When Li Yu was in Copenhagen, Denmark, he was also invited to the Copenhagen Observatory.
After all, the discovery of Pluto and the recent articles published in Science magazine on exo galaxies, red shift phenomena, and the spiral arm structure of the Milky Way are all incredible achievements in the field of astronomy.
The reputation of the Copenhagen Observatory is obviously not comparable to that of several other European observatories, but Denmark's research on astronomy is actually very traditional.
The famous Tycho Brahe began large-scale astronomical observations more than 300 years ago, and his data directly helped Kepler complete the brilliant Kepler's three laws.
More than 200 years ago, Ole Romer, who was the first to measure the speed of light more accurately, was also from the University of Copenhagen. After years of development, the fact that the speed of light was measured was crucial to the creation of the theory of relativity.
At this time, the director of the observatory was an astronomer named Hans. After meeting Li Yu, he said in Chinese: "Hello, Mr. Li Yu!"
Li Yu was stunned for a moment before replying in Chinese: "Hello!"
Principal Paterson smiled and said: "President Hans is a 'China expert'. He can not only speak but also write Chinese!"
For foreigners who learn Chinese, the difficulty of writing Chinese is more like a nightmare than the difficulty of speaking. It is really not easy for a foreigner to be able to write Chinese.
Hans was also very proud of this: "I also compiled a Chinese code about your country. There were so many square characters that I felt like my head was going to explode when I was compiling it."
Almost 30 years ago, in 1873, the world had its first Chinese telegraph code. It was based on the "Kangxi Dictionary" and used nearly 7,000 Chinese characters.
Zheng Guanying, whom Li Yu once met in Guangzhou, integrated them into a "New Edition of Chinese Telegraphs".
Later, Wang Chengrong, the overseas Chinese businessman who was the first to develop a telegraph machine in China, co-developed China's first telegraph machine and petitioned the Qing government to develop its own telegraph machine, but the Qing government directly refused.
Because the Qing court felt that foreign products were better.
However, the imperial code was entirely made by foreigners, so it was very difficult to encrypt it, and it was not difficult for others to decipher it. This was a huge loophole.
Today, most of Shanghai's cross-sea telegraph lines are constructed by the Danish Great Northern Telegraph Company.
They also signed a contract with the Qing government, obtained privileges such as borrowing routes and patents for sending and receiving newspapers, and operated the business of sending and receiving newspapers.
The key point is that the Qing government really didn't understand communications and completely handed over its core business to the great powers.
Hans was the Chinese code produced for the Great Northern Telegraph Company in Denmark.
Paterson said: "If academicians need to communicate with China, they can directly send telegrams in Chinese in Denmark."
They seemed not to know that Li Yu had mastered radio technology.
So Li Yu said casually: "It's not needed for the time being."
Hans pointed to his observatory and said: "During this period, I have been using Academician Li Yu's method to observe and search for Pluto and extragalactic galaxies. Unfortunately, the equipment of my small observatory cannot reach such high accuracy. I just submitted an application update to the Academy of Sciences.
one time."
Li Yu said: "If the funds can be approved, upgrading the telescope will indeed be very convenient."
Hans smiled and said: "I also submitted your paper along with the application form at that time. I think they approved my application just because they saw your article and discovered that there is such a vast field of astronomy that has yet to be discovered.
Academician, your contribution is not small!"
Li Yu had mixed feelings. If he wanted to buy some equipment, he could only pay for it himself.
Key observatories are really expensive.
Hans continued to say excitedly: "After the equipment is updated in the future, we may be able to use it to make even greater discoveries."
Li Yu said: "Good equipment is one thing, but people are also needed to bring out the value of the equipment."
Principal Patterson said: "So we hope to invite you to come more often."
Li Yu could only say: "I will if I have the chance."
They wanted to keep Li Yu for a while now, but Berlin, Germany, sent another urging telegram.
The senders were Siemens and the University of Berlin. They had known for a long time that Li Yu had arrived in Denmark, but they had stayed in Denmark for a few days and had not yet left for the south, so they sent an inquiry.
Li Yu unfolded the message:
"Dear Mr. Li Yu, with all due respect, we have already vacated a laboratory and have contacted Professor Planck of the University of Berlin. Everything is waiting for your arrival. - Carl Siemens."
Li Yu smiled and said, "It seems I'm really going to leave."
Everyone at the University of Copenhagen knew that Li Yu came to Europe this time for an appointment in Germany, but there was still time to invite him in the future.
Paterson said: "After Mr. Academician completes his work, he can come to Denmark at any time."
Denmark and Germany are neighboring countries, indeed very close.
But Denmark is not alone in thinking this way.
Li Yu had no choice but to prevaricate for a few words, then packed his luggage and continued to set off.
