Chapter 176: [Co-writing a paper]

Thermodynamics, or thermodynamics, was not a difficult term to accept for Joule in 1848.

In fact, even without Ma Shao, this term would gradually replace "thermal theory" in three years and become a more formal name for a discipline.

The two had a lot of discussions around the first law of thermodynamics.

No one else in the room could get a word in. Whether it was Dr. Mayo, Joule's wife, or Luanfa...what Ma Shao and Joule were discussing was almost incomprehensible to them.

"Potential energy?" Joule blinked. He heard a new term from Ma Shao's mouth.

Ma Shao explained: "Potential energy is the energy stored in a system."

As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass beside him, which still had half a glass of wine in it. "For example, the wine glass in my hand, even though it is still now, there is no doubt that as long as I let go, it will immediately gain kinetic energy."

"From the perspective of energy conversion, where does its kinetic energy come from? What energy is converted into its kinetic energy?"

"Obviously, it has a potential energy simply because of its relative position to the Earth. I call this energy potential energy. This potential energy is stored in the gravitational system formed by the cup and the Earth. Falling is the process of converting potential energy into kinetic energy."

"Potential energy, potential energy..." Joule repeated it several times, and then he couldn't help but exclaimed, "Oh, this is a really clever idea! Why didn't I think of it? If I had used this concept to explain my experiment, I guess I wouldn't have been doubted by so many people."

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh: "You have no idea how many people doubted my experiment at the Society for the Advancement of Science in Oxford last year, including Mr. Faraday."

He added: "The person who believed in me the most was William Thomson, but... he didn't really believe it either, and I spent a lot of effort trying to convince him."

"William Thomson?" Ma Shao was stunned.

"You've heard of his name, too?" Joule smiled. "But that's normal. Although he's very young, he's much better than me in the academic world. He became a professor at the University of Glasgow two years ago—he was only 22 years old at the time."

Ma Shao had certainly heard of William Thomson's name, but it was only after he was stunned for a while that he realized who this person was.

The reason why I was stunned for a while was mainly because the name "William Thomson" is really a bit common. If it were placed in China, it would almost be the same as Li Ming and Zhang Wei. No matter how famous a person is, he cannot bear such a name.

And the William Thomson mentioned by Joule has another more well-known name, which most people have heard of.

Kelvin.

He is the famous Baron Kelvin, the thermodynamic temperature scale, and the protagonist of the famous scene "Two Dark Clouds on the Building of Physics".

The name Kelvin comes from his title, similar to how Zhuge Liang is often called "Wu Hou".

Of course, Kelvin did not have this name yet. He was just a rising scientific star, not the successful Baron Kelvin.

Ma Shao also knew about Kelvin's experience. In fact, Kelvin was the next target in his plan.

He nodded and said, "I have heard of him, although his name is a little too common. Although I didn't have the opportunity to enter the academic world in the United States, I have always paid close attention to news from the academic world."

"In my opinion, Kell... William Thomson is also a genius, just like you, Joule, an absolute genius."

Ma Shao almost said "Kelvin", but quickly changed the subject and praised Joule.

Joule was a little embarrassed: "This is too much. I am just a physics enthusiast and a brewery owner busy with business, and Thomson is the youngest professor at the University of Glasgow."

"It doesn't matter where a hero comes from," Ma Shao said. "I believe history will give a fair evaluation. People in the future will definitely regard you as an outstanding scientist, not a brewery owner."

These words really touched Joule's heart, and even made him a little dazed and absent-minded for a moment.

Joule has always had a strong love for science, and from a very young age, he had a seemingly endless curiosity. Unfortunately, his father asked him to take over the family business, so he had to make business his main job.

If possible, he would rather be a university professor and professional physicist like William Thomson than a brewery owner.

Being a successful brewery owner is not a bad thing. At least you can live a rich life, which is the envy of most people.

But no brewery owner will go down in history.

Joule stared at the empty wine glass for a while before speaking again: "In fact, these words may be more suitable for you, Ma Shao. You are the true genius of 'a hero is not judged by his origin'."

"To be honest, it is hard for me to imagine that you, as an Indian, could study physics to such an extent in such an environment... I think any European scientist would be ashamed in front of you."

Ma Shao said: "My situation is actually not bad. After all, I am the chief of a large tribe. In comparison, my people and other indigenous peoples are in a more difficult situation, whether in the path of knowledge or other aspects."

"Can you tell me about your tribe?" Joule couldn't help asking, "I have never been to America, and I know almost nothing about Indians. The news I occasionally heard about Indians regarded you as uncivilized savages. Now it seems that this statement is obviously wrong."

"Of course." Ma Shao nodded. "First of all, I want to correct a term, which is what people call 'Indians'."

"We are Native Americans, not Indians. This is a mistake made by Columbus. Although most people, including ourselves, are used to this name, I still hope that this mistake can be corrected."

"As it should be," Joule said.

"Also... the statement that Native Americans are barbarians cannot be said to be wrong," Ma Shao said. "Most of the indigenous peoples of North America are still in the Stone Age society. They don't have the ability to make metal tools and don't have writing. On the road to civilization, we are indeed thousands of years behind Eurasia or even longer."

Joule mused, "Perhaps being backward does not necessarily mean being barbaric."

"Advancement has nothing to do with civilization, but backwardness is the same as barbarism." Ma Shao took a deep breath, "Many indigenous people refuse to admit that they are barbaric, and even refuse to admit that they are backward. People always like to brag. Civilization has a starting point, but no end point. A nation that does not recognize its own barbarism and is proud of a few civilized characteristics has reached the edge of arrogance, which is more terrifying than barbarism itself."

