Kan-Chang Wang
Encyclopedia
Wang Ganchang (May 28, 1907 – December 10, 1998) was a nuclear physicist
from China
. He was one of the initiators of research in China in nuclear physics
, cosmic ray
s and particle physics
. Wang figured among the top leaders, pioneers and scientists of the Chinese nuclear deterrent program. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Science and a member of the Chinese Communist party.
In 1930, Wang first proposed to use a cloud chamber
to study a new type of high-energy rays induced by the bombardment of beryllium
with α particle, experiment conducted one year later by the English physicist James Chadwick
, thus discovering a new type of particle, the neutron
, and allowing him to win the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics
.
Wang first proposed the use of beta-capture to detect the neutrino
in 1941. Fifteen years later Frederick Reines
and Clyde Cowan
employed his suggestion and detected the neutrino in 1956 winning forty years later the 1995
Nobel Prize in Physics
.
Wang also led a group to discover the anti-sigma minus hyperon particle at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
, Dubna
, Russia
in 1959.
After May 1950, he became researcher and vice-director of the Institute of Modern Physics (中国科学院近代物理研究所). He was vice-director of the Soviet Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
. From spring 1969, he was vice-director of the Ninth Research Institute (二机部第九研究院), predecessor of the China Academy of Engineering Physics
. He was director of the China Institute of Atomic Energy (二机部副部长兼原子能研究所). He was deputy director of the Nuclear industry Science and Technology Commission (核工业部科技委). He was second vice-chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology
. He was vice-chairman of the Chinese Physical Society (中国物理学会). He was first chairman of the China Nuclear Society (中国核学会). He was a member of the 3rd through 16th NPC Standing Committees.
In 2000, the Chinese Physical Society established five prizes in recognition of five pioneers of modern physics in China. The Wang Ganchang Prize is awarded to physicists in particle physics and inertial confinement fusion.
City, Jiangsu
Province (江苏省常熟县支塘镇枫塘湾), on May 28, 1907.
In 1924, he graduated from the Shanghai Pudong High School (上海浦东中学). He then studied English for six months and car driving and repair for six months. He passed the entrance examinations for Qinghua University in August 1928.
He graduated from the Physics Department of Qinghua University in June 1929. He then became assistant professor of Qinghua University from 1929 to 1930. In his thesis "On the daily change of radon gas" (《清华园周围氡气的强度及每天的变化》), he was the first in China to published on atmospheric research and radioactive experiments.
.
As soon as he arrived in Berlin, hearing the Bothe report (博特报告) relating the emission of a new type of high-energy neutral radiation which was non-ionizing but even more penetrating than the hardest gamma rays derived from radium, induced by the bombardment of beryllium
with α particles from a radioactive polonium
source, therefore wrongly presumed to be gamma rays, Wang first suggested the use of a cloud chamber
to study it. Lacking the support of his supervisor Lise Meitner
, the experiment was nonetheless conducted one year later by the English physicist James Chadwick
, thus discovering a new type of particle, the neutron
, allowing him to win the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics
.
Four years later in 1934, Wang Ganchang received his Ph.D. with a thesis on β decay spectrum (German:
Über die β-Spektren von ThB+C+C; Chinese:
《ThB+C+C的β能谱》) under the supervision of Meitner before returning to China
in April of that year.
as a physics professor from 1934 to 1936 before becoming professor at the Zhejiang University
and serving as head of the Department of Physics from October 1936 to 1950.
Enduring difficult conditions, he nonetheless tried in 1939 to find on photographic films tracks of nuclear fission
caused by neutron bombardment of cadmium acid.
In 1941, he first proposed an experiment to prove the existence of the neutrino
by capturing K-electrons in nuclear reactions. Unfortunately, he was unable to implement the experiment because of the war. Fifteen years later Frederick Reines
and Clyde Cowan
employed his suggestion and detected the neutrino in 1956 winning forty years later the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
. (In fact, the suggested technique of Prof Wang is only remotely related to the Reines, Cowan neutrino experiment. Reactor neutrinos and the inverse beta reaction were used, not a radioactive substance and K-Capture.)
