is called, the whole world has its own peaches and plums.
Dr. Chen is also a grateful person. Through his own efforts, he has attracted a lot of funding for the Cavendish Laboratory.
It can be said that in recent years, the laboratory has developed rapidly and purchased many expensive experimental instruments and equipment, and Chen Muwu has contributed a lot.
If a young man with such outstanding standards and character cannot get a professorship at the University of Cambridge, it is not Chen Muwu’s loss, it can only be said to be the loss of the University of Cambridge.
As he thought about it, Rutherford became more and more interested.
He didn't drink a few beers or smoke a pipe that night, but when he walked out of the Eagle Bar, he always felt a little dizzy.
Declining the offer of Chen Muwu, a good student who had never touched alcohol, to send him home, Rutherford followed his memory and wandered through the streets of Cambridge with the help of the light from the gas street lamps. Finally came to the door of his teacher old Thomson's house.
Thomson Sr.'s son, Thomson Jr., could not get a good position at Cambridge University because he had no qualifications. Shortly before Chen Muwu arrived in the UK, he went north to Scotland and relied on the connections entrusted by his father to find a job at the University of Aberdeen. professorship.
Rutherford could live with his daughter Mary and son-in-law Fowler at home in Cambridgeshire, but in the old Thomson's home, he was completely alone.
When there was a knock on the door downstairs, Old Thomson had just prepared a proposal to be submitted to the school review committee in a few days, and was already lying on the bed, ready to rest.
He turned over and sat up, went downstairs and opened the door, only to see that the person who came was his student, Rutherford, who smelled of alcohol and tobacco.
On weekdays, between the master and apprentice, one is responsible for the affairs of Trinity College and the other is responsible for the Cavendish Laboratory. Neither of them has free work, so the opportunities to meet are limited.
If there was something that needed to be discussed in person, either Rutherford would go to the office of Trinity College to report to the teacher, or old Thomson, with his spare hands and itchy mind, would go to the Cavendish Laboratory to find his students and tinker with a few things on a whim. I took off the experimental equipment and talked with Aston about some new ideas that I have recently thought of.
On the contrary, there are very few opportunities to meet at home, unless someone invites me to a dinner party at home, but that is all by appointment in advance.
For Rutherford, an old British gentleman, to show up uninvited and smell of alcohol, it was quite rude to him.
But just like how Rutherford viewed Chen Muwu, in the eyes of Old Thomson, Rutherford was also his favorite student.
Otherwise, he would not have recommended Rutherford, who was still young at the time, to become the head of the Department of Physics at McGill University in Canada, nor would he have been able to choose his successor after he decided to leave the Cavendish Laboratory. Go up, this student comes to mind first.
Tonight he suddenly came to his door. Although old Thomson felt a little unhappy, he still invited him into his home.
After listening to Rutherford's explanation of the ins and outs of the incident, Old Thomson understood why he drank today and why he came to the house late at night smelling of alcohol.
He was also a witness to Chen Muwu's creation of a generator, and also helped the latter apply for a grant from the Lord Kelvin Foundation from the Royal Society. This not only helped Chen Muwu, but also expressed his memory of Lord Kelvin, who had the gift of knowledge and opportunity. ——By spending other people’s inheritance.
Hearing from Rutherford that Chen Muwu's generator had been built, Old Thomson was equally happy.
Hearing that he hoped to apply for a professorship for this great hero of the Cavendish Laboratory, Old Thomson simply went directly to his desk and took out the proposal he had just completed, and asked Rutherford to join him. He signed his name on it.
He felt that this proposal to help Chen Muwu apply for a professorship should be foolproof.
A Nobel Prize winner in physics, Dean of Trinity College, teamed up with a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, director of the Cavendish Laboratory, to help another Nobel Prize winner in physics, achieve numerous research results, and help Cambridge become great again young people apply for a professorship.
The gold content of this proposal should be considered sufficient even for the best school in the world, Cambridge University.
Isn’t this enough to win over you?
A few days later, the Cambridge University Senate gave old Thomson a blow to the head for this very realistic fantasy.
This sudden blow was not because his proposal was voted down by the members of the review committee.
But before he had time to put forward his own proposal, the school's superintendent Belfort put forward a more important special proposal.
They want to punish those students who propagandized in support of the strike during the strike and undermined domestic harmony and stability in the UK.
The first thing on the list Belfort submitted to the Senate was Chen Muwu, who proposed to apply for a professorship on Old Thomson's proposal.
This made him feel his heart in his throat.
Although Old Thomson himself does not support strikes, a more violent method of protest, if this proposal is passed, Chen Muwu will definitely be doomed.
Although he didn't know how the school wanted to deal with these students, he felt that there was no doubt that the proposal in his hand would be rejected and rejected.
Wherever there is a crowd, there is a left, center and right.
Although Rutherford hated things that had nothing to do with academics and hated people discussing politics in the Cavendish Laboratory, this did not mean that all professors and teachers at Cambridge University were like this.
Some people opposed it, while others supported it. Russell, who was also a member of the review committee, had a good impression of Red Sulian.
When he went to China to give lectures, he said more than once that at the beginning of the 20th century, there were two greatest people in the world, one was Einstein and the other was Lie Yu.
In addition, among Belfort's list, the first person to be targeted is Chen Muwu, who has a good relationship with him.
In addition to Chen Muwu, many members of the Apostolic Society also participated in supporting the strike.
