Author: Shanjia
September 22, 2021, is the 100th birthday of Yang Zhenning's lunar calendar. In 1957, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao, for the "cosmic name is not conserved" theory won the Nobel Prize in physics, became famous in one fell swoop.
At the same time that Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao are in the sky, they should be most grateful to a woman- that is, today's heroine Wu Jianxiong, who used β decay experiments to prove that symmetry is not conserved in weak interactions.
Suppose, without the support of Wu Jianxiong's experiments, there is no doubt that the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics will eventually rub shoulders with Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao. For Wu Jianxiong herself, not on the list of Nobel prize winners, how does she feel?
01
Wu Jianxiong, born on May 31, 1912 in Liuhe Town, Taicang, Jiangsu Province, is a female baby of rats. The old father Wu Zhongyi and the old mother Fan Fuhua, the two have two sons and a daughter, and Jian Xiong is in the middle.
The generation of children is the "Jian" generation, and the latter word is named in the order of "hero Haojie" - the eldest son Jianying, the daughter Jianxiong, and the youngest son Jianhao. As a result, the domineering name of "Kenxiong" is clear in the chest.
In 1929, Jian Xiong graduated with honors from the Suzhou Women's Division and was sent to the Central University. She studied as a teacher, and according to the regulations, she had to teach for a year before continuing to study, but because the regulations were not so strict at that time, Jianxiong did not teach during the year, but entered the Chinese public school, so he had the opportunity to become Hu Shi's proud protégé.
Hu Shi teaches the history of Chinese thought. After one test, Hu Shi read the papers, and he told his colleagues that he had never seen a student who knew so thoroughly the three-hundred-year ideological history of the Qing Dynasty, so he gave her a hundred points. Yang Honglie and Ma Junwu, who were present, also said that there was a girl in the class who always scored a hundred points. Therefore, the three of them each wrote down the name of this student, and the result was "Wu Jianxiong".
Hu Shi was very optimistic about the female student Jian Xiong in xiu wai hui, and predicted that "if she thinks about it again, she will become a star in the Chinese literary world." It's just a pity that this Jiangnan beauty is partial to physics, "because in the physical world of Yunyun, the appearance is strange, but inside it seems that there are some mysterious and mysterious laws, which deeply attract me."
02
In 1936, with the financial support of his uncle, Ken Xiong crossed the ocean to the United States and chose the University of California, Berkeley, where physics masters gathered.
Here, Ken Xiong became acquainted with Yuan Jialuo, who later became her husband. Introduced by Yuan, Ken hsiung became acquainted with Dr. Lawrence, who won the Nobel Prize for his research on the structure and decay process of atomic nuclei.
In 1940, Ken Xiong received his Doctorate from Berkeley and remained at the university for two years as a researcher. Although she excelled in nuclear physics, the school refused to hire her as a faculty member.
At that time, the top 20 universities in the United States had never hired a female physicist, let alone Ken Xiong was a black-haired, yellow-skinned Chinese! It is conceivable that Ken Xiong was embarrassed at the beginning of his job search.
In 1942, Jian Xiong married Yuan Jiaxiao. One at Smithsonian's And one at Princeton, the two could only meet in New York on the weekend.
A year later, on the recommendation of his mentor Lawrence, Ken Xiong received offers from 8 universities, including Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But in the end, she chose Princeton University because her husband Yuan Jialuo was here. Thousands of flashy people have been around, only true love warms people's hearts.
At Princeton, Ken Xiong still has teaching tasks, but her true love is still in the field of scientific research. In 1944, she finally relieved herself of the burden of teaching and returned to the field of scientific research. Since then, Keno has begun to devote himself to this field selflessly.
03
Ken Hsiung sees research as a mission, not a job. In order to do a good job of experimentation, she often returned home late at night. The contact with her husband is to meet once a week. Jian Xiong, who is so strong, always believes that success lies in 99% diligence and 1% inspiration. Fortunately, my husband is understanding, and since my wife is a companion to the experiment, my only task is to support it.
