On October 16, 1964, Lop Nur, the Gobi Desert in western China, was crowded with people, and everyone was staring in one direction. Since the morning, Lop Nur and Beijing have started to communicate in secret.

Preface

On October 16, 1964, the Gobi Desert in western China Lop Nur , with a crowd of people, everyone is looking in one direction. Since the morning, Lop Nur and Beijing have started to communicate in secret.

"At 8 o'clock, Lao Qiu lived in the room and started to comb his braids."

"At 10:30, the braids have been combed."

"At 11:30, the first inspection was completed, everything was normal."

"Lao Qiu" refers to the first atomic bomb "Ms. Qiu". Among the many scientific researchers watching, there was a female scientist.

A woman suddenly appeared in the deserted northwest, which seemed particularly abrupt. But it was this woman who solved the key technical problems of China's first atomic bomb.

Unlike many scientific researchers, she did not show the anxiety of others, and it was obvious that she was confident about this experiment.

At 3 pm, as the command center finished reading the countdown, the operator pressed the red button. A dazzling light shone on the iron frame in the distance.

Then a huge mushroom cloud rose into the air. The huge shock wave blew the truck parked nearby and flew around like leaves. The iron frame where "Ms. Qiu" was placed had been melted into iron by high temperature.

people who watched outside the security line saw this scene and threw their hats into the air. Everyone hugged each other to celebrate this hard-won victory.

And this female scientist also smiled with relief. Behind this earth-shaking explosion was full of the hard work of the scientific researchers. The news immediately reached Zhongnanhai , and the leaders cheered.

"You must confirm again whether it is a nuclear explosion." Chairman Mao was skeptical. After chemical defense soldiers and went to the explosion point to check, the news was published in major newspapers.

Later, this female scientist was still fighting on the front line of scientific research. Due to the special nature of the work, she always kept her name hidden.

Picture | China's first atomic bomb was successfully tested

1. "Who said girls can't learn science well"

The female scientist is called Wang Chengshu, and was born in a family of intellectuals in Shanghai in 1912.

At that time, China had just ended its feudal rule for more than two thousand years, and the feudal idea of ​​feudal ideas had not been completely lifted.

But Wang Chengshu's ancestors were all scholars. After four generations, he produced two Jinshi and two doctoral students. Wang Chengshu's father was even sent to Japan by the Qing government for further study.

was also entrusted with an important task after returning to China and worked as a professor in a higher education institution. Because of his exposure to advanced foreign ideas, he attaches great importance to the education of his children.

In that era, women who didn’t learn from the girl’s red always wanted to go to school, which was a traitor. But Wang Chengshu's father never paid attention to the rumors and insisted on letting the children go to school.

Wang Chengshu is the second daughter of the family. After several generations of management, the Wang family can be said to be a local wealthy family. Wang Chengshu studied in a new school since he was a child, especially interested in science subjects such as physics and mathematics.

This is different from other rich ladies. Most girls from other rich families are addicted to dance parties and dinners, and famous poems are blurted out, and needlework girls are proficient in everything.

Wang Chengshu has always been interested in numbers. Those boring numbers can always make Wang Chengshu fall into thinking. At a young age, his arithmetic ability is even more than that of the housekeeper who has worked in the Wang family for many years.

My father also saw that Wang Chengshu had this talent, so in order to focus on cultivating her abilities in this area, she and the housekeeper handled the family’s account book together.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chengshu seemed very calm when facing this work. Even the housekeeper praised her: " is really a second lady who has done a good job. " At that time, China was still in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Imperialism, warlords, and reactionary government cruelly exploited the people.

She often thinks about the issues of the nation. Because of her young age, Wang Chengshu could not see the deeper problems in China at that time. She simply believed that China's science and technology was backward, and that the local guns and bows could not beat foreign guns and cannons, so the country fell to this point.

Since then, she has been motivated to further her studies in science fields such as physics and mathematics, so as to serve the country.

Picture | Wang Chengshu in his later years

Wang Chengshu was weak and sickly when he was young. He took a break from school to take care of his body, but she inherited her father's strict self-disciplined learning attitude and did not leave her homework during the break.

Later, in order to avoid the war, the Wang family moved to Beijing. Wang Chengshu also continued to study in a girls' middle school in Beijing. Her grades have always been very good, especially in physics and mathematics, and she often gets full marks.

