The Meeting Begins

An hour later, the conference hall was packed to the rafters.

Lord Kelvin stood at the front as the host. He gazed out over the crowd and estimated there were more than two hundred people.

What a staggering number. It was likely that at least half of the world's leading physicists had gathered here.

Even Lord Kelvin, a man of great renown and experience, felt a little nervous at that moment.

He felt immensely honored to have the chance to witness such a conference in his lifetime—and to serve as its host.

His hearty voice rang out through the microphone, carrying clearly to every corner of the vast hall.

"First, I'd like to thank everyone who has traveled from afar and been willing to do an old man the honor of attending. It seems I still have a little clout in the physics community."

Laughter and enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the hall.

"Three hundred years have passed since Galileo opened the door to science and formally established the system of natural science."

"Over those three centuries, countless pioneers of physics blazed trails through the wilderness and scaled new heights, creating a magnificent and brilliant world of physics."

"Their names shine forever in the firmament of physics, like stars, guiding those who come after them."

"Two hundred and fifty years ago, Newton single-handedly founded classical mechanics, putting forward the laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation."

"He was like a torch, illuminating the skies over the whole world and leading people away from the ignorance and darkness of the Middle Ages."

"In the years that followed, countless geniuses in the four fields of optics, wave theory, heat, and electromagnetism pursued their research and experiments, one after another, and ultimately achieved great things."

"Whether light was a wave or a particle had been debated for three hundred years. Though Newton believed it was made of particles, Thomas Young's double-slit experiment proved that light was indeed a wave."

"Seventy years ago, Hamilton used mathematical equivalence to unify optics and mechanics."

"Forty years ago, my friend Maxwell unified electromagnetism and optics, and proposed the famous Maxwell's Equations."

"As for heat, Clausius and I made a small contribution by proposing the Second Law of Thermodynamics."

"Later, Boltzmann proposed statistical mechanics and, using the entropy formula, successfully proved that the foundations of heat theory lay in statistical mechanics."

"So, in my eyes, the framework of classical physics was once complete. It rested on three pillars: classical mechanics, classical electromagnetic theory, and classical statistical mechanics."

"Everything in the universe, everything in the world, could be explained by these three physical theories."

At this, everyone in the hall fell silent, captivated by the history of physics Lord Kelvin was recounting.

What a turbulent, stirring saga of physics it was.

Under such harsh conditions, the pioneers had nonetheless created scientific legends that shone across the heavens.

And now, everyone present was about to stand on the shoulders of those who came before and continue scaling the peaks of physics.

They were all filled with excitement and inspiration.

Then Lord Kelvin's resonant voice rang out once more:

"So, a few months ago, right here, I made a bold declaration: the edifice of physics was complete, and all that remained was a little patching and repair."

"At the time, a young man sitting below snickered. I noticed and asked him what he was laughing at."

"He said physics was nowhere near complete; it had only just begun. He even made a wager with me, saying that within five years, he would prove his point in a paper."

"Many old friends asked me privately why I had agreed to wager with him. He was only a green young man, after all."

"I smiled and told them that, first, his courage had moved me. If a person didn't even have the courage to challenge authority, he would never achieve anything in science."

"Another reason was that I was afraid I might once again dampen the enthusiasm of the young."

"Röntgen's X-rays, young Miss Curie's radioactivity, and Thomson's electron had all made me sense that something unusual was changing."

"Now it's been proven that these were all highly innovative discoveries. Of course, I still believe they fall within the framework of classical physics."

"So when a young man even younger than Röntgen confidently declared that he would overturn physics, I believed him on an impulse."

"That's the story behind my 'two dark clouds' speech."

Only then did the audience learn that there had been such a story. Years later, it would become one of those famous anecdotes.

By now, Lord Kelvin's face had turned noticeably red, and his voice was even more impassioned.

"And that arrogant young man wasn't just making empty boasts. He really did keep his promise."

"He truly proved, in a single paper, that physics was nowhere near complete."

"I know many people oppose this theory, but I still have something I must say."

"Bruce, you won our wager. I apologize for insulting you and your people. I hope you can forgive me."

A commotion swept through the hall!

No one had expected Lord Kelvin to apologize publicly, especially at such an important occasion.

Given his standing in the physics community, even if he had belittled a junior, it would have been considered understandable.

Yet he had still apologized, repenting for his mistake. As a scientist, he should not have been prejudiced on the basis of race.

Even Li Qiwei was moved. Seated in the front row, he abruptly rose to his feet, looked at Lord Kelvin, and said sincerely, "Lord Kelvin, I accept your apology."

Lord Kelvin smiled in relief. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart, and even his voice sounded lighter.

"Now then, Bruce—and Planck—please come up onstage."

"I hope you'll make my apology deserved. I'd rather not get slapped in the face again!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Li Qiwei replied, "Don't worry, my lord. I'm confident." Planck merely watched him kindly, without a word.

Under everyone's gaze, Li Qiwei and Planck walked slowly to the center of the stage and stood tall.

Lord Kelvin moved to the side, where the host's seat was.

He then repeated the rules of the conference, setting off a commotion.

Clearly, everyone had been taken aback by Li Qiwei's confidence, though some thought he was showing off.

The physics professors from Oxford University, for instance, were furious when they heard about this format, in which people would question him one after another.

It meant that Bruce Li had no regard for anyone present.

If Li Qiwei had known what they were thinking, he would have cried out that he'd been wronged.

He simply thought this arrangement would be more convenient and would help keep the conference orderly, while giving everyone a chance to speak.

It was better than holding a formal debate, wasn't it?

At Lord Kelvin's signal, the conference officially began!

First, Li Qiwei and Planck each described the main points of their paper.

They explained the idea behind the concept of the [quantum] in detail, as well as its implications for the future of physics.

Of course, Li Qiwei did most of the talking, speaking at length. Planck had volunteered to listen quietly beside him, only chiming in now and then.

Soon, their presentation was over. At last, the challenges to [Quantum Mechanics] were about to begin.