Text: Seven mushrooms
preface
In 1956, the famous physicists Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao won the Norbel Prize.
In the eyes of many people, there is another person who deserves this award, Wu Jianxiong, who really puts theory into practice.
Speaking of this man, his ability is very outstanding, helping the United States build atomic bombs.
01
Wu Jianxiong was born in 1912 in Jiangsu, if you just listen to this name, there must be many people who think that it is a man, but it is actually a woman.
Born into a family of scholars, he received a good education from an early age.
At the age of 11, she left home to study at the teacher's training. Because of his excellent grades, he was later sent to the National University of China.
Although she entered the mathematics department, her favorite was physics. After a long time, she chose to transfer the department.
In 1934, Wu Jianxiong completed his graduation thesis under the guidance of his teacher Shi Shiyuan.
At that time, when the country needed to change, she felt that she should go out and see the outside world, so she went to the University of Michigan in the United States for further study.
Coming to the United States, when she saw some advanced equipment, she felt that she had come to the right place.
Originally, he was going to return home after completing his studies, but he stayed in the United States.
02
Many people know that the United States was the first country to develop the atomic bomb, but few people know that in the process of development, Wu Jianxiong was a very important presence.
In 1942, the United States began to implement the Manhattan Project, inviting a very large number of experts, including Einstein, but no Wu Jianxiong.
The reason why she was not invited was mainly because of two aspects: first, she was not an American scientist, and second, she was a woman.
So how did you invite her later?
There is a theoretical basis, but the practice is not successful, so many people proposed to let Wu Jianxiong participate.
But such a plan, handed over to a foreign woman, is more or less unspeakable, and there are some entanglements above.
Over time, Wu Jianxiong was invited.
With the guidance of Wu Jianxiong, the progress of atomic bomb manufacturing was very impressive, and it was finally successfully completed.
It is not an exaggeration to say that without Wu Jianxiong, the United States would not have done the research so easily.
Because of the successful development, Wu Jianxiong's status was instantly improved, some people called her Madame Curie of the East, and some people said that she was the mother of the atomic bomb.
But for the United States, it will not let a woman cover up the limelight and begin to erase Wu Jianxiong's achievements.
03
For scientists with outstanding ability, the United States has always been more strict, especially in the United States for further study, Qian Xuesen is an example, of course, Wu Jianxiong is also.
Wu Jianxiong was so famous and accomplished at that time, the United States naturally would not let her return to China to develop, and was eager to firmly control her and began to restrict her.
In 1950, the United States explicitly forbade all Chinese students to return to China.
Although it caused protests from students at the time, the United States still had the initiative.
Although restricted, Wu Jianxiong did not give up and has been trying to find a way. Later, the United States began to force her to become an American citizen, and in a foreign country, she had no choice but to agree.
Even if it is a U.S. citizen, the United States has not let its guard down.
04
When it comes to scientists who won the Nobel Prize, many people will think of Yang Zhenning, who discovered the theory of non-conservation of the universe, in fact, there is Wu Jianxiong's credit behind this.
In 1956, Yang and Li studied the theory of non-constancy, and when they first proposed it, many people disagreed, and even many people thought that their research was a joke.
In this regard, Wu Jianxiong began to practice the theory, but the practice will use low temperature physics technology, she is relatively weak in this area, so she began to study this technology carefully.
I have to say that Wu Jianxiong is a genius, by looking up relevant information, asking experts and professors, quickly figured out what was going on.
In the early days of the verification, Wu Jianxiong encountered many problems, but she did not give up, and the result has always supported her.
In the end, she succeeded in proving.
As a result of this, she received widespread attention from the physics community.
In 1957, Yang and Li won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and the two felt that such an honor should be given to Wu Jianxiong.
Later, many physicists gave Wu Jianxiong a voice, but in the end they did not get it.
The reason is simple, she is Chinese, or female.
Later, talking about this matter, Wu Jianxiong said that the experiment was not for the award, but for the scientific community.
05
After winning many honors, Wu Jianxiong still wanted to return to China. Until 1973, she had been away from the country for more than 30 years, and she missed her motherland very much.
In September 1973, she finally returned to her homeland.
The moment she stepped on her hometown land, many people welcomed her. For her hometown, she is both familiar and unfamiliar.
In 1982, Wu made a decision to resign from the United States and become an honorary professor at several Chinese universities.
When asked by an American reporter why she did this, she only said one sentence: "No matter when and where, I am Chinese, and my original intention will not change." ”
In 1993, under her leadership, the 3rd generation of synchrotron was introduced, and its international status was greatly enhanced.
Unfortunately, Wu Jianxiong died in 1997, and his ashes were buried in his hometown in Jiangsu.
On her tombstone there is a saying that the outstanding citizen of the world, forever Chinese.
epilogue
Although she joined the United States, the fact that Chinese will not change, and she has devoted her life to science and deserves everyone's admiration.