Chapter 364: Take time to look at the stars
in real life.
Speaking of the seven words "School of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China".
The keywords classical physics, quantum physics, Academician Pan, and Lu Chaoyang may come to most people's minds.
But few people know.
The School of Physics of USTC covers a wide range of areas, and even includes a very, very unpopular department.
Currently, the School of Physics at HKUST has five departments divided according to teaching and research functions.
The first place on the list is naturally the Department of Physics.
The Department of Physics is divided into three directions:
Condensed matter physics,
Biophysics,
Microelectronics.
Next is the Department of Modern Physics, which has five directions:
Theoretical Physics,
Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics,
Atomic and molecular physics,
Physical Electronics,
Spin Physics.
Among them, the accelerator Zhao Zhengguo is responsible for belongs to particle physics and nuclear physics, which is also the department Xu Yun joined after changing his major in his previous life.
Then there are the Department of Optics and Optical Engineering, and the Department of Engineering and Applied Physics.
In addition to the above four departments.
There is another department at HKUST, which is.
Department of Astronomy.
This is actually a relatively unpopular major.
Before 1998.
For a long time, only three schools in China, Nanjing University, Peking University, and Beijing Normal University, offered astronomy subjects.
In 1998.
HKUST officially established the Department of Astronomy and Applied Physics, becoming the fourth college in China to have an astronomy department.
But even so, there are only 20 to 30 students in the Astronomy Department of HKUST every year.
There are about 20 teachers.
Xu Yun once heard a complaint from an unlucky guy who accidentally entered the astronomy department. Every time there was an event in the astronomy department, there was almost always a teacher sitting across from him. It looked like a blind date.
Of course.
There are also advantages to this ratio of people.
That is, when you do undergraduate scientific research, you will also be personally guided by a mentor, and undergraduates can apply for funding.
The undergraduate funding of the Astronomy Department of HKUST is generally 20,000 RMB, with a one-year cycle, which supports various consumables, books, travel, etc.
There is also a more unpopular knowledge.
That is, HKUST not only has an astronomy department, but also an observatory.
This observatory is the Key Laboratory of Galaxy Cosmology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences located at the headquarters of USTC. The name is a bit difficult to pronounce.
In October 2005.
The Modu Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology of China established the "Joint Laboratory of Galaxy and Cosmology".
December 2008.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences officially approved the establishment of the Key Laboratory of Galaxy Cosmology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The key laboratories are divided into the Modu Observatory Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology Department, which are respectively in charge of the Astrophysics Laboratory of the Modu Observatory and the Astronomy Department of the School of Physics of the University of Science and Technology.
On the HKUST campus.
The astronomy department and observatory of HKUST are so unpopular that even many HKUST students don’t know that there is such a major and laboratory in their own school.
Even during certain strict periods.
A student from the astronomy department showed his student card and wanted to enter the school, but was suspected to be a forged student card. The security guard swore that our school did not have an astronomy department
But just for today.
The originally deserted Galaxy Cosmology Laboratory rarely welcomed a group of new guests who were probing their heads.
In the southern part of the Eastern District of the University of Science and Technology, inside a building that looks very low-key on the outside.
"Wow, this is our school's galaxy cosmology laboratory?"
Look at the silver-white smooth walls around you and the glass curtain wall above your head that simulates the starry sky.
A very delicate-looking girl with a single ponytail couldn't help but exclaimed:
"It's so beautiful. This is the first time I know that our University of Science and Technology has such a laboratory."
"."
When a young man with long artistic hair standing next to the girl heard this, the muscles on his face couldn't help but twitch slightly:
"Actually, this classmate, during the Super Blue Moon in 2018, our laboratory was also open to the public. More than a thousand people came at that time"
Looking at this young man who was trying to emphasize the presence of the astronomy department, Xu Yun on the other side couldn't help but patted his shoulder:
"Old Zhang, give up. Your astronomy department is a little transparent from top to bottom. It's hopeless."
