Chapter 320 Photoelectric Effect
Abolishing the imperial examination system not only means canceling the county examination, provincial examination, and metropolitan examination, but also requires finding another way to select talents. Therefore, after canceling the imperial examination system, the court ordered the whole country to switch to new learning, combining the education of people and the selection of talents into one path.
This will inevitably lead to a surge in the number of new-style schools and an improvement in social status. Since there is no future in studying the Four Books and Five Classics, how many people are willing to learn? Are they really studying so hard just to pursue knowledge? And since new-style schools can bring new opportunities for promotion, there must be no shortage of people applying. Aurora University has now made a name for itself, and most of its graduates have found good jobs. Those who work in factories can get high salaries, and those who work in government offices can get official positions.
When the imperial court officially abolishes the imperial examination system in the future, there will definitely be a large number of young students and even middle-aged scholars who are unwilling to give up their official careers coming to apply for the exam. Therefore, Aurora University must be prepared in advance to cope with this wave of applications.
Zhang Xingjiu followed up Yan Fu's topic and brought up this matter. He also suggested, "Now that MSG is selling very well and the school's account is gradually getting more comfortable, should we continue to buy land, build school buildings, and hire teachers so that we can take this opportunity to expand the scale of the school?"
"Zhou Ping is right. There are already quite a few applicants this year. Next year, when the imperial edict is issued, the number of applicants will probably increase several times. It would be a pity if we meet the right talent but cannot admit him." Yan Fu nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Zhang Xingjiu's assessment of the situation.
"More and more students are applying to Aurora University, which is definitely a good thing. However, we cannot be careless because of this. Not only must the entrance examination be strictly controlled, but the school's teachers must also be carefully selected and trained. We cannot ruin the school's reputation because of a momentary impulse." Ma Xiangbo was not dazzled by the good situation.
"What Mr. Ma said is very true. If students come in but the teachers cannot keep up, then the gain will outweigh the loss." Cai Yuanpei also agreed.
"So this year we should continue to adjust the department structure, make each department independent, refine each major, and then use the summer vacation time to bring teachers together to discuss and study. In this way, when the imperial edict is issued next year, we will have the ability to expand enrollment." Zhang Xingjiu suggested.
"It looks like the school will be busy for a while this summer." Ma Xiangbo said with a smile. Despite this, he didn't feel it was hard at all. The school has such a good development opportunity, so what does it matter if everyone works harder?
Therefore, the teachers of Aurora University hardly had any vacation during the entire summer vacation. They gathered together to attend study classes, discuss academic matters with each other, and also cooperate with the school to carry out the adjustment of colleges and departments. Although it was busy, it was extremely exciting.
Compared with ordinary teachers, Zhang Xingjiu is busier. Not only does he have to teach teachers of science and engineering and foreign language departments, but he is also responsible for the adjustment planning of science and engineering departments. He has now been promoted to vice president in charge of science and engineering departments.
In addition to these, he cannot delay his important work. He also has to keep an eye on the latest developments in the European and American scientific communities and publish papers ahead of certain important goals. In the second half of this year, he plans to work hard and produce many heavyweight results.
The first thing to write is a paper on the photoelectric effect. When light shines on a metal, it causes the electrical properties of the material to change. This phenomenon of light changing into electricity is collectively called the photoelectric effect.
In 1839, Alexandre Becquerel, who was only 19 years old, discovered the photovoltaic effect while assisting his father in studying the effects of irradiating light waves into an electrolytic cell. Although this is not an optical effect, it plays a major role in revealing the close relationship between the electrical properties of matter and light waves.
In 1873, while conducting a mission related to underwater cables, Willeby-Smith was testing the high resistance properties of selenium cylinders and discovered that they were photoconductive, that is, shining a light beam on the selenium cylinder caused its conductivity to increase.
In 1887, German physicist Heinrich Hertz conducted experiments to observe the photoelectric effect and the emission and reception of electromagnetic waves. There was a spark gap in Hertz's transmitter, which could generate and emit electromagnetic waves by creating sparks. There was a coil and a spark gap in the receiver. Whenever the coil detected an electromagnetic wave, sparks would appear in the spark gap.
Hertz used a quartz prism to decompose light waves according to their wavelengths and carefully analyzed the shielding behavior of each wavelength of light waves. He found that ultraviolet light caused the photoelectric effect. He then published these experimental results in the "Annals of Physics", but did not conduct further research on the effect.
Many physicists, including Thomson, Leonard and others, have shown great interest in this effect. They have conducted a series of experiments to try to uncover the secret of the photoelectric effect and have achieved some success, but have never touched upon the final answer.
It also caused great trouble to scientists, because when they were doing experiments, they found that shining a blue light beam with a very weak irradiance on the surface of potassium metal can cause it to emit photoelectrons as long as the frequency is greater than its limit frequency. However, no matter how strong the irradiance of the red light beam is, once the frequency is less than the limit frequency of potassium metal, it cannot induce the emission of photoelectrons.
According to the wave theory of light, the irradiance or amplitude of a light wave corresponds to the energy it carries. Therefore, a light beam with very strong irradiance must be able to provide more energy to expel electrons. However, the facts are exactly the opposite of what is expected by classical theory.
Zhang Xingjiu wrote a paper giving a new explanation. He described the light beam as a group of discrete quanta, now called photons, rather than continuous fluctuations. Based on Zhang Xingjiu's blackbody radiation law (which is Planck's law in the original history), he deduced that the energy possessed by each photon that makes up the light beam is equal to the frequency multiplied by a constant, namely the Zhang Xingjiu constant.
He also proposed the "photoelectric effect equation", the energy of a photon with a frequency of f is E=hf, where the h factor is Zhang Xingjiu's constant. If the frequency of the photon is greater than a certain limit frequency, the photon has enough energy to cause an electron to escape, resulting in a photoelectric effect. Therefore, the energy of the photoelectron is only related to the frequency, but not to the irradiance.
This was the only achievement that won Einstein the Nobel Prize in the future. According to calculations, he would publish this paper next year. Considering the communication distance between Asia and Europe, Zhang Xingjiu published it in advance.
He submitted the paper to Nature magazine, and also copied several copies and sent them to friends such as Lippmann, the Curies, Lang Zhiwan, and some familiar scientists in Europe and the United States.
After a long journey of more than a month, the paper finally arrived at Nature magazine. The review editors were very conflicted when they saw the article, but finally, considering Zhang Xingjiu's achievements, they decided to publish it.
Soon, this article caused an uproar in the scientific community.
(End of this chapter)
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