Humans obtain 80% of information through their eyes. If you want to see clearer and farther than others, you must have brighter eyes than others.
Optical instruments are such "eyes".
There is such a group of light chasers at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
They use optics to extend the human eye as far away, finely and microscopically as possible, and search for the mysteries of the world from the vast universe and the microscopic world.
started from 14 million kilograms of millet, refining the first crucible of optical glass in New China, then "burning all the boats" to install space eyes on Shenzhou Five and Shenzhou VI; and then "unconventional" to create the world's leading large-diameter carbonization Silicon reflector.
70 years ago, they never stopped chasing the light.
The most distant light, the most hurried ones
Light, deep and far away. In order to get close to it, light chasers have no choice but to race against time, and time does not wait.
When walking into Changguang Institute, the oncoming scientific researchers are always in a hurry.
Their greetings are very special: "How many days are left until the completion of the small project?" Some are even accurate to the minute: "At what time can I get the components I need today?"
"Being sensitive to time is unique to Changguang people. "Characteristics." Deputy Director Zhang Xuejun said that the institute undertakes all national projects with heavy tasks and tight schedules. Many projects have back-scheduled construction schedules and cannot be delayed for even one day.
Starting from the first generation of optical people in New China, the sense of urgency has always followed them closely.
In January 1952, when Wang Daheng, deputy director of the Preparatory Office of the Instrument Hall of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, came to Changchun, my country was almost blank in the manufacturing of optical instruments. The price of a one-ton optical instrument purchased from abroad was equivalent to a ton of gold. Not necessarily willing to sell it yet.
Wang Daheng (middle) in his youth took a group photo with exchange experts from the former Soviet Union (file photo). Xinhua News Agency announced that
14 million kilograms of millet was the first funding allocated by the state to him to establish the Instrument Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (the predecessor of the Changguang Institute).
In order to establish the optical industry of New China as soon as possible, the gentle and gentle Wang Daheng became vigorous and resolute.
He worked with the workers to clear the land. Tired and hungry, I sat on the wasteland, eating green onions dipped in soybean paste and chewing sorghum rice.
In order to speed up the progress, in 1953, he and Gong Zutong, director of the Optical Materials Research Laboratory, worked day and night to build a furnace and test the process... In just a few months, China's first crucible of optical glass was born.
In the following years, Wang Daheng and his colleagues successively developed the first electron microscope , the first high-temperature metallographic microscope , the first large-scale spectrometer , etc., creating "eight major items and one soup" and laying the foundation for The foundation of the optical industry in New China.
In 1961, the first ruby ââlaser was born at Changguang Institute of Technology, only one year later than the world's first one.
Thanks to the self-reliance and hard work of the older generation of optical workers, New China was the first to realize import substitution in the field of optics, and the optical researchers were the first to achieve equal dialogue with the world.
Facing the areas where the country is "stuck", hurry up and hurry up is the belief of generations of Changguang people.
In the laboratory of Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Jiaqi (middle) discusses research topics with students (photographed on January 24, 2011). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
In 2003, the meter-level resolution space camera developed by the team of Wang Jiaqi, an academician and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was launched aboard the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft, filling the gap of my country's lack of high-resolution space cameras.
In 2018, Zhang Xuejunâs team successfully built a four-meter silicon carbide reflector, breaking the dilemma that my country could only import small-diameter reflectors at high prices.
Today, some technologies of Changguang Institute have achieved international leadership, and they have begun to accelerate. Wang Zhi's team, which is working on the development of three important payloads for "Tai Chi" space gravitational waves, is almost entirely on duty from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., seven days a week. There was no time to eat, so instant noodles became the staple food. Wang Zhiâs mobile phone shows his itinerary. In 2018, he flew 94 times, covering 130,000 kilometers, beating 99.99% of people in the country...
At the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Xuejun (right) is at Four Meter Carbonization Members of the guidance team in front of the silicon mirror equipment (photo taken on June 23, 2014).Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
When young people get married at Changguang Institute, they all go to Academician Wang to witness their marriage, and the words he gives make people laugh or cry. "The person who works in the institute pays all the income, and the other person takes care of all the housework." Academician Wang Jiaqi explained apologetically that Changguang Institute was too busy and hoped that the other party would understand.