Due to excellent grades, Wang Chengshu was later admitted to Yenjing University study. When facing the problem of professional choice, Wang Chengshu chose the physics department without hesitation.

In the environment at that time, most girls chose liberal arts majors such as literature, history, and law. Science majors such as physics, chemistry, and mathematics were all boys.

In fact, this is mainly the difference in thinking between boys and girls. Science generally requires a lot of hands-on experiments, while liberal arts has relatively low requirements for practice. Even today, people still think that girls are not suitable for science.

But Wang Chengshu doesn't believe in this evil. Physics has always been her favorite subject, so she firmly chose the Department of Physics at Yenching University.

At that time, the Department of Physics of Yenching University only recruited 13 students. Except for Wang Chengshu, the other 12 people were all boys . The Department of Physics recruited a girl, and the news spread throughout Yenching University.

" Isn't it good for a girl to learn some subjects of liberal arts and history? Can she understand the subjects of the scattered men in physics?" "The physics department is very hard to do experiments, can she do these thin arms and thin legs?"

Picture | Yanjing University

has been questioning, but Wang Chengshu was not affected by these sounds at all, and slapped these people in the face with his own grades.

In these four years, she often communicated with teachers, the laboratory almost became her second dormitory, and her own academic papers often became an example for students in the entire department. In the end, Wang Chengshu graduated from undergraduate degree with the first place in the department, and only 4 of the 13 students at that time graduated successfully.

Who says girls can’t learn science well? This stereotyped influence in people's hearts was completely broken by Wang Chengshu. In 1934, after graduating from undergraduate studies, Wang Chengshu chose to stay in school to continue his studies.

Because she has made great academic achievements, she also won the " Golden Key Award " symbolizing academic honors at Yenching University. After graduating from the master's degree, Wang Chengshu was qualified to stay in school to teach.

At Yenching University, Wang Chengshu got along very well with his mentor Zhang Wenyu . Because they often do academic work together, the two gradually fell in love.

Zhang Wenyu is also a top student at Yenching University. Since Wang Chengshu's undergraduate degree, he has admired the only girl in the physics department very much. Zhang Wenyu also has profound attainments in the field of physics. In addition to Wang Chengshu, , , Li Zhengdao, , and , Yang Zhenning, were both his students.

Wang Chengshu will ask Zhang Wenyu for any problems he encounters. These problems can always be solved in front of Zhang Wenyu. Although it is a teacher-student relationship, the two are not very different in age. So the two top students established a relationship between lovers.

Just when it was time to talk about marriage, Zhang Wenyu received an admission notice from the Department of Physics of the University of Cambridge, UK . Wang Chengshu was very supportive of his fiancé's continued further studies.

In 1938, Zhang Wenyu obtained a doctorate in philosophy from Cambridge University, and then he chose to return to his motherland, which was in the midst of war, and the two officially became husband and wife.

Picture | Zhang Wenyu and Wang Chengshu

But at that time, the Japanese army had occupied half of China. " The huge China could not even put on a quiet desk ", Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu were forced to travel all over the country.

But in 1941, the couple got a surprise.

2. "I want to return to the motherland with knowledge"

After Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu got married, Wang Chengshu did not return to the family and take care of his husband and children like traditional Chinese women. Instead, they continued to engage in scientific research. At that time, both of them were top talents in China, and their monthly salary was enough for an average family to spend a year.

But Wang Chengshu was not satisfied with this, and her ambition was long ago not satisfying her small family life. Looking at the fragmented China, she developed an unprecedented sense of responsibility, and she vowed to use her own knowledge to change the status quo of China.

In 1941, the Balton Scholarship Foundation was established in the United States, which is mainly used to reward outstanding young women engaged in scientific research in Asia.

Wang Chengshu applied for this scholarship many times, but all of them were approved, mainly because she is older and does not meet the conditions for the award of this scholarship.

In fact, Americans also have their own little plan. They hope that these young women will use this scholarship to study in the United States and then win over Chinese talents.

Wang Chengshu tried many times for this scholarship, but all failed. At that time, American physicist Ullenbeck was teaching at the University of Michigan . He noticed the oriental woman and expressed his affirmation of her academic level.

Picture | Urenbeck

So with the help of Urenbeck, Wang Chengshu received the scholarship. The University of Michigan in the United States never recruited married Chinese women at that time, but considering Wang Chengshu's academic level, it broke the example.

