[Surging News] My Scientific Views ｜ Shen Zhiqiang: Doing research is like playing puzzle games. The process is more important than the result

Source of this article: Surging Technology

Author: Shen Zhiqiang / Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Astronomical Terrace

In the vast universe, the time is in the units of millions of years, and the space starts in light years; and the history of human civilization is only thousands of years. In it, we humans are small, but we are fortunate. Why is the universe so big? What is outside the universe? There is a starting point in the universe. What is it before the starting point? Finding answers is not the first to be tight, and enjoying the process is more important than pursuing results.

Shen Zhiqiang, the head of Shanghai Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

01

When I was young, I liked the starry sky inexplicably. Now I want to come, it should be curious. Many speculation about the heavens, the universe, and even the ultimate problem often have no answers and right or wrong, but because of this, it prompts me to persevere to imagine where the answer is hidden, and led me to constantly find clues.

With some kind of vision, in 1982, he came to Nanjing from Shanghai and studied in the Astronomical Department of Nanjing University. The four years of undergraduate studies are mainly the foundation. At that time, we took the basic courses of physics with the department of physics and took the basic mathematics course with the students of the Department of Mathematics. These were very helpful for later we astronomical research. Of course, we also have to learn astronomical knowledge. The life is fast and fulfilling. In the blink of an eye, I will get a graduate student from Peking University in advance, giving me more time to think.

In the last year of college, it coincided with an astronomical phenomenon, that is, the return of Harley's comets every 76 years. That time in my country observed the best point of Observation of Halley's comet at the southern end of Hainan Island. Most of the previous studies are the formulas of book knowledge derivation. Now that you have the opportunity to observe yourself, it is a rare experience, and it is a place to go to the horizon. It is really exciting. Another classmate and I selected the observation of Harley's observation and studied the graduation thesis work. To this end, we first spent many nights of hard work and hard work in the observation building of the Observation Building of the Astronomical Courtyard. Soon after the Spring Festival, we went south to Sanya, Hainan. We set up and debug on the mountain with the telescope ourselves, staying there for more than two months. Most of the observations of Comet Harley are in the middle of the night. We take turns to observe. After completing the observations, they were immediately put into the rinse of the photos on the same day until the early morning, and we all looked forward to taking clearer comet photos tomorrow night. Comet, I feel lucky. The trigger point made me realize that astronomy was inseparable from observation.

In 1986, Shen Zhiqiang observed Comet Harley in Sanya, Hainan, and personally washed the photos taken by observations. It can be seen in the picture of the Comet of Harley Berbn.

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Scientific development is often looking for a model or a set of theories to describe the observed things itself and make predictions. The principle of Okham Razor believes that if multiple theories can explain a phenomenon at the same time, then we prefer the minimum assumptions and the simplest one. Sometimes imagination, modern science may have taken a detour since Newton. Perhaps the world has another more concise and elegant description method, but we have not found it yet. Just as before the principle of light speed is unchanged, scientists are constantly sewing the classic theory in order to explain the results of the McSlon Moray experiment, but the theory of light constant explains the results of all observations in a minimalist. It is independent, and the concept of time and space for hundreds of years at that time was innovated. Therefore, the only truth is determined by modern science. Whenever a new theory can explain the results of the observations at all levels at the same time as the logic. There are a lot of unknown existence. The development of science is usually a method of exclusion. We can falsify, but cannot prove that the current theory is an objective optimal solution.

Hubble telescope mirror in Shen Zhiqiang's office

In this process, academic competition is also very important, and scientific research is not right to people. In the nearly seven years of my first article about the Black Cave Papers of the Milky Way Center in 1998, we and another international research team have always been a cooperative and competitive relationship. Don't give up. When we obtain valuable observation time with excellent observation application, and successfully completed the preliminary results, they raised a lot of tricks, but it was also these issues that prompted me to carefully investigate and verify.

The discovery of the densely transmitted power supply of the densely transmitted power supply of the black hole in the center of the galaxy was in 1974, and it was just 30 years in 2004. I was invited to commemorate the 30th anniversary seminar to commemorate the 30th anniversary. A senior scientist from the opponent came to tell me that he believed our results and made me feel so relieved. It is easy to follow the trend, and it is best to do it, and it is often questioned the most. Sometimes I feel that domestic academic discussions lack more questions. In fact, there is no authority in science. Scientific research is a process of seeking truth. It requires a benign competition. It pushes us to keep going, but it may never find the day when the ultimate answer may not be found. Scientific research is reasonable. Putting the facts always can always communicate with everyone. We must be brave to face various competition challenges. The true facts will only be more and more clear, and eventually win everyone's respect.

03

In 1993, I went to the Harvard Smithson Astronomy Center for doctoral work. In 1996, I returned to the Shanghai Observatory to receive a doctorate degree. Then I started post-doctoral research. It is the intellectual game competition project of a scientist, and has received the guidance and help of many seniors on the road of science. In those years, the immersive running forward, simple and pure. At that time, a deep impression was that these mentors paid special attention to what you should do. It's like when you face a sea, you can't jump blindly when you don't know which direction to go. You must think about the direction and do the most important job. After determining a direction in specific research, the research purpose or long -term direction of research is set. At the beginning, I discussed with the cooperative mentor in two directions. One was about the black hole in the center of the Milky Way, and the other was formed by the star. In science, I was almost blank in science. I hurriedly spent my efforts to read the literature. Later, I chose to study the high -resolution observation of the black hole in the center of the Milky Way. From 1997 to the present, it has been 25 years. I think I have done a lot of things, but this is a major job I am still working on. There are many scientific research directions in front of us. You have to learn to do those most worthwhile. Because a person's life is limited and it is impossible to do everything, the grasp of the direction is important. After determining the direction, you must work hard and work hard. Thinking of what others have never thought of or do what others do not do, you can seize the opportunity.

On May 12, 2022, the Incident Vision Telescope (EHT) Cooperation Organization officially released the first photo of the Black Hole Masa A*(SGR A*) in the center of the Milky Way. It is the first direct visual evidence of this black hole. People's Visual Information Map

Doing science cannot be utilitarian. I will say with my students for the first time. If you are holding the idea of ​​getting rich and getting rich to make astronomy, that is to enter the wrong line. Why is the universe so big? What is outside the universe? There is a starting point in the universe. What is it before the starting point? In the vast universe, the time is in the units of millions of years, and the space starts in light years; and the history of human civilization is only thousands of years. In it, we humans are small, but we are fortunate. No scientific research results can be made simply. In a certain level, finding the answer is not the first, and the enjoyment process is more important than the pursuit of results. Doing research is like playing puzzle games. The last piece may be found by others and made great achievements, but the work of the predecessors cannot be wiped out. My research requires me to look at the universe often, which helps me to get rid of impetuousness and return to the true self, cut off the utilitarian mind, and always keep curiosity and imagination, and I can defeat all other temptations. There is great beauty in the depths of the universe, and unknown contains everything that may need to be discovered and explored urgently.

Author Shen Zhiqiang, currently the head of the Shanghai Academy of Sciences Shanghai

Mainly engaged in the long baseline interference measurement technology in radio astronomy and its application research in celestial physics. He has long been committed to research on high -resolution observation of black holes. A leader's international cooperation group "found the latest evidence of the Galaxy Center Renmaza A*is the latest evidence of oversized quality black holes." Leading the organization and coordinating domestic scholars participating in the first black hole photo, the events of the events of the Telescope International Cooperation, as a member of the cooperative member, won the 2020 Basic Physics Breakthrough Award.

Editor in charge: Zhang Jing

Image editor: Hu Mengyi

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