Professor Schrödinger

Berlin's Humboldt University (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), formerly known as Berlin University, was the world's academic center before the Second World War. It was founded in 1810 and is considered one of the world's top universities and a German elite university.

Humboldt University was the first university in the world to integrate scientific research and teaching. It has a glorious history and is hailed as the "mother of modern universities." Its "unity of teaching and research" and the Humboldtian ideals of academic freedom, freedom of teaching, and freedom of learning have influenced almost all modern universities.

Humboldt University has a top reputation and strong research capabilities in the humanities. Its disciplines such as literature, neuroscience, philosophy, sociology, and natural sciences are among the best in the world. The law school at Humboldt University is one of the finest law schools.

The walls on both sides of the hall are densely covered with nameplates of faculty members. Wilhelm stopped and observed with interest.

Indeed, he saw many scientists well-known in later generations.

Albert Einstein, Gustav Hertz, Erwin Schrödinger, Max Born... This school is truly an invaluable treasure trove.

Fortunately, he traveled back in time early; otherwise, how many people would have to flee Germany in the future?

"Hmm?" After watching for a while, Wilhelm furrowed his brows slightly, walked forward, tore off two nameplates from the wall, and handed them to Ina beside him. "Go process the resignation procedures for these two individuals."

Annie was a bit confused. Did these two individuals offend His Highness? But Wilhelm continued, "Tell them to come and see me tomorrow morning."

Annie was full of questions. With so many nameplates, why did His Highness specifically tear off these two? She looked down at the names on the nameplates. Assistant in the Department of Architecture: Albert Schperr, Assistant in the Department of Media: Paul Joseph Goebbels. Nothing particularly special? But these two guys were really lucky. They were personally named by the Crown Prince himself, so it seems they are destined for great success.

"Let's go find Dr. Einstein." After taking a few steps, he had to stop again and looked at Anne. "Where is Dr. Einstein?"

Annie shook her head blankly. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I don't know either."

"Well, go and ask."

Annie shook her head again. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I have to ensure your safety. Whenever you are outside, at least one person must be by your side at all times, not leaving you for a step."

Wilhelm couldn't help but roll his eyes. In the original timeline, he was just an ordinary commoner, how could he be treated like this? But it seems that this treatment is also a troublesome matter now. "Don't call me 'Your Highness' when we're outside. Isn't that telling everyone who I am? Since you can't ask, can I go and ask the main office?" There was no high-definition filming technology in this era that could capture every pore on the face, and Wilhelm rarely appeared in public, so few people recognized him.

"Before Wilhelm had taken a few steps, he saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses approaching from the opposite side. 'Hello, Professor Schrödinger. Do you know where Dr. Einstein is now?' Wilhelm recognized the man in front of him at first sight because he had studied Schrödinger's 'picking up girls' method' for some time. Unfortunately, he realized later that it was useless without money, face, or any practical value. First, you need a girl who is willing to date you before you can consider using Schrödinger's cat theorem.

Professor Schrödinger stopped in his tracks, pondered for a moment, and replied, 'Dr. Einstein should be giving a lecture in classroom 310 on the third floor.'

'Thank you, Professor,' Wilhelm said with gratitude. Then, he remembered something very interesting and called out to Professor Schrödinger, who was about to pass by him. 'Professor Schrödinger, I have an intriguing question I would like to discuss with you. Can I take a few minutes of your time?'

Professor Schrödinger nodded with a gentle smile on his face and said, 'Please go ahead.'

Suppressing his laughter, Wilhelm began with a serious tone, 'Suppose we put a cat in a sealed box, inside which there is a radioactive atom, a Geiger counter, and a poison gas release device. Let's assume there is a 50% chance that the radioactive atom will decay and emit a particle within an hour, which will be detected by the Geiger counter and trigger the release of poison gas, killing the cat. So, Professor, after one hour, is the cat alive or dead?'

Wilhelm was referring to the famous thought experiment proposed by Professor Schrödinger himself, which attempted to explain the quantum superposition principle at the macroscopic scale. It cleverly connected the existence of microscopic particles as either particles or waves after observation with the macroscopic world of a cat, seeking to verify the form of quantum existence during observation.

Listening to Wilhelm's explanation, the expression on Professor Schrödinger's face gradually turned to surprise, and he fell into contemplation.

Wilhelm waited patiently until someone called his name from the other end of the corridor. 'Professor Schrödinger, Professor Schrödinger!' Only then did Professor Schrödinger regain his senses and waved his hand to the person before turning back to Wilhelm with a somewhat regretful tone. 'This question is fascinating, but unfortunately, I can't come up with an answer at the moment.'

