Dawan NewsAntarctica, the isolated, cold and harsh continent of ice and snow, is full of mysteries to be explored. Zhang Shaohua, a young astrophysicist from the University of Science and Technology of China, wrote 32 letters to his twin daughters on a scientific expedition to the other side of the world, interpreting the laws of the world for the children with the help of affectionate and gentle and rational language. Recently, these letters have been compiled into a volume, and Zhang Shaohua also hopes that these stories can plant the seeds of science in the hearts of more children.
Jet Lag Influence: Tell the story of the mysterious Antarctica in letters
Antarctica in **? Is it an independent continent? Why can you see the aurora in Antarctica? When it comes to Antarctic scientific expeditions, people always have a stomach of questions to understand. As the farthest land from China, it is also an ideal place to carry out scientific research, and it is also a place to showcase the country's comprehensive national strength and carry out international cooperation.
The main direction of Zhang Shaohua's research is Antarctic astronomy, and scientists have confirmed that the best astronomical observation place on the earth is the Kunlun Station in Antarctica, China, located in Antarctic Ice Dome A. It is Zhang Shaohua's dream to build a large telescope at Kunlun Station, and it is also the most perfect combination of "Antarctica" and "astronomy", and it is the main reason why he went to work at the China Polar Research Center after completing his Ph.D. in astrophysics at USTC.
In October 2019, Zhang Shaohua followed China's 36th Antarctic expedition to Antarctica, and the six-month scientific expedition also became the beginning of his dream. Zhang Shaohua told reporters that during their work at Taishan Station, they needed to install telescopes and other instruments and equipment in a cold environment, and carry out observations related to space security such as space debris.
Zhang Shaohua. In fact, during the Antarctic expedition, writing letters to his two daughters was not something he had planned. I originally planned to call my daughters through WeChat** to relieve my thoughts, but the influence of signals and jet lag also made letters a better way to express them.
One by one, through the limited network on the ship and the research station, the letters sent back by Zhang Shaohua slowly became the pillow stories of the two children before going to bed or in the morning. The lazy father meets his daughter who keeps urging him to change, and finally makes the thirty-two letters sent from Antarctica to his daughter carry more content in addition to the daily narration.
In the letter, he recounted the penguins' mutual vision, the first time he saw the ice and snow rings and other Antarctic elements, and also shared some physical phenomena such as the strong westerly wind belt and the mystery of light. These vivid and interesting contents are narrated in his words, and the two daughters seem to be immersed in the scene, feeling the remoteness and mystery of Antarctica.
The book wants to inspire children's curiosity
Antarctica is the farthest land in China, and the significance of conducting scientific expeditions here and the difficulties and obstacles encountered during the expedition are of great help to inspire children's curiosity and courage to explore science.
In recent years, Zhang Shaohua has also had the opportunity to give popular science lectures in some primary and secondary schools, leading children to appreciate a mysterious Antarctic exploration journey, introducing the development process and achievements of China's Antarctic expedition, and also allowing them to look up from the pressure of schoolwork and look at the outside world.
And after the collection of letters to his daughters was published, he also received a lot of feedback. After reading it carefully, a young reader also made a hand-copied newspaper, and his curiosity about Antarctica jumped on the paper, which also moved Zhang Shaohua a lot. "They may not necessarily remember much knowledge, but it is important to be interested in Antarctica if it evokes that Antarctica is different from the environment in which we live. ”
Zhang Shaohua's work scene.
Zhang Shaohua told reporters that in recent years, the country has paid more and more attention to popular science education, and there are many excellent popular science books on the market. "If you read to primary school students, you have to use the language of primary school students, and if you show them to middle school students, they already have science and physics classes, and you can use some of the relevant knowledge in their classes to explain. In the process of popularizing science for children, Zhang Shaohua also generated more thinking and exploration.
With the help of these letters, his daughters accompanied him on his journey to Antarctica, learning about his work and life in Antarctica, the harsh working conditions in Antarctica, the optimism of the expedition members, the mysteries of the planet, and the fact that there are many unknowns in the world waiting for them to explore. Once, when the Chinese astronauts were teaching in space, the youngest daughter suddenly told him: "I want to be an astronaut in the future and go to space to shoot the stars for my father." The two daughters have always maintained a great curiosity about the world, which makes Zhang Shaohua feel very happy. He also hopes that he can sow the seeds of science in the hearts of more children.
Then I went to Antarctica to tell the story to the children
The year 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of China's Antarctic expedition. Time flies, time flies, and it has been nearly 40 years since China's first Antarctic scientific expedition team set off in 1984. In the past few years, China has carried out 40 Antarctic scientific expeditions and established four Antarctic research stations: the Great Wall Station, the Zhongshan Station, the Kunlun Station and the Taishan Station. The reporter learned that on February 7 this year, China's Antarctic Qinling Station was completed and put into use. Qinling Station is located on Rosshaienksburg Island in Antarctica, and it is also China's fifth research station in Antarctica.
Penguins in Antarctica.
At the end of the 36th Antarctic expedition, Zhang Shaohua joined Shanghai Normal University, where his main research area was black holes and the evolution of galaxies. In 2023, the research team of Shanghai Normal University independently developed a 3-meter aperture low-frequency radio telescope and successfully carried out a trial observation of neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way. As one of the important tasks, this work was selected as the 39th scientific expedition to Antarctica in China. Zhang Shaohua and his colleagues led the graduate students to complete the upgrade of the telescope on the basis of the original telescope design according to the field environment and working conditions in Antarctica, and determined the mode of observation, integration time, data storage, transmission and preprocessing methods.
The setting of scientific targets has also moved from simplicity to depth. At present, they have set up a submillimeter-wave telescope in Chile through international cooperation to carry out observations, and Zhang Shaohua also hopes that in the future, their scientific research team can install submillimeter-wave telescopes in the interior of Antarctica to carry out higher-frequency detection.
With the development of astronomical research in Antarctica, Zhang Shaohua said that he will go to Antarctica and Kunlun again in the future. I wonder what stories he will tell to the children at that time?
Dawan News reporter Chen Mu and intern Yang Shuchun.
Edited by Xu Dapeng.