The Year of the Tiger is here! A review of China’s scientific achievements in the Year of the Tiger

◎ Science and Technology Daily reporter Sun Yu

Since its founding in 1949, New China has experienced six Years of the Tiger: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 and 2010.

This year is the 7th Year of the Tiger since the founding of New China.

Purple clouds come from the east and the landscape becomes picturesque; red flags flutter and dragons and tigers show their might.

In every Year of the Tiger, scientific and technological talents make China's science and technology even more powerful with the momentum of "tiger roaring and wind".

What historical memories does Tiggo bring to the New Year? Let’s take a look!

1

1950:

Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences established

The Chinese Academy of Sciences was formally established on November 1, 1949. In the early days of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, its internal research institutions and institutes were still in the adjustment period.

After extensive research and discussion, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Institute of Modern Physics on May 19, 1950, located at No. 42, Donghuangchenggen, Beijing. Wu Youxun, a physicist and one of the pioneers and founders of modern physics research in China, served as director; Qian Sanqiang, the founder of China's atomic energy science and later the hero of the "two bombs and one satellite", served as deputy director.

The Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is not only the predecessor of the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but also the predecessor of the China Institute of Atomic Energy.

As the first nuclear science and technology research institution in New China, when everything was in ruins, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences became a gathering center for nuclear scientists in my country, attracting scientific and technological workers like a magnet to work hard and create, allowing advanced physical theories and technologies to take root in China.

The Year of the Tiger in 1950 was a year full of vitality.

China's science and technology is in its infancy and awaits the hard work of scientists.

2

1962:

The 12,000-ton free forging hydraulic press was successfully developed in Shanghai;

Chinese scientists reveal the analgesic mechanism of morphine

In June 1962, the hearts of the scientific and technological personnel were as bright as summer. Two pieces of good news in science and technology gave them great encouragement.

The first good news is that a 12,000-ton free forging hydraulic press was successfully developed in Shanghai.

The 12,000-ton free forging hydraulic press was mainly manufactured by Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard and is the first 10,000-ton free forging equipment in my country.

At that time, only five countries in the world could manufacture this kind of machine.

The 10,000-ton free forging hydraulic press can improve the performance of steel through repeated forging. Without such large-scale forging equipment, various major equipment cannot be manufactured, and industrialization cannot be achieved.

The 12,000-ton free forging hydraulic press is 16.7 meters high and weighs more than 2,000 tons. It can push six pistons at a pressure of 350 atmospheres, ultimately reaching a pressure of 2,000 tons per piston and 12,000 tons for the entire machine.

The successful manufacture of this hydraulic press has provided more favorable technical and equipment conditions for my country to develop modern industry independently.

The second good news is that Chinese scientists have revealed the analgesic mechanism of morphine.

The June 1962 issue of Acta Physiologica Sinica published a research paper signed by Zou Gang, a graduate student at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his supervisor Zhang Changshao on the site of analgesia after microinjection of morphine.

The study of the analgesic mechanism of morphine not only has important academic significance in neuropharmacology, but can also guide scientific researchers to better conduct drug and medical clinical research.

Two years later, this research paper was published in the 7th issue of Volume 8 of Science China (foreign language edition). Zou Gang and his mentor Zhang Changshao's research conclusions on the analgesic mechanism of morphine have been repeatedly confirmed and cited by international peers.

This is a huge breakthrough in the research on the analgesic mechanism of morphine, demonstrating the extraordinary wisdom of Chinese scientists.

3

1974:

Dagang Oilfield and Shengli Oilfield were completed.

Oil is the lifeblood of national construction.

In the major events of the People's Republic of China in 1974, the completion of the "two oil fields" is particularly eye-catching.

In May, Dagang Oilfield was completed in the eastern coastal area of ​​North China.

Dagang Oilfield is known as the "small cradle of oil in the east of the motherland". It borders the Bohai Sea to the east, the Jizhong Plain to the west, Shandong to the southeast, and the border between Tianjin and Tangshan to the north. It spans 25 districts, cities and counties in Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong. Exploration and development construction began in January 1964, with a total exploration and development area of ​​18,716 square kilometers.

After years of hard work, the scientific and technological workers of Dagang Oilfield have built the saline-alkali beach into an important energy base.

In September, good news came again. Shengli Oilfield, the second largest oilfield in my country, was built in the Bohai Bay area of ​​Shandong.

Shengli Oilfield is mainly distributed in more than ten counties in Dongying, Dezhou, Weifang and other cities, covering an area of ​​more than 2,500 square kilometers.