Wilhelm smiled indifferently and said, 'Well then, let's end it here for today. You are welcome to visit me whenever you have time, and we can continue our discussion. Miss Anne, please give Professor Schrödinger my business card.'

Annie felt a little embarrassed and shook her head. 'Sir, you haven't printed any business cards yet.' His identity itself was a resounding business card. Even if someone didn't know his name, just mentioning his surname or title would surely make him recognizable. There was no need to go through the trouble of giving out business cards.

Little did she know that the soul of the Crown Prince, who had traveled from decades later, had taken over his body. He hadn't fully adapted to his role as the Crown Prince and still followed the customs of his original timeline. It never occurred to him to show his noble status.

'Let me borrow your notebook,' Wilhelm said, taking the teaching notes book from Schrödinger's hand and scribbling his full name and address on a blank page.

Before Professor Schrödinger could even glance at the notebook, someone from the other end of the corridor urged, 'Professor Schrödinger, hurry up, you're going to be late.'

'...,' Schrödinger apologized and nodded to Wilhelm, then quickly walked towards the person in the corridor.

Watching Professor Schrödinger's figure fade away, Wilhelm felt excited in his heart.

In the original timeline, Germany was also full of talents before World War II, but they were persecuted and driven away by a certain little mustache. The excellent scientists were handed over to the United States across the Atlantic Ocean for nothing. However, even under those circumstances, the remaining German scientists still managed to astonish the world with their innovations.

Such persecution of scientists would not happen in this timeline. Wilhelm would not only provide a supportive environment but also uphold the belief of a certain great man who stated that 'science and technology are the primary productive forces.'

'Let's go. We're going to find Dr. Einstein.'"

****************************

"Watching Professor Schrödinger, who was usually punctual, almost being late, the assistant couldn't help but ask, 'Professor Schrödinger, what were you talking about just now? He doesn't seem to be a student from our school?'

Professor Schrödinger's face was full of excitement. 'A very interesting young man. He told me a fascinating question, and I still haven't come up with an answer.'

The assistant couldn't help but be surprised. 'Oh? What kind of question could stump you? Is it a question about history, geography, or astronomy?'

Professor Schrödinger shook his head and repeated the question that the young man had given him to his assistant.

The assistant became even more puzzled. 'It's really interesting. It seems like a philosophical question and a physics question at the same time. Who is this person? How could he come up with such profound questions?'

'By the way, he just gave me an address and invited me to his home for further discussion.' Professor Schrödinger opened his lecture notes and saw the name signed by Wilhelm. 'Wilhelm Hohenzollern?'

'Wilhelm Hohenzollern?' The assistant was suddenly shocked. 'Isn't that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?'

Professor Schrödinger blurted out, 'Isn't that Your Highness the playboy who is completely without talent?' Because the palace teacher hired by the royal family had a good relationship with him, he had heard a lot of gossip from the court.

The assistant was startled and almost covered Professor Schrödinger's mouth. Although the German Crown Prince of the Second Empire did inherit the true teachings of his father, it was still a matter of the royal family. It was not for them commoners to gossip about.

Professor Schrödinger also realized his slip of the tongue and looked around with lingering fear. Only when he found that no one had noticed them did he breathe a sigh of relief and muttered, 'Could it be that he suddenly became enlightened?'

The assistant asked, 'Professor, when do you decide to visit?'

'...' Professor Schrödinger was somewhat hesitant. He only wanted to focus on academic research and didn't want to get involved in any political circles. But now, the future Emperor personally invited him as a guest. It would be inappropriate not to go. Most importantly, the question raised by His Highness was truly 'interesting,' which made him quite conflicted.

Just as Professor Schrödinger was undecided, Wilhelm had already arrived at the door of Classroom 303 on the third floor. The classroom door was not closed, and Wilhelm immediately spotted the famous tousled-haired figure on the podium.

Einstein often appeared with a tousled hairstyle, giving a rough and casual impression. Many girls found it fashionable and imitated it. However, it was embarrassing that Einstein himself didn't think so. The tousled hair was not intentional on his part; the real reason was that he suffered from a rare condition called 'difficult-to-comb hair syndrome.'

'Difficult-to-comb hair syndrome,' also known as 'frizzled hair syndrome,' or 'glass fiber hair,' is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder first discovered in 1973. People with this condition have dry, easily curled hair that lightens in color and is extremely difficult to comb. As of April 2017, approximately 100 cases of frizzled hair syndrome have been reported worldwide.

Annie asked softly, 'Your Highness, should we call him out?'

Wilhelm shook his head. 'Don't disturb him. We'll wait for him here.' Liu Bei could stand in heavy snow for an hour, waiting for Zhuge Liang to wake up. What is waiting here for a while? Moreover, Dr. Einstein has clearly noticed them. Perhaps after revealing their identities later, he might even be moved."