1855 United States Tycoon

The next morning, Scrooge and his party boarded the luxury express train from New York to Cleveland. Although it is a so-called "luxury express", its speed and distance are really not fast. Compared with the speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour of the later high-speed rail, the speed of this train is terribly slow. Its speed is only 30 kilometers per hour, plus it has to stop from time to time, so from New York to Cleveland about 460 miles, which is about 740 kilometers, it has to go up. More than a whole day. This also gave Maxwell enough time to discuss electromagnetics with Scrooge.

"Well, this is derived from the displacement current in your previous article "On the Force Lines of Physics"? I really didn't expect such an idea." Scrooge flipped through this article by Maxwell. Little essay, frowned and said.

"Yes, that's it. But I always feel that there is something missing in this inference, and it is not deep enough. It seems that there should be further deductions." Maxwell also frowned.

"Anna, is there any blank paper?" Scrooge looked at the pile of draft papers in front of him, shook his head and said to Anna.

"Well, there are more. I'll get it." Anna stood up, ready to go back to the own box to get the manuscript paper for the calculation.

"Ah, Anna, make me another cup of tea, it must be very strong... Mr. Maxwell, would you like to order it?" Scrooge turned his head to look at Maxwell.

"Ah, give me a cup too." In high-intensity calculations, everyone feels tired. Relying on strong tea for refreshing is also a common practice.

"Well, all right." Anna nodded and walked out.

"Ah." Scrooge stretched out without an image. "Mathematical calculations are really a blessing. It's a pity that we can't carry a hand-cranked computer on our travels. By the way, I heard that there is a computer called the abacus in China, which is very convenient to carry and use. It is said that it is not faster than a hand-cranked computer. Slow. When will Mr. Warren Delano find me some guys who can use abacus from China to try."

"Is there such a thing?" Maxwell also felt a little interested. "Is this rumor reliable?"

"Reliable or unreliable, you'll know if you find it and try it. Anyway, it won't cost much." Scrooge said. He knew that in later generations, when the rabbit country made the first atomic bomb, a lot of data was calculated by abacus. So for the calculation ability of the abacus, Shi Gaozhi still has a lot of spectrum in his heart.

At this time, Anna was holding a tray with two cups of tea, and there was a thick layer of scratch paper underneath the tray. She opened the door and walked in.

"Anna, thank you." Scrooge stood up, took the tray from Anna's hand, then put a cup of tea in front of Maxwell, took another cup of his own, and took a sip.

Anna put the draft paper on the table, then sat aside silently, looking at Scrooge. She saw Scrooge put down the cup, took a piece of scratch paper, and started to calculate again. At this time, the train turned gently, and the sunlight shone through the white window screens on Scrooge's head and face, scattering a colorful halo on Scrooge's golden temples. The sunlight turned Scrooge into a black silhouette inlaid with gold rim in Anna's eyes. Anna sat there quietly, looking at Scrooge. She felt that Scrooge, who focused on calculations, was so cute. If there weren't other people around, she would really like to go up and touch him and kiss him.

"Well, Mr. Maxwell, I suddenly had an idea." Scrooge stopped writing suddenly.

"What?" Maxwell stretched his head quickly.

"Look, if you combine the displacement current formula with these formulas, it seems very interesting. This, then this, and then... Well, Mr. Maxwell, do you have any thoughts on the next step?"

"Let me take a look." Maxwell took the draft paper in Scrooge's hand, took a look, thought for a while, suddenly laughed, "Mr. MacDonald, look, let's change this. , And... and then got such a formula!"

Scrooge took a look. This was an important part of Maxwell's equations, which was far-reaching in history. After a series of guidance by Scrooge, this equation finally appeared several years earlier than the original history.

"This equation?" Scrooge grabbed the draft paper and looked at it seriously for a while, then picked up the pencil and started the calculation. After a while, he said with astonishment on his face. , Mr. Maxwell, what have I calculated based on this equation!"

"This is……"

"The speed of the electromagnetic wave predicted in your calculation is about 300,000 kilometers per second. Isn't this the speed of light?" Scrooge said excitedly, "If there is no problem with this equation, then can it prove that light is An electromagnetic wave?"

