China News Service, October 5 (Liu Danyi) On October 5, the 2020 Nobel Prize "Drawing Week" officially kicked off.

The new crown virus pandemic has changed the way the world opens. The Nobel Prize, which has a century-old history, has to cancel the awards dinner, breaking tradition for the first time in more than half a century.

Birth: a will almost invalid

　　"Please turn my property into a fund, and use the interest of this fund as a bonus every year to reward those who have made outstanding contributions to mankind in the previous year." More than 100 years ago, the Swedish chemist Nobel made a will to establish Bell Award.

Data map: The manuscript of Alfred Nobel's will on display at the Nobel Museum in Sweden.

　　Although today, people agree that the Nobel Prize is an authoritative award in science, it was criticized a hundred years ago and almost died.

　　At the beginning of the announcement of Nobel's will, Swedish public opinion was condemned, and Nobel was labelled as "unpatriotic" because he did not donate a huge amount of his estate to Sweden.

　　Fortunately, after the unremitting efforts of the executors of Nobel's will, the King of Sweden finally declared the Nobel's will to take effect in 1898, and the Swedish Parliament later adopted the Nobel Foundation's constitution.

On December 10, 1901, the fifth anniversary of Nobel's death, the first Nobel Prize was awarded.

Growth record: Why are the winners becoming more and more "late bloomers"?

　　From 1901 to the present, the Nobel Prize has a history of nearly 120 years. It has been awarded 597 times. A total of 919 individuals and 24 organizations have won the Nobel Prize and 54 times have been awarded to women.

Data map: At noon on October 9, 2019, local time, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino in recognition of their work in the development of lithium batteries Contributions made.

　　Among them, the oldest winner is one of the 2019 Chemistry Prize winners-Gudinaf, an American scientist known as the "father of lithium batteries," when he was 97 years old.

Faced with this "late" glory, Gudinaf said: "You can do anything when you live to 97. I am honored and flattered to win the Nobel Prize."

　　From the 1950s to the present, there has been an interesting trend in the field of traditional natural sciences-Nobel Prize winners are getting older and older.

　　In this regard, Gustav Karlstrand, the senior director of the Nobel Museum, once explained that a hundred years ago, there were only about 1,000 physicists in the world, but today, this number has risen to about one million.

　　Scientists may make major discoveries when they are young.

However, there are thousands of scientists with outstanding achievements, and the Nobel Prize Committee is increasingly demanding the reliability of scientific results, so it may take many years to win a prize.

Family history: Why can't the "huge" bonus be paid out?

　　Initially, Nobel’s legacy was only 31 million Swedish kronor.

Since 1901, the total amount of bonuses awarded by the Nobel Prize has far exceeded this figure, but there is still money to be distributed, thanks to investment and financial management.

Data map: In October 2018, Canadian scientist Donald Strickland, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, showed the laboratory to the media.

　　The Nobel Foundation's money has been invested in government bonds, real estate and stock markets.

However, financial management cannot always be smooth sailing.

In 2011, due to the sluggish global stock market, the Nobel Foundation lost more than 19 million Swedish krona in its stock investment.

　　In 2020, the value of each Nobel Prize is 10 million Swedish kronor, an increase of 1 million Swedish kronor over 2019.

　　After receiving the "huge" bonus, many winners spent their money on follow-up scientific research, and others donated their bonuses.

　　Of course, some scientists have chosen to "buy, buy, buy."

After winning the award, British cell biologist Paul Nas decided to buy a high-end motorcycle.

Economist Franco Modigliani used part of the bonus to upgrade his sailboat.

Philip Sharp, one of the winners of the Medicine Prize in 1993, bought a century-old house. He bluntly said that the bonus is really a beautiful part of the Nobel Prize.

Social circle: Do not go back and forth under the epidemic

　　Every December, Nobel Prize winners gather in Stockholm. Not only can they receive certificates, medals and bonus checks personally issued by the King of Sweden at the award ceremony, they can also participate in dinners with members of the Swedish royal family and celebrities. It is one of the most attractive social events in the world.

　　After enjoying a feast of Swedish cuisine, guests can also participate in a dance party held in the Golden Hall.

Akira Yoshino, one of the winners of the 2019 Chemistry Prize, said after attending the dinner, "I finally have the true feeling of winning."

Data map: Stockholm City Hall where the Nobel dinner was held.

　　However, the 2020 winners, I am afraid it is difficult to express the same sigh.

　　Affected by the new crown epidemic, the Nobel Prize banquet will be cancelled for the first time since 1956.

Previously, due to the two world wars and other reasons, the dinner had also been cancelled.

　　The traditional Nobel Prize award ceremony will no longer be held in December 2020. The award ceremonies held in Stockholm and Oslo will be broadcast live on TV stations and the Nobel Prize official website, and the number of live audiences will be reduced.

The winners will be awarded the Nobel Medal and certificate at the Swedish embassy in the relevant country or the university where they are engaged in research.

Sad thing: someone ran 155 times and ended up empty

　　Compared with not being able to receive the prize on the spot, some scientists regret that they have been missing the Nobel Prize. Although they have been "accompanied by running" for many years, they still have not been able to collect it.

Data map: On December 10, 2016, local time, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (front right) presented the prize to one of the Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry, Jean-Pierre Sovages (front left) .

　　As the founder of the school of psychoanalysis, Austrian psychologist Freud has been nominated for 33 Nobel Prizes, 32 of which are Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine.

In 1936, the famous French writer Roman Roland also nominated Freud as the Nobel Prize in Literature.

　　Roland wrote in the nomination letter: "I know that at first glance, psychoanalysts are more suitable for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, but his (Freud) great works have deeply influenced literature in the past 30 years. World."

　　Although Freud "regrets" for not winning the Nobel Prize in his life, he is not the most "injured" compared with French biologist Gaston Raymond.

　　Between 1930 and 1953, Raymond was nominated for 155 Nobel Prizes.

He developed a vaccine to prevent diphtheria in the 1920s, when diphtheria was the main cause of death.

　　According to the rules of the Nobel Prize Foundation, the information of the nominator and nominee will be kept strictly confidential for 50 years.

In recent years, although the list of nominations has not been announced, gaming institutions still list some popular candidates, including the well-known Japanese writer Haruki Murakami.

　　In the face of rising voices and expectations from the outside world, Haruki Murakami said frankly: "It is the work that will last forever, not the award."

The 2020 Nobel Prize will be announced from October 5th to October 12th.

Image source: Screenshot of the official website of the Nobel Prize

Timeline: Who will win the 2020 awards?

　　On September 23, the list of "Citation Laureates", known as the "Nobel Vane", was announced. 24 scientific research elites were selected, including Chinese scholars and Professor Dai Hongjie of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University.

　　The "Drawing Week" is about to begin, let's take a look at the announcement dates of the 2020 Nobel Prize awards (all Beijing time):

　　Physiology or Medicine Award: no earlier than 17:30 on October 5;

　　Physics Prize: no earlier than 17:45 on October 6;

　　Chemistry Prize: no earlier than 17:45 on October 7;

　　Literature Award: no earlier than 19:00 on October 8;

　　Peace Prize: no earlier than 17:00 on October 9th;

　　Economics Prize: no earlier than 17:45 on October 12