Institute of Modern Physics and served as deputy director from 1952. There, at the invitation of Qian Sanqiang
of the Institute of Modern Physics, he started studies of cosmic-rays with a circular 12 feet cloud chamber
. In 1952, he designed a magnetic cloud chamber.
Professor Wang was the first to propose to establish China's first cosmic ray
laboratory. Therefore, he directed the Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center (落雪山宇宙线实验站) in the Yunnan
province high mountainous regions at 3185 meters above sea level from 1953 to 1956.
His study of cosmic-rays lead him to publish his findings on neutral-meson decay in 1955.
By 1957 he had collected more than 700 recordings of new types of particles.
at Dubna
in the USSR to do field work and carry out the preliminary design of particle accelerator
s. The agreement on the establishment of JINR was signed on March 26, 1956 in Moscow
, Wang Ganchang being one of the founders.
On April 4, 1956, he went to the USSR to participate in planning the long-range development of peaceful utilization of atomic energy.
Then many students were sent to the former Soviet Union to learn the technologies of how to build accelerators and detectors. Thus, the experimental group led by Professor Wang Ganchang analysing more than 40,000 photographs which recorded tens of thousands of nuclear interactions taken in the propane bubble chamber
produced by the 10 GeV
synchrophasotron
used to bombard a target forming high energy meson
s, was the first to discover the anti-sigma minus hyperon particles (反西格马负超子) on March 9, 1959:
The discovery of this new unstable antiparticle
which decays in (1.18±0.07)·10−10 s
into an antineutron
and a negative pion
was announced in September of that year:
No one doubted at the time that this particle was elementary, but a few years later, this hyperon
, the proton
, the neutron
, the pion
and other hadron
s had lost their status of elementary particle
s as they turned out to be complex particles too consisting of quark
s and antiquarks.
He served as deputy director from 1958 and worked there until 1960.
experiments in at the foot of the Great Wall, in the Yanshan Mountain (河北省怀来县燕山), Huailai county, Hebei
province.
In 1963 he move to the Qinghai Plateau at more than 3000 meters, to continue polymerization detonation experiments. He then proceeded to the Xinjiang
's scorching Taklimakan desert to make preparation for the first nuclear test. Finally on October 16, 1964 the first atomic bomb test
was conducted successfully. Looking at the rising mushroom cloud, rewarding four years of endeavours, he couldn't help shedding tears of excitement. Only less than three years later, on June 17, 1967 the first hydrogen bomb test
was conducted with success, shocking the world as China mastered this technology even before the French
, and breaking further the nuclear monopoly of the two superpower
s.
In spring 1969, he served as vice-director of the Ninth Research Institute (二机部第九研究院) receiving the task of conducting the first underground nuclear test. Due to severe high altitude hypoxia
, he had to carry oxygen mask at work. After months of endeavours, the first underground test was successfully conducted on the September 23, 1969. He also lead the second and third Chinese underground nuclear tests.
using high-power laser beam targeting to achieve inertial confinement fusion, idea also independently developed at the same time by his Soviet counterpart Nikolai Gennadievich Basov
. Unfortunately, due to political turmoil
causing seven years of delay, his leading position in this field was lost.
By the end of 1978, his inertial confinement fusion research group established by the Atomic Energy began the construction of high-current accelerator. As an advocate of nuclear energy, he made with four nuclear experts in October 1978 the proposition to develop China's nuclear power. In 1980, Wang Ganchang promoted the plan of building 20 nuclear power plants including Qinshan, Zhejiang Province, Daya Bay
, Guangzhou and Chinshan.
technologies, nuclear explosion detection, anti nuclear radiations technologies, laser stimulated nuclear explosion technologies.
On March 3, 1986, Wang Ganchang, Wang Daheng, Yang Jiachi and Chen Fangyun first proposed in a letter (《关于跟踪世界战略性高科技发展的建议》) to the Chinese government to launch researches covering laser
s, microwave
s, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The plan would be adopted in November of that year under the code name Project 863
(“863计划”).
He received the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (国家科技进步奖特等奖) in 1985. He received along with Qian Sanqiang
both posthumously in September 1999 the special prize of Two Bombs and One Satellite Meritorious Award (“两弹一星功勋奖章”) granted by the State Council, the Central Committee of the Communist Party
and Central Military Commission
.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He was one of the initiators of research in China in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
, cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s and particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
. Wang figured among the top leaders, pioneers and scientists of the Chinese nuclear deterrent program. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Science and a member of the Chinese Communist party.
