Tongues Against the Scholars

When Lord Kelvin said, "The speech is over. Anyone who wishes to speak, please raise your hand," the hall burst into a lively buzz.

The stirring atmosphere spread in an instant. Everyone perked up, afraid they might miss a single word.

At first, no one in the hall was the first to respond. Everyone waited to see what others would do.

Before long, a white-haired old man raised his hand, and Lord Kelvin immediately invited him to speak.

"Hello, Bruce. I'm Professor Close from the physics department at Oxford University. My main field of research is classical mechanics, and I'd like to ask you a question."

Li Qiwei quickly replied, "Hello, Professor Close. Please go ahead."

Close said, "The great sage Leibniz once said, 'Nature makes no leaps.' The calculus he and Newton developed was based on the principle that the quantities being handled had to be continuous."

"If, as you claim, energy comes in separate, discontinuous portions, wouldn't that contradict the sage's conclusion?"

Li Qiwei replied, "Galileo's Leaning Tower experiment proved that heavier objects don't fall faster. He cried out, 'Aristotle was wrong!'"

"Thomas Young's double-slit experiment proved that light could also undergo interference. He believed Newton's corpuscular theory might be wrong."

"So even the sages could be mistaken. We can't treat their words as absolute truth."

"I respect those great pioneers of science, but I respect the even greater truths of the universe more."

As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of applause swept through the hall.

What a beautiful answer. The man had accused him of contradicting the sages, but instead of trying to prove himself right, Li Qiwei had pointed out that the sages could be wrong, too.

Planck and Lord Kelvin looked at Li Qiwei with great satisfaction.

Just then, another Oxford professor raised his hand to speak. He clearly had a bad temper. "Bruce, that's sophistry."

"Tell me this: if energy is discontinuous, why do we humans perceive it as continuous? Take flames and sunlight, for example."

Quite a few people nodded in agreement. It was a very well-aimed question.

Li Qiwei said, "That's because our human senses can't accurately receive information from the microscopic world."

"Under Professor Thomson's guidance, I've been studying atoms and their structure. Though I can't see what atoms look like with my naked eye, instruments can tell me that they're particles, one by one."

"Rather than what the sages once believed—that atoms couldn't exist."

"Likewise, at the most microscopic scales, energy also comes in separate portions. It's just that our current instruments can't observe or measure them."

The professor pressed on. "If they can't be observed, how can you prove your theory is right?"

Li Qiwei replied, "My paper has already shown that the concept of [quantum] can perfectly explain every case of Blackbody Radiation. Professor Planck has conducted supplementary experiments in his laboratory."

Planck then added, "That's right. The experimental results show no difference between the predictions of the [Li-Planck Radiation Formula] and the experimental values."

"Moreover, with the concept of [quantum], we can use interpolation to perfectly reconcile Wien's formula with the Rayleigh-Jeans formula."

"I've already published the relevant experimental results in the Annals of Physics. Anyone who's interested can look them up."

With that, he nodded toward the two big names seated below the stage, Wien and Rayleigh.

The Oxford professor had been silenced by the rebuttal. He could only sit down glumly, looking somewhat ill at ease.

Just then, a young man suddenly stood up without following the meeting rules and shouted, "This is utter nonsense!"

"Don't listen to this Oriental's lies! How could the world possibly be discontinuous? He must have been sent by the Qing Dynasty to sabotage European science!"

"Down with Bruce Li, the heretic!"

The hall erupted into turmoil, and Lord Kelvin's expression darkened.

He barked, "Guards! Remove this insolent man at once! This is a sacred scientific discussion, and no one will be allowed to disrupt it!"

Then he apologized to Li Qiwei and everyone present.

The meeting was so large that it was easy for people with ulterior motives to slip inside.

The crowd soon settled down. They were all highly educated intellectuals, and no one took the little disturbance to heart. Instead, they were all thinking about how to understand [quantum].

Another Oxford physics professor then asked a question. When everyone heard him identify himself as an Oxford professor, they all smiled in unison.

Everyone present enjoyed watching Oxford and Cambridge's rivalry play out. As long as it was a proper academic debate, they were all for it.

"Hello, Bruce. Suppose your [quantum] theory is correct. Wouldn't that mean that all three pillars of classical physics are wrong?"

"If energy is discontinuous, then the force that produces energy must also be discontinuous. So F=ma is wrong."

"Electromagnetic waves are energy, too, so they must be discontinuous as well. That means Maxwell's Equations are wrong."

"Heat is another form of energy, so thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are wrong, too."

"If we follow that line of reasoning, then everything everyone here has spent their lives learning is wrong. Do you think that's possible?"

"But if we really are wrong, then why can we invent telegraphs, predict the trajectories of celestial bodies, send steel steamships racing across the sea, and free humanity's legs with automobiles?"

"If classical physics is wrong, does that mean the entire world is an illusion?"

The professor's question hit far too hard, striking straight at the heart of the matter. Everyone present was moved, even Lord Kelvin, whose expression turned solemn.

He could well understand the feeling: the desolation of being cast aside by physics.

Professor Planck was even momentarily stunned, because the question struck a chord with him.

In fact, for five years after publishing his [quantum] theory, Planck had constantly tried to disprove his own ideas.

They ran completely counter to his worldview. He had struggled to fit [quantum] into the framework of classical physics, but it simply couldn't be done.

During that period, his mind was often troubled, and he withdrew from the company of others.

Rarely did Li Qiwei fail to answer immediately. This time, he sat in silence, thinking. The question cut too deep, and he needed to choose his words carefully.

The hall fell silent as everyone waited for his response.

At last, Li Qiwei spoke. "I've always believed that our current physical theories are only approximations of theories on a higher level."

"When we're discussing things on a macroscopic scale, or at low speeds, using approximate concepts can often save us a great deal of calculation."

"For example, when we're dealing with a mass of molecules, there's no need to determine the exact properties of every single molecule. We can use statistical mechanics to explain and predict the macroscopic properties of the mass they form."

"Just as we can't explain the origin or workings of human consciousness, yet we can still use it to create physical concepts, observe the world, and explain it."

"So I believe the concept of [quantum] is one of the building blocks of a higher-level physical theory."

"Under that theory, perhaps everything in the world is even made up of [quantum]."

"But none of this stops us from using approximate theories to explain all things."

"Nature conceals deeper truths in its flowers, grasses, and trees. Even if we can't understand them, we can still admire their beauty, grow them, or burn the trees to improve our lives."

Finally, Li Qiwei added, "I think this is the Creator's mercy toward humanity."

Wow!

The hall erupted. Everyone was utterly shaken by Li Qiwei's explanation.

As for the extra updates, everyone, adding chapters during a new book's early period is very disadvantageous, so please understand. Lao Xu's follow-through isn't high enough, and I'm getting fewer recommendations now. If I add even more chapters, I'll only be digging my own grave. I'll keep polishing the story and do my best to make it a satisfying read for everyone.