Chapter 5 Chapter Four

In 1982, Dr. Cooperstein, head of the Particle Beam Fusion Laboratory of the U.S. Naval Laboratory, visited the laboratory of his Chinese counterparts in China, and listened to the work done by Chinese scientists such as Mr. After watching the results of China's electron beam shooting at the experiment site, he praised China's accelerator physical design for being more thoughtful and meticulous, and computer simulation calculation methods were also used in the accelerator design.Cooperstein specifically said that although the United States has also built many accelerators larger than China's, the analysis and calculations done in terms of physical design are not as comprehensive and profound as China's.

Wang Ganchang also has a soft spot for his scientific achievements in laser inertial confinement fusion. On May 31, 1992, at the "Chinese Contemporary Physicists Association" held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Li Zhengdao, a student of Wang Ganchang and a Nobel laureate, asked before his supervisor spoke: "Mr. Among the many scientific researches you have been engaged in, which one do you think you are most satisfied with?" The student who won the world's highest science award asked the teacher who did not win the Nobel Prize this question, which immediately aroused the attention of the audience.Almost everyone turned their attention to Wang Ganchang.In fact, many people at the meeting helped their respected Mr. Wang Ganchang answer: "You don't need to ask, you have successfully developed China's own atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb!" But it was wrong.

I saw Wang Ganchang habitually showed a childlike smile on his face, and then said word by word: "I am quite satisfied with the idea that lasers can trigger deuterium nuclei to emit neutrons, which I proposed in 1964, because it was at that time It is a brand-new concept, and this idea led to an important scientific research topic that later became inertial confinement nuclear fusion. Once this scientific research topic is realized, it will enable mankind to completely solve the energy problem.” As soon as the words fell, Li Zhengdao and other scientific masters took the lead Applause.Yes, because everyone knows in their hearts that Wang Ganchang, as China's "father of the two bombs", the most brilliant and special contribution to China in his life is undoubtedly leading and participating in the successful development of atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs; Scientist, he proposed the discovery of neutrons at the University of Berlin in his early years, proposed the neutrino experiment program at Zhejiang University during the Anti-Japanese War, and discovered anti-sigma negative hyperons at the Dubna Joint Research Institute in the Soviet Union Such epoch-making achievements can all be classified as "satisfactory" scientific research work.

One day in the summer of 1998, Wang Ganchang once said that the important scientific work in my life is nothing. For a scientist, the pursuit of new inventions and new discoveries is the real skill.After all, Wang Ganchang is a great scientist in the true sense. He did not put one of the most powerful weapons developed by mankind and several discoveries and inventions that may win the highest science award among the "most satisfying" work achievements.Only this, we can also see the broad, far-reaching and philanthropic mind of a master of science. Wang Ganchang’s idea of ​​laser triggering deuterium nuclei to produce neutrons originated from the fusion reaction of deuterium shortly after the world’s first accelerator was put into use in 1934, and the fission of uranium was realized four years later.Although the development of fission energy has been exceptionally smooth for human beings, the exploration of fission energy is extremely difficult and tortuous.Like a colorful puzzle, it not only makes many utilitarian-minded scientists fantasize, but also makes those down-to-earth scientists at a loss.Because this subject is so great, as Wang Ganchang said, once it is overcome, the human energy problem will be completely solved.This contribution is definitely more glorious and powerful than any Nobel Prize or any kind of nuclear explosion.

In 1952, the world's first hydrogen bomb test was successfully carried out by means of inertial restraint.However, subsequent attempts by scientists to use controlled thermonuclear fusion to solve human energy problems have not made any substantial progress.The late 1950s and early 1960s were the golden years for the birth of lasers in the world.During this time, Wang Ganchang was at the Dubna Research Institute in the Soviet Union, and after returning to China, he devoted himself to the secret development of the atomic bomb. One day, Professor Xie Xide from Fudan University in Shanghai met Wang Ganchang: "Mr. Wang, have you paid attention to lasers recently? I heard that this kind of thing has become a hot topic in the international scientific community." Wang Ganchang was stunned for a moment, and then asked in an extremely sensitive manner Said: "Laser? Why don't I know?" Professor Xie's question gave Wang Ganchang, who was focusing on the development of the atomic bomb, an idea unexpectedly. The four characteristics of the four major characteristics, especially the first two, if it is used in nuclear physics experiments, it will create more magical effects!" So soon, Wang Ganchang came up with the idea of ​​using lasers to strike deuterated uranium targets. The idea of ​​neutrons, which is actually the embryonic form of the scientific concept of using laser targeting to achieve inertial confinement fusion.

