Face-to-face 丨 "No story here, no love" "Science is something simple" Personal experience recalls the tumultuous years of China's nuclear weapons exploration
Sixty years ago, New China was in a difficult period of three years, and it was also facing nuclear blackmail and nuclear monopoly by Western powers. Despite all the difficulties, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, a group of scientists who are aspiring to serve the country "for the motherland's nuclear undertakings, "shock the earth and earth and act as an incognito!"
"Face-to-face" interviewed three scientists involved in the development of nuclear weapons-Hu Side, Li Deyuan and Li Weixin from the Ninth Institute of the Second Ministry of the Second Machine.
The three old experts are all in their old age, but when they joined this career, they were all young people who had just graduated from college.
1 The word "nuclear weapon" is followed by the secret "can't talk to anyone"
In July 1958, in a sorghum field in the western suburbs of Beijing, construction began on a brand-new office building. This office building called "Garden Road No. 3" was built for an institution called "Beijing Jiusuo". A secret and great cause is about to start here.
In August of that year, 22-year-old Hu Side graduated from Shanghai Fudan University and was assigned to nine institutes. On the day of the report at Lai Jiu, he met Deng Jiaxian, 33, the director of the first room of the Ninth Research Institute.
Hu Side: We had called him Mr. Deng, but he disagreed. He said you can't call me Mr. Deng, and he is unwilling to call Director Deng, what should I do? He said you just call me Old Deng.
Young Lao Deng arranged for young college students to study a "scarce" Russian document, "Supersonic Flow and Shock Wave" brought back from the Soviet Union by Qian Sanqiang. Hu Side recalled that learning is serious, but learning to learn and why to learn has become a big problem. A month later, he "doldenly" proposed to Deng Jiaxian, "Can we hold a party group meeting and tell us what we are doing?"
Hu Side: After asking for leadership, he first held a party group meeting and then a full group meeting, telling us: we want to engage in nuclear weapons. After talking about the three words "nuclear weapons", there were a lot of words that could not tell anyone what we were doing for at least two or thirty minutes.
In 1957, the Chinese government and the Soviet Union signed the "China-Soviet National Defense New Technology Agreement". According to the agreement, the Soviet Union will assist China in the development of the atomic bomb and provide China with an atomic bomb teaching model and drawings.
The mission of the Nine Institute is to digest these materials.
But in June 1959, the Soviet Union sent a letter to China stating that it would not provide China with an atomic bomb teaching model and drawings.
How to continue the development work of the Chinese atomic bomb just started?
2 No love story, even if you are hungry and swollen
In 1960, the Soviet government tore up all agreements and contracts signed with China, and Soviet experts withdrew from China with important drawings and documents. There is a pessimistic statement: China will not be able to produce an atomic bomb in 20 years.
The food shortage caused by three years of natural disasters has affected the whole country, but even in the nine buildings, even if they were hungry and swollen, the crackling of the abacus and the hand-cranked computer never stopped. Under the leadership of Deng Jiaxian, young scientific researchers carried out "nine calculations" nervously.
Hu Side: Several of our comrades had puffiness, and we still envy him, because puffiness can make big pills, and after eating, we are full. At that time, our party branch secretary had a task. At ten o'clock in the evening, we must come to the office to take a look. We drove the puffy comrades back, but many puffy comrades turned around. The secretary returned voluntarily and voluntarily. No one wants to force you to do this.
Reporter: The United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union, what do they use to calculate it?
Li Weixin: The United States developed the first computer in human history to develop an atomic bomb. Our country really had the first computer in 1963, which we also used exclusively, but the computer we used was hundreds of times worse than the US computer's calculation speed of one million times per second. In order to ensure accuracy, it is necessary to rely on precise calculation and repeated inspection.
At that time, Li Weixin, 24, and Li Deyuan, 28, were international students who had just returned from the Soviet Union in 1960.
Li Deyuan: The results of the nine calculations are not in line with the Soviet Union, and Mr. Peng Huanwu insisted that this is not enough and cannot be carried forward.
Reporter: Do you feel so bitter, not monotonous, dull or not boring?
Li Deyuan: Very monotonous, but with ambitious goals in mind. Many reporters and many writers want to write our stories, come to me, I will say that you do not write, there is no story, no love, it is very boring.
3 The overthrow of Soviet data "Nine Calculations" lays a theoretical foundation for nuclear weapons research
The so-called "nine times calculation" is to use the characteristic line method to solve the hydrodynamic equations and simulate the whole process of the movement of the material from the detonation to the target. If the calculation results are close to the data provided in Soviet data, it means that Nine has mastered the working principle of the atomic bomb. Only then can the theoretical design of the atomic bomb begin.
However, the nine calculations lasted nearly a year, and the results were very close, but one of the important data did not meet the technical indicators mentioned by the Soviet experts during the lecture.
In 1961, Zhou Guangzhao joined the nine institutes.
Hu Side: He repeated our data from beginning to end and thought it was right, so he raised a doubt at that time, would the Soviet expert's number be wrong?
Reporter: What do you young people think of his suspicion?
Hu Side: This is a very bold suspicion, we have to listen to his explanation later. It is not easy for someone who has never done an atomic bomb to deny the data given by an atomic bomb expert?
Starting from the utilization rate of explosive energy, the maximum work done by the explosive was calculated. Zhou Guangzhao used the principle of maximum work to prove the correctness of the results of nine calculations and the impossibility of Soviet data.
