Yu Min

Yu Min

Yu Min (August 16, 1926 - January 16, 2019), born in Lutai Town, Ninghe County, Hebei Province (now Ninghe District, Tianjin city), is a nuclear physicist and winner of the highest national science and technology award.

He graduated from Physics Department of Peking University in 1949. In 1980, he was elected member of the academic department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Former vice president, researcher and senior scientific consultant of China Academy of Engineering Physics.

A series of basic problems have been solved in the breakthrough of China's hydrogen bomb principle, and the assumption from principle to configuration has been put forward, which plays a key role. Since then, he has led the theoretical research and design of nuclear weapons for a long time and solved a large number of theoretical problems. It has made an important contribution to the further development of China's nuclear weapons to the international advanced level. Since the 1970s, it has played an important role in advocating and promoting the research of some high-tech projects. In 1982, he won the first prize of National Natural Science Award. In 1985, 1987 and 1989, he won the special prize of national science and Technology Progress Award three times. In 1994, he won the outstanding scientist award of the foundation. In 1999, he was awarded the medal of "two bombs and one satellite" by the state. In 1985, he won the May 1st Labor Medal. In 1987, he won the title of "national labor model". In 2015, it won the highest national science and Technology Award in 2014. On December 18, 2018, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council awarded Comrade Yu Min the title of reform pioneer, the reform pioneer medal, and the "important promoter of the reform and development of national defense science and technology". On January 16, 2019, Yu Min died in Beijing at the age of 93. In September 17th of the same year, President Xi Jinping signed the presidential decree and awarded Yu Min the "Medal of the Republic".

Life of the characters

Yu Min was born on August 16, 1926 in Lutai Town, Ninghe County, Hebei Province. His father was a small employee in Tianjin at that time, and his mother was born in an ordinary family. At the age of 7, Yu Min began to attend primary school in Lutai Town, and middle school successively studied in Tianjin Muzhai middle school and Yaohua middle school.

In 1944, Yu Min was admitted to the Institute of technology of Peking University. In 1946, he transferred to the Institute of science to study physics, and set his professional direction as theoretical physics. In 1949, Yu Min graduated from the University of Peking and became a graduate student. Under the guidance of Professor Zhang Zongsui and Hu Ning, Yu Min graduated with excellent grades in 1951. After graduation, he was transferred by Qian Sanqiang and Peng Huanwu to the Institute of modern physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as an assistant researcher and associate researcher. The Institute was established in 1950 with Qian Sanqiang as its director and Wang Ganchang and Peng Huanwu as its deputy directors.

At the end of 1960, under the organization of Qian Sanqiang, a group of young scientists, mainly Yu Min, quietly began to explore the theory of hydrogen bomb technology. This shift from basic research to hydrogen bomb research is a great loss for min. Yu Minsheng liked to do basic research, and he had made great achievements at that time. Nuclear weapons research was not only a heavy task with strong collectivity, but also meant that he had to give up his bright academic future and work in anonymity for many years. From then on, until 1988, Yu Min's name and identity were strictly confidential.

Yu Min has never been abroad, and he is almost the only authoritative physicist who has never studied nuclear weapons. Yu Min almost started from a piece of white paper, relying on his own diligence, drawing inferences from one instance to carry out theoretical exploration. From the atomic bomb to the hydrogen bomb, it took seven years and three months for the Americans, four years and three months for Britain, eight years and six months for France, and four years and three months for the former Soviet Union to test according to the principle of breakthrough. One of the main reasons is the complexity of calculation. At that time, China's equipment was even more incomparable. At that time, there was only one electron tube computer with 10000 times per second, and 95% of the time was allocated to the calculation of the atomic bomb. Only 5% of the time was left for Yu Min's design of the hydrogen bomb. Yu Min has an amazing memory. The working group under his leadership is equipped with a slide rule and forgets to eat and sleep. In the past four years, Yu Min, Huang Zuqia and other scientific and technological personnel have put forward 69 research reports, which have a profound understanding of many basic phenomena and laws of hydrogen bomb.

In 1965, Yu Min was transferred to the Ninth Research Institute of the second Ministry of mechanical engineering. In September, Yu Min led a small team to Shanghai East China Computer Research Institute to calculate a number of models. However, this model is not up to the requirements due to its high weight, low power ratio and low fusion ratio. Yu Min summed up his experience, led the scientific and technological personnel to calculate a number of models, found the key to the self-sustaining combustion of thermonuclear materials, and solved the important topic of the principle scheme of hydrogen bomb. In late October, Yu Min began to engage in theoretical research on nuclear weapons. In the study of the principle of hydrogen bomb, he put forward the idea of basically complete from principle to configuration, and solved a large number of key theoretical problems of thermonuclear weapons. Yu Min made a series of academic reports on the "assumption of hydrogen bomb principle" to all comrades on business in Shanghai, which aroused great interest. It is generally believed that through this stage of work, researchers have seized the time to try out the two models and achieved good results.