This "fantasy" of Wang Ganchang was at the beginning of 1964, which was also the most critical moment in the development of the atomic bomb ahead. There were too many important matters at hand, and the matter of laser inertial confinement fusion had to be put aside. In December 1964, after the successful atomic bombing, Wang Ganchang and other meritorious personnel were invited by Mao Zedong to the Third National People's Congress.One day during a group discussion, Wang Ganchang went back to his unit to collect materials. By coincidence, associate researcher Deng Ximing of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences saw Wang Ganchang passing by, and stopped him with "Teacher Wang".

"Hey, Xiao Deng! What have you been doing recently?" Wang Ganchang has been to the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences several times and knows Deng Ximing, a young and promising expert in optics and mechanics. "We just conducted a neodymium glass laser experiment and found that at the focal point of the laser beam, a series of fireballs appeared on the optical axis after the air was broken down. We don't know what kind of phenomenon it is, and I would like to ask you to help explain it. ?” "Really?" Wang Ganchang exclaimed in surprise, "This is a novel question. It's so interesting! Come, let's sit down and talk." Wang Ganchang casually put a newspaper in his hand on a nearby stone step , I sat up first, and then greeted Xiaodeng: "You know, I am thinking about the experimental method of using laser beams to hit the target. If this method is successful in the experiment, the problem of thermonuclear fusion will be solved, and it will be another It is a great scientific contribution!"

"Mr. Wang, please entrust me with this task. We will definitely complete it according to your requirements." Deng Ximing was very excited after hearing this. Wang Ganchang looked at him and nodded trustingly: "You come to my office at night, and I will show you a manuscript that has been written, it will help you guide the experiment." That night, Deng Ximing got a copy from Wang Ganchang. A 20-page thesis manuscript.A few days later, Deng Ximing reported Wang Ganchang's suggestion directly to Comrade Zhang Jinfu, who was the party secretary and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the time.

"Mr. Wang Ganchang's suggestion is a big deal, we have to hurry up!" Comrade Zhang Jinfu immediately agreed.China's work on laser inertial confinement nuclear fusion has quickly gained attention and development, but at this time the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and other countries have not thought of this matter yet! In the following year, under the guidance of Wang Ganchang, Deng Ximing and others successfully irradiated the planar target with the laser beam generated by a four-stage plane wave amplified neodymium glass laser system.This can be said to be the first complete experimental result in the world.

"Mr. Wang, our experiment has the results! I'm bringing you the experiment report!" On this day, Wang Ganchang, who was conducting intense nuclear bomb testing in the "Grey Building", suddenly received a call from Deng Ximing.He couldn't help but put down the urgent work in his hand, and said, "You are waiting for me at the hotel tonight, ah, don't go anywhere." Deng Ximing wanted to say "I'll see you", but Wang Ganchang had already hung up the phone. "It was an extremely cold winter day. Mr. Wang Ganchang was nearly sixty years old at that time, but he came to the Friendship Hotel from Zhongguancun on a bicycle. It was snowing outside, and he was drenched in snow when he entered the door. I was very touched. "Decades later, Deng Ximing recalled the years of fighting with Wang Ganchang, vividly. "Under the guidance of Mr. Wang Ganchang, we used the Friendship Hotel where I stayed on a business trip as a base to convene several researchers who were working on laser inertial confinement fusion at that time, and held a few days of professional seminars. Mr. Wang Ganchang was very busy during the day, so we could only Join him in the evening time. It was strange during that time, it was snowing and raining every day, and it was very cold. But Mr. Wang came to the hotel by himself every night, and educated us young people very deeply. According to Mr. Wang’s suggestion and We quickly shifted the target-shooting test of laser inertial confinement fusion from experimental to practical, and made gratifying progress in a short period of time.” The experiment was affected by technology and conditions and equipment. Wang Ganchang immediately proposed to cooperate with the Ninth Institute of the Second Ministry of Machinery (Nuclear Weapons Research Institute) where he was, and pointed out sharply that "cooperation leads to success, and division leads to failure." "China's scientific research The conditions cannot reach the Western world, so we have to learn from the blind to carry the lame to achieve our goals. The same is true for laser fusion experiments. We may not be as many and as fast as others in the future, but we will surpass them in technology. In particular, we must have our own characteristics on the brand, that is, 'Chinese brand!'" In the long years before that, Wang Ganchang was immersed in the secret nuclear test research of the motherland, and at the same time he never let go of the cutting-edge scientific research of laser targeting.