"This...this is...Let's check it again." Maxwell suppressed own excitement and said.

Time passed by, and the two of them were still busy. At this time, a train attendant gently knocked on the door of the room. Neither Scrooge nor Maxwell paid any attention, but Anna, who had been staring at Scrooge intently, reacted. She opened the door gently.

"What's the matter?" Anna walked out gently, concealed the door of the room easily, and asked in a low voice.

"Miss, it's lunch time. I want to ask you..." the waiter replied.

"Not for the time being. But you have to be prepared." Anna said, "These two gentlemen may also go to dinner at any time." The guests in the luxurious box always have some privileges.

"Okay, I understand Miss." The waiter turned and prepared to leave. At this moment, there was a burst of cheer from the box: "Mr. Maxwell, we can be sure that there will be no mistakes in it! Light is an electromagnetic wave!" "The next step is to find a way to design an experiment. Prove the existence of electromagnetic waves! Well, I'm going to give this equation a name, it's the Maxwell-McDonald equation!"

Anna smiled and said to the waiter: "I think these two gentlemen should be able to eat on time."

In the dining car, Maxwell hurriedly stuffed all kinds of food into the owner's stomach, whether it was bread with French foie gras and truffle, or bread slices with caviar, he did not distinguish quickly. Put it in your mouth and eat it quickly.

"My dear, you have to slow down!" Mrs. Maxwell was a little dissatisfied.

It wasn't until Mrs. Maxwell spoke up that Maxwell realized that the own approach was indeed a little unfavorable. So he smiled embarrassedly and said: "I have achieved breakthrough results in the joint research with Mr. MacDonald just now. I am eager to finish my meal and then study with Mr. MacDonald."

"Mr. Maxwell." Laura, who was sitting not far from Scrooge, suddenly said, "Although I don't know any science, I know that I must take a break after eating and I shouldn't go to work right away. Only in this way can we take good care of our body."

"Mrs. Joseph, thank you for your reminder." Mrs. Maxwell smiled and thanked Laura, then turned her head and said to Maxwell, "My dear, I think what Mrs. Joseph said is very scientific. So I suggest you respect science. After eating, rest for at least half an hour before continuing your research."

Scrooge, who was spreading caviar on the own slice of bread, turned his face and smiled helplessly at Maxwell. Then he turned his eyes and saw Anna was next to Laura, helping her cut a slice of goose with a knife. Liver sauce, smiling at himself. Scrooge understood that most of her mother's remarks were made by Anna instigating her.

After dinner, Laura took Scrooge and Carol and called Catherine and Annie again. She went to her box and talked for more than an hour before letting Scrooge leave.

Scrooge took Anna out of the box of old Joseph and Laura. As soon as he walked to the door of the own box, he saw Maxwell waiting there anxiously.

"Mr. MacDonald, there is a serious problem." Maxwell said.

"What's the matter?" Scrooge said in surprise.

"Look at our equation." Maxwell took out a piece of paper, and it said that it was the Maxwell-Macdonald equation they worked out in the morning. "Look, in this equation, both parameters are non-directional. The scalar!" Maxwell looked serious.

"So what?" Scrooge hadn't figured it out for a while.

"So what? Doesn't this mean that the speed of electromagnetic waves is the same under any frame of reference? For example, if you light a light on a train and measure its speed, I mean if the light is indeed one If there is an electromagnetic wave, the speed of light you measured will be exactly the same as that measured by someone standing on the ground in front of the train. How is this possible?” Maxwell’s eyes widened, “Could it be relative to any movement? Can objects and ethers be static?"

This question scared Scrooge. Isn't this damn question of the speed of light the origin of Einstein's special theory of relativity? Maxwell discovered this problem in such a short time. This couldn't help making Scrooge's admiration for Maxwell in his heart.

"Mr. Maxwell." Scrooge thought for a while, and felt that this time did not seem to be a good time for the theory of relativity to emerge. So he said: "Repeatable experiments are the most reliable way to test the laws of physics. Perhaps we can find a way to test whether it is correct through experiments."

Thank you for reading this story at mtlarchive.com. Your support enables us to keep the site running!