In 1930, Wang first proposed to use a cloud chamber
Cloud chamber
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
to study a new type of high-energy rays induced by the bombardment of beryllium
Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
with α particle, experiment conducted one year later by the English physicist James Chadwick
James Chadwick
Sir James Chadwick CH FRS was an English Nobel laureate in physics awarded for his discovery of the neutron....
, thus discovering a new type of particle, the neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
, and allowing him to win the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
.
Wang first proposed the use of beta-capture to detect the neutrino
Neutrino
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
in 1941. Fifteen years later Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment, and may be the only scientist in history "so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the...
and Clyde Cowan
Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr was the co-discoverer of the neutrino, along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956, detected in the neutrino experiment....
employed his suggestion and detected the neutrino in 1956 winning forty years later the 1995
Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
.
Wang also led a group to discover the anti-sigma minus hyperon particle at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow Oblast , Russia, is an international research centre for nuclear sciences, with 5500 staff members, 1200 researchers including 1000 Ph.D.s from eighteen member states The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow...
, Dubna
Dubna
Dubna is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd , being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research centre and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country. It is also home to MKB Raduga, a defence aerospace company...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1959.
After May 1950, he became researcher and vice-director of the Institute of Modern Physics (中国科学院近代物理研究所). He was vice-director of the Soviet Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow Oblast , Russia, is an international research centre for nuclear sciences, with 5500 staff members, 1200 researchers including 1000 Ph.D.s from eighteen member states The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow...
. From spring 1969, he was vice-director of the Ninth Research Institute (二机部第九研究院), predecessor of the China Academy of Engineering Physics
China Academy of Engineering Physics
China Academy of Engineering Physics is founded in October, 1958. It is the research and manufacturing center of Chinese nuclear weapons....
. He was director of the China Institute of Atomic Energy (二机部副部长兼原子能研究所). He was deputy director of the Nuclear industry Science and Technology Commission (核工业部科技委). He was second vice-chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology
China Association for Science and Technology
The China Association for Science and Technology is a non-profit, non-governmental organization of Chinese scientists and engineers, which is composed of 167 national professional societies and hundreds of local branches at various levels....
. He was vice-chairman of the Chinese Physical Society (中国物理学会). He was first chairman of the China Nuclear Society (中国核学会). He was a member of the 3rd through 16th NPC Standing Committees.
In 2000, the Chinese Physical Society established five prizes in recognition of five pioneers of modern physics in China. The Wang Ganchang Prize is awarded to physicists in particle physics and inertial confinement fusion.
Early years
Wang Ganchang was born in ChangshuChangshu
Changshu is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, and is located in the south-eastern part of eastern-China’s Jiangsu Province as well as the Yangtze River Delta...
City, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Province (江苏省常熟县支塘镇枫塘湾), on May 28, 1907.
In 1924, he graduated from the Shanghai Pudong High School (上海浦东中学). He then studied English for six months and car driving and repair for six months. He passed the entrance examinations for Qinghua University in August 1928.
He graduated from the Physics Department of Qinghua University in June 1929. He then became assistant professor of Qinghua University from 1929 to 1930. In his thesis "On the daily change of radon gas" (《清华园周围氡气的强度及每天的变化》), he was the first in China to published on atmospheric research and radioactive experiments.
Overseas student in Germany
In 1930 he went to study at the University of Berlin in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
As soon as he arrived in Berlin, hearing the Bothe report (博特报告) relating the emission of a new type of high-energy neutral radiation which was non-ionizing but even more penetrating than the hardest gamma rays derived from radium, induced by the bombardment of beryllium
Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
with α particles from a radioactive polonium
Polonium
Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive element, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for...
source, therefore wrongly presumed to be gamma rays, Wang first suggested the use of a cloud chamber
Cloud chamber
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
to study it. Lacking the support of his supervisor Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
, the experiment was nonetheless conducted one year later by the English physicist James Chadwick
James Chadwick
Sir James Chadwick CH FRS was an English Nobel laureate in physics awarded for his discovery of the neutron....
, thus discovering a new type of particle, the neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
, allowing him to win the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
.