In order to help Wang Chengshu realize his dream, Zhang Wenyu gave up his career and the couple came to the United States . From then on, Wang Chengshu became a student at the University of Michigan and was taught by Ullenbeck.

Wang Chengshu studied hard at the University of Michigan and became one of Urenbeck's most outstanding student. At that time, Wang Chengshu was engaged in research on rare gases and often conducted experiments with Urenbeck.

The two also completed a paper on rare gas dynamics together, in which they proposed a revised version of the Boltzmann equation. This correction equation is named after Wang Chengshu and Urenbeck, which is the Wang Chengshu-Urenbeck equation (WCU). The equation

has a wide range of application value in the fields of high altitude physics and aerodynamics, and is still used in this field today.

Wang Chengshu also solved many difficult mysteries in the field of aerodynamics through experiments. She used her mathematical knowledge to prove for the first time that Sonam polynomials are the eigenfunction of Maxwell's linearized Boltzmann integral operator.

It is no exaggeration to say that Wang Chengshu promoted the development of world physics. Her academic achievements have attracted the attention of many bigwigs in this field. The Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies in the United States has even begun to "poach" and sent her invitation letters twice.

When defending her doctoral thesis, Wang Chengshu put forward a new point of view, but was rejected by Urenbeck on the spot, but she firmly stated that her point of view was correct.

After listening to Wang Chengshu's detailed explanation, Urenbeck fell into a brief silence, and then nodded while applauding Wang Chengshu. Wang Chengshu's academic achievements are getting higher and higher, but her husband Zhang Wenyu is silently devoting behind her back and taking care of her life carefully.

Since most of Wang Chengshu's physics discoveries are "from zero to one", her mentor Urenbeck has always had a high evaluation of her.

Urenbeck said: " Wang Chengshu is the 'Chinese Madame Curie '. As long as she stays in the United States, she will definitely have a copy of the Nobel Prize in Physics . " But facing an extremely bright future, Wang Chengshu had already made plans in his heart.

In 1949, the news of the founding of New China reached the United States. Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu were very excited when they learned the news. They decided to give up the opportunity to chase Nobel Prize and bring their knowledge back to their motherland.

One night, Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu mentioned this: " Wenyu, let's go back to China. New China has been founded, and people like us are now needed.”

Photo | Wang Chengshu during the US further study

Zhang Wenyu expressed great support for his wife's proposal. After all, Chinese blood flowed in their hearts: " start preparing first, don't make a statement, it may not be so easy to return to China . "

Zhang Wenyu was still relatively rational. He knew that the US authorities had long paid close attention to Chinese students in the United States. So in order to confuse the customs, the couple began to mail some useless things to the country.

initially started with some daily necessities, and then some idle books. At the beginning, the US customs searched these items very strictly, but no academic matters were found.

Later, the Americans began to relax their vigilance, and Wang Chengshu gradually mixed into their notebooks and related books in these packages. couples sent more than 300 packages to China .

1955, with Zhou Enlai's efforts, Qian Xue Sen successfully returned to the motherland. This greatly increased the confidence of Wang Chengshu and his wife. They submitted applications to the customs more than once.

But how could Americans easily let these two talents go? The application was rejected again and again. In order to keep her, the Americans offered superior conditions and promised Wang Chengshu that as long as they agreed to stay, they would immediately obtain American nationality.

The United States is an immigrant country. American nationality is an identity that many immigrants dream of. Many people struggled for this for life but failed.

But Wang Chengshu decided on this "beautiful intention". She insisted on returning to China and devoted herself to the construction of the new China. She submitted applications again and again, and then was rejected again and again.

Pictures | Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu

Finally, in 1956, Wang Chengshu's application was approved. In order to avoid the Americans' rebellion, Wang Chengshu and Zhang Wenyu packed up their salutes and only took away academic information. All other daily necessities were left in the United States.

At this time, the couple had left their motherland for nearly 15 years, and they couldn't wait to board the ship returning to China. When they set foot on this long-lost land, Wang Chengshu was very excited.

After returning to China, Wang Chengshu settled in Beijing and became a researcher in the Theoretical Research Office of the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Yenching University had evolved into Beijing University Learning , she served as a professor in the Department of Physics at Peking University.

3, three "I Will"

After in World War II, humans entered the era of nuclear energy. The power of the atomic bomb shocked the world, and people began to realize the huge potential of nuclear fission .