Convex.
The long-haired artistic young man, which went against his own style, raised two middle fingers towards Xu Yun and uttered a cordial greeting:
"Xu Yun, your uncle!"
Xu Yun suddenly burst out laughing.
This young man who looks very artistic is called Zhang Heguang. He is the same age as Xu Yun and is currently studying for a Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Science and Technology of China.
Well, I am 24 years old and a graduate student.
He and Xu Yun were both classmates in the junior class of HKUST. They lived in the same dormitory at first, and Xu Yun was often tortured by his snoring.
It’s just that Zhang Heguang initially studied theoretical physics, and later switched to astrophysics.
From the time they entered school until now, the two of them have known each other for several years, and their relationship has always been pretty good.
However, due to his professional orientation, Xu Yun never found an opportunity to call Zhang Heguang for help after the company was established.
Not long ago.
After noticing that the atmosphere among the group members was a bit sluggish, Xu Yun contacted Zhang Heguang, hoping to come to the Galaxy Cosmology Laboratory to see the stars.
Zhang Heguang naturally welcomed this with a raised hand.
"Everyone should be able to notice that although the wall on our floor is very smooth, its surface has undulations."
In the laboratory, Zhang Heguang led the way and acted as a tour guide:
"This is actually a tube-shaped structure that curves from bottom to top to express the concept of space-time curvature in Einstein's general theory of relativity."
"As for the spherical glass wall on the other side, it refers to the smooth transition of the three-dimensional spatial surface. The visual effect is still very impactful."
Then Zhang Heguang stopped and pointed forward:
"And here's the thing. Look."
Everyone looked along Zhang Heguang's direction.
I only see this moment.
There was a disc on the ground not far away from them, and a small iron ball was swinging slowly on the disc.
This device is no stranger to physics researchers like Xu Yun. It is the famous Foucault pendulum.
This is a very primitive device that can verify the rotation of the earth.
Whether it is in conventional physics or astrophysics that ordinary people understand, it has a very special status.
Of course.
In reality, the Foucault Pendulum cannot truly swing on its own due to air resistance - for example, the Foucault Pendulum in the Yanjing Science and Technology Museum requires staff to manually start it three times a day.
Then quickly.
Zhang Heguang led everyone to the second floor again.
The painting style on the second floor of the laboratory is still all silver-white walls, giving people a quiet, clean, and high-tech feeling.
However, what is different from the layout on the first floor is that the ceiling in the center of the second floor is no longer covered with glass curtains, but instead hangs a huge gray hemisphere.
Looking from a distance, it seems as if it has collapsed from a higher level.
Xu Yun didn’t know Zhang Heguang in his previous life, so this was actually his first time visiting the Galaxy Cosmology Laboratory, so he couldn’t help but ask:
"Old Zhang, what is that ball?"
"Oh, you said that hemisphere."
Zhang Heguang pointed towards a corner, where several special-looking sofas were placed:
"It's called the Dynamic Luminous Earth, which is currently being assembled. It can simulate the entire Earth, that is, the real-time starry sky everywhere, with high precision."
"After it is put into use, just lie down on those lazy sofas, then select the area you want to see, and you can watch the stars just like lying on the prairie."
Xu Yun nodded thoughtfully.
This is quite an interesting device. Basically, you can look wherever you want?
This mode is somewhat similar to off-site live broadcasting on the Internet, that is, a camera is used as a camera in a certain place to turn on a soft BGM, and broadcast real-time traffic conditions, pedestrians or some outdoor scenery to other viewers who cannot come.
However, the audience for this kind of equipment obviously cannot be people like Zhang Heguang who can look at the stars every day. In other words, the Galaxy Cosmology Laboratory seems to be ready to open to the outside world?
Then Zhang Heguang took everyone to visit some other modules and finally arrived
Outside an observation deck.
