One of the two doctors, Bouchard, gave Marie Curie a purchase order: "Madam, I think you really shouldn't give up your patent on radium. You can't imagine how high its current price is.
."
Li Yu glanced at it and saw that 2.5 grams of radium bromide cost 1.87 million francs, which is 750,000 francs/gram, which converted into US dollars is 50,000 US dollars/gram.
Sky-high price!
So it is really expensive to do some radioactive experiments now. Many people know that radioactivity is one of the three popular scientific research projects now, but unfortunately radioactive materials are too expensive and they cannot afford to do experiments at all.
If you accidentally waste a little bit, your intestines will regret it.
The Curies had long made up their mind to give up their patent rights and resolutely said: "I cannot violate my scientific spirit, otherwise even if I become rich, I will be extremely miserable."
Li Yu admired him very much, but he couldn't do it himself.
The environment is different, he has too many things to do.
The doctor still wanted to study medical issues with the Curies, so Li Yu resigned first because there was still a chance to meet.
He found Hachette Publishing House, which filled in some contract documents, and then settled the previous royalties. The prequel plus the main sequel, the sales volume in Europe was about the same as that in the United States, which is close to 700,000 US dollars.
This was a huge sum of money, so Li Yu dared to invest the money earned from industry into education. If he simply wanted to live a better life, the income from royalties and patents would be more than enough.
Even just choosing one of royalties and patents is enough.
A huge amount of money was transferred to Li Yu's account at HSBC, which is relatively convenient to use everywhere.
Taking a break from his busy schedule, the French Academy of Sciences in Paris also held a ceremony to honor Li Yu as an academician.
The French Academy of Sciences is not as large as the British Royal Society, but the reason is that they have set the threshold too high. Even Pierre Curie, who won the Nobel Prize, has not been awarded academician status.
But this is also related to Pierre's character. He doesn't like worldliness, and he always wants to protect the reputation of Madame Curie and wants to enter the Academy of Sciences together.
However, the French Academy of Sciences did not accept women, and the relationship between the Academy of Sciences and Pierre Curie was not very good.
Li Yu met Lippmann again at the French Academy of Sciences. He had long been an academician of the French Academy of Sciences, and there was also a super boss: Poincaré, the last person who claimed to have comprehensive knowledge of mathematics and its applications.
Lippmann introduced the two of them enthusiastically: "Academician Li Yu, this Poincaré is very worthy of mentioning. If you insist on me choosing the smartest person in France, I will not hesitate to say it is him."
.And you, I think, are the smartest people in the East."
Li Yu laughed and said: "I don't dare to compare my IQ with mathematicians."
Poincaré's thinking was very sensitive: "IQ? I have never heard of this word, but it uses 'quotient', which is the quotient of division in mathematics?"
"Yes." Li Yu said.
"Interesting vocabulary," Poincaré adjusted his small glasses, "In addition to the vague metaphors used by Professor Lippmann, we have real intersections."
Li Yu asked: "What intersection?"
Poincaré said: "We all have the dual identity of the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Arts."
Lippmann explained: "Academician Poincaré also received the highest honor a writer can receive in France - an academician of the French Academy of Letters because of his popular writing."
Li Yu smiled and said: "You are still more powerful, I just won a medal from the Academy of Arts."
"No, no, no!" Poincaré shook his head, "It's almost the same. If you stay in France for one or two more years, you will be indispensable as an academician of the Academy of Arts."
Li Yu said awkwardly: "Do they accept ladies?"
"I don't think so," Poincaré said.
Li Yu spread his hands: "Then there is nothing we can do."
"I understand, you mean that the epoch-making Star Wars series also has a beautiful female author. What a pity!" Poincaré sighed, and then whispered to Li Yu, "Actually, after I became an academician of the Academy of Arts,
It has also been criticized by many families, guess what they said."
Li Yu thought for a while, "Do you think your level is not good enough?"
Poincaré snorted: "What a joke! I just don't have time to devote myself to writing, otherwise what would they have to do? They said that I received this unique honor for people in the scientific community because the Faculty of Arts also has a function
, to constantly compile an authoritative French dictionary; and I help poets and linguists who do not understand mathematics explain what an automorphic function is."
Li Yu said: "Then your writing skills are indeed worthy of the academician status of the Academy of Arts. It turns out that it is a bit one-sided to say that you are a generalist in mathematics."