However, nuclear physics developed very rapidly at that time, and people were still talking about the power of the atomic bomb. The United States had already tried to explode the world's first hydrogen bomb in 1952. There was an order of power gap between the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb. The energy generated by nuclear fusion is much greater than that of nuclear fission. Therefore, if China wants to narrow the gap with its hostile countries, it will definitely not be able to develop the nuclear weapon step by step.

1958, when the atomic bomb project was still in progress, China planned to build a thermonuclear fusion research room. Qian Sanqiang learned that Wang Chengshu had profound attainments in the field of physics, so he invited him to study nuclear fusion-related content.

Faced with Qian Sanqiang's invitation, Wang Chengshu only had three simple words: " I would like ." Wang Chengshu was 46 years old at that time, and this was basically an interdisciplinary research on . At that time, China was simply blank in the field of nuclear fusion, and it was not easy to complete this project.

Figure | Qian Sanqiang

Faced with the needs of the country, Wang Chengshu gave up his best thermodynamics and statistical physics field, and began research in the field of thermonuclear fusion.

Wang Chengshu and others were sent to the Soviet Union for exchanges and study. During her study in the Soviet Union, she spent seven days and seven nights to translate a book on American nuclear fusion. After returning to China, she translated "Introduction to Thermal Nuclear Fusion", and since then she understood the theoretical basis of Thermal Nuclear Fusion.

In a brand new field, Wang Chengshu once again demonstrated his learning ability that is different from ordinary people and became a leader in the field of thermonuclear fusion in China. She participated in the construction of the three earliest plasma test devices in China.

However, with Khrushchev coming to power, Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated, and the Soviet Union withdrew all consultants and experts of the atomic bomb project, and took away all data and test equipment. The main materials of the

atomic bomb are uranium 235 or plutonium 239. These two materials are important materials for nuclear fission and can be said to be the heart of the atomic bomb.

Figure | Enriched uranium extraction equipment

The Soviets were preparing to watch China's jokes at that time because China did not have the ability to extract these two raw materials, especially uranium 235, and nuclear fission could occur only if the purity reached 90%.

plutonium 239 is relatively easy to obtain than uranium 235, but the power reliability and power of plutonium bomb are both different from that of uranium bombs. At that time, all Chinese scientific researchers were holding on to their best, and they had to make a uranium bomb by themselves.

Qian Sanqiang found Wang Chengshu again: "H Are you willing to engage in uranium 235 purification? This is a key step in atomic bomb engineering. ." Once

takes on this job, it means that you will be separated from your husband and children and disappear from the public's vision from then on. But Wang Chengshu still replied to three words: " I am willing to ."

From then on, Wang Chengshu disappeared in the field of physics academics. After saying goodbye to his family, he went to Factory 504 in the northwest. Unexpectedly, this farewell lasted for more than 30 years.

Wang Chengshu has read a large number of foreign documents and mastered the most common method for uranium 235 purification - gas diffusion method. With her efforts, Plant 504 made the first batch of high-concentration uranium in advance. The major difficulty of nuclear fission fuel has been overcome, and China's atomic bomb test explosion is not far away. Nine months later, with a loud bang on Lop Nur, China became the fifth country in the world to have an atomic bomb.

Picture | 504 Factory Ruins

This loud noise marks a great improvement in China's international status, and this loud noise breaks the monopoly in the field of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union. Originally, Wang Chengshu should have gone home to reunite with his family, but Qian Sanqiang found her again.

"Would you like to stay in the northwest and continue to engage in research on nuclear industry?" Unexpectedly, Wang Chengshu said those three words again firmly: " I want ."

Because of her confidential work, she has been living incognito for 30 years. Some people say: " Wang Chengshu has been incognito for 30 years, and China's nuclear industry has improved for 50 years."

Wang Chengshu's energy is on scientific research, and life is very simple. At that time, her salary was 280 yuan, and she had to pay 200 yuan for party dues, and the remaining 80 yuan was also required to fund academic activities.

In his later years, Wang Chengshu suffered from cataract . After the doctor examined her, he recommended an imported medicine to her. This medicine requires ten injections and the effect is very good.

When Wang Chengshu heard that the price of an imported medicine was 600 yuan, she refused on the spot: ", do you think my old eyes are worth 6,000 yuan? "

At that time, many people said that Wang Chengshu had "three nostalgia", that is, is blessed and can't enjoy it, money is not spent, and has the right to use . Faced with these words, she smiled and Wang Chengshu devoted his whole life to the scientific research cause of the motherland.