The base of the observatory is a very standard circle with a diameter of about five or six meters and a height of about half a meter. It is divided into several steps for people to walk on.
There is an astronomical telescope placed in the center of the base, with a diameter of about 400 mm.
"Actually, due to light pollution in Luzhou, the urban area is not suitable for observation points."
Next to the observation deck.
Zhang Heguang duangduangduang patted the handrail and explained to everyone:
"The most suitable stargazing spots in Luzhou are Dashu Mountain and Zipeng Mountain, where you can see many beautiful and peculiar stars."
"But the conditions tonight are good. Everyone came here mainly to relax, so I discussed with Lao Xu to observe directly on campus."
"Our laboratory has a total of a 430mm main astronomical telescope, a 60mm wave telescope, and other equipment that can be disassembled and moved."
"This telescope is almost ready. Who wants to try it first?"
"Me me me!"
Zhang Han quickly raised his hand. This female doctor has a very lively personality, and she has a bit of a social cow attitude after getting to know everyone:
"Dr. Zhang, where is the Leo? I am a standard Leo."
Zhang Heguang smiled and nodded:
"Leo, right? No problem!"
For someone like him who has been bored at the observatory for a long time, the more lively the guests are, the better - as long as they don't make trouble unreasonably.
Then he stepped forward to adjust the telescope data familiarly, and after a few minutes he clapped his hands neatly:
"Okay, the brightest star is Regulus, the main star of Leo."
Zhang Han hurried to the side of the telescope, pushed back his long hair that had been blocking his sight, lowered his head and started looking.
A few seconds passed.
Zhang Han's voice suddenly rose a little higher, but his eyes didn't want to leave the telescope at all:
"I saw it, it's so beautiful, Xiaoye, come quickly!"
Upon seeing this, a group of people gathered around them, and various voices chirped:
"Let me be healthy!"
"Can Namek be seen?"
“It’s so beautiful”
"Dr. Zhang, please turn this knob first, right? Oh, I understand. By the way, does the image of the astronomical telescope look forward or backward?"
After a few minutes.
After teaching everyone the general steps, Zhang Heguang quietly withdrew from the crowd and handed the scene over to Zhang Han and others.
Then he came straight to Xu Yun, smiled and hit Xu Yun on the shoulder:
"Okay, Lao Xu, I haven't seen you for a while. Now that I'm a big boss, I'm leading a project team. When can I win a Nobel Prize to open my eyes?"
"Get out!"
Xu Yun gave the guy a kind finger in return, and then moved his chin towards the astronomical telescope:
"Speaking of which, Lao Zhang, if you don't watch them there, aren't you afraid that they will damage the telescope?"
Zhang Heguang sneered, with a 'you're too young' expression on his face:
"Old Xu, you don't understand."
"This thing was designed with the possibility of man-made sabotage in mind. All key parts are as hard as tank armor - well, the finderscope mirror, you can't break it even if you hit it with a hammer, okay? ”
"With the people you have brought, even if you let them get started, they can at most tear off the seat leather a little bit."
Xu Yun was stunned for a moment. After coming back to his senses, he felt as if
Is this really true?
Adding protective measures to public instruments is also a technology, or a measure, that has begun to become popular in recent years.
For example, many places in China now have science and technology museums, whose main function is to provide young people with science and technology knowledge.
In order to prevent some naughty kids in the target group from causing trouble, some equipment will use a lot of pretty solid protective measures.
For example, the astronomical telescope at the Magic City Science and Technology Museum is made of tank armor and bulletproof glass, and is tens of thousands per square meter.
But what’s more outrageous is not this, but the fact that a naughty kid actually used a fire extinguisher to smash the glass
Then Xu Yun glanced at the people gathered around the telescope, and an inexplicable light flashed in his eyes.
He coughed lightly and said to Zhang Heguang seemingly casually:
"Old Zhang, what have you been doing recently?" (End of Chapter)