Four years later in 1934, Wang Ganchang received his Ph.D. with a thesis on β decay spectrum (German:
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Über die β-Spektren von ThB+C+C; Chinese:
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
《ThB+C+C的β能谱》) under the supervision of Meitner before returning to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in April of that year.
Return to China
He first joined the Shandong UniversityShandong University
Shandong University is a public comprehensive university in Shandong, China. It is one of the largest universities in China by student population and is supported directly by the national government....
as a physics professor from 1934 to 1936 before becoming professor at the Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University , sometimes referred to as Zheda, is a national university in China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest institutions of higher education...
and serving as head of the Department of Physics from October 1936 to 1950.
The WW II years
Following the invasion of China by Japan in July 1937, Professor Wang Ganchang was forced to retreat with all the faculty of the Zhejiang University where he was a professor, to the primitive western mountainous hinterland of China.Enduring difficult conditions, he nonetheless tried in 1939 to find on photographic films tracks of nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
caused by neutron bombardment of cadmium acid.
In 1941, he first proposed an experiment to prove the existence of the neutrino
Neutrino
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
by capturing K-electrons in nuclear reactions. Unfortunately, he was unable to implement the experiment because of the war. Fifteen years later Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment, and may be the only scientist in history "so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the...
and Clyde Cowan
Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr was the co-discoverer of the neutrino, along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956, detected in the neutrino experiment....
employed his suggestion and detected the neutrino in 1956 winning forty years later the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
. (In fact, the suggested technique of Prof Wang is only remotely related to the Reines, Cowan neutrino experiment. Reactor neutrinos and the inverse beta reaction were used, not a radioactive substance and K-Capture.)
Founding of the P.R. China
From April 1950 to 1956 he was a researcher at the CASCAS
' may refer to:-Institutions:* California Academy of Sciences, a museum of natural history, San Francisco, California, USA* Casualty Actuarial Society, a professional society of actuaries in the United States...
Institute of Modern Physics and served as deputy director from 1952. There, at the invitation of Qian Sanqiang
Qian Sanqiang
Qian Sanqiang was a Chinese nuclear physicist.-Biography:A native of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Qian was born in Shaoxing, attending Peking University and Tsinghua University. His father is Qian Xuantong. Qian went to France in 1937...
of the Institute of Modern Physics, he started studies of cosmic-rays with a circular 12 feet cloud chamber
Cloud chamber
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
. In 1952, he designed a magnetic cloud chamber.
Professor Wang was the first to propose to establish China's first cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
laboratory. Therefore, he directed the Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center (落雪山宇宙线实验站) in the Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province high mountainous regions at 3185 meters above sea level from 1953 to 1956.
His study of cosmic-rays lead him to publish his findings on neutral-meson decay in 1955.
By 1957 he had collected more than 700 recordings of new types of particles.
The USSR years
In order to develop high energy physics in China, the Chinese government began from 1956 to send some experts to the Joint Institute for Nuclear ResearchJoint Institute for Nuclear Research
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow Oblast , Russia, is an international research centre for nuclear sciences, with 5500 staff members, 1200 researchers including 1000 Ph.D.s from eighteen member states The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow...
at Dubna
Dubna
Dubna is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd , being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research centre and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country. It is also home to MKB Raduga, a defence aerospace company...
in the USSR to do field work and carry out the preliminary design of particle accelerator
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
s. The agreement on the establishment of JINR was signed on March 26, 1956 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Wang Ganchang being one of the founders.
On April 4, 1956, he went to the USSR to participate in planning the long-range development of peaceful utilization of atomic energy.
Then many students were sent to the former Soviet Union to learn the technologies of how to build accelerators and detectors. Thus, the experimental group led by Professor Wang Ganchang analysing more than 40,000 photographs which recorded tens of thousands of nuclear interactions taken in the propane bubble chamber
Bubble chamber
A bubble chamber is a vessel filled with a superheated transparent liquid used to detect electrically charged particles moving through it. It was invented in 1952 by Donald A. Glaser, for which he was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics...
produced by the 10 GeV
GEV
GEV or GeV may stand for:*GeV or gigaelectronvolt, a unit of energy equal to billion electron volts*GEV or Grid Enabled Vehicle that is fully or partially powered by the electric grid, see plug-in electric vehicle...
