Cheng Kaijia studied under Born, met Schrödinger, had a senior fellowship with Heisenberg, and almost won the Nobel Prize...

Three years ago

November 17, 2018

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Winner of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite Medal of Merit"

Cheng Kaijia passed away

Died at the age of 101

The number of published papers is zero

Missing the Nobel Prize

1937

Cheng Kaijia, who graduated from high school

Admitted by both Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University

He finally chose Zhejiang University

Taught by Shu Xingbei and Wang Ganchang

Chen Jiangong, Su Buqing and other top teachers in the academic world

Cheng Kaijia in his youth

After graduation in 1941

Cheng Kaijia stayed in the Department of Physics at Zhejiang University as an assistant professor

Begins to study relativity and elementary particles

August 1946

Cheng Kaijia went to study at the University of Edinburgh, UK

Become known as

“A physicist’s physicist”

Student of M. Born

Four years with Born

Cheng Kaijia met Dirac and Heitler

Scientific giants such as Schrödinger, Muller, and Powell

He and his mentor proposed

Double-band model of superconductivity

1948

International Academic Conference in Zurich

Cheng Kaijia discusses academic issues with his senior brother Heisenberg

Engage in a heated debate

Lian the host of the conference, the famous physicist Pauli

Can't judge

Cheng Kaijia (back row, first from left), Born (front row, first from right)

The incredible thing is

This young and promising scientist

In the field of nuclear research, which he devoted his life to

The number of published papers is zero

In fact, as early as 1944

Cheng Kaijia, who was only 26 years old, wrote a paper

"Weak interactions require muons with a mass of 205 protons"

The famous British scholar Joseph Needham personally revised it

And gave it to the physicist Paul Dirac

But because of Dirac's judgment that "heavy mesons are not needed"

The paper was not published

This makes Cheng Kaijia and the Nobel Prize

"Passing by"

A foreign scientist later conducted a similar experiment

Won the Nobel Prize in 1979

The dramatic

The mass of the new particle measured by this scientist

This is basically consistent with Cheng Kaijia's calculation value at that time.

"Go home! Go back to the motherland!"

At that time

Japanese invasion of China

The beautiful land was trampled by the Japanese iron hoof

After studying in the UK

The country is poor and backward and is bullied

As a Chinese

Cheng Kaijia deeply felt the discrimination from foreigners

Once

A British pastor asked Cheng Kaijia

"Do you like monkeys?"

The clever Cheng Kaijia heard the hidden meaning in these words.

Because the English words "like or not" and "like or not"

The same word (Like)

This is equivalent to saying "Do you look like a monkey?"

Cheng Kaijia replied

“No comment”

After receiving his Ph.D.

Cheng Kaijia became

Researcher at the Royal Institute of Chemical Industry

Salary: £700

This was a considerable income at the time.

Cheng Kaijia was so happy that he wanted to send a letter to his wife who was far away in China.

Buy a fur coat for £17

However, the boss didn't believe he had so much money.

I called the bank

"How can this Chinese person have so much money?"

He understands

Born in a poor and weak country

Not even worthy of dignity

An ordinary night in the late 1940s

News reports

British ship Amethyst ignored PLA's warnings

Hit by the Chinese People's Liberation Army

This incident caused an uproar in the UK

The British pointed at Cheng Kaijia and others

Said as if waking from a dream

"How dare you Chinese hit us!"

Cheng Kaijia felt infinite emotion

“We Chinese will also have this day!”

From that moment on

Cheng Kaijia made up his mind

Go home! Go back to the motherland!

Recalling the scene at that time, Cheng Kaijia could not control his excitement and choked up with sobs.

Studying nuclear tests in secret

I forgot my age

August 1950

Cheng Kaijia declined his mentor Bonn's invitation to stay

When the ship arrived at Hong Kong Pier

He jumped off the boat impatiently

Standing on the dock, he was excited.

Take a deep breath of fresh air

Can't help shouting

"My Motherland! I'm finally back!"

The first ten years after returning to China

It was a decade of peace.

