I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 508 (Patreon)

Chapter 508: Before stepping into the realm of quantum, first discard all common sense from your mind!

Anthony's words momentarily stunned the particle school wizards who were jubilantly celebrating their victory.

"Master Anthony, are you sure?" a wizard supporting the wave theory excitedly stood up, then hesitated. "But how is that possible?"

Clearly, he himself wasn't entirely sure of this claim.

What are electromagnetic waves? They are a type of wave phenomenon produced by the alternating change of electric and magnetic fields.

The kingdom's communication system relies on electromagnetic waves, so wizards specializing in electricity are familiar with this.

That's why they found it hard to believe. If light is electromagnetic waves, then when they communicate, there should be a very obvious light wave!

"More precisely, light is a type of electromagnetic wave that exists within a specific frequency band," Anthony emphasized a bit louder, quelling the chaotic voices of doubt around him, and then continued to explain. "Other frequencies of electromagnetic waves are invisible to us because our eyes cannot receive them!"

"Do you mean light waves are like sound waves?" Harof quickly grasped the underlying meaning in Anthony’s words.

Because there was a similarity to something they were familiar with, sound waves, which are generated by the vibration of objects!

Due to the limitations of human ears, we can only hear sound waves with frequencies from about 20 to 20,000 Hertz. If it is beyond or below this range, it becomes inaudible.

As for this Hertz, it indicates the number of times periodic changes repeat per second, which is detailed in Lynn's "The Secret of Sound—Principles of Resonance", named after a scholar from the "Society of Mystical Arts" who had passed away and had studied sound waves.

"Exactly!" Anthony nodded. "According to my experiments, the frequency of visible light is roughly between 400 to 700 Hertz."

"Which means we can indeed produce light by emitting electromagnetic waves!"

"Just like this!" With a gesture, Anthony manipulated the alternating electric and magnetic fields, and a dazzling beam of light shot out from his fingertips.

"Light, it really is light!" The particle school wizards looked on in horror at this spectacle, their faces turning pale because this meant Anthony wasn't lying—light is indeed an electromagnetic wave.

Sanchez and Alade also wore expressions of disbelief.

Lynn was particularly interested in Anthony's technique of rapidly alternating electromagnetic fields to emit light beams, meaning that using laser magic in the future could save a lot of steps, thereby greatly speeding up the activation of light-based magic.

This was precisely the necessity of advancing magical studies. He only needed to point out a direction; there would always be brilliant individuals who could innovate on it. Otherwise, relying solely on himself to fully transform numerous scientific theories into magic and to unlock their potential would be exhaustively difficult.

"I think the chairpersons should now be able to conclude, right?" Jeffrey said with a smile.

Anthony's research was undoubtedly the most direct evidence for the wave theory of light, even Sanchez couldn't deny that light is electromagnetic waves!

The only regret for Jeffrey was that there was only one Morning Star Medal to be shared between them, which might have to be split into several Silver Moon Medals, making him and this highest honor in the magic world miss each other.

"Wait... dear chairpersons, I still have a doubt!" Just as Jeffrey was thinking, Alade suddenly stood up and interrupted. "If light is a wave, then how do we explain its particle-like behavior?"

Jeffrey replied impatiently. "These are just minor details, the facts are right in front of you, you can't deny that light is an electromagnetic wave! As for the mysteries of light waves, it's not something that can be fully explored in a few months. We just need to follow the correct approach and research, and eventually these issues will no longer be problems!"

Harof, who was sitting in the judge's seat, nodded as well. It was best to first clarify the nature of light to resolve the [Casting Obstacles] affecting the lightning wizards, and further research could wait.

However, Alade persisted. "Even if light is an electromagnetic wave, how can you prove that electromagnetic waves are not made up of particles?"

"Any wave transmission requires a medium, but electromagnetic waves do not, which I have long suspected means they are not true waves, but particles!"

Alade's bold hypothesis completely baffled Anthony.

Electromagnetic waves are particles?

What a joke, these are definitely transmitted in wave form!

But this explanation also rallied the photon wizards because the particle theory could explain phenomena like light interference and diffraction, but Sanchez and Anthony couldn't explain the principles of pinhole imaging using wave theory.

So maybe, just maybe, electromagnetic waves... are particles!

The large hall that accommodated thousands of people quickly became noisy, filled with arguments and discussions.

Harof, Aurora, and Victorio frowned, initially thinking the dispute had ended when Anthony proposed that light

 is electromagnetic waves. Alade's sudden interjection caused them to hesitate again.

"If there is no other compelling evidence that light is particles, then I believe Master Jeffrey and Master Anthony's wave theory aligns more with the nature of light," Harof said thoughtfully, naturally leaning more towards wave theory since its similarities with the force field magic they used were numerous. Perhaps space itself is the medium for electromagnetic waves.

Victorio nodded, also feeling the wave theory was a bit more plausible.

Aurora, on the other hand, disagreed. "We can't come to such a quick conclusion, many characteristics of light still need to be discussed."

Clearly, she supported the particle theory of light.

After the chairpersons expressed their positions, all eyes in the room turned to Lynn.

As the proposer of the laws of free fall, universal gravitation, and the elemental orbit model, this star of magic's authority in magical studies was undeniable! Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Lynn looked towards Anthony and slowly spoke. "Your research is very correct, light is an electromagnetic wave!"

This statement brought smiles to the faces of the wave-believing wizards, indicating that Chairperson Lynn also supported their light wave theory.