The nine calculations lasted for nearly a year, and were repeatedly sharpened and accumulated thickly, which laid a solid theoretical foundation for the success of the atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb.
4 Lop Nor lifted up the researchers at the Mushroom Cloud Office but dared not cheer
After the nine calculations, the development of the atomic bomb was accelerated. In early 1963, China's first atomic bomb theoretical design plan was born as planned. Deng Jiaxian solemnly signed his name on this historic document.
On October 16, 1964, Lop Nor made a loud noise, the fireball rose, the shock wave rolled up the thick pillars of dust from the ground, and the rolling mushroom smoke cloud was rising on the Gobi Beach. According to the data collected on site, the explosive power initially estimated that the TNT equivalent was above 20,000 tons, and the scientists confirmed that this was a successful nuclear explosion.
That day, Hu Side was in the Qinghai nuclear weapons production base, and Li Deyuan and Li Weixin were still in the nine offices of Beijing.
Li Weixin: Everyone didn't speak that day, waiting quietly in the office. Zhou Guangzhao walked in calmly, everyone looked at him, Zhou Guangzhao reported to everyone: our experiment was a complete success, wow! Everyone applauded and dared not cheer.
Reporter: Why not dare to cheer?
Li Weixin: Because our meeting room is too close to the surrounding wall, we are afraid that our voice will be heard outside.
Reporter: It is said that people probably don’t know what you are doing.
Li Weixin: At that time, it was really confidential, I was really nervous, and did not dare to cheer. Everyone applauded warmly, then shook hands with each other, that mood.
5 What is the secret of China's nuclear weapons breakthrough? "Family Feelings and Scientific Spirit"
On June 17, 1967, China's first hydrogen bomb exploded successfully. After the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, China became the fourth country to master the principles and manufacturing technology of hydrogen bombs.
Why did the Chinese achieve the breakthrough from atomic bomb to hydrogen bomb in just over two years? For many years, people have been looking for answers to this question. Family feelings are the first answer given by the nine people.
Hu Side: These old scientists came from the old society and felt for themselves that if the country is weak, they will be bullied by imperialism. This breath is hard to swallow, so whenever they have the opportunity to serve the country, they all have to come back, "I would like to make a promise to the country", just these six words.
Sixty years have passed, and the young people of those years have become elders. They still miss the scientific spirit in the process of nuclear weapons development, and they only ask science but not human discussion. This is the most cherished working atmosphere for scientists.
Reporter: What is the spirit of science ?
Li Deyuan: Seeking truth from facts, one is one, two is two, right is right, wrong is wrong.
Reporter: In our opinion this is very simple.
Li Deyuan: Very simple.
Reporter: Why did you learn the most simple thing from such a brilliant scientist?
Li Deyuan: Science is a simple thing. A lot of scientific knowledge is a top-level thing. The real foundation is scientific attitude. What one person really uses for a lifetime is scientific attitude.
6 Deng Jiaxian’s last job sitting on a tire buys time for China’s thermonuclear test
In 1986, Deng Jiaxian, who had undergone several major operations for late stage of rectal cancer, had to stay in the ward. His insight into the development trend of nuclear weapons in the world made him and Yu Min realize that in order to maintain their nuclear superiority, the United States is likely to accelerate the process of nuclear disarmament negotiations and comprehensively ban nuclear tests. If the thermonuclear test that our country should do at that time has not yet been done, and the data obtained has not yet been obtained, the previous accumulation may fall short of success.
Hu Side: Deng Jiaxian and Yu Min discuss what American level is now? What is the level of the Soviet Union? Later, if we did not conduct nuclear tests, the loss to the United States and the Soviet Union would be small, but our China is just in the climbing stage. If this slope does not climb up, it will fall. Deng Jia was very anxious.
China needs to gain time before accelerating the nuclear ban, speed up thermonuclear tests, and win opportunities for the future.
Hu Side : Finally, Comrade Yu Min first drafted the report. I was the deputy director at that time and was responsible for sending this report to the 301 Hospital for Lao Deng to revise. At that time, Deng Jiaxian couldn't make a stool because of rectal cancer, so he could only sit on the tire. Others are already very weak, sweating and sitting there to modify. After the revision, I will bring it back to Comrade Yu Min for discussion.
After the report written by Min and Deng Jiaxian was completed, it was sent to the central government. Soon after the report was completed, on July 29, 1986, Deng Jiaxian passed away. A few days later, the overseas version of the People’s Daily published an article, "The Party and State Leaders of the Two Bombs of Deng Jiaxian, who died in China, deeply mourn." After 28 years of being incognito, the world finally got a glimpse of Deng Jiaxian's report on the hardship of China's nuclear weapons development.
After Deng Jia first left, Hu Side went from deputy director to vice president and dean, in charge of nuclear tests. He carried out the last few tasks to speed up nuclear tests. In the breakthroughs again and again, the former generation of small characters has become an old man. Three quarters of their lives were delivered to nine institutes, which was the golden years of their lives.
Today, Hu Side is 84 years old and Li Weixin is 84 years old.
Shortly after accepting our interview, Li Deyuan passed away due to ineffective medical treatment at the age of 88.
Li Deyuan: I participated in the development of nuclear weapons in China, which is the value of my life. I am very proud to participate in such a great cause. I said in a daunting way, I have contributed to the country, and I can live a good life.