"Zheng Xiao, come here!"
A thoughtful Zheng Xiao followed Qian Xuesen to a corner of the playground. He first asked, "Does the director want to talk about the explosive molding just now?"
Qian Xuesen nodded.
Zheng Zhemin (second from right) discusses work with scientific and technical personnel.
"In fact, since the explosion can be turned into a bowl, it can be turned into a mold for nuclear weapons, which is very helpful for the study of nuclear weapons!" Zheng Xiao has a clear mind.
Qian Xuesen is very happy, because Zheng Xiao has only been in the Institute of Mechanics for two years and has just changed from an associate researcher to a researcher. Once again, he looked at this talented person from the north, just as his mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law. Qian Xuesen thought for a long time and said solemnly, "It will be a new subject of mechanical research to produce the shape we need through explosion. Let's call it explosive mechanics. I gave you this. Do you have confidence? "
Zheng Xiao nodded hard. From then on, he began his research career of explosion mechanics in the second half of his life. A few years later, Zheng Xiao became a world-famous "father of explosive mechanics", a leading figure in the field of mechanics, and an academician of China Academy of Sciences, China Institute of Technology and the Third National Engineering Institute of the United States. His name is Zheng Zhemin, and his trilogy on the road to success is widely praised by the industry.
First, choice is more important than hard work.
Zheng Zhemin was born in 1924, and his hometown is Jinan. He was born in a merchant family, and his father Zheng had a great influence on him. Zheng suffered a lot, and later went to town as an apprentice, and worked hard to start a watch business, which made people feel sad. In view of the low status of businessmen at that time, Zheng asked Xiao Zhemin not to do business in the future, but to learn technology, and it was best to "save the country through industry"/a conversation with his father at the age of Kloc-0/3, which had far-reaching influence.
At that time, Xiao Zhemin lived in Chengdu with his brother and father. One day, my father called Xiao Zhemin to his side and asked seriously, "Are you interested in disassembling the watch?"
Xiao Zhemin honestly replied: "Yes. When nothing happens, disassembly is very simple. "
Father said slowly, "It's good to be interested. Have you ever thought about being a watchmaker or doing scientific research in the future? Of course, you can't sell watches. "
Xiao Zhemin seriously thought about it and said, "Do scientific research and be a scientist!"
Father is very happy: "No matter what you choose, I will support it." . Just look for a direction, don't waver, don't always change. For young people, choice is more important than hard work. Therefore, you should set your own goals as soon as possible. "
Many things are easier said than done. Zheng Zhemin took many detours in the choice of major. 2 1 year-old, studied electrical engineering at National Southwest Associated University, and switched to mechanical engineering one year later. During this time, the young Zheng Zhemin was actually lost. 1947, when he went to Tsinghua University as a teaching assistant, he was lucky enough to meet the first noble person in his life-Qian Weichang, one of the "San Qian of Science and Technology". Qian Weichang's demeanor as a famous teacher and his persistence in science deeply influenced him. Qian Weichang opened a course called Applied Mechanics in department of mechanical engineering, and Zheng Zhemin was deeply fascinated after only one class. After half a year, due to his outstanding performance, he stayed in Qian Weichang as a teaching assistant; The following year, he won a scholarship from Rotary International and was recommended by Qian Weichang to study at California Institute of Technology.
Zheng Zhemin was taken at California Institute of Technology in September, 1948.
After exploration, Zheng Zhemin chose the road of mechanical research, which lasted for 60 years. At the beginning, if his career orientation was not accurate and he chose the wrong direction, it might not be as exciting as it was later: 1949, he got his doctorate in the United States, and while studying hard, he was preparing to return to China; 1955 I returned to the motherland with my classmates and worked as an associate researcher in the Institute of Mathematics of China Academy of Sciences. From 65438 to 0956, he served as the head of the elastic mechanics group of the Institute of Mechanics, and devoted himself to the seismic research of dams. 1960, he was ordered to study explosion mechanics. ...
Second, you will never succeed if you fail dozens of times.
From the moment he took over the explosive mechanics, Zheng Zhemin knew what a bumpy road he would face. He once heard Wang Zhonglin, a scientist, say that the moment when there is a breakthrough in scientific research is the most beautiful, just like the words created by writers are published; Beyond the breakthrough, most of them are boring and taste the taste of failure alone.
Specifically, in terms of explosion mechanics, Zheng Zhemin is most upset that he has never seen explosives and detonators, and he doesn't know how to explode and how to light the fuse. After all, this is a dangerous project and it is easy to get hurt. Fortunately, Zheng Zhemin was born bold and cautious. After groping a few times, he found the doorway and knew some basic operations.
After thinking about the structure of mines, Zheng Zhemin decided to use explosion to generate auto parts: "Bombing" nuclear weapons is not easy, "Bombing" an auto headquarters, right? With this excitement, Zheng Zhemin and his colleagues came to Beijing Automobile Factory and applied to the factory director to "blow up" the back cover of a car.