Sanchez and Alade's expressions soured, with Harof, Victorio, and Lynn backing the wave theory, it seemed likely that after this conference, the particle theory would be discarded.

"This is precisely based on the derivations from your Maxwell's equations!" A slight smile appeared on Anthony's face.

Jeffrey was not surprised, having seen the reply Lynn had previously sent to Anthony and clearly understood the stance of this star of magic.

Unexpectedly for both, Lynn then suddenly turned to Sanchez, praising him.

"Your point is also very good, just like, light indeed has some characteristics of particles, the guess that electromagnetic waves are particles is also very bold..."

Sanchez, who had been sighing, suddenly looked up in disbelief at the magic star.

Anthony's smile froze, puzzled as to why Chairperson Lynn suddenly acknowledged Sanchez's point.

Was the other side thinking there were still flaws in the wave theory, so he planned to delay making a conclusion?

Harof thought the same and raised his voice slightly, reminding, "Chairperson Lynn, the [Casting Obstacles] are spreading across the kingdom, it would be best if the discussion on the nature of light could reach a conclusion at this conference!"

"No, I think you misunderstand my point, Chairperson Harof," Lynn shook his head, looking at the wizards in the hall and smiling as he spoke.

"What if, light is both a particle and a wave?"

Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it precisely reached everyone's ears, yet everyone who heard doubted they had heard correctly.

Light is both a particle and a wave?

"Please forgive my presumptuousness, but could you explain what you mean by that?" Jeffrey frowned, utterly confused.

"Could it be like a rope that appears continuous on the surface but is actually composed of individual elements?" Alade speculated wildly.

Sanchez nodded, finding this reasonable and perfectly corresponding to his theory of photoelectrons.

Most importantly, this meant that the particle theory was the real core, with waves made up of a vast number of dispersed particles.

However, Lynn calmly refuted Alade's idea. "What I mean is that light has both particle and wave characteristics, as we just saw in the experiments."

"Both particle and wave? That's impossible, it doesn't make sense!" Jeffrey couldn't help but speak out.

Some wizards from the empire were extremely disappointed with this renowned star of magic. When it was Lynn's turn to speak, they had been hoping he would present some startling points to end the months-long debate over wave-particle duality.

The result was indeed startling, but the points made were illogically bizarre, only describable as peculiar!

Waves are waves, particles are particles, their forms of existence are completely different.

For instance, releasing a high-frequency shockwave could split a wall in two, but a high-speed particle could only make a big hole in the wall.

Or consider how a wave can pass through several gaps simultaneously, even splitting into more micro-waves, but can a particle do that?

Of course not!

Lynn wasn't angered by the crowd's doubts and raised his voice slightly to suppress the discussions. "Master Jeffrey, what do you think common sense is?"

"Common sense is naturally what conforms to logic and everyone's collective understanding..." Jeffrey frowned.

"Exactly, it's merely the experience summarized from our past knowledge," Lynn nodded, then continued. "But this isn't necessarily correct!"

"For instance, before we measured the circumference of the planet, using pendulums to prove heliocentrism, everyone thought the land under our feet was a flat continent, didn't they?"

Jeffrey was momentarily choked up; not to mention years ago, to this day many still do not believe the land beneath their feet is spherical because it completely exceeds their understanding!

Alade countered. "But this time it's different, what you're saying isn't just counterintuitive, it's even... illogical!"

"This is the crucial point!" Lynn nodded in agreement with Alade's words, but then spoke again. "Because the microscopic world cannot be demonstrated with common sense!"

"Recently, I have also been studying these microscopic particle phenomena and have discovered some patterns."

"According to my research, not only light, but electrons, protons, and other microscopic elements exhibit similar wave phenomena... I've given them a new name, called quantum!"

"Yes, you can understand it as a particle that possesses wave characteristics!" Lynn stated decisively.

The wizards present, including chairpersons like Harof, displayed expressions of disbelief.

"Could we see your research manuscript?" Anthony asked eagerly, believing that Lynn would not make baseless claims, especially not at such a significant event.

But this theory was too incredible; he needed to see more rigorous experimental proof, not just words.

"No problem!" Lynn agreed without hesitation, then with a flick of his finger, the neatly stacked pages on the desk flew out one by one, landing in the hands of every wizard in the hall.

Anthony received a copy too, initially thinking it was a research manuscript, but after a quick glance, he was surprised to find it wasn't as he had expected.

"What's this? A disclaimer?!" Aurora looked at Lynn curiously, asking.

"I'm a bit worried that disclosing these microscopic phenomena might lead to consequences more severe than [Casting Obstacles], so I prepared this disclaimer. You can choose whether to listen to my quantum theory!" Lynn explained succinctly.

Is it really that serious?

Harof's face twitched involuntarily, the consequences were more terrifying than [Casting Obstacles]?

The wizards in the hall murmured among themselves, some thinking this star of magic was putting on airs, while others were uneasy, as the previous debate over the nature of light had already caused many to lose their ability to cast photoelectric spells.

"In any case, I will demonstrate the wave and particle characteristics of quantum with experiments at tomorrow's academic conference... Those willing to attend can sign the disclaimer!" Lynn shrugged, then announced the end of today's academic conference and left the hall without further regard for the still-confused wizards.

His experimental setup was missing the final piece, which was crucial and especially challenging: what method to use to emit single photons or electrons and direct them in a specific direction!

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