Poincaré said: "Actually, I don't care about my status as an academician of the Academy of Arts, but these writers always want to slander me, so I have to accept it and then fight back. As for you, you have written literary works, but you are just like me.
As a scientist and there is a female author, there are even more topics to talk about! I heard them discussing it when I was drinking coffee yesterday afternoon.”
Li Yu smiled and said: "In our country, there is a saying that scholars look down on each other. I have long been accustomed to it."
"Men of letters despise each other," Poincaré repeated. "It makes sense! But I refuted it at the time because they didn't even explain the settings clearly. For example, the specific data about the Millennium Falcon was already in Chapter 1
It was mentioned in the thirteenth line on page 47 of the film. But they said that the Millennium Falcon was only the size of two train cars, which is ridiculous."
Li Yu was stunned: "Even I can't tell it is at such a precise location."
Lippmann handed each of them a glass of red wine, and then said: "I have already said that Mr. Poincaré is the smartest man in France! As long as the books he has read are printed in his mind, whatever
If you ask a question, he will tell you exactly where it is on a certain page."
Li Yu was even more shocked. This kind of photographic memory was exactly the same as Euler, the god of mathematics, and even better than him.
Memory is a key indicator of intelligence testing. If he is placed in future generations, his intelligence will definitely be the best. He can easily pass the test with the strongest brain or something.
As expected, those who engage in mathematics are the least to be messed with. Anyone who can become a famous mathematician is a blessing from God, who has given him a super powerful brain.
Poincaré asked: "From my speculation, you should continue to write follow-up works of Star Wars, because there are a lot of foreshadowings that can be mined. I hate people who dig up foreshadowings but don't fill them in.
Just like those third-rate coffee shops."
Li Yu laughed and said: "There will indeed be follow-up works."
"That's not bad!" Poincaré affirmed, "Next time I will help you fight for it and let you enter the School of Liberal Arts. By the way, there is also the beautiful Ms. Bicheng."
Li Yu asked: "Didn't you say they don't accept ladies?"
Poincaré said: "It's too pedantic. It should have been changed a long time ago! I know that many schools in the United States on the other side of the Atlantic have begun to accept female students. If women are equally educated, there is no guarantee that the next Marie Curie will not be born."
Poincaré was a relatively conservative person when it came to accepting female academicians. What he said was actually just the result of rational thinking.
"In addition," Poincaré continued, "I have carefully read the two mathematical books on game theory and fractals and chaos. Although the mathematical ideas in them are very excellent and even I appreciate them, I always feel more like a bigot.
There are many areas that need to be proved urgently.”
In front of such a mathematical generalist, Li Yu has no need to hide: "Game theory and chaos theory are complex subjects, just like analysis and topology in mathematics, which cannot be completed by just one person."
"You are indeed very humble. This is my favorite quality among Eastern people. You will not forcefully give various reasons to excuse yourself, which will only make things worse!" Poincaré said, "Since you mentioned topology,
I happened to have a very troubled hypothesis recently. It seems very simple, but it cannot be proved. Simply put, in a three-dimensional space, if every closed curve can be contracted to a point, then this space must be a three-dimensional one.
Round ball.”
Li Yu opened his mouth and broke into a cold sweat. Isn't this the famous Poincaré conjecture? It was indeed proposed this year.
One of the seven major mathematical problems of the millennium, and the only one that has been solved.
Li Yu could only say: "You are also thinking about the shape of the universe. But I really can't do anything about such a difficult topological problem."
The so-called mathematical "pain scale" has been circulating on the Internet, which is a very interesting sauna program where the big brothers with more awesome tattoos come in one after another.
Often the second to last person who comes in is topology or modern algebra.
I don’t want to explain this thing at all. After listening to it too much, I feel that it is too insulting to my IQ!
The dinner that night was held at the French Academy of Sciences. Although it was only at the level of the Academy of Sciences, it was much better than the state banquet chefs had in the UK before.
During the meal, Poincaré talked about the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy increase. "Actually, although I agree with this law, it is also not mathematically rigorous enough. As we all know, once the number of particles exceeds three, it will become
It becomes a chaotic system and cannot be predicted at all. And the law of entropy increase predicts that the universe may go to heat death. I really can't accept it! Because I can't even describe three atoms. There are such a huge number of atoms in the universe, how can we predict them?
His destination?"