Zhang Xuejun said: "We also want to have a normal rest, but we started late and are far behind the advanced level. If we want to catch up, we cannot rely on a normal rhythm. We can only sleep less than others and invest more."
"When we catch up , and there will be a normal life,â the young people in the institute said expectantly.
The most subtle light, they are the most focused.
The light is fleeting, subtle and invisible. In order to capture it, the light chaser must devote himself to it without any distractions.
The southeast corner of Changchun City, where Changguang is located, is always the brightest place in the city at night. They are obviously people chasing light, why do they prefer the quiet night?
Take the "Tai Chi" space gravitational wave ultra-stable telescope under development as an example. The final stability requirement is within 1 picometer (1 picometer = 0.001 nanometer), which requires scientific researchers to reach the extreme in every aspect. In order to avoid being affected by external airflow, vibration, etc., the best time for debugging is late at night. It is common to finish work at four or five in the morning...
Some experiments must be conducted in a low-temperature environment. Therefore, you can also see scientific researchers wearing thick cotton clothes walking through offices and laboratories in the dog days of summer.
Chasing light sounds fancy, but the work has to start from the very basics.
The four-meter silicon carbide reflector was dazzling when it appeared in the world. A telescope made from it can clearly see fist-sized debris in space from the ground.
This is the advanced optical and structural materials research team involved in the development of a four-meter silicon carbide reflector (photo taken on April 27, 2016). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
However, this reflector was made by scientific researchers who "assembled machine tools, mixed materials, and smashed the mirror blanks" with their hands.
A very important basis for manufacturing four-meter silicon carbide reflectors is the use of CNC machine tools for optical processing. As early as the early 1990s, when traditional polishing was almost all used in China, researcher Weng Zhicheng realized the importance of automated machine tools. It happened that Zhang Xuejun had just returned from studying abroad. Regardless of other people's opinions, they bought an old machine tool, scattered parts around, wore thick gloves, wrenches, and screwdrivers, and assembled it in the laboratory.
In the end, they built the first optical CNC machining center in China, which was used in processing mirrors. As the mirror diameter gradually increases from 500 mm to 4 meters, processing machine tools are also constantly upgraded in their hands.
In the eyes of outsiders, scientific researchers should be elegant and decent. However, manufacturing mirror blanks requires dealing with black silicon carbide powder every day. Whether it is a highly respected researcher or a young man who has just joined the institute, his hands are often full of grease and mud and cannot be washed off.
At the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Xuejun (right) exchanges experience results with the team next to a four-meter silicon carbide reflector (file photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
In fact, when the four-meter silicon carbide reflector project was established, many people disagreed with Zhang Xuejunâs idea. It was very difficult to use silicon carbide, and there was no such design route internationally. However, he insisted on choosing a path that no one else had taken. Because Zhao Wenxingâs team at Changguang Institute of Technology has been studying the field of optical materials for more than 20 years and has rich experience in solving problems. He believes that with the wisdom and accumulation from generation to generation, he will be able to succeed.
After 15 years, four mirror blanks were smashed... The hair of the older generation has turned gray, and the appearance of the new generation has also changed.
When Liu Zhenyu joined the company, he was handsome, well-built, and had a high rate of turning heads. After joining the four-meter silicon carbide mirror project team, he spent many years in front of the processing machine tool, grinding the mirror day and night... He had irregular work and rest, irregular diet, and lack of exercise. In the five years since he entered the institute, he has gained 80 pounds.
Liu Zhenyu felt a little sad when he saw his figure gaining weight and getting out of shape. But the completion of the four-meter silicon carbide reflector diluted his frustration."You can participate in major national cutting-edge projects as soon as you enter the institute. How many young people have such a high starting point?"
The most dazzling light, the most ordinary they
light, dazzling, bright, however, most of the light chasers stand Beyond the light, be willing to be ordinary.
In the large cafeteria with thousands of people in Changguang Institute, there is an old man in ordinary clothes eating at noon every day. He is the 92-year-old academician Chen Xingdan. In the eyes of Changguang people, he can be called the real-life version of "Oath to Silence".