So Russell stood up first and expressed his opposition to passing the proposal.
In addition to Russell, there are many professors who adhere to Fabianism and also stand on Russell's side.
There are still some big differences between Fabianism and the beliefs that Su Lian adheres to.
They did not support the use of violence like the Paris Commune, but hoped to save the country through curves and adopt a milder method of struggle.
But at this moment, everyone seeks common ground while reserving differences, and stands on the side of supporting the students.
Old Thomson saw that so many people came forward for Chen Muwu, and he himself also expressed his opposition to the proposal and his approval of Russell.
On the first day of the council meeting, there was a deadlock around the first proposal. The two sides discussed it for a whole day, but neither one could convince the other side.
Belfort did not expect that his selfish proposal would cause such a big disturbance.
He was afraid that if things continued to develop, conflicts might intensify, so he adjourned the meeting temporarily and would continue the discussion tomorrow.
After the first day of the review meeting ended, the committee members were even busier than during the meeting.
Especially those who opposed Balfour's proposal have found students who appeared on the list and have a good relationship with them, and told them to be careful in the recent period and not to follow the truth.
When Old Thomson arrived at the Cavendish Laboratory, his disciples were not surprised by the arrival of the old director who came to inspect the work every now and then.
What surprised them was that Professor Russell came to the Cavendish Laboratory again to find Chen Muwu.
This is the second time this great philosopher has visited in recent times, and he is still looking for the same person.
What's more, some have already begun to speculate. Some time ago, Russell came for the first time, and soon after, Dr. Chen published a paper that shook the foundation of mathematics.
So will this time be the same as last time, with Dr. Chen and Professor Russell joining forces to make big news in the mathematics world?
Old Thomson walked into Chen Muwu's office and found that Russell was also here, with a serious expression on his face.
There is no doubt that what he wants to say and what he wants to say should be the same thing.
But Chen Muwu, the person involved, seemed to be ignoring the matter and didn't care about it.
He had just finished the interview and patent writing work on electric motors, and was waiting for Zhao Zhongyao and Cockcroft to submit relevant papers for him to review.
In addition to the work related to electromechanical machines, Dirac and von Neumann also had a lecture on quantum mechanics waiting for him, and the latter also attached a mathematical paper on machines and determinability.
Rutherford, who was eager to do experiments, pressed hard on the proton source.
Although there is someone to help with everything, everything is inseparable from him.
Chen Muwu now truly understands what it means to be overwhelmed. He wants to invite Blackett to help him, but how can he have time to care about this?
The worst outcome of the matter is to leave Cambridge University.
Belfort's rights were limited to this. He couldn't just shoot him just because he didn't like him, right?
He maintained such an attitude that he was not afraid of being scalded by boiling water, and expressed his above-mentioned thoughts to Russell and Old Thomson who came to persuade him.
Regarding Chen Muwu's statement that he was leaving Cambridge, Russell and Thomson Sr. responded in completely different ways.
Russell said that if Dr. Chen was determined to go, he could help contact universities in London, whether it was University College or Imperial College.
But old Thomson was anxious.
Cambridge University is dead, but Chen Muwu is alive.
His ideas are all packed into his clever head, and they can be plugged and used wherever he goes, such as the University of London, as Russell said, Germany, or the United States.
However, after the University of Cambridge leaves him, not to mention whether the level of academic research and experiments in physics will decline. If the Duke of York's annual funding of 10,000 pounds for the Cavendish Laboratory is stopped, it will be A major blow to Cambridge physics.
What's more, Chen Muwu is not an academic mascot, but an academic leader among the new generation of physics at Cambridge University.
How can you let such a person go?
Although he was anxious, Chen Muwu was not to blame for this matter. His own attitude had been made very clear, that it didn't matter whether he stayed or left.
The only one to blame is the ignorant school superintendent Belfort. After retiring from politics, wouldn't it be nice to retire in peace and contentment? What else can he do if he can't think of anything to do?
After saying what should and should not be said, the impatient old Thomson left Chen Muwu's office with his guest Russell.
He turned around and went to his student Rutherford, very anxious to discuss with him how to deal with this matter.
He didn't notice at all that a strange young man passed by him and walked towards Chen Muwu's office.
Hearing that Russell was coming today, von Neumann wanted to see this mathematician from Cambridge University in person.
He also heard that Russell came to see Chen Muwu, and he was even more curious about what the two people said. Was it related to mathematics, as everyone in the laboratory said?
Von Neumann hurriedly hurried but was still a step too late and failed to see Russell in person.
However, he would stay at Cambridge University for several more months, and he would have plenty of time to pay a visit.
So after entering the office, he asked the question straight to the point, whether he was going to do something in mathematics again, and whether he needed help from someone with a good level of mathematics.
In the end, Chen Muwu told him that things were not at all what he thought, such and such, such and such.
Von Neumann, who came from a banking family, was not too keen on strikes.
He only grasped one key point from Chen Muwu's answer, which was "leaving Cambridge."
Although he and Chen Muwu were already co-writing the decisive paper that was another blow to Hilbert after the incompleteness theorem, von Neumann still did not forget his mentor’s instructions before setting off. .
"Dr. Chen, if you really plan to leave Cambridge this time, have you decided where to go next? In fact, I came to the UK for this trip, and besides meeting you, I have another purpose. My teacher Hill Professor Bert asked me to ask, do you have any intention to go to Germany to engage in scientific research? He hopes to work with you."
(End of chapter)