In 1980, under the promotion of him and Wang Daheng, another famous optical expert, China's first high-power laser device was successful. The device widely used in national defense and modern scientific research technology is "Shenguang". Marshal Nie Rongzhen, who was in charge of national defense work at the time, was overjoyed when he learned of the incident, and wrote to Wang Ganchang and Wang Daheng: "On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the army, thank you for telling me another piece of good news. Completed. This is of great significance to our country's national defense and economic construction, and it is worthy of congratulations. All the entire project embodies the principles of self-reliance and thrift, and is even more commendable. You and many comrades have contributed to the development of the motherland's science and technology and national defense for many years. The strength has been enhanced, and hard work has contributed a lot. Now he is taking the lead in the high-tech field, and the good news is frequent, which is very gratifying. Please convey my respect and congratulations to the comrades!" Wang Ganchang's research on laser nuclear fusion has been until his Uninterrupted until death.Under his suggestion, this work has also been included in the frontier projects of the "China 863 Program". More than 1,000 scientific researchers from all over the country are engaged in research and experimental work in this field.These are things for later. Let's go back to the thrilling and secret history of Wang Ganchang and his team's development of atomic bombs and other nuclear weapons. "Boom—!" "Boom——!" I don't know when it started, at the foot of Yanshan Mountain in Huailai County, Hebei, the surrounding people can suddenly hear this deafening explosion every day. Its long tail jumped out of the ancient Great Wall and pierced into the sky... It wasn't until the 1980s that the people here knew that the strange explosions and "fire dragons" that year were all "little fire dragons" created by scientists for the atomic bomb test. Explosion experiment".The mysterious explosion site at the foot of Yanshan Mountain is the famous "No. 17 construction site" in the history of China's nuclear testing. Wang Ganchang and his men have conducted thousands of nuclear "small explosion tests" here and there for several years.Today, when we see the huge lethality of the atomic bomb through the lens of history, it is hard to imagine that the initial nuclear explosion was no different from "a girl playing with firecrackers" (Wang Ganchang's words).But experts who study atomic bombs know that this kind of "cold explosion" without nuclear materials is essential and extremely important before a nuclear explosion with huge lethality can be successfully carried out.On the mysterious "No. 17 construction site", Wang Ganchang directed a series of "cold explosions" before China's nuclear test. "We didn't understand anything at first, but we knew that according to the plan proposed by Mr. Wang Ganchang and the others, we would dig holes on the sand dunes, load explosives, and then detonate... If we can't see what kind of great nuclear test it is, we will fight with us." The Japanese devils are not much different from Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang army." A veteran soldier who participated in the detonation project said so.In fact, scientists understand what these seemingly earthy explosion tests are for. At that time, the scientists responsible for the core technology were engaged in a decisive battle in two major systems: one was the overall theoretical design of the atomic bomb; the other was Wang Ganchang's actual explosion test. "Site No. 17" is to complete the latter task.In addition to Wang Ganchang, the "explosion team" was led by Guo Yonghuai, Cheng Kaijia, Chen Nengkuan, and Su Yaoguang, all of whom were authoritative figures in experimental physics, explosives, detonation, and electronics.Under them, Fang Zhengzhi, Qian Jin, Ren Yimin, Chen Dangyi, Liu Changlu, Lin Chuanliu, Sun Weichang and other dozens of young people with expertise formed two teams to carry out operational explosion work.The working conditions are unimaginably harsh.Everyone lived and ate in tents, and the construction site happened to be on the mouth of the sandstorm. Sometimes there would be sand blowing several times during a meal, and half of a bowl of rice was sand.But none of the boys complained.why?On the one hand, they know that this is the most glorious and great cause for the country. On the other hand, great scientists like Wang Ganchang live and eat with them, and sometimes even live harder than them. What else can they say? However, a nuclear test is not "playing with firecrackers" after all. In particular, a key technology in the atomic bomb explosion experiment is how to realize the implosion of explosives, that is, how to make the shock wave generated by the outer layer of high-energy explosives meet the requirements of implosion. .This will involve other subjects such as fluid dynamics. Wang Ganchang is a master of experimental physics, but fluid dynamics is not a specialty after all.As the chief technical officer, he must have sufficient familiarity with and ability to use each technology involved. "Mr. Wang, today our explosion tests have made great progress compared with the previous ones, but it seems that we still can't achieve special