Chapter 40: Zhang 38 Killing and destroying hearts... (Please follow up!!!)
Just a few seconds after Little Niu knocked on the door, a male voice came from inside the room, and the owner of the voice was none other than Hook:
"Come in."
Little Niu took a deep breath, then pushed the door open with Xu Yun.
The guestroom Hook was residing in was a one-bedroom suite. This kind of arrangement, which in later years would be classified as a suite in most hotels and quite expensive, was a standard configuration in the seventeenth century.
At this moment, the bedroom door was already closed. Hook was sitting at the desk directly facing the living room, smoking a pipe with one hand and seeming to be leafing through a book with the other.
Upon seeing Little Niu’s arrival, he did not rise to greet them but instead leaned comfortably against the back of his chair:
"Newton, it’s been... oh, four days, right? What brings you here so soon?
Is it because you couldn’t reach Barrow, or is it that... you’ve solved the problem?"
The last sentence from Hook carried an obvious tone of mockery, looking down with deep intent.
In his opinion, Little Niu’s purpose for the visit was inevitably to inform him that he couldn’t get in touch with Barrow:
Clearly, four days were not enough for correspondence to go back and forth, and if Barrow was in the Lincolnshire area, he would certainly have come along with Little Niu to find him today.
He had a fair understanding of Barrow, who had a bit of a sense of responsibility and, even if he couldn’t solve the problem, wouldn’t send his student to call upon him instead.
So it was quite apparent there was only one possibility at the moment:
Little Niu, after searching at home, either lost contact information for his teacher, or was informed that due to the pandemic, mail was temporarily halted, leaving him no choice but to inform Hook in person.
This action also implied another point:
He attempted to solve the problem but failed.
As to the possibility of Little Niu solving this problem...
Hook would rather believe someone would derive the specific formula for gravity during his lifetime than believe this young fellow could solve his problem.
No matter if he was the first scholar in fifteen years at Trinity College to have a scholarship reduction — it was simply impossible!
And just as Hook was contemplating how to mock Little Niu, he heard Little Niu’s voice, carrying a somewhat inexplicable tone:
"That’s right, Mr. Hook, I’ve solved this question."
"I know, for someone with your capability, it’s indeed quite challenging... Wait?!"
Hook had prepared to continue the sarcasm but suddenly realized something was amiss while speaking, and his smile froze, leaving him standing there, dumbfounded.
He stared blankly for over ten seconds before abruptly sitting up straight, fixing an intense gaze on Little Niu:
"What did you just say?"
Little Niu shrugged and pulled out a prepared manuscript, presenting it to Hook:
"The solution is here, provided you can understand it, Mr. Hook."
"Nonsense, this is impossible!"
Hook uttered a foul word, then unceremoniously snatched the manuscript from Little Niu, spread it out on the desk, and started reading:
"Specific vibration frequencies correspond to specific curves... differential calculus for the coordinate..."
"The linear strain formula within an element Σa = (Σx + Σy) + (Σx - Σy)cos2α + yxcos2α... remarkable, remarkable..."
"d(△l)= εxdxcosα + εydysinα - γxydxsinα...
εα = d(△l)/ds
= (εx + εy)/2 + {(εx - εy)/2}cos2α - {(γxy )/2}sin2α..." (Someone asked me what the equation content was, so I’ve written it here this time)
"Horizontal displacement S= ε1, then... hmm?"
Caught up in his calculations, Hook’s pen suddenly stopped at a certain point.
He drew a line under "→0," then asked Little Niu:
"What does this mean?"
Given that it involved the core issue of Hook’s current research, Little Niu naturally wouldn’t disclose it easily—despite appearances of being small-minded and easily angered, Hook was actually very sly, as seen when deriving the law of gravitation where he got tricked.
So Little Niu casually hummed:
"It’s just an abbreviation for approaching, can be seen as a decreasing trend of -1st-order factorial.
Mr. Hook, you can draw a stress distribution curve on the center height line, with the displacement approaching the side of load action, and you’ll find the position where the three stress fields tend to coincide is twice the distance to the load boundary."
Little Niu’s tone seemed relaxed, carrying an air of "those who understand, know."
Yet, in reality, this statement contained a lot of crucial information—especially the latter half.
This sentence actually touched upon Saint Venant’s principle, a foundational theorem proposed by Gaul scientist Saint Venant in 1855, nearly 200 years away from now.
However, after a bit of homing and processing by Xu Yun, it became the handiwork of all-around genius Han Li.
Saint Venant, in deriving the problem of zero-force systems and strain energy density, employed a plethora of infinitesimal concepts, thus there exists a very subtle equivalent recursive relation between them, which can be measured to explain infinitesimal concepts.
Anyway, before the generalized Hooke’s law was proposed in this era, no one knew what the equivalent force system actually was.
At worst, it could be concluded as a positional phenomenon describing stress fields tending toward—as Little Niu said, claiming to have created a new mathematical tool might attract some resentment, but saying he observed a phenomenon consistent with certain rules in an experiment, even Hook wouldn’t say much.
