Germany, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Inside a crystal chemistry classroom at the University of Munich.
Professor Gerhard Ertl didn't leave the teaching task to his assistant. Instead, he personally stood in the classroom and explained the mysteries of crystal chemistry to the young students.
For a Nobel Prize level scholar, this kind of teaching seemed to be a waste of his talent. However, in fact, many well-known scholars enjoyed it and were willing to share their knowledge with young students.
Professor Ertl was the same, especially when he was troubled by a complex problem.
Engaging in basic education always gave him inspiration at critical moments.
At the end of the class, a student suddenly raised his hand and asked.
"Professor, have you read the paper recently published in JACS about the theoretical model of electrochemical interfaces?"
Professor Ertl paused for two seconds. He pushed his glasses up and nodded.
"I have, is there a problem?"
The student looked at him expectantly and asked, "Is it correct?"
Ertl thought for a bit and said in a chatty tone, "My child, due to the rigor of science, I can't answer this question for now."
However, the student didn't seem to be satisfied with this vague answer. He asked in a different way, "What if it's correct?"
"There are no ifs in science, but if you have to ask …"
Professor Ertl frowned and seemed reluctant to comment on this topic. However, in the end, he relaxed his eyebrows and said in a relaxed tone, "If it's correct, it means a new chemistry."
The classroom was filled with exclamations of disbelief.
A new chemistry!
What a shocking statement!
If someone else said this, the people in the classroom wouldn't take it seriously. However, the person who said this was Professor Ertl, the 2007 Nobel Prize winner and an expert in the field of solid surface chemistry!
In addition to being a professor at the University of Munich, he was also the director of the Fritz Haber Institute (Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry) at the Max Planck Society.
In the field of electrochemistry, who else could speak better than him?
Professor Ertl looked at the students' reaction and smiled.
"I am happy to see that you are optimistic about the birth of a new theory. You're right. Only by constantly accepting new things can we make progress. "
"However, while you are curious about new things, I hope you can always remember to use a rigorous attitude to examine every conclusion we make.
"This is responsible for science."
At this point, Ertl used his lesson plan to lightly knock on the desk.
"I'll ask my assistant to send the homework to your email. Now, class is over."
After leaving the classroom, Professor Ertl didn't go back to his office. Instead, he went to the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin.
The paper that was recently published in JACS had caused a lot of controversy in the chemistry community. As one of the top academic research institutes in the world, Max Planck Society, Ertl, Ertl, of course, of Max Planck Ertl.
Of course, this wasn't something that could be casually expressed or taken a side.
Considering the importance of this theoretical model for electrochemical interface structure research, the Max Planck Institute set up an interdisciplinary research group that gathered top scholars in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, and condensed matter physics to discuss this theoretical model.
Ertl group member and director of the Institute of Institute. Ertl Ocean., Max of Professor Erof Germany of the Erbe.
Because of this, he was particularly cautious about this research project.
He walked into the conference room and saw that Faltings was already sitting there. He was holding a paper document in his hand as he meticulously read it.
Strictly speaking, this big name was an expert in the field of algebraic geometry and arithmetic geometry. Functional analysis was not his research direction. However, as a big name in the field of number theory, cross-research wasn't a rare thing for him.
On the other hand, as one of the most influential mathematicians after Grothendieck, as well as the director of the Max Planck Institute of Mathematics,
Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the director of the Max Planck Institute of Mathematics.
However, this arrogant old man was like this when he was in Princeton. Not only did he not change after returning to Germany, but he also became even more arrogant.
Faltings spoke slowly, as if he was deliberately saying this to Ertl.
"Only second-rate mathematicians are interested in how to apply mathematics to solve real-life problems. In my opinion, this kind of thing has no value at all."
The disregard for applications was the consistent position of the Bourbaki Group. The "glorious isolation" of other disciplines was often seen as noble. Even though it was difficult for younger mathematicians to feel this kind of contempt, this stubborn concept still existed among the older generation of mathematicians.