effects. I think that due to the extremely high requirements on the time difference of the implosion, we must create a plane wave and a curved surface wave. Only in this way can the time difference of implosion be controlled and grasped accordingly.” Wang Ganchang thought seriously about the questions raised by his assistants, and this question kept him analyzing and thinking for a whole few days. "Ah, yes, we can use the 'explosive lens method', that is, the high-low detonation velocity method. Simply put, it is to use the high-low detonation velocity explosive lens to convert the divergent spherical detonation wave into a plane wave at high speed, and then make the detonation wave change from a plane to a plane wave. Curved surface. Look..." Wang Ganchang took a pen and started drawing on a piece of paper. "Hey, it's round, just like a 'fat man'." Somebody said something, causing everyone to turn their heads to Wang Ganchang's pen, "No, it really looks like a fat man!" "Hehe. It's interesting, it's a bit similar." Wang Ganchang smiled innocently again, and said, "Then call it 'Fatty'!" Wang Ganchang himself can't remember how many there are.The atomic bomb is too complicated. From making a ball of mud like a child to sending a behemoth of dozens of tons into the sky to successfully explode, Wang Ganchang and countless scientists have made countless hardships and explorations. "Mr. Wang, how is the progress of the experiment on the 17th? Can it keep up with the needs ahead?" One day in early 1963, Wang Ganchang was once again invited into the West Flower Hall by Zhou Enlai. "Report to the Prime Minister, we have just completed a miniature atomic bomb model explosion test. Everything is normal." Wang Ganchang habitually patted the dust on his body, and reported to Zhou Enlai in the exact language of a scientist. "Okay, that's great. It seems that we hope to complete the successful test of the atomic bomb within the time required by Chairman Mao!" Zhou Enlai excitedly shook Wang Ganchang's hand, "The next step seems to be that Mr. Wang will have to make you work harder. The central government has officially decided that your experiments on the 'Site No. 17' will be moved to the west..." Wang Ganchang was very excited when he heard this, and he understood that the "west" mentioned by Zhou Enlai was the site where the atomic bomb was detonated—he and The place that thousands of scientists involved in the development of the atomic bomb yearn for - Lop Nur. Big Bang "Old woman, help me prepare my clothes quickly, I need to bring some cotton." Wang Ganchang yelled at his wife who was preparing meals for the children when he returned home. "It's getting hot, what do you want to do with cotton?" Madam asked Wang Ganchang in confusion while busy with the work at hand. "I'm going west this time. It's cooler there!" "West side! Where is the west side? Eldest girl, second girl, and Zunming all said that they would go home and have a look this year. Didn't you agree to wait for them at home? Why don't you talk about it? I haven't seen a few girls who have opinions on you. It's a big deal!" Madam Wu Yueqin was naturally angry.Because in her life, she seems to have married a husband who only knows how to run away and rarely stays at home.In the first few years of entering Wang's house, she was only 17 years old at the time, and she married Wang Ganchang, who was still a "student daughter", in a daze, and the house was vacant for several years.First he went to Tsinghua University, and then went to study in Germany. It took six or seven years, but during this period, she changed from a young daughter-in-law to a mother of two children.What makes Wu Yueqin dumbfounded is that when her husband with a Ph.D. degree came home from abroad and saw his children scrambling to call him "Daddy", he hid aside with a face full of embarrassment!Wu Yueqin was born in a doctor's family in the countryside. She is no different from other peasant girls. She does everything a virtuous wife should do in accordance with the requirements of an old-style family.What is different from other young wives is that her husband is a professor with great knowledge and regularly sends money to her and the children.This made her feel an advantage over other women.Therefore, she worked hard and took care of all the work at home.It is said that women in the south are capable, but Wu Yueqin can't do it? The husband is at home for a few days throughout the year, and even if he goes home, it is equivalent to having an extra "young master" who even has to serve tea and bowls.Later, when the children grew up, they said to their mother: "You are used to Dad's problems. Why don't you make him tea to see if he is thirsty?" Wu Yueqin secretly smiled, thinking what do you know? ?Your father is a learned man, he uses his brain when teaching and doing things outside, and he is not allowed to calm down when he comes home. "Where are you going?" Wu Yueqin was a little anxious. Wang Ganchang said casually: "Xi'an. Go to Xi'an." In fact, this was made up by Wang Ganchang, because the iron discipline did not allow him to tell the truth to his family. He never revealed a word in front of his children. This is discipline, iron discipline. Before leaving the house, Wang Ganchang, as usual, felt that he owed his wife and children a lot, but he seemed to be used to it, and he didn't take the word "owed" seriously (in the words of his