Physical Renaissance

In September, the weather in London had already turned to late autumn. A few showers had passed through, leaving a chill in the air.

On the streets, passersby hurried along, locked into the busy routines of their daily lives.

Yet in the world of physics, a field beyond the reach of most people, a conference was about to begin—one that countless people in later generations would revere.

At Lord Kelvin's vigorous urging, the world's leading physicists, professors, students, and enthusiasts had all converged on London.

The conference was hosted by the Royal Society and was unprecedented in scale. The British government had even dispatched a large number of police to keep order.

It was no exaggeration to say that if a bomb struck the venue, the development of world physics would be set back by at least a hundred years. That was something no one could bear.

As the twenty-fifth approached, more and more people arrived in London, until every hotel near the Royal Society was full.

Many who studied chemistry, biology, and medicine were intensely envious. Physics really was the foremost of the natural sciences; no other discipline could match this kind of prestige.

At first, Lord Kelvin had been deeply troubled by how to organize the conference. He had shared his concerns with Li Qiwei.

With so many scholars in attendance, it was impossible for everyone to take the stage and speak. And the more people there were, the more they would all talk over one another.

To his surprise, Li Qiwei had sent him a letter with a clever solution.

But when Lord Kelvin finished reading it, his expression turned odd. He hardly knew what to make of it.

Li Qiwei had written that since the conference was meant to discuss whether Quantum Mechanics was right or wrong, the paper's authors should face questions from everyone.

He was willing to stand in the center of the venue with Professor Planck and answer questions from any physicist.

Questioners would raise their hands, and the moderator would call on them. Questions had to be professional; if anyone tried to make trouble, he and Planck could choose to ignore them.

Lord Kelvin read this far and smiled in understanding. This Bruce really hadn't changed at all—still so supremely confident.

To face a host of the world's leading physicists single-handedly—he truly was the man who had proposed Quantum Mechanics.

Since the protagonists themselves had agreed, Lord Kelvin had nothing more to say. He accepted the suggestion and agreed to hold the conference that way.

At last, September 25, 1900, arrived.

The Royal Society's venue was packed with people, the air thick with the scent of knowledge.

An undergraduate could spend a few minutes here and never have to worry about their graduation thesis again.

This was a conference without precedent and never to be surpassed; no description could do it justice.

It marked the dividing line between Classical Physics and modern physics, and would surely go down in history.

Many years later, the famous American five-star physics critic MacArthur said this in an interview:

"If the 1900 Berlin Physics Conference was the debut of the god of physics, Bruce Li, then the London conference that same year marked his true rise and officially ushered in a new era of physics."

The conference was a gathering of brilliant stars. Later generations compiled a list of those who were already luminaries when they attended:

Britain: Lord Kelvin, Baron Rayleigh (1904 Nobel Prize in Physics), Thomson (1906 Nobel Prize in Physics), Rutherford (1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and Henry Bragg (1915 Nobel Prize in Physics).

Germany: Röntgen (1901 Nobel Prize in Physics), Wien (1911 Nobel Prize in Physics), Boltzmann, Planck (1918 Nobel Prize in Physics), Nernst (Third Law of Thermodynamics; 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Braun (1909 Nobel Prize in Physics), Rubens, and Lummer.

France: Becquerel, Curie (1903 Nobel Prize in Physics), Marie Curie (1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and Lippmann (1908 Nobel Prize in Physics).

Netherlands: Lorentz (1902 Nobel Prize in Physics) and Onnes (superconductivity; 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics).

Switzerland: Guillaume (1920 Nobel Prize in Physics).

United States: Michelson (1907 Nobel Prize in Physics) and Millikan (1923 Nobel Prize in Physics).

As for Einstein, Grossman, Wilson, von Laue, Langevin, and the others, they were all unknowns at this point.

And that was without even mentioning the countless professors, lecturers, graduate students, and others from universities across Britain.

As for undergraduates, unless someone brought them along, there probably wasn't a single one qualified to attend.

At the entrance to the venue, Lord Kelvin shook hands with every important figure who arrived, welcoming them.

"Hello, Röntgen. You've finally arrived. I wanted to tell you that the X-ray you discovered was a remarkable achievement."

Röntgen smiled. "My lord, do you finally believe it wasn't a hoax?"

"When I wrote to you back then, hoping to share my discovery, your reply was quite a blow."

Lord Kelvin laughed. "It was all my fault. Look, now someone else is going to give me a taste of my own medicine."

"Hahaha." Röntgen and the others burst out laughing.

He continued, "And this must be Planck. You look very young."

Planck hurried forward and said respectfully, "Thank you for inviting me, my lord. This is sure to be a conference that causes a sensation around the world."

Lord Kelvin smiled. "Did your good student tell you the rules of the conference?"

Planck looked helpless. "That little fellow is always so unconventional and arrogant."

"Being young is a good thing," Lord Kelvin said. "We're all old now. Let the young people have the stage."

With that, he ushered them into the venue.

Before long, the Curies and Becquerel arrived as well.

Lord Kelvin teased, "Oh, look. The little girl of physics has arrived."

At present, perhaps only a handful of people in the academic world, including Lord Kelvin, dared to call Marie Curie that.

"My lord, you're still going strong. I hope today's conference is a resounding success," Marie Curie said with a smile.

"Thank you for giving us this opportunity," Becquerel added.

Lord Kelvin was delighted by their words, and seemed to grow even more radiant.

One wave after another arrived. Everyone treated him with great respect and thanked him for the invitation.

After all, he was a veteran among veterans.

Born in 1824, Lord Kelvin belonged to the same generation as the great Maxwell, Hertz, Clausius, Joule, Lenz, Faraday, and Helmholtz.

Yet now, he was the only one of them still alive.

Watching the countless younger scientists pass before him, Lord Kelvin sighed inwardly. "What a rich field of inquiry they have opened up for the future!"

"What a revolution they have carried out in the scientific view of the world! How small and inadequate I seem beside them!"

From this day on, he could no longer teach. He could only learn.

Just then, an even younger figure came into view. His gaze was as sharp as ever, and he looked down on all living things.

Beneath his dazzling radiance, even Röntgen, Marie Curie, and the others seemed to have been left behind by the times.

Lord Kelvin took a deep breath, strode forward, and extended his hand with a smile.

"Bruce, you've finally arrived."

"Yes, my lord. I'm here," Li Qiwei replied firmly.