The development and construction of Shengli Oilfield is of great significance to changing my country's fuel composition and fuel industry layout and promoting the development of my country's national economy. The construction of Shengli Oilfield not only enriched and developed the theory of oilfield exploration and development in my country, but also accelerated the exploration and development of oilfields in similar areas in my country.

Shengli Oilfield was completed. Source: Xinhua News Agency

In 1974, the Year of the Tiger, China held on to its oil rice bowl.

4

1986:

The first remote sensing satellite ground station was completed

On December 20, 1986, China's remote sensing satellite ground station was completed and put into operation.

This is my country's first remote sensing satellite ground station, which has ushered in a new era of remote sensing technology and applications in my country.

Satellite remote sensing is a new technology developed internationally in the 1970s. The mission of remote sensing satellite ground stations is to track resource satellites, receive information sent back by them and process it into images and data.

China has conducted a number of resource surveys using aerial remote sensing technology since 1978, but overall its results are still somewhat behind the world's advanced level.

In January 1979, Deng Xiaoping signed the Sino-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement during his visit to the United States. The introduction of remote sensing satellite ground stations from the United States was one of the cooperation projects between the two sides.

At the end of May 1986, after the joint efforts of Chinese and American experts, the satellite ground station was installed and put into trial operation. By mid-December, the ground station produced nearly a thousand images for domestic and foreign users to try out in resource exploration, land survey, environmental monitoring and agriculture, and all achieved satisfactory results. On December 20, the ground station was officially put into use.

The China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station is a member of the International Resource Satellite Ground Station Network. It currently stores various types of satellite data since 1986. It is my country's longest-standing historical archive of earth observation satellite data and has the ability to receive satellite data in real time covering the entire territory of my country and 70% of the land area in Asia.

5

1998:

The first test flight of the domestically-produced J-10 aircraft was successful

On March 23, 1998, at Chengdu Wenjiang Airport, test pilot Lei Qiang, wearing a specially made orange-red flight suit, climbed up the ladder and stepped into the cabin.

Under the eager and expectant eyes of the people at the scene, Lei Qiang took off at 14:41 in the J-10 prototype. After flying three circles around the airport, Lei Qiang found that there was still fuel left, so he asked for permission to fly another circle. After a total of 18 minutes in the air, the plane landed safely at 14:59.

From this moment on, "legend" became "legend".

The J-10 fighter is a third-generation fighter independently developed by China. It has strong beyond-visual-range air combat, close-range combat and air-to-ground attack capabilities, and also has the ability to dock and refuel in the air.

In January 1986, the State Council and the Central Military Commission jointly issued a document approving the development of the J-10, codenamed Project No. 10. Song Wencong, then 56 years old, was appointed as the chief designer of the J-10.

Aerodynamic shape layout, digital fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated avionics system, computer-aided design...

Through arduous efforts, the research and development team has built an important milestone for China's aviation industry technology to enter a new stage.

After the test flight, Lei Qiang saluted Song Wencong solemnly and said, "This is China's real fighter jet."

6

2010:

Chang'e 2 was successfully launched;

China Jinping Underground Laboratory officially put into use

At 18:59:57 on October 1, 2010, the Long March 3C rocket, carrying an orange-red flame, soared into the sky.

The astronauts' eyes are fixed on the rocket crossing the sky.

The Long March 3C carrier rocket carrying the Chang'e 2 satellite ignites and launches at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang

At the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, at the Xi'an Satellite Tracking and Control Center, on the survey ship sailing to the South Pacific...the various units of the tracking and control system have formed a complete and tight network.

The rocket flew normally, the satellite and the rocket separated, and Chang'e 2 entered the Earth-Moon transfer orbit.

Chang'e-2 is the second lunar exploration satellite launched by my country. Its four major scientific goals are: to obtain three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, to detect the composition of lunar materials, to detect the characteristics of lunar soil, and to detect the Earth-Moon and near-Moon space environment.

While Chinese scientific and technological workers are reaching for the moon, they are also developing experimental platforms deep underground.

In December 2010, China Jinping Underground Laboratory was officially put into use.

The opening of this laboratory with the deepest rock coverage in the world (vertical rock coverage reaches 2,400 meters) marks that China now has an independent underground experimental platform for conducting major basic frontier scientific research in physics.

This is also my country's first extremely deep underground laboratory.

The extremely deep underground laboratory is a special environment with low cosmic ray intensity and low radiation background. It is an important research site for conducting some major basic and frontier topics in the fields of particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology, such as dark matter detection research, and neutrino physics experimental research.

In this underground space, the story of Chinese scientists exploring mysteries is being played out.

Source: Science and Technology Daily

Editor: Liu Yiyang

Reviewer: Wang Xiaolong

Final judge: He Yi