Li Yu couldn't talk much about the Big Bang theory at this time. After thinking about it, he only expressed it in thermodynamics: "The destination may not be the end. Even if one day it reaches heat death, it will not be the end of time. Maybe the universe will
When you wake up again, heat will flow from cold objects to hot objects, disorder will change into order, and everything will return to its original state."
Poincaré blinked, thought for a while and said: "It turns out there is such a way to deal with it, although it sounds like a conjecture."
The next step is to talk about philosophy. Poincaré did not like fantasy, so he ended the topic.
But after today's meeting, I have a very good impression of Li Yu: "If you need it, I will help you solve mathematical problems."
He is the world's top mathematician, so it is not easy to make such a promise in person.
Someone once wanted to visit Poincaré, but when they arrived at home, he waited in the living room for three hours, with only a door in between, so as not to disturb his thinking.
Li Yu said gratefully: "It would be great to have your help. In return, I will invite you to visit China in the future."
Lippmann smiled and said nothing: "Academician Li Yu killed two birds with one stone."
——
Li Yu could not stay longer in France, so he took the train to Italy without stopping the next day.
Because Planck sent another telegram, he had already arrived in Rome.
The distance from Paris to Rome may sound very far, but it is actually about the same distance as Beijing to Shanghai.
After nearly a day's train journey and arriving at the Rome station, Planck picked up Li Yu and headed straight to the Vatican.
Naturally, Lu Bicheng and Konoe Akiyuki couldn't get in, so they had to wait outside.
In the carriage, Li Yu entered the main hall without even having time to take a good look at St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Pius X, Mariano and several other cardinals dressed up to welcome him.
Planck and Li Yu got out of the car and said politely: "I have met the Pope."
Pius X said: "You are our guests. In addition to you two, as founding members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, we have also invited several other outstanding scholars in science."
Present were the Italian mathematician Peano, as well as Mach, Ostwald and others who also came from Germany.
After Li Yu shook hands with them one by one, Pius X continued to say to Li Yu: "Dean Planck, Mr. Piano and others have had many direct exchanges with us before, and have already agreed to join the Pope.
A request from the Vatican Academy of Sciences. And for your arrival
This is something that I and Cardinal Mariano long for, because it would be incomplete without an academician from the East. Moreover, you have made such a great contribution to today’s scientific community. Considering that you are so young, you will definitely be in the future.
It will be even more brilliant."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Pope, for the compliment." Li Yu said.
Pius X also praised several Italian figures in China by the way: "Looking back at history, we have long-standing contacts with your country, such as Matteo Ricci and Castiglione."
Matteo Ricci was one of the first Catholic missionaries.
Li Yu said: "Mr. Matteo Ricci was not only a preacher, but also brought scientific enlightenment and translated "Elements of Geometry" with Mr. Xu Guangqi of China. We have always been grateful for such a feat."
If I had said this before, it would have been a bit of a slap in the face of the Holy See: the greatest contribution of missionaries over the past few hundred years has been to spread science!
Fortunately, the Holy See has now relented, and even the Academy of Sciences is about to be established, so I don't think anything of it.
Pius X said: "I heard some people who came back from your country say that what impressed them most in the palace of your country was the "Grand Reading of Emperor Qianlong" painted by Mr. Castiglione. It can be seen that we
The two countries have deep ties, and even the emperor of your country loves Italian works."
This sentence made Li Yu feel a little dizzy.
You must have seen a huge portrait of Qianlong on the Internet. It is a young Qianlong wearing a military uniform and riding a horse with a bow and arrow.
This painting, which utilizes Western painting techniques, was painted by Castiglione Castiglione.
But as to why they could see this painting in the Imperial Palace of China, it was of course because the Eight-Power Allied Forces occupied the Forbidden City.
Li Yu bit his lip and suddenly said: "Your Majesty the Pope, please forgive me, if you want me to join the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, you must agree to a condition."
Pius X was not surprised: "Please speak."
Li Yu said: "Since you mentioned Mr. Lang Shining, if you can use the authority of the Pope to help me find the "Heart-Written Peace Picture" also from Lang Shining but lost overseas, I will be grateful and will also use it.
Practical actions to repay the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Of course, if the painting is in private hands, I am willing to pay money to buy it."
"Heart-Written Zhiping Tu" is a portrait of Qianlong and his twelve concubines, who were kidnapped during the war.
Pius X wanted to sell Li Yu a favor, but a painting was not difficult, so he said: "You don't need to pay, the Vatican can do this kind of thing."