Li Yu boarded the ship from the port of Copenhagen and went to the nearest port of Kiel, Germany. Then he took the train all the way south, turned southeast via Hamburg, and headed to Berlin Railway Station.
In the following decades, Germany has been very strong in science, even affecting all aspects of Germany.
It’s hard to imagine the Germans’ enthusiasm for technology. Even during World War II, when they fought a nation-destroying war with the Soviet Union, the home front was still researching hundreds of new weapons and equipment at the same time.
The routes of Germany and the Soviet Union are obviously different. Germany really uses technology as a magic weapon to win. It is indeed very pioneering in many fields, and it has begun to develop rockets.
The Soviet Union's approach was to focus on ease of use and durability, with a relatively single model. For wartime, this was actually easier to operate logistically. This also affected the manufacturing principles of Soviet-made weapons to a certain extent, and also led to the popularity of AK in the world.
Massive popularity.
The journey was boring anyway, so Li Yu chatted with Lu Bicheng about the history of Germany, especially Bismarck's great contribution to Germany. In terms of culture and history, Lu Bicheng was able to understand quickly, but those parts involving modern science were too difficult for her.
.
Germany rose relatively late among the European powers. It has almost no colonies. The road to becoming a powerful country started in a difficult mode. The several large-scale foreign wars were almost all about snatching food from the tiger's mouth.
After that, the industrial development was also very brilliant, and in a few decades it became the strongest country in the European continent.
However, Lu Bicheng was more interested in literature and art, and was not very interested in history such as fighting and killing.
Li Yu thought for a while and said: "As for literature... By the way, Germany also has very famous fairy tales."
"Like the Danish Andersen fairy tale?" Lu Bicheng asked.
Li Yu said: "Of course, the Germans' Grimm's fairy tales are not weaker than Andersen's fairy tales."
Like Andersen's fairy tales, Grimm's fairy tales have not yet entered China.
Li Yu then told her about famous works such as "Cinderella", "Snow White", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Sleeping Beauty" which have long been popular in later generations.
Compared with the previous Andersen fairy tales, the Grimm fairy tales are more romantic, and are naturally more popular among girls.
Many of Andersen's fairy tales are more moral and have certain connotations, such as the very typical "The Emperor's New Clothes". In fact, children don't understand why everyone tells lies with their eyes open.
Of course, both are classic fairy tale collections, and there is no distinction between them as good or bad. It’s just that the different times in which the authors lived made the stories somewhat different.
Lu Bicheng indeed prefers Grimm's fairy tales. After all, China is currently being bullied by foreign powers, and the domestic mood is generally not optimistic and relatively depressed. Such a beautiful story can give people some room for good imagination.
For Chinese people in the early 20th century, Grimm's fairy tales were more like a "fairy tale world" in dreams.
——It’s a pity that we can’t live in dreams all the time.
Lu Bicheng said: "I also want to bring these stories back to China!"
Li Yu encouraged: "Of course you can. Translating fairy tales is not that difficult anyway. If you go to France and see those big masterpieces, you probably won't have the motivation to translate them at all."
After telling a fairy tale in a country that respects technology, they finally arrived at the Berlin train station.
Kohlrausch, director of the Imperial Institute of Physics and Technology, brought Kurban and Rubens from the laboratory to greet Li Yu.
Li Yu could immediately feel the Germans' obsession with technology: Kohlrausch and others drove a fashionable new Mercedes-Benz car to greet Li Yu.
After a few words of introduction, Kohlrausch took off his hat and said: "Mr. Li Yu, I'm sorry that only a few of us are here to greet you. We really can't make up so many cars of the same model, but Mr. Siemens and Mr. Planck are both at the headquarters."
Waiting for you."
If Planck came to pick him up, Li Yu really felt that he couldn't afford it, so he smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I just want to drive a car."
Kohlrausch was surprised: "You can also drive a car?"
Li Yu said: "Not only can I drive it, I'm also researching car patents!"
Kohlrausch hadn't heard about Li Yu's patent in the United States. After all, it hadn't been mass-produced yet, so he asked: "Car patent?!"
Li Yu said: "That's right, including electronic starting systems, four-wheel drive systems, electric lights, etc."
As soon as he heard these professional terms, Kohlrausch knew that Li Yu was not bragging. His eyes almost popped out, but he still couldn't believe it and asked again: "Is this true?"
Li Yu spread his hands: "Why are you lying to me? If you don't believe me, you can go to the US Patent Office to check the patent documents."
"Oh my God!" Kohlrausch exclaimed, "I'm so surprised. Your brain is a hundred times bigger than mine! You can actually have such advanced patents in the automotive field! Now the most surprising thing is that your brain is a hundred times bigger than mine!
What gives me a headache is the way the rocker is activated, which is really ungentlemanly, and sometimes engine oil sprays onto my hands and even my clothes."