Joule was silent for a moment: "You are right."

"You are the great chief of the indigenous people, right?" He thought for a moment.

Ma Shao: "The indigenous people are not a unified entity. We have a common ancestor, but we are divided into many tribes. Specifically, I belong to a tribe called Apache, and I am the chief of the Apache people."

Joule: "I have heard of the name 'Apache'. You should be a large tribe."

Ma Shao: "Apache is one of the most populous Native Americans in North America. There are only a few tribes larger than us. And other tribes are often scattered and divided into many tribes and clans."

Joule asked, "Aren't Apaches decentralized?"

Ma Shao said, "It was the same before, but not now. I merged most of the Apache tribes into one tribe, the Apache tribe. At the same time, most of the Apaches also gathered together to form a city called 'Sleeping Bear City'..."

He introduced his tribe to Joule.

Collisions always happen at close range, and it is easier to develop good feelings towards strangers who are far away.

Moreover, the American factor also played a role in how the British treated the Indians. The British were undoubtedly more likely to have a favorable impression of a group of strangers who made the Americans uncomfortable.

The genius Joule is no exception. At the same time, as a second-generation rich man, his personality is somewhat like that of a greenhouse flower - he is more likely to fantasize about distant things.

Therefore, under Ma Shao's intentional guidance, Joule developed a strong sympathy and goodwill towards the Indians, which soon overcame the slight prejudice he had heard from hearsay.

"You have all the children going to school, learning math and physics? That's amazing," Joule said. "I believe it won't be long before anyone in the world dares to think that Native Americans are savages."

Ma Shao sighed slightly, "It's just Sleeping Bear City, not even the entire Apache. The situation of the Native Americans will not improve much. In fact, the Native Americans are almost going extinct. Due to germs and American invasions, our population is more than 90% less than it was three hundred years ago."

"Germs?" Joule didn't understand.

In this era, people were not clear about the pathogenicity of bacteria. Although they knew something, except for a few biologists who had some hypotheses, most people had no knowledge of it.

Joule knew little about biology, so when he heard the word, he was confused.

Ma Shao: "I think diseases are caused by bacteria, those tiny organisms, many of which are like poisonous insects. When Europeans came to America, bacteria from Eurasia also arrived in America, bringing disaster to us, and we have frequently encountered major plagues because of this."

Joule pondered for a moment.

It was not difficult to understand that bacteria could cause disease, but as an outstanding scientist, he quickly noticed a possible loophole: "But according to this theory, bacteria from America should also enter Europe, right?"

"Yes, but the bacteria output by both sides are not equal, and there is even a huge gap." Ma Shao said slowly.

"Europe, Asia, and Africa are three continents connected as one, while America is isolated."

"There are a lot of domesticated animals in Eurasia, so Europeans carry more bacteria and have stronger resistance to bacteria. So in this bacterial exchange, Native Americans are completely at a disadvantage..."

Ma Shao added: "So-called resistance is similar to cowpox. Many plagues, once a person has had them, they will never get them again. There is no doubt that more plagues also mean stronger resistance."

Listening to this narration, Joule couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he said, "Although I don't understand biology, I think what you said may cause a great response in the field of biology."

Ma Shao: "I do plan to compile many of my ideas into papers for publication. I didn't have this opportunity in the United States, but I should be able to try it in the UK."

After hearing this, Joule immediately said, "At least in the field of physics, I am absolutely willing to help you. You have inspired me a lot."

"You have inspired me a lot." Ma Shao smiled. "It is your research in the past few years that has triggered my thoughts on physics."

Joule thought for a moment and said, "Maybe we can try to write a paper together, what do you think?"

"Of course, it's my honor." Ma Shao was telling the truth. Although he knew much more knowledge than Joule, none of it was original.

After all, he was still a student in the field of physics. For a physics student, it was certainly an honor to co-write a paper with Joule.

Putting aside this feeling, co-writing the paper with Joule is also a safer choice.

To Ma Shao, Joule's current academic status can be said to be just right, neither too high to be unaffordable, nor too low to be of no help.

So at the beginning, he planned to collaborate with Joule on a paper.

"The title of the paper is 'The First Law of Thermodynamics: Conservation and Transformation of Energy'. What do you think?" Ma Shao asked.

"Excellent," Joule said without hesitation.

Of course he was very happy about it. After all, this would undoubtedly be an important achievement and the beginning of a new discipline.

The conversation between the two continued until late at night, and Joule then invited Ma Shao and others to stay.

Ma Shao readily agreed.

As a wealthy brewery owner, Joule had many rooms in his villa, more than enough to accommodate several guests.

The next day, the two began to co-write the paper "The First Law of Thermodynamics: Conservation and Transformation of Energy".

Ma Shao mainly expounded the theory. He first systematically summarized the existing results of the law of conservation of energy, and then proposed new concepts such as "potential energy" to further clarify the transformation of various energies.

Then the concept of "thermodynamics" was introduced, and the law of conservation of energy was established as the basic law of this discipline.

Of course, he did not include the second and third laws in this paper. After all, for him, this paper was just a stepping stone to enter the world of physics.

Joule was mainly responsible for the experimental part.

He continued to experiment with the conservation of energy, improving his experiments every once in a while, and in the original history, his improvements to the experiments continued into his later years.

With the help of Ma Shao, Joule naturally designed a more perfect experiment to complete it. For physics, experiments are always the most fundamental part.

Physicists firmly believe that practice is the only criterion for testing truth.