He taught at Zhejiang University and Nanjing University.

Surprisingly,

Since 1963

This scientist who is a leader in the academic world

"Disappeared"

Group photo of the Department of Physics of Nanjing University in 1957 (Cheng Kaijia is the sixth from the right in the second row)

1960

Cheng Kaijia was ordered to take office

The 9th Research Institute of the Second Ministry of Machinery Industry

Take over as deputy director

Join the team of nuclear weapons research in my country

Autumn 1962

He was transferred to the National Defense Science and Technology Commission

Go to the nuclear test base to set up a nuclear technology institute

Technical preparations for the explosion of the first atomic bomb

that's all

Cheng Kaijia stepped into

Lop Nur, the Sea of ​​Death

Living at a nuclear test base for more than 20 years

To pioneer China's nuclear weapons research and nuclear testing

Pour all your efforts and talents into it

Cheng Kaijia and his wife at the Lop Nur Hongshan Base in 1976

Nuclear test site rumor

Many stories about Cheng Kaijia's work and life

Once

Everything is ready for the test

He went with the base commander to report the situation

Premier Zhou asked very detailed questions

Cheng Kaijia answered fluently

A variety of data

Nearing the end of the report

Premier Zhou asked

"Comrade Cheng Kaijia, how old are you this year?"

Cheng Kaijia was suddenly stunned

I thought about it for a long time

It took a long time to answer Premier Zhou's question.

A person who can remember more than 60 digits of pi

I can't remember my age.

Isn't this incredible?

But this is true

The second from the left is Cheng Kaijia

Nuclear explosion test site (Cheng Kaijia is the third from the left)

Over the years

Cheng Kaijia designed

China's first creative and accurate

Nuclear testing programme

Ensured the successful completion of the first nuclear test mission

Cheng Kaijia successfully designed and presided over

Including the first atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, missile nuclear weapons

Tunnel, shaft and enhanced atomic bomb

Dozens of experiments including

Cheng Kaijia

The number of nuclear tests conducted by China

Most scientists

Unlike Deng Jiaxian and Qian Xuesen,

In addition to being a scientist

Cheng Kaijia is still a soldier

People call him "Nuclear Commander"

"The greatest happiness in my life

It's everything you do

They are closely connected to the motherland.”

1984

The elderly Cheng Kaijia was transferred back to Beijing

Served as a standing member of the Science and Technology Committee of the former Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense

Due to changes in job responsibilities

His research work has also changed

on the one hand

He worked in the field of radiation hardening and high power microwave

on the other hand

He contributed to the development of materials science

Proposed new research ideas and methods

Talking about his innovative achievements in his later years

Cheng Kaijia said with emotion

“I just hope that my advice, my research

It can play a role in the development of our country's weapons and equipment."

On January 10, 2014, the 2013 National Science and Technology Awards Conference was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented the award to Cheng Kaijia, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who won the 2013 National Highest Science and Technology Award. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lan Hongguang

On July 28, 2017, the Central Military Commission held a grand ceremony to award the "August 1st Medal" and honorary titles at the Beijing Bayi Building. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Gang

For the numerous high honors

Cheng Kaijia has his own interpretation

"I am just a representative, the credit goes to everyone"

Looking back on a century of life

Cheng Kaijia said

"The greatest happiness in my life

It's everything you do

They are closely connected to the motherland.”

His life

Like stars shining in the desert

The thunder has gone away

But it is woven with light and brilliance

The brocade robe that warms future generations

He once wore a red hot armor

Working hard in difficult times

Opening up the path of China's space exploration

A lifetime of integrity

A lifetime of building a nuclear shield for the country

Remembering Mr. Cheng

Editor: Jia Wencheng

Proofread by Jia Chongyu

Proofread by Chen Yuan and He Hengping

On-duty editor: Wang Xiaokun

Source: WeChat public account "Communist Youth League Central Committee" (ID: gqtzy2014) compiled from China Youth Daily client, WeChat public account "Our Space" (ID: ourspace0424), "China Military Network" (ID: zgjw_81)