Of course.
This also related to the fact that Hook’s problem only involved the Taylor second order expansion.
Throughout the process, aside from some calculations, most situations didn’t require the use of the calculus tool; simply using interpretative concepts sufficed.
So after Little Niu pre-opened a bug by 200 years, covering the real significance of infinitesimals, Hook quickly calculated a brand-new result:
"Under the situation of constant ρx, ρy, is this an elastic force within a logical framework? Wait, no!"
While calculating, Hook suddenly looked up:
"What about the stress-strain relationship? How do we derive the linear strain of a medium occupying space?"
Looking at Hook, who appeared frantically as if witnessing the author breaking the Chapter, Little Niu spread his hands and said innocently:
"Sorry, Mr. Hook, Professor Barrow has only taught me this.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can come to Trinity College for some guidance once the pandemic is over.
With my teacher’s temperament, I’m sure he will patiently answer your questions."
"You are dreaming in broad daylight!"
Just as Little Niu’s words fell, Hook suddenly stood up, and his look in the shaded environment appeared extremely intimidating:
"To expect me to consult him with questions—wait till the world ends!
Little thief, let me tell you, don’t think that just because you’ve solved this tiny problem you’re impressive; one day you will regret it!
Regret being Barrow’s student! Regret saying this today!"
Watching the furious yet powerless Hook, Xu Yun shook his head slightly:
Thankfully this is reality; if this were a game where you could ask a question at this moment, Hook would likely smash his computer in agitation...
Meanwhile, besides Xu Yun, Little Niu uncharacteristically didn’t get angry, instead smirking annoyingly:
"Mr. Hook, whatever you think is fine, I won’t disturb you any longer. Please, suit yourself."
Having said this, he pulled Xu Yun along, leaving the room.
Just as they reached the door, little Niu, as if suddenly remembering something, exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Oh," and said to Xu Yun:
"Fat Fish, do you know where Teacher Barrow is now?"
After several days of interaction, Xu Yun had somewhat gotten to know this grandmaster, so even though puzzled by why Little Niu brought up the topic, Xu Yun cooperated and said:
"I have no idea."
"Ah, that’s just like him, always running around, but with Mistress by his side, he should be living quite happily... "
"Mistress?"
"Yeah, don’t you know? Mistress is named Ilo Bliss, a great beauty. She was actually a renowned top student at the University of Oxford, but one year got up against the teacher during a Cambridge-Oxford exchange competition. After being reverse-swept in three sets by the teacher, she began pursuing him..."
Before Little Niu could finish his words, sounds of something heavy hitting the floor came from inside, along with an anguished scream mixed with a sobbing tone:
"Nonsense, this can’t be possible!"
Hook blurted out a curse, snatching Little Niu’s manuscript uncouthly and spread it on the table, starting to read it intently.
"Elastic force within a logical framework when ρx, ρy remain constant? Wait, no!"
As Hook calculated, he suddenly looked up:
"What about the stress-strain relationship? How do we derive the linear strain as the medium occupies space?"
Seeing the frantic Hook, as if staring at a cliffhanger, Little Niu spread his hands in innocence and said:
"Sorry, Mr. Hook, Professor Barrow only taught me these things.
If you want further details, you could wait until the pandemic ends, and then come over to Trinity College to ask."
"You’ve got to be dreaming!"
No sooner had Little Niu finished speaking than Hook leapt up, his face looking exceptionally dark in the dim light:
"You little brat, don’t think you’re so amazing just because you solved this little problem. One day you’ll regret it!
Regret it for becoming a student of Barrow! Regret for saying these things today!"
Beside him, Xu Yun watched the crazed and helpless Hook and shook his head slightly:
Luckily, this is reality; otherwise, in a game environment, someone would have already launched an attack...
In contrast, Little Niu was uncharacteristically not angry, instead, he cheekily smirked and said:
"Mr. Hook, you can think whatever you like, I’ll leave you be."
With that, he dragged Xu Yun out of the room.
When they reached the door, it "suddenly" occurred to Little Niu, and he exclaimed, "Oh!" and said to Xu Yun:
"Fat Fish, do you know where Teacher Barrow is now?"
Having spent some time together over the past few days, Xu Yun had gotten to know this ancestor a little, so although he was puzzled as to why Little Niu was bringing this up, he played along and said:
"I don’t know."
"Ah, that’s just like him, always running around. But he has his wife with him, so he should be quite happy..."
Just as Little Niu had yet to finish, a heavy object could be heard falling inside the room, followed by a sound that seemed to carry just a hint of tears.
Note:
What’s actually being derived here is the Generalized Hooke’s Law. The three-dimensional Generalized Hooke’s Law comprises three equations, and f=k·x cannot be directly derived from it at all.
Historically, Barrow didn’t solve this problem and was quite forced into a corner by it....
From today till Tuesday are the critical three days of life and death, so I beg for continuous reading!!!
The previous book lasted 35 hours, still seeking continuation readership!!!