One of the outstanding representatives was probably the late master of number theory, Hardy. Other than his research, his favorite thing to do was to show off to others. He said that his research was the purest form of mathematics. His research had no "uses" other than mathematics, and he was proud of it.
However, Hardy would never have dreamed that his research results would eventually be taken away by "cunning" applied mathematicians, and they would be widely used in computers and cryptography …
Of course, Faltings wasn't saying that Lu Zhou was a second-rate mathematician. He was just expressing his regret at Lu Zhou's squandering of his talent.
At the Crawford Prize award ceremony last year, he said that there were only four mathematicians in the world that could surpass him, and in his opinion, Lu Zhou was the most promising.
But now, he was a little hesitant. He wondered if he should change the four to three.
Ertl sat down across from Faltings and raised his eyebrows as he said, "I don't agree with your point of view."
"I don't expect you to agree. Just like not everyone can appreciate ancient Greek sculptures, you can't expect a layman to understand the beauty of pure mathematics, "Faltings said casually.
Ertl's eyebrows twitched.
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Professor Klaus von Klitzing coughed and spoke helplessly.
"That's enough, Mr. Faltings. We want you to provide us with more constructive suggestions. We don't want to listen to your ridicule."
Professor Klaus von Klitzing was a member of the Max Planck Institute for Condensed Matter Physics. Even though he wasn't the director, he was the discoverer of the quantum Hall effect and a Nobel Prize winner.
"I'm not ridiculing you," Faltings said as he scanned the paper with his sharp eyes. He flipped a page and said, "I'm just stating the facts."
Ertl and Klitzing looked at each other and decided not to talk to this stubborn old man until Klitzing finished reading the last part of the paper.
Fortunately, Faltings didn't plan on continuing to talk. He carefully read the paper in his hand.
After a long time, he threw the thesis on the table and gave an evaluation that could barely be considered as an agreement.
"From a mathematical point of view, there is no big problem with his process."
Ertl and Klitzing sighed in relief.
If Professor Faltings felt that there were no problems, then there shouldn't be any problems in terms of mathematics.
Klitzing looked at Ertl and asked, "What do you think about this theory?"
Ertl thought for a second and said, "In my opinion, it's not a big problem. But his theory is too obscure and difficult to understand. Even if we give an evaluation, the chemistry community can't accept his views. "
Klitzing's heart moved. "What do you mean?"
Ertl nodded and said, "Nothing is more appropriate than a report. The more difficult the theory is, the more it needs to be communicated with the author."
Klitzing tapped his finger on the conference table and asked, "What do you think is appropriate?"
"We can send an invitation to Princeton and invite Professor Lu to visit the Max Planck Institute. We can give him a platform to express his views to the entire theoretical chemistry community."
He had to admit that this was a good idea.
Klitzing nodded in agreement.
"I agree with you, but the question is, which research institute should send the invitation?"
This was a critical problem.
The Max Planck Institute wasn't a top-down centralized research institute. The research institutes were basically independent of each other.
However, this was a problem that didn't even need to be considered.
The two of them spoke in unison.
"Of course it's the Institute of Physical Chemistry."
"Of course it's the Institute of Mathematics."
Faltings and Ertl both paused for a second because their voices were too consistent.
Faltings frowned and said, "He's a mathematician."
Ertl looked at him in disbelief and said, "But we're talking about chemistry."
Seeing that the two of them could not come to an agreement, Klitzing coughed and proposed a compromise.
"Since you guys can't make up your mind, why don't we just do it at the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics …"
"No way."
"Don't even think about it!"
Klitzing coughed awkwardly and said, "I was just saying … If that's the case, let's use the traditional method."
The tradition of physicists.
Of course, it was a bet.
"Heads out, tails continue." Professor Klitzing took out a coin from his pocket and placed it on the table. He paused for a second and said excitedly, "Of course, for the sake of fairness, I will also participate."
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