In the 1960s, our country decided to independently develop atomic bombs and missiles. In 1963, the task of measuring the optical radiation of nuclear explosions fell to Chen Xingdan. At that time, no one knew what a nuclear explosion would look like, and they had to rely on themselves on how to do it. Due to the confidentiality of the mission, Chen Xingdan cannot discuss it openly with others. He locked himself in the laboratory and conducted experiments day and night... A year later, the atomic bomb exploded, and the instrument he developed accurately recorded the power of the nuclear explosion. When the news came, a few insiders in the institute gathered together and celebrated silently.
Chen Xingdan is correcting academic documents at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (photo taken on May 24). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
In 1999, the country commended those who contributed to two bombs and one star. Chen Xingdanâs scientific research results were declassified and he was elected as an academician. Everyone suddenly realized this. At this moment, the 72-year-old just said calmly: "I am doing things for the country, and I have never thought about being commended and evaluated as an academician."
What Changguang undertakes are all huge national key projects. Mechanical, electrical, thermal and other disciplines are closely intertwined, and the particularity of the work determines that most projects require teamwork.
In the early 1960s, in order to support the country's development of "two bombs", Changguang Institute undertook the task of developing a large-scale film tracking theodolite . More than 600 people were distributed among hundreds of sub-projects, and it took 5 and a half years to complete the research and development. In the early 1990s, Wang Jiaqi formed a team of 300 people, and with the courage to break the boat, it took 10 years to conquer the Shenzhou V camera.
No one can do it alone, everyone is indispensable. Here, many papers cannot be published and the results cannot be publicized.
God Five ascended to heaven, and the whole country rejoiced. But many people don't know that because the first picture sent back by the camera was not clear, the camera's chief designer Wang Jiaqi, under great pressure, successfully directed the thrilling process of focusing the camera.
It was researcher Han Changyuan who gave Wang Jiaqi the confidence to focus.
Wang Daheng (left) and Jiang Zhuying are engaged in academic exchange work (file photo). Xinhua News Agency reported
He was originally engaged in optical design. Due to the early death of Wang Daheng's outstanding disciple Jiang Zhuying in 1982, the field of optical detection lost its leader. Obeying the organizational arrangements, Han Changyuan took up the important task of optical inspection and transformed into a behind-the-scenes hero.
As a supporting technology, the testing center must participate in the testing of all tasks in the institute. This requires them to be available anytime and anywhere. Whether itâs New Yearâs Day, Spring Festival, or late in the morning or late at night.
In order to better simulate the working conditions of the Shenzhou V camera in space on the ground, he and his team conducted countless tests on various possible states and situations, and also developed various supporting testing equipment; in view of the impact of ground air flow jitter, A complete set of vacuum imaging quality testing systems has been built, filling the gap where the country does not have a similar testing system.
Wang Jiaqi is checking information at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (photo taken on May 24). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Hong
"At Changguang Institute, everyone is a devotee and a hero." Wang Jiaqi said.
In the Changguang Institute, there is still an ancient grating marking machine. Whenever someone stops here, they always seem to feel a kind of warmth. More than 60 years ago, this machine was designed, processed, ground and assembled by the older generation of Changguang people by drawing with their hands. It can mark thousands of lines in a unit of one millimeter. To this day, it is still functioning.What kind of technique is this? What kind of spirit is it?
This imposition of information photo shows the "eight major pieces" of high-precision optical instruments developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Precision Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences: in the top row from left are the first electron microscope, the first high-precision theodolite, the first The first multi-magnification projector and the first universal tool microscope; the bottom row from left are the first photoelectric rangefinder, the first crystal spectrometer, the first large-scale spectrometer, and the first high-temperature metallographic microscope. Xinhua News Agency published
not without hesitation. Wu Xiaoxia, the person in charge of the four-meter telescope project subsystem, works overtime all year round. Her 7-year-old daughter is often left unattended and has to be brought to the unit. Every time she finishes her work, the child has fallen asleep.
Wu Xiaoxia does not want her daughter to engage in her own industry because it is too tiring. However, after a long period of exposure, my daughter showed a strong interest in engineering drawings and parts. She said that when she grows up, she wants to be a scientist like her mother.
Loyal and persistent. Serve the country with science and technology and pass on the legacy from generation to generation.
Those who chase light are themselves light.
(Original title: Light Chaser - The Story of Serving the Country by "Light Man")