Li Yu said: "Your ideas from real users are the driving force for me to improve the car."
Kohlrausch said excitedly: "I'm going to tell Mr. Benz and Mr. Daimler after get off work today. They will definitely be very interested!"
These two people are naturally the founders of Mercedes-Benz.
Li Yu sat in the driver's seat and said to Lu Bicheng, "Get in the car."
Lu Bicheng looked at the thing in front of her in surprise: "This is?"
Li Yu said: "A car is a tool that can walk."
Lu Bicheng said: "Train? I've seen it before, this one is too small!"
Li Yu smiled and said: "You can think of it as a mechanical carriage. It has its own power to move forward without the need for additional horses."
Lu Bicheng marveled: "Unbelievable!"
Li Yu stretched out his hand to help her up, "In the future, there will be some in China, and you won't feel strange if you see them more often."
Lu Bicheng touched the iron bump and continued to ask: "Can such a small car really drive by itself?"
Li Yu wanted to show off in front of the girl, and said proudly: "You will know when you run, you can sit still!"
Then he skillfully put the gear into gear and accelerator and drove off.
"Ah!" Lu Bicheng exclaimed, "It's amazing that I can actually run!"
Li Yu said with a smile: "Of course! Where else can you turn? Keep an eye out!"
Turning a big bend, Lu Bicheng suddenly leaned on Li Yu's shoulder; then Li Yu threw the car over again, and Lu Bicheng was thrown to the other side.
Although it only has a speed of 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, for people who see a car for the first time, it is simply amazing.
Li Yu said happily: "It's interesting!"
Lu Bicheng smoothed her messy hair: "It's indeed interesting that the West has such fun things. But how can you control an inanimate machine so skillfully?"
Li Yu said with some ecstasy: "It has life, and its life is my life. Cars are the love of a man's life!"
Lu Bicheng looked at Li Yu's expression and whispered: "The love of my life?"
She heard "beloved" as "beloved". The difference between one word and one word still made a big difference in the delicate psychology of women. She couldn't even understand what kind of complex this was.
Li Yu said: "What did you just say? The engine was too loud and I didn't hear it clearly."
Lu Bicheng said quickly: "No...it's nothing!"
Li Yu had already driven a kilometer or two by this time, and suddenly realized that he didn't know the road!
Although I spent some time in Germany as an exchange student before traveling, I was mostly in Munich. Now I am on the streets of Berlin a hundred years ago.
Li Yu suddenly felt his eyes darken, but fortunately, Kohlrausch caught up with him in a car a few minutes later.
"Mr. Li Yu!" Kohlrausch said, "I am also very surprised by your driving skills. It seems that I can introduce you to Mr. Porsche and participate in the racing competition."
Li Yu smiled and said: "Then you must convey it properly."
Kohlrausch said: "Can you slow down a little bit? I'm not very good at controlling gears."
Li Yu said: "Of course, I have to rely on you to lead the way."
Kohlrausch breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't expect the Chinese to be so wild. The first thing they did when they arrived in a strange city was to take a girl and race on the streets of Berlin!
Fortunately, Li Yu followed him honestly in his car.
Lu Bicheng is still very interested in this car: "Can such a robot carriage appear in Beijing or Tianjin in the future?"
Li Yu said: "Definitely, why do you ask?"
Lu Bicheng said: "I also want to learn to drive such a robot horse in the future."
"Well, its name is a car," Li Yu said the name again, and then asked, "Why do you want to drive a car?"
Lu Bicheng said seriously: "Because you said this is the love of a man's life. I will do everything a man can do, and... looking at driving a robot horse, oh, driving a car is quite cool."
Li Yu smiled and said: "So that's what happened. It's easy to say. I'll give you a car when the time comes."
Lu Bicheng blushed: "I didn't ask you to give it to me, I will spend my own money to buy it."
Li Yu was in a good mood while driving the car, and he could supply products to the car himself, so a car was no big deal, so he said nonchalantly: "One of us is following the other, it's just a car, there's nothing to be polite about!"
Lu Bicheng said angrily: "Why are you talking about 'who is following whom' again? I... I said I would buy it myself, so I will buy it myself!"
"Okay, okay, it's as you say!" Li Yu said with a smile, "But in my opinion, riding a horse is much more chic than driving a car."
Li Yu didn't tell any lies. In his previous life, not many people had the opportunity to ride a horse.
Today's Berlin is certainly not as big as the city of later generations, and it didn't take long for them to arrive at Siemens.
Li Yu no longer smiled playfully with Lu Bicheng, and his expression immediately became serious, because the great god Planck, the founder of quantum mechanics, had appeared in front of him.
His image was so famous that Li Yu recognized him at a glance.
But...it's really a bit sloppy...
Planck's famous unkempt photo was taken around the beginning of the 20th century.