Century Report

The Berlin Physical Society had been founded in 1845.

In 1950, it merged with five other associations in Germany to form the German Physical Society.

It was the oldest and largest professional physics association in the world.

It had been founded by six late scientists, luminaries in the fields of physics, chemistry, and physiology.

Every year, the society held a conference in a different city to discuss the latest research, especially the hottest topics in physics.

In 1900, the Berlin Physical Society happened to be holding its conference in Berlin, at the Helmholtz Institute near the Reichstag Building.

As a pioneer of Quantum Mechanics, Li Qiwei was an obvious choice for one of the precious presentation slots.

When Li Qiwei arrived at the venue with Li San escorting him, it was already packed. A rough estimate put the crowd at nearly a hundred.

People stood around in twos and threes, chatting. This was a gathering of true scholars; not a single vulgar fellow had come among them.

At Li Qiwei's insistence, Li San still went inside and sat in the most secluded corner.

As a man of arms, Li San felt inferior after Li Qiwei told him that everyone here was a great scientist, the equivalent of a grand secretary in the Qing Dynasty.

He had heard so many stories as a child about Wenquxing, the star of literary talent, descending to earth that he had developed a reverence for scholars.

How could a mere soldier share a room with scholars, let alone listen to his young master's presentation on physics?

Little did he know that in a later age, Li San would be the more popular one: highly skilled in martial arts, strong and healthy, and gentle-tempered.

Instead, he sat quietly in the back row, as invisible as a ghost.

Li Qiwei wanted to shatter Li San's way of thinking and help him learn more. Once he did, there would be nothing to fear.

After settling Li San in, Planck came over, took Li Qiwei by the arm, and introduced him to two people.

"Bruce, this is Professor Röntgen, and this is Professor Boltzmann."

Li Qiwei hurried to greet the great men, showing them his respect.

Röntgen looked him over approvingly and said with a smile, "A fine young man. I'm already looking forward to your talk."

Boltzmann simply kept smiling and watched Li Qiwei in silence.

Soon, when the clock struck ten, the host announced the start of the conference.

To show respect for Quantum Mechanics, Li Qiwei had been given the first slot. It put him under considerable pressure.

Taking a deep breath, Li Qiwei walked up to the lectern. His gaze swept slowly across the room, and he spoke in a steady, resonant voice:

"Thank you, Professor Planck, for your kind invitation, and thank you to the Berlin Physical Society for giving me this opportunity."

"It's an honor to speak here before so many scientific pioneers as an undergraduate from Cambridge University."

"Before I share my thoughts on Quantum Mechanics, I'd like to say a few other things."

"I know many of you are curious about who I am. That's right—I come from the Qing Dynasty."

"The country Europeans see as ignorant, backward, and feudal."

"Perhaps you're wondering why I don't have a queue."

"It's because I have never called myself a Qing person. I am Huaxia—proudly and openly Huaxia."

"I don't want to stand here and recount Huaxia's glorious history. I only want to tell everyone that I study physics so hard because one day, I want to stand on the world stage and prove what Huaxia can do."

"And now, I've taken the first step. I'll keep going."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room burst into enthusiastic applause. Everyone was moved by Li Qiwei's bold words, and even Li San in the back felt tears welling in his eyes.

He couldn't understand why his young master had to shoulder such a heavy burden.

At that moment, he swore to himself that he would protect his young master for the rest of his life and help him fulfill his dream.

When the applause died down, Li Qiwei didn't continue to play on their emotions. Instead, he said, "Of course, all of this has to be backed by ability."

"At Lord Kelvin's lecture, I said that physics was only just beginning because of three phenomena."

"I believe these were the three most important discoveries in physics at the end of the nineteenth century."

"They are the discovery of X-rays, the discovery of the electron, and the discovery of radioactivity."

As soon as Li Qiwei said this, the room erupted in gasps.

Professor Röntgen, the discoverer of X-rays, was seated in the audience, and his expression shifted slightly.

Being praised in public by a genius physicist clearly pleased Röntgen; the old man's vanity was thoroughly gratified.

Li Qiwei paid no attention to the crowd's reaction and continued, "None of these three phenomena can be explained using our existing knowledge of physics."

"That's why I dare to say that there are still new laws of physics waiting to be discovered."

"And the concept of the quantum is one attempt to uncover them."

"Clearly, this theory is beautiful. My intuition tells me it must be right."

"A physicist's intuition has always been reliable, hasn't it?"

His witty remark drew knowing smiles from the great men in attendance.

The atmosphere soon grew lively. Boltzmann, who had not yet spoken, smiled and asked, "Bruce, if Quantum Mechanics is ultimately proven correct, what do you think its future will look like?"

Faced with the great man's question, Li Qiwei considered it for a moment before answering, "I believe the battlefield of Quantum Mechanics lies in the atom."

The great men below began to ponder. They knew that Li Qiwei's mentor, Thomson, was the discoverer of the electron.

Had Li Qiwei already begun more advanced work on Quantum Mechanics?

"My mentor Thomson proposed the Plum Pudding Model of the atom, but I myself remain skeptical."

"None of the methods currently available can directly observe the motion of electrons."

"So I want to use Quantum Mechanics to develop a new theory that can predict the motion and properties of microscopic particles."

"Of course, this will be a long-term undertaking. I hope to work on it alongside all the pioneers here."

When such a profound prediction in physics came from Li Qiwei, everyone fell silent, lost in thought.

They were awed by his genius and even more shaken by his ambition.

The atom and its internal structure were at the cutting edge of physics. Any related discovery, they knew, would go down in the history of physics.

Just then, someone else raised a question. Li Qiwei looked over and saw that it was Fischer, a leading chemist.

"Bruce, I'm not a physicist, so I wouldn't dare comment on the technical details."

"I just want to ask you this: you've already solved the second Cloud Problem, so when will you solve the first?"

Those who had been deep in thought just moments before burst out laughing. A few people in the audience even started heckling.

It was probably a few graduate students who had started it. The great men remained composed.

Everyone thought it was a joke. Proposing Quantum Mechanics was already a world-shaking feat of genius.

Solving another great problem too—wasn't that a bit much?

Li Qiwei couldn't help laughing at the question, but after giving it some thought, he made up his mind.

He said silently to himself, God of Love, forgive me.

Then, under everyone's disbelieving gaze, Li Qiwei replied with brazen confidence, "Within three years, I will solve the first Cloud Problem!"

Boom!

The conference hall fell utterly silent, as still as a grave.

Years later, MacArthur, America's famous five-star physics critic, said this in an interview:

"That talk given at the 1900 Berlin Physical Society conference by the god of physics, Bruce Li, was the century's report—the report that completely changed the twentieth century!"

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