Is the Nobel Prize important, or is the national task important? One man chose the latter firmly. For the sake of his national mission, he willingly gave up the opportunity to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, yet his name is rarely known. When it comes to two bombs and one medal, many people think of scientists such as Deng Jiaxian and Qian Xuesen, but there is a scientist whose name makes the Soviets daunted when they hear it, and the research results have been plagiarized by foreigners, and he is also a well-deserved scientific giant in the mainland. He is the nuclear physicist Wang Ganchang. As an important scientist in China, why did he "disappear" for 17 years? And why does the world owe him 3 Nobel Prizes?
Aspire to be a scientist to save the country
In 1907, Wang Ganchang was born in Jiangsu, China, with an ordinary family, not rich, but still justified.
Wang Ganchang's father was a local Chinese medicine practitioner with good medical skills and often held free consultations, and the locals all knew that Dr. Wang was a kind person.
However, when Wang Ganchang was 4 years old, his father died. When he grew up, he had almost no impression of his father, and he only learned what his father looked like in his relatives and outsiders.
However, fate once again made a joke to Wang Ganchang's family, and when he was 13 years old, his mother also died of illness, and Wang Ganchang became an orphan. Major changes have made the family's living conditions worse, and Wang Ganchang can only live with his grandmother.
Although he made a living by herding sheep, with the support of his grandmother and his own efforts, Wang Ganchang has maintained top grades in the school.
After graduating from high school in 1924, he earned money in an auto repair shop while learning English. Because he remembered what his grandmother said, there is no shortage of cattle herding babies in China, but there is a shortage of learned people. The following year, Tsinghua University opened a bachelor's degree, and he successfully passed the examination.
He was very interested in science, so when he became the first undergraduate student at Tsinghua University, he chose to major in physics.
At that time, there were many people marching on the streets, including many students. When the "Dagukou Vicious Incident" occurred, Wang Ganchang saw a large number of students knocked to the ground. He suddenly woke up to the fact that the march is not a cure for the symptoms, and if you want not to be bullied and not ashamed, you must rely on science, science and technology can change everything. He aspired to become a scientist and use science to save China in the future!
Passing by the Nobel Prize
In 1930, the 23-year-old Wang Ganchang was admitted to the Jiangsu Provincial Government Scholarship and went to Germany to study, and his mentor was the nuclear physicist, Who was called by Albert Einstein as a talented and matched Marie Curie, Meitner.
Meitner was a workaholic, but since Wang Ganchang arrived here, she had discovered that the Chinese student was a desperate sanlang who was often locked up in the research institute because he forgot his time for experiments.
In 1931, at a symposium, it was proposed that a new particle energy had been discovered, which could penetrate 10 centimeters of lead plates, which some people thought was due to gamma rays.
After Wang Ganchang returned home, he always felt that this problem could be repeatedly experimented with, and he could use the more advanced detector "Cloud And Fog Chamber" to re-experiment, and he also proposed the idea theory of "neutron". But when he told Meitner his theory and asked her to re-experiment, she refused, believing that it was just his conjecture and not a theory, so she did not re-experiment.
Wang Ganchang was not dead hearted, and repeatedly asked Professor Meitner to re-experiment, but she was paranoid and missed the opportunity for Wang Ganchang to win the Nobel Prize.
However, in 1932, a British scientist named Chadwick redoed the experiment with the "cloud chamber" and discovered a new particle that shocked the world - neutrons. The discovery of neutrons provides a great basis for future research on atomic bombs. The scientist won the Nobel Prize for this.
But Mr. Wang missed the opportunity, and although Mr. Meitner and several researchers apologized to Mr. Wang, they could not go back a year. However, he was not discouraged and continued to study science in the hope of serving the country in the future.
In 1934, at the age of 27, Wang Ganchang had already obtained a doctorate, and he decided to return to China, and his mentor Meitner and colleagues kept him. At that time, China was relatively backward, the experimental conditions were not good, he went back, he could not do scientific research as smoothly as before, but he refused their kindness, as a Chinese, he had already decided to give everything for China.
There was another reason why Wang Ganchang was determined to return to his motherland, and that was an incident he encountered when he went to visit scientists before. Once, he went to Italy to visit Dr. Fermi, who was also known as the "father of nuclear reactors". But when Wang Ganchang went to visit, Dr. Fermi had already gone outside, and he didn't know when he would return, so he had to return the same way. As he passed a tavern, he heard the sound of cracking, and then he heard a man speaking in a foreign language: "Porcelain is beautiful, but it is also vulnerable, just like her name china." It made him feel both angry and heartbroken. He vowed in his heart that he must make China strong and must change everything with science!
In April, Wang Ganchang returned to his homeland as a professor of physics at the university, and he also trained many outstanding students.
In 1937, Wang Ganchang was already a professor at Zhejiang University, but at that time, japan had already attacked, and Zhejiang University began to "go into exile" as a last resort, and all the teachers and students of the university migrated many times. Every time the sirens and the cannon fire outside came, Wang Ganchang was still able to teach the students unaffected, and the students listened attentively. Among these students, there are those who will contribute to the development of China's nuclear science and technology in the future, Qian Personnel, Hu Jimin, Cheng Kaijia...
At that time, China was very difficult, and Wang Ganchang did not have a fixed experimental place, and even sometimes even had some difficulties in basic life, but he still insisted on scientific research.