Structure of New China Anti-Infantry Mines
At that time, people were "open-minded" and even the yield of 10 thousand Jin per mu of rice became "common sense" It is not surprising to hear that a car part was "bombed". The manufacturer provided a set of steel plate molds, while Zheng Zhemin led people to study the blasting scheme. At noon 20 days later, Zheng Zhemin carefully lit the fuse in the factory yard. After a loud bang, I saw that the mold was completely deformed: not only did it not reach the ideal appearance, but even the mold was damaged in a large area.
A sense of loss and frustration flooded my mind. Zheng Zhemin failed!
After a day and a night of reflection, Zheng Zhemin decided to reduce the difficulty and start all over again: "bombing" a car rear lampshade. After a month's exploration, Zheng Zhemin once again lit the fuse in the same place. After the loud noise, it was just a dark bucket!
"I actually fell in the same place twice, and I can't do it again!" Zheng Zhemin shut himself in his room and reflected: Are you too impatient? Or do you start practicing without systematic research, thus putting the cart before the horse? Or should we not choose auto parts for experiments?
After learning from these mistakes, Zheng Zhemin and his team members returned to the experiment and studied quietly. Since then, he has encountered many failures, but he will always sum up his experience and move on. Four years later, after numerous explosion experiments and calculation analysis, Zheng Zhemin independently proposed a new mechanical model-fluid carbon model. This model, which was put forward synchronously with foreign counterparts, made an important contribution to the success of the first underground nuclear test in China and laid a theoretical foundation for the establishment of the subject of explosive mechanics. 197 1 year, after Zheng Zhemin returned to the Institute of Mechanics of Chinese Academy of Sciences from the cadre school, he continued to devote himself to the research of explosive mechanics. After ten years' efforts, Zheng Zhemin has solved a series of problems, such as armor-piercing similarity, armor-piercing mechanism, simplified theory of armor-piercing and jet stability, which greatly changed the backward situation of conventional weapons in China. Because of Zheng Zhemin's outstanding contribution to explosive mechanics, people call him "the father of explosive mechanics".
Zheng Zhemin made a speech.
It is worth mentioning that the explosion mechanics studied by Zheng Zhemin has not only made great contributions to China's national defense forces, but also contributed to the country's economic construction; In 1980s, in the construction of China port, Zheng Zhemin solved the problem of breakwater construction by using the principle of explosion, saving hundreds of millions of yuan for the country. Later, in the study of the blasting demolition scheme of the third stage cofferdam of the Three Gorges Project, Zheng Zhemin once again gave full play to his strengths and proposed and demonstrated in detail the blasting demolition dumping scheme. In repeated explosions, Zheng Zhemin accurately controlled various mechanisms of the explosion, making the explosion a means of economic construction. In order to meet the needs of national construction, he opened up key technical fields such as explosive processing, gas outburst and underwater soft foundation treatment by explosion, and solved the core problems of many major national projects.
Blasting time of "the first explosion in the world" in the third stage cofferdam of Three Gorges Project
Third, I can work and live.
Some scientists in the world have made great achievements in scientific research, but their personal lives are in a mess. Zheng Zhemin is not. He can not only work, but also live, and longevity is the best proof.
At the age of 90, his daily life is very rhythmic: he washes clothes and does housework in the morning, and then goes to the National Institute of Mechanics; Go online for two hours in the afternoon, or go out for a walk. In his spare time, he will read some books about philosophy and history of science and listen to Bach or Beethoven.
The most admirable thing is the mutual respect between Zheng Zhemin and his wife Lu. After decades of marriage, the two have been taking care of each other and rarely blush, let alone quarrel. Since the 1990s, Zheng Zhemin has undertaken most of the housework at home, such as washing machines and drying clothes. "Housework is our language!" Cai Feng once proudly said to his friends.
The most rare thing is their mutual encouragement and support. 20 13 65438+ 10/8 The State Science and Technology Commission awarded Zheng Zhemin the highest national science and technology award 20 12. After receiving the prize that morning, when he came home at noon, his first sentence was: "Lao Zheng is good!" I want to learn from you! " Lu Caifeng is a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her words immediately filled Zheng Zhemin's face with sunshine. After all, family praise is the greatest glory.
Zheng Zhemin (first from right) attended the asteroid naming activity.
In life, Zheng Zhemin is interested in many things. For example, on the way to dinner, when he sees a mason, he will ask how to lay bricks. When he is free, he will go to the cooking squad of the unit to cook. When he cooks, he will tell everyone that the pot used by one or two hundred people is so big, the cooking is uneven and the energy consumption is too high. It is suggested that the frying method should be changed according to the aerodynamic principle.
In his later years, Zheng Zhemin set a higher goal for his work. According to the news, he is currently studying natural hydrate (i.e. combustible ice). This 80-year-old man's spirit of challenging new energy sources is the greatest secret of Zheng Zhemin's success and one of the most valuable qualities worth learning.