After that, Yu Min successively held the posts of deputy director of the theory department, deputy director and director of the theoretical research institute, vice president of the Research Institute, deputy director of the science and Technology Commission of the Institute and senior scientific consultant of the Institute.

Yu Min realized the importance of inertial confinement fusion in national defense and energy. In order to attract everyone's attention, he made a report on "current situation of research on Thermophysics of laser fusion" within a certain scope, and immediately organized and guided the development of nuclear theoretical research in China. At the beginning of 1986, Deng Jiaxian and Yu Min made a profound analysis of the development trend of nuclear weapons science and technology in the world and put forward suggestions to the central government on accelerating nuclear tests. Facts have proved that this proposal has played an important role in the development of China's nuclear weapons. In 1988, Yu Min, together with academicians Wang Ganchang and Wang Daheng, wrote a letter to Deng Xiaoping and other central leaders, proposing to accelerate the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research and include it in China's high-tech development plan, which brought China's ICF research into a new stage.

After that, due to physical reasons, Yu Min gradually withdrew from the research field, resigned as vice president of China Academy of Engineering Physics, and continued to provide valuable advice and suggestions for China's nuclear physics industry as a "consultant".

On the afternoon of February 11, 2015, Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Secretariat, on behalf of general secretary Xi Jinping and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, went to see the winner of the national highest science and Technology Award Yu Min. Yu Min wholeheartedly thanked General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Party Central Committee for their concern and solicitude, highly appraised the party and state's decision making arrangements for promoting scientific and technological innovation, and said they should continue to play a good role in making contributions to building an innovative country.

On December 18, 2018, he was awarded the title of "reform pioneer" at the celebration meeting of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up.

On January 16, 2019, he died in Beijing at the age of 93. At 10 am on January 22, a memorial service for Comrade Yu Min was held at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing.

Main achievements

In the breakthrough of hydrogen bomb principle, a series of basic problems in thermonuclear weapon physics have been solved, and a complete assumption from principle to configuration has been put forward, which plays a key role. After long-term leadership and participation in the theoretical research and design of nuclear weapons, a large number of key theoretical issues have been solved. Since the 1970s, it has played an important role in advocating and promoting the research of some high-tech projects.

Yu Min divides the nuclear theory into three levels: experimental phenomena and laws, phenomenological theory and theoretical basis. We have made remarkable achievements in mean field independent particles.

Character honor

In 1982, he won the first prize of National Natural Science Award;

In 1985, 1987 and 1989, they respectively won a special prize of national science and technology progress award;

In 1985, he won the "May 1st Labor Medal";

In 1987, he won the title of "national labor model";

In 1992, he won the special prize of Guanghua award;

China outstanding scientist award, 1994;

In 1999, he won the medal of "two bombs and one satellite";

In 2015, it won the highest national science and Technology Award in 2014;

On February 27, 2015, Yu Min was moved by China's person of the year in 2014;

In April 2015, Yu Min was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award for influencing Chinese in the world";

On October 13, 2015, Yu Min was awarded the title of national model of dedication and dedication;

In November 2018, 100 outstanding contributors to reform and opening up were selected;

On December 18, 2018, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council awarded Comrade Yu Min the title of reform pioneer, the reform pioneer medal, and the "important promoter of the reform and development of national defense science and technology";

On September 17, 2019, President Xi Jinping signed the presidential decree and awarded Yu Min the "Medal of the Republic".

Character story

Domestic soil expert

In 1957, a Japanese delegation from nuclear physics and field theory, headed by Chao Yongzhen Yilang (later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics), visited China. Young Yu Min attended the reception. Yu Min's talent left a deep impression on the other party. After they returned home, they published an article calling Yu Min China's "No.1 domestic soil expert".

The secret code of Deng Jiaxian

After Yu Min discovered the key to self sustained combustion of thermonuclear materials and solved the important issue of the principle of hydrogen bomb, he immediately made an intriguing call to Deng Jiaxian in Beijing. In order to keep it secret, Yu Min uses a metaphor that only they can understand: implying a breakthrough in the theoretical study of hydrogen bomb. "A few of us went hunting It's a squirrel. " Deng Jiaxian heard the good news: "you

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