As long as Qian Xuesen, Qian Sanqiang, or Deng Jiaxian are mentioned, I believe that everyone can think of their identities at the first time - two bombs and one star. Yes, at that critical juncture, it was they who single-handedly created a nuclear weapon that could shock the world, and they were not only heroes of the motherland, but also an immortal monument in Chinese history. However, what few people know is that on September 18, 1999, the state awarded the "Two Bombs and One Star Meritorious Service Medal" to a total of 23 scientists, in addition to the three people mentioned above, there are 20 unsung heroes, and Wang Ganchang is one of them.
Wang Ganchang, born in 1907 in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, graduated from high school at a technical school to learn car driving and maintenance techniques. However, this is only temporary, because Wang Ganchang has a bigger ideal in mind - to be admitted to Tsinghua University. In August of the following year, Wang Ganchang entered tsinghua university as he wished, he studied in the department of physics, and after graduation, he stayed directly on the school as a teaching assistant. For Wang Ganchang, teaching and educating people is good, but his potential has yet to be further tapped, and he still has a lot of room for progress.
In 1930, Wang Ganchang passed the exam and got a place in Jiangsu Province to study at public expense, and he came to the University of Berlin in Germany to study under the famous female nuclear physicist Meitner. However, although Wang Ganchang is a curious Chinese youth, Meitner clearly does not feel his enthusiasm for science. One day, Wang Ganchang put forward a new idea, he believes that bombarding the beryllium nucleus with α particles will not produce γ radiation, but will give birth to a completely new particle.
Unfortunately, Wang Ganchang's words did not attract The attention of Meitner, she only instructed Wang Ganchang to complete the experiment she had arranged and not to think about it anymore. In this way, Wang Ganchang lost the Nobel Prize, because 2 years later, the Englishman Chadwick used this method to find the neutron, confirming Wang Ganchang's previous inference. In April 1934, Wang Ganchang got a doctoral degree, he ignored the retention of foreign friends, resolutely returned to the devastated motherland, although science has no borders, but scientists have, he wants to contribute to the motherland.
In 1943, Wang Ganchang once again rubbed shoulders with the Nobel Prize, and he published a paper in the American "Physical Review" magazine called "A Proposal on Detecting Neutrinos", which caused great repercussions. However, Wang Ganchang, who knew the method of finding neutrinos, was ultimately unable to verify the idea due to the lack of corresponding instruments and equipment, and it was not long before the American scientist Cai Yins discovered neutrinos and won the Nobel Prize that year.
However, although Wang Ganchang has lost the Nobel Prize twice in succession, his strength is beyond doubt, in the study of two bombs and one star, if Qian Xuesen is the first hero, then Wang Ganchang is the second meritorious person, and his professionalism and dedication make everyone admire. Later, China entered the fast lane of rapid development, and the hero behind the scenes, Wang Ganchang, also retired and continued to do experiments silently in the research institute, and his news was rarely reported from the outside world.
One day in the summer of 1997, Wang Ganchang went out for a walk as usual, he was mentally strong, his legs and feet were sharp, and he did not look like a 90-year-old man at all. But at this moment, an accident suddenly occurred, a bicycle sped from behind, directly knocking Wang Ganchang to the ground, and the man only looked back and quickly fled. Afterwards, Wang Ganchang was promptly lifted up by passers-by and sent to the hospital, after examination, the doctor found that he had a fracture of his leg bone, leaving him bedridden for several months.
As we all know, for the elderly of that age, a little bump is enough to be fatal, and since then, the body of the elderly Wang Ganchang has not been as good as a day. The following summer, Wang Ganchang's wife, Wu Yueqin, died, and his body and mind were once again severely damaged. In 1998, Wang Ganchang died in Beijing at the age of 91, but the perpetrator who knocked him down is still at large.