children). Wang Ganchang's daughter said: "When he got older, my father sometimes sat down in front of our children and sighed, saying that our descendants did not produce a single outstanding person. As soon as he said this, we were immediately countered by our children. We Tell him, our family doesn’t have a father like you like other families! When the old man heard this, he asked what it meant? We told him, that is to say, you didn’t look like a father at all. Father was a naive all his life He was stunned for a while after hearing what we said, and said very unconvinced, why am I not like my father? I have been doing very well, although I know that I stay outside for a long time, but that is work and the country It's a very important job for me. We said to him, we know you are doing important work for the country, but you are still a father, and you have to be responsible for your family and children! Are you doing well? Listen, old man After that, he was silent. Sometimes he was very angry with our words. But after a few days, he saw us and said in a very naive tone: "Hey, it's interesting. It seems that I am talking about physical phenomena at home. The symmetry experiment of Wang Ganchang did too poorly, really too badly!’ This is our father. A scientist who devoted his whole life to his career and national interests.” In the impression of Wang Ganchang’s children, his father was either going abroad or on a business trip. There are few days throughout the year where he can be seen at home. Wang Ganchang's daughter said: "He is quite powerful. When we were young, he beat us at every turn. We were very scared when we saw him. In fact, we knew that our father was very busy, but after all, we didn't know at that time that his father was planning an atomic bomb for the country, etc. nuclear weapons, I know that my father is usually very busy, but he doesn’t care much about our schooling and studying. Our mother is an old-fashioned woman with a low education. How can she help us with our studies? Isn’t my father a university student? Can't we take some time to tutor us like other parents? Especially at critical moments such as college entrance exams, we hope so much that our father can help us, even if it is good to stand by our side to cheer us up, but my father does not do that. "He hasn't been out of the house for a few years, and even when he enters the house, he is locked in the house alone and busy with his own affairs. And when we get home, we have to follow my mother to prepare this and that for him! The most unacceptable thing for us is that, When our five brothers and sisters got married, the father never showed up at our wedding. Can we have no objection to him? Alas, our father never knew the concept of home in his life! In fact, it can’t be Blame him, because after my eldest brother and sister were born, my father was actually a child and a student. "He didn't know the concept of family and what it means to be a father, including being a husband. After returning from studying in Germany, the eight-year war of resistance followed. During that time, my father lived with our family the longest, but It was the chaos of war, how many times we moved with Zhejiang University with my father. During the national crisis, my father, on the one hand, in order to help the school persist in class, on the other hand, devoted a lot of energy to the very important scientific research work in his life... After liberation, my father A few years before he was promoted to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, our family was still in Hangzhou. After the family moved to Beijing, he often visited abroad. In 1956, he was sent by the central government to the Dubna Joint Research Institute of the Soviet Union. Year. After returning to China in 1960, his father immediately devoted himself to the development of the atomic bomb. In those few years, let alone seeing him several times a year, the country allowed him to hide his identity and could not even use his real name. family and our children? Alas, my father spent his 60 or 70 years in this way. After the "two bombs" were released, he was still responsible for the leadership of atomic energy research for more than ten years. When he was over 80 years old, he retreated to the second line, and when he had time to really go home and live with us, he found that he was not only a grandfather, but also a great grandfather... His father once said with emotion that he really had nothing in this life A taste of what it's like to be a complete father and a complete husband. He said he has dedicated his life to educating future generations and the science of the country." Wang Ganchang's daughter actually doesn't know much about him. Among the thousands of troops involved in the nuclear test, he is the most popular scientist. The young people who worked with him said: "Mr. Wang is a very good man. Almost everyone who has been a student or assistant under Wang Ganchang can recall several unforgettable events, whether it is Li Zhengdao, who won the Nobel Prize, and Zhu Guangya, Zhou Guangzhao, and Deng Jiaxian, who are also among China's "two bomb heroes" Such an outstanding scientist is still an ordinary staff member who once served as Wang Ganchang's secretary and driver. Many people told me in unison: "Mr. Wang's help to us is definitely not only in career and academics. He cares more about himself than himself.” Someone once