synchrophasotron
Synchrophasotron
A synchrophasotron is a type of the synchrotron that accelerates protons to several GeVs . It has fixed-orbit radius, magnetic field that increases with time and variable frequency of accelerating voltage....
used to bombard a target forming high energy meson
Meson
In particle physics, mesons are subatomic particles composed of one quark and one antiquark, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of sub-particles, they have a physical size, with a radius roughly one femtometer: 10−15 m, which is about the size of a proton...
s, was the first to discover the anti-sigma minus hyperon particles (反西格马负超子) on March 9, 1959:
The discovery of this new unstable antiparticle
Antiparticle
Corresponding to most kinds of particles, there is an associated antiparticle with the same mass and opposite electric charge. For example, the antiparticle of the electron is the positively charged antielectron, or positron, which is produced naturally in certain types of radioactive decay.The...
which decays in (1.18±0.07)·10−10 s
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
into an antineutron
Antineutron
The antineutron is the antiparticle of the neutron with symbol . It differs from the neutron only in that some of its properties have equal magnitude but opposite sign. It has the same mass as the neutron, and no net electric charge, but has opposite baryon number...
and a negative pion
Pion
In particle physics, a pion is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Pions are the lightest mesons and they play an important role in explaining the low-energy properties of the strong nuclear force....
was announced in September of that year:
No one doubted at the time that this particle was elementary, but a few years later, this hyperon
Hyperon
In particle physics, a hyperon is any baryon containing one or more strange quarks, but no charm quarks or bottom quarks.-Properties and behavior of hyperons:...
, the proton
Proton
The proton is a subatomic particle with the symbol or and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number....
, the neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
, the pion
Pion
In particle physics, a pion is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Pions are the lightest mesons and they play an important role in explaining the low-energy properties of the strong nuclear force....
and other hadron
Hadron
In particle physics, a hadron is a composite particle made of quarks held together by the strong force...
s had lost their status of elementary particle
Elementary particle
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a particle not known to have substructure; that is, it is not known to be made up of smaller particles. If an elementary particle truly has no substructure, then it is one of the basic building blocks of the universe from which...
s as they turned out to be complex particles too consisting of quark
Quark
A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never directly...
s and antiquarks.
He served as deputy director from 1958 and worked there until 1960.
Nuclear deterrent
On December 24, 1960 as he returned from the USSR, he accept to participate in the atomic bomb program, giving up researches on elementary particles for the next 17 years. Within one year, he conducted more than 1000 detonationDetonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
experiments in at the foot of the Great Wall, in the Yanshan Mountain (河北省怀来县燕山), Huailai county, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province.
In 1963 he move to the Qinghai Plateau at more than 3000 meters, to continue polymerization detonation experiments. He then proceeded to the Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
's scorching Taklimakan desert to make preparation for the first nuclear test. Finally on October 16, 1964 the first atomic bomb test
596 (nuclear test)
596 is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, detonated on October 16, 1964 at the Lop Nur test site. It was a uranium-235 implosion fission device and had a yield of 22 kilotons...
was conducted successfully. Looking at the rising mushroom cloud, rewarding four years of endeavours, he couldn't help shedding tears of excitement. Only less than three years later, on June 17, 1967 the first hydrogen bomb test
Chinese nuclear test No. 6
Test No. 6 is the codename for the China's first test of a three-staged thermonuclear device and, also its sixth nuclear weapons test. The device was detonated at Lop Nur Test Base, or often dubbed as Lop Nur Nuclear Weapon Test Base, in Malan, Xinjiang, on 17 June 1967...
was conducted with success, shocking the world as China mastered this technology even before the French
Canopus (nuclear test)
Canopus was the code name for France's first two-stage thermonuclear test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa atoll...
, and breaking further the nuclear monopoly of the two superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
s.
In spring 1969, he served as vice-director of the Ninth Research Institute (二机部第九研究院) receiving the task of conducting the first underground nuclear test. Due to severe high altitude hypoxia
Hypoxia (medical)
Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
, he had to carry oxygen mask at work. After months of endeavours, the first underground test was successfully conducted on the September 23, 1969. He also lead the second and third Chinese underground nuclear tests.