In 1941, he published a paper that shocked the physics community, "Recommendations on Detecting Neutrinos." As early as 1929, a foreign physicist proposed the hypothesis of the existence of neutrinos, but no one could prove this hypothesis for several years. But Wang Ganchang, who was facing the War of Resistance Against Japan, proposed an experimental method. However, in the face of the enemy's invasion, he did not have the conditions to do the experiment himself.
In 1942, the American scientist Rhines observed neutrinos in experiments through his method, and he later won the Nobel Prize. This is the second time that Wang Ganchang has missed the Nobel Prize.
In 1945, the United States shocked the world with two atomic bombs fired in Japan, and countries stepped up their research on nuclear weapons.
Later, when China resisted us and aided Korea, it fought very hard, and the United States did not hesitate to use some artillery shells with huge lethality in order to annihilate the Chinese army. In order to find out whether the United States used an atomic bomb, China sent some experts to it, and Wang Ganchang came here, and he rushed to the battlefield at the risk of his life to investigate, but fortunately did not find radioactivity.
After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, China also intended to develop its own nuclear weapons. But at that time, China was in ruins, and at first, China could only seek the help of the Soviet Union. Later, China and the Soviet Union sent experts and scholars to exchange and learn nuclear technology.
In 1956, Wang Ganchang, along with experts from more than a dozen other countries, came to the Soviet Union's Nuclear Research Institute to jointly search for new high-energy particles, and Wang Ganchang served as the leader of this team.
Wang Ganchang is about fifty years old, but he still soaks in the research institute every day and spends more than ten hours a day studying.
After three years, Wang Ganchang finally found the anti-sigma negative superko for the first time in 40,000 pairs of negatives, and this discovery once again shocked the world. Newspapers from all over the world published Wang Ganchang's name in newspapers, and in the nuclear physics community at that time, no one did not know Wang Ganchang's name. Everyone thinks that as long as he continues to research, he will weld the Nobel Prize firmly to his body. Many countries therefore want to invite the Chinese scientist to their countries to contribute to their nuclear technology.
However, Wang Ganchang, who has attracted much attention in the physics community, suddenly disappeared. There is no doubt that this time, he once again missed the Nobel Prize.
So where did Wang Ganchang go?
Pledge yourself to the country, and hide your name
It turned out that the Soviet Union suddenly turned its face and withdrew the scientists who would be working in China. And Wang Ganchang was also recalled to the country by a secret telegram.
In April 1961, Wang Ganchang was officially ordered to secretly participate in the development of the atomic bomb. Because it is a secret work, it is necessary to sever all overseas ties, give up all reputation and status, and plan to remain anonymous for a lifetime. However, when he received this task, he said firmly: "I am willing to promise the country with my own body!" ”
After that, he assumed the pseudonym "Wang Jing", while "Wang Ganchang" "disappeared" internationally.
The place where China developed the atomic bomb is in the great desert in the northwest, with a harsh environment and poor communications. And Wang Ganchang's wife and children could not see him even more.
Although the experimental base is desolate, everyone who participates in the experiment never complains, because this is for the motherland, as long as the atomic bomb is successfully developed, China will no longer be bullied!
Wang Ganchang, who had just come to the desert, was 59 years old, the oldest scientist here, and many people were worried about whether he would be able to withstand this hardship, but he personally did it in every experiment, telling them with his actions that this harsh environment had no impact on him. Old scientists worked so hard, and others became more diligent.
He often worked late into the night or early in the morning, like a young man, often eating two loaves of bread and immediately going to work.
Experimenters often record data under the wind and sand, surrounded by explosives and radioactive materials, and they do repetitive work day after day, year after year, in danger. A change in data, they need to adjust for a long time, and then start over.
At that time, because of the national famine, they were particularly hard, but they could only eat nutritious food such as steamed buns and dried vegetable soup every day, and when they were serious, the leaves were also used to fill their hunger. Although their stomachs were filled, their bodies were nearly collapsing. There are sick, there are puffiness all over the body... However, no one gave up the atomic bomb plan.
Later, the United States discovered our country's plan to develop an atomic bomb, so it tried every means to block it and tried to destroy the experimental base by force. Chiang's men also said that elite troops could be sent to support them.
In desperation, they could only urgently transfer to the Lop Nur Gold and Silver Beach at an altitude of 3800 meters, where young people would have altitude sickness, while Wang Ganchang, who suffered from high blood pressure, was still in the forefront.
On October 16, 1964, through their efforts, China's first atomic bomb was successfully detonated, which made many countries unbelievable.
After that, Wang Ganchang secretly participated in the development of hydrogen bombs. In just 2 years and 8 months, China completed the leap from atomic bomb to hydrogen bomb, which was shorter than the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain.
In 1969, Wang Ganchang participated in the underground nuclear experiments on the mainland, and finally achieved amazing achievements.
After 17 years of anonymity, Wang Ganchang finally regained his identity in 1978 and was finally reunited with his family.
In 1998, Wang Ganchang died of illness, and before that, his body had been affected by radiation, and after so many years, the great scientist still left his beloved motherland. The following year, the state unveiled the "two bombs and one star" founder, and Wang Ganchang's name was finally made public.
The prosperity of the motherland today is the step by step of many predecessors and heroes, they are obscure, they cut through thorns, they give up their small families for the sake of a big country, and they deserve the respect of every one of our Sons and Daughters of China. They also inspire our growth and realize the Chinese dream together.