said something like this: “People who deal with atomic bombs embrace death every day.” This means that because many nuclear substances are radioactive, doing experiments and research It is true that personnel will inevitably suffer from various malignant diseases. For example, the proportion of cancer among those who have engaged in nuclear work is quite high.Deng Jiaxian, who died young, is an example. In fact, Deng Jiaxian was not the only one who dedicated himself to the nuclear cause of the motherland?Academician Ding Dazhao, who is as famous as Deng Jiaxian in China's nuclear research and development work, also suffered from severe decline in kidney function due to long-term fatigue in nuclear physics research.When Wang Ganchang found out, he was even more anxious than Ding Dazhao. At that time, Wang Ganchang himself was almost 80 years old. Because of Ding Dazhao's illness, he ran around and wrote letters to Peng Zhen and Zhang Aiping for help. The central government decided to approve the kidney replacement operation for Ding Dazhao.Afterwards, some people said that Ding Dazhao's life was won by his mentor Wang Ganchang. After hearing this, Wang Ganchang said: "I and the motherland have lost such a good comrade as Deng Jiaxian, and we cannot let another outstanding scientist die young." Comrades in scientific research still remember such an incident: when Mr. Wang Ganchang was conducting research on laser inertial confinement fusion, he met Xiao Lu, an assistant researcher working on X-ray spectroscopy at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics.Unfortunately, Xiao Lu also suffered from liver cancer that year, and it was at an advanced stage.After hearing the news, Wang Ganchang called the leaders of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics in time, and asked him to try his best to rescue Xiao Lu.He later went to Shanghai on a business trip, and the first place he went to was the hospital where Xiao Lu lived.Xiao Lu, who was dying, had great mood swings, but he did not expect that Wang Ganchang, who was busy with everything, would come to the hospital to visit him in person. "Mr. Wang, if you can stand in front of my sick bed, I feel that I have not suffered a lot from dedicating my young life to the nuclear science work of the motherland..." Xiao Lu held the hand of the famous Wang Ganchang and burst into tears. Said. While comforting Xiao Lu, Wang Ganchang approached the hospital leaders, hoping that they would try their best to save the lives of young scientific workers.In order to let Xiao Lu feel the care of his colleagues in nuclear physics in China at the last moment of his life, Wang Ganchang deliberately stayed in the hospital for more time, chatting with him, and peeling bananas for him... The doctors and nurses present were deeply moved.A few days later, Xiao Lu passed away.When he was dying, he specially asked his family to bring a tape recorder, and recorded an affectionate farewell speech to his respected Mr. Wang Ganchang.Wang Ganchang later heard what Xiaolu said with the last bit of strength in his life, and sighed a long time: "For the sake of China's strength, how many people have passed away at a time when they should not have passed away. What do we living people have to complain about?" What about you? Work hard!" Work hard, this is the motto of Wang Ganchang's life. Although it has been more than 30 years since China's first atomic bomb exploded, as long as "Old Man Wang" is mentioned, the officers, soldiers and scientific researchers who participated in the nuclear test back then are known to everyone.Most of the tens of thousands of people who went to work at the Qinghai Gobi Desert atomic bomb test base were young and strong officers and soldiers.The older ones are all scientific and technological personnel. Among the thousands of scientific and technological personnel, Wang Ganchang is the oldest one.When the atomic bomb was successfully exploded, Wang Ganchang was 57 years old, Peng Huanwu and Guo Yonghuai were in their early 50s, and Wang Ganchang's subordinates Deng Jiaxian and Zhou Guangzhao were in their 40s.When he heard someone call him "Old Man Wang" on the experimental field for the first time, Wang Ganchang wiped the back of his slightly bald head and exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, I'm really old!" During the vicissitudes of life in China's atomic bomb test, he pulled out a silver thread and hid it quietly in a grotto on the test site, and said to everyone, "Hey, it's so interesting, I'm an old man!" "Old man" means "old man" in Changshu dialect. Wang Ganchang couldn't get rid of many childhood habits, such as his accent. In fact, in Wang Ganchang's character, it seems difficult to find any romantic sentiments worth mentioning in him.Books, blueprints, formulas, and experiments are all his life content and interests.Never flaunt yourself, never pick on others, never care about the organization, formally demand yourself in the invisible living space, seek and enrich the joy of your life in boring formulas, and in the mysterious world of science Constantly searching for the unknown and discovering novelties are all characteristics of his life.Wang Ganchang lived to be 91 years old, and the organization and his students have celebrated his birthday many times, but among all the birthday celebrations, none can compare with the warm and grand scene on his 80th birthday.