Fusion and nuclear energy
Wang Ganchang is the founder of Chinese laser fusion technology. In 1964 the Shanghai Optical Machinery Institute (上海光机所) developed a high-power 10 MW output laser. In late December of the same year, he proposed to the State CouncilState Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
using high-power laser beam targeting to achieve inertial confinement fusion, idea also independently developed at the same time by his Soviet counterpart Nikolai Gennadievich Basov
Nikolay Basov
Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov was a Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the development of laser and maser, Basov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes.-Early life:Basov was born in...
. Unfortunately, due to political turmoil
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
causing seven years of delay, his leading position in this field was lost.
By the end of 1978, his inertial confinement fusion research group established by the Atomic Energy began the construction of high-current accelerator. As an advocate of nuclear energy, he made with four nuclear experts in October 1978 the proposition to develop China's nuclear power. In 1980, Wang Ganchang promoted the plan of building 20 nuclear power plants including Qinshan, Zhejiang Province, Daya Bay
Daya Bay
Daya Bay , formally known as Bias Bay, is a body of water located east of Hong Kong in Guangdong Province in southern People's Republic of China. Daya Bay is home to four nuclear reactors, two each belonging to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant, as well as the...
, Guangzhou and Chinshan.
Project 863
With outstanding achievements, he was also a leader in the fields of detonation physics experiments, anti electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
technologies, nuclear explosion detection, anti nuclear radiations technologies, laser stimulated nuclear explosion technologies.
On March 3, 1986, Wang Ganchang, Wang Daheng, Yang Jiachi and Chen Fangyun first proposed in a letter (《关于跟踪世界战略性高科技发展的建议》) to the Chinese government to launch researches covering laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s, microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
s, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The plan would be adopted in November of that year under the code name Project 863
863 Program
The 863 program or State High-Tech Development Plan is a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for the purpose of rendering China independent of financial...
(“863计划”).
Awards
He received the first prize of the National Natural Science Award (国家自然科学奖) in 1982.He received the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (国家科技进步奖特等奖) in 1985. He received along with Qian Sanqiang
Qian Sanqiang
Qian Sanqiang was a Chinese nuclear physicist.-Biography:A native of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Qian was born in Shaoxing, attending Peking University and Tsinghua University. His father is Qian Xuantong. Qian went to France in 1937...
both posthumously in September 1999 the special prize of Two Bombs and One Satellite Meritorious Award (“两弹一星功勋奖章”) granted by the State Council, the Central Committee of the Communist Party
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
and Central Military Commission
Central Military Commission
A Central Military Commission or National Defense Commission is an organisation typical of Communist one-party states, responsible for supervising the nation's armed forces....
.
See also
- Chinese atomic bomb596 (nuclear test)596 is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, detonated on October 16, 1964 at the Lop Nur test site. It was a uranium-235 implosion fission device and had a yield of 22 kilotons...
- Chinese hydrogen bomb
- Nuclear testingNuclear testingNuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
- Underground nuclear testingUnderground nuclear testingUnderground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of nuclear weapons that are performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to the atmosphere....
- Wang PuWang PuWang Pu was a Chinese nuclear physicist. He was one of two Chinese PhD students working with Lise Meitner at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry. He founded the School of Physics at Shandong University....
(Chinese student PhD student working with Lise Meitner shortly after Wang Ganchang)
Selected literature by Wang Ganchang
- K. C. Wang （王淦昌）. Über die obere Grenze des kontinuierlichen β Strahlspektrums von RaE. Zeits. für Physik, 1932,74:744.
- Kan Chang Wang. Uber die β-Spektren von ThB+C+C. Zeits für Physik, 1934,87:633.
- Kan Chang Wang. A suggestion on the detection of the neutrino. Phys. Rev, 1942,61:97.
- K. C. Wang and H. L. Tsao. An attempt at finding the relationship between the nuclear force and the gravitational force. Phys. Rev. 1944, 66:155.
- K. C. Wang. A suggestion on a new experimental method for cosmic-ray particles. Science Record, 1945,1:387.
- K. C. Wang and T. L. Chiang. On some chemical effects of γ-rays. Science Record, 1945,1:389.
- K. C. Wang. Radioactivity of the neutron. Nature, 1945,155:574.
