The welcoming ceremony was not very grand. There were no welcoming staff around, and there were no cars lined up in a straight line. Other than the three directors and the president, there were only two research assistants accompanying them.
According to Professor Faltings, both of them were PhD students at the Max Planck Institute of Mathematics. The reason why they were here was because they had administrative jobs at the Max Planck Institute. Another reason was that they had heard of Lu Zhou for a long time.
However, even then, with two Nobel Prize winners and a Fields Prize winner here, the welcome ceremony was a lot more meaningful.
However, as a pragmatist, Lu Zhou didn't really care about these formalities.
When he went to Stockholm to receive the award, he took the subway alone after he got off the plane, sightseeing along the way.
This time, Lu Zhou originally planned to take a taxi to the hotel where he was staying. He even researched the route beforehand.
However, it seemed that his preparations were a bit redundant …
"You're a genius, how did you come up with those formulas?" Professor Ertl sat in the car sent by the Max Planck Institute. He put on his seat belt and couldn't help but ask.
Lu Zhou said in a joking tone, "You might not believe it, but when I was researching literature in the Firestone Library, the Schrödinger equation gave me a lot of inspiration."
Klitzing laughed and said, "That's not unbelievable. The HF method and molecular dynamics simulation are inspired by quantum mechanics."
Professor Ertl obviously didn't want to listen to this guy brag, so he coughed and continued to speak.
"I've read your thesis. Even though I don't understand some of the theories, I have many doubts about the parts that I understand. How did you accurately simplify the solution of the many-body ground state to the solution of the density distribution of the ground state? If it's through the Schrödinger equation, what's the difference between your theory and the first-principle calculation method? "
The first-principle calculation method was the core method of modern computational chemistry, and the source of its core theory was the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics. This calculation method had a certain degree of advancement, but it also had a lot of problems.
First of all, the number of variables reached an astronomical number of 3N (N is the total number of particles), and its calculation results were often controversial.
Not only was the number of variables astonishingly large, but in order to make the conclusion "look better," the number of experience parameters added was also outrageous.
"Yes, but not exactly." Lu Zhou smiled and continued, "When I was studying the density distribution of the ground state, I introduced some concepts of functional density theory. For example, I took the radius of the designated core area in the atom as ra, which is called the truncation radius. The pseudo wave function outside the truncation radius is the same as the real valence electron wave function Φ v, which gives …"
"Let's leave the professional issues for a week later." President Straman, who was starting to feel a headache, coughed and changed the topic. He looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "What do you plan on doing this week?"
There was no blackboard at hand, so it was not easy to continue the following part.
Lu Zhou made a helpless expression at Professor Ertl. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Before the report begins, I want to familiarize myself with the environment here. Are there any interesting places you can recommend to me?"
Professor Klitzing's interest was piqued, and he said, "Interesting place? There's no place more interesting than the Max Planck Laboratory in Berlin. Do you want me to show you around? "
Lu Zhou's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Please show me around."
Compared to landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building, he was more interested in the laboratory. Especially the Max Planck Institute, which was famous in the field of condensed matter physics.
With a Nobel Prize winner as his tour guide, Lu Zhou obviously wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
After half an hour of driving, they soon arrived at their destination.
Lu Zhou got out of the car at the entrance of the Peinitz Hotel and took out his luggage from the trunk of the car.
He was about to say goodbye to the scholars when Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something that had puzzled him for a long time.
"Oh yeah, actually, I've always wanted to ask you a question."
Professor Klitzing said kindly, "If I can answer it."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "This question is a bit boring, I'm just curious. Why did the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics invite me instead of the Institute of Chemistry? "
He could understand if it was the Institute of Mathematics, but for the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics to invite him … Even though it had something to do with his research, he was still a bit confused.
However, for some reason, when he asked this question, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Especially Professor Ertl and Professor Faltings; they were both speechless.
Lu Zhou began to realize that he seemed to have asked a question that he shouldn't have.
Professor Klitzing was the only one who had a smug expression on his face.
He cleared his throat and said, "Good question …"
However, before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Faltings.
"This is a really boring question." Faltings played with the hat in his hand and said, "Also, next time I want to bet, I'll consider playing blackjack instead of flipping a coin."
Lu Zhou: "…"
Although he was still confused, after hearing this sentence, he seemed to understand something ….
…
The predecessor of the Max Planck Society was the Royal Wilhelm Society, which was established in 1911. Emperor William II believed that science and technology could enhance the strength of the country, so he established the society under his name. The royal family funded scientific research in order to enhance Germany's technological capabilities.
Standing at the height of the era, this decision was undoubtedly quite far-sighted at the time. Because of the support from the state, a large number of outstanding scholars and scientific research projects continued to emerge, and Germany's science and technology remained at the forefront of the world for 30 years.
After the end of World War II, even though the Royal Wilhelm Society was disbanded, with the support of the British, it survived in the form of the Max Planck Society.
The impact of this historical legacy could still be seen today.
Even though the world's academic center had been moving west after the Cold War, because of the Max Planck Society, Germany's research in the fields of engineering technology and condensed matter physics still remained at the forefront of the world.
From this point of view, the Germans were undoubtedly much luckier than the French, who lost their position as the world's mathematics center.
After staying at the hotel, Lu Zhou rested for a day. The next day, he went to the Max Planck Laboratory in Berlin at Professor Klitzing's invitation.
Strictly speaking, the Max Planck Laboratory was also one of the legacies of the Royal Wilhelm Society. However, after being modernized, it was almost impossible to see its original appearance.
"… The Max Planck Society's laboratories are located in various cities in Germany. This is only one of them, and it's probably the largest one. Many research institutes in the fields of physics and chemistry have a considerable number of research projects here. This place is like a reactor, igniting knowledge in various fields and releasing its energy. "
Lu Zhou thought for a bit and said, "So the research here is carried out in research institutes?"
Professor Klitzing replied in a casual tone, "Not exactly. To be precise, most of the projects here are carried out in research groups, and there is a big difference between groups. For people who haven't worked here before, this might be a bit difficult to understand. In short, you can think of it as a completely different research method from American research institutes. "
Professor Klitzing walked on the tree-lined path leading to the condensed matter physics laboratory. He talked to Lu Zhou about the structure of the Max Planck Society while chatting with him about various interesting things here.
When Lu Zhou passed by a uniquely shaped oblate building, he cast a curious glance in that direction.
"What's that?"
Professor Klitzing smiled and said, "That's the 'property' of the Institute of Plasma Physics. You can guess what's inside, I bet you can't."
"Maybe it's a collider?" Lu Zhou joked.
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