Ken Xiong is very strict with herself, and she is even more strict with her students. She insisted that since she was here, she should be fully engaged in the work as I was: working from morning to night, and weekends were no exception; the experiment should not only be done quickly, but also accurately and correctly.
Sometimes, Ken Xiong also wonders: Why would anyone spend more than 15 minutes eating lunch?
One day, a student came up with a plan to move the tiger away from the mountain. He gave the teacher two tickets for the play, which means: Teacher, you take your husband, hurry up and go to the play, so that our ears can fall cleaner. After a while, I saw Ken Xiong rushing to him: "I asked my son to go with the nanny to see." “
When students experiment, Ken Xiong always goes out of his way to guide them. "Strict is love, pine is harmful", Ken xiong's students, all called the female professor "very trustworthy". Not only did the students love her, but even anyone who disagreed with her, dared to call the board, or wanted to repeat her experiments, finally obediently admitted that "she was right." Dare to love Ken Xiong is the big ga of the experimental world, envy and jealousy, this is the expression of this emotion.
04
It was in 1956 that Ken Xiong really established his position of authority.
In the scientific community, the material world that can be observed by the naked eye and the microscope is called the "macroscopic world", and the converse is called the "microscopic world". The law of conservation refers to the fact that many particles in the microscopic world operate according to certain rules. But two young physicists doubted the correctness of the theory. That's right, it's Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao.
To prove this conjecture, you have to experiment. It is easy to see flowers and difficult to embroider, and no one dares to try. So Yang and Li went to the door to turn to the already famous Wu Jianxiong, the purpose was clear, and asked her to design an experiment to prove this conjecture.
At this time, Ken Xiong was planning to go to Geneva with his husband for a meeting, and then return to his hometown where he had been separated for more than 20 years. Thinking about it, Ken Xiong still found this experiment particularly challenging and had to seize the opportunity, and finally she decided to stay.
For the sake of real risk, Ken Xiong only sleeps three or four hours a day. Because Columbia's instruments were not advanced enough, she had to go to the laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., to do experiments. Running back and forth every day, Keno's spirit has always been in a state of high tension.
Finally, in January 1957, French champagne was served, and the experiment was successful. At the same time, the experimental results also shocked the global physics community. Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao both won the Nobel Prize, but Jianxiong was not on the list, and someone asked her if she had any regrets, and she replied calmly: "When I first did the experiment, I didn't want to win the prize at all." ”
Yuan Weicheng, the only son of Jianxiong, when the reporter talked to him about the 1957 Nobel Prize, Weicheng said: "My mother never mentioned this matter in front of me, and she did not seem to show any complaints. In addition to Nobel, she set many records for women. For example, she was the first female Puping Chair Professor at Columbia University. Indeed, many people believe that my mother was eligible for that year's Nobel Prize, but even if there was anything unfair to her, she would continue her research work. ”
For the passage of life time, Ken Xiong feels nostalgic ——
I'm eighty years old, and come to think of it, eighty years pass quickly. When a person can really do things, it is still the middle of the young adult period, the head is a child, to retire when old, the energy is slightly worse, and there are still difficulties in old age, so in the young adulthood, you should work harder, don't think that the coming to Japan is long.
On May 18, 1990, with the approval of the International Minor Planet Center, the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences named the asteroid with the international number 2752 "Wu Jianxiong Star". This accomplished female physicist is also one of the few scientists to receive this award in her lifetime.
On February 16, 1997, Ken Xiong died of illness in New York. When Ye fell back to his roots, fu Junjiaqiao personally escorted his wife's ashes back to the mainland and buried them in The Liuhe River in Taicang, Suzhou.
Mr. Shigeaki Hinohara of Japan once said in a book called "Live Well" -
Live your true self: first, not in things outside the body; second, not to be swayed by the evaluation of others; third, go with the flow, do not force.
If you use this standard, look back at Ken Xiong, look back at the life of this elegant woman's struggle, she has indeed done it.
What do you think about that?