- K. C. Wang and K. C. Cheng. A five-dimensional field theory. Phys. Rev. , 1946,70:516.
- K. C. Wang. Proposed methods of detecting the neutrino. Phys. Rev. 1947,71:645.
- K. C. Wang. An organic activated ZnO-ZnCl2 phosphorescent substance. Science Record, 1947,2:54.
- S. C. Hsin and K. C. Wang. Phosphorescence produced by mechanical means. Chinese Journal of Physics, 1947,7 (1): 53.
- Kan-Chang Wang and Stanley B. Jones. On the disintegration of mesotrons. Phys. Rev. 1948,74:1547.
- 王淦昌．中性介子（π０）的发现及它的性质．物理通报，１９５１，１（１、２）：３４．
- 王淦昌，郑仁圻，吕敏．在铅板里发生的电子光子簇射．物理学报，１９５５，１１（５）：４２１．
- 王淦昌，肖健，郑仁圻，吕敏．一个中性重介子的衰变．物理学报，１９５５，１１（６）：４９３．
- 郑仁圻，吕敏，肖健，王淦昌．在云室中观察到一个Ｋ介子的产生及其核俘获．物理学报，１９５６，１２（４）：３７６．
- 王淦昌，吕敏，郑仁圻．一个长寿命的带电超子．科学记录（新辑），１９５７，１（２）：２１．
- Ван Ган-чан и др. исследовавне упр угого pacceяния π− Мезонов с импудьсом 6,8 GeV／ｃ на протонах с помошью пропановой пузырь ковойкаме pы. ЖЭТФ, 1960,38:426.
- Ван Ган-чан и др. Рожддение Антннротонов при взаимодсйствии π− Мезонов с нуклонами. ЖэТФ, 1960,38:1010.
- 王淦昌，王祝翔，维克斯勒，维辽索夫，乌兰拉，丁大钊等．８．３ＧｅＶ／ｃ的负π介子所产生的Σ−超子．物理学报，１９６０，１６（７）：３６５；ЖэТФ，１９６０，３８：１３５６．
- 王淦昌，王祝翔，维克斯列尔，符拉娜，丁大钊等．在动量为６．８±６亿电子伏／ｃ的π−介子与质子相互作用下Ａ０（Σ０）及Ｋ０的产生．物理学报，１９６１，１７（２）：６１；ЖэТФ，１９６１，４０：４６４．
- 王淦昌，王祝翔．能量在１０ＧｅＶ以下的π－Ｎ，ｐ－Ｎ和ｐ－Ｎ相互作用．物理学报，１９６１，１７：５２０．
- H. г. Бирзер, Ван Ган-чан, Ван Цу-чен, динда-цао идр. Неупругие взаимодействия π− Мезонов с импульсом 6.8 GeV ／ｃ снуклонамц. ЖЭТФ, 1961,41 (5): 1461.
- 丁大钊，王祝翔，王淦昌．奇异粒子的强相互作用．物理学报，１９６２，１８：３３４．
- 王淦昌．利用高功率激光驱动核聚变反应．（内部报告）１９６４．
- 王淦昌．国际上惯性约束核聚变情况简介和对我国在这方面工作的意见．（惯性约束核聚变讨论会文集）１９８２．９．
- Wang Naiyan, Wang Ganchang. An 80-GW relativistic electron beam accelerator. Proceedings of the fifth International Conference on High-Power Particle Beams, USA, 1983.
- 王淦昌，诸旭辉，王乃彦，谢京刚，李鹰山，周昌淮，王璞．６焦耳ＫｒＦ激光的产生．核科学与工程，１９８５，５（１）：１．
- 王淦昌，诸旭辉，王乃彦，谢京刚，李鹰山，周昌淮，王璞．１２．５焦耳电子束泵浦ＫｒＦ激光器．应用激光，１９８６，６（２）：４９．
- 王淦昌等．王淦昌论文选集．北京：科学出版社，１９８７．
- 徐宜志，王淦昌．闪光－１强流脉冲电子束加速器．原子核物理，１９８７，９（２）：６９．
- N. Wang, G. Wang. 100 Joule level KrF laser pumped by intense electron beam. Proc of the 2nd Int. Workshop on KrF Laser Technology, Alberta, Canada, 1990.