Cheng Kaijia

Cheng Kaijia ( Chinese  程 開 甲  /  程 开 甲 , Pinyin Chéng Kāijiǎ ; born August 3, 1918 in Wujiang ; † November 17, 2018 in Beijing ), also known as Cheng Kai-jia or Cheng Kai Jia , was a Chinese nuclear physicist and engineer. He was a pioneer and a key figure in Chinese nuclear weapons development .

Life

Cheng was born in Wujiang, Jiangsu in 1918 and graduated from the Physics Faculty of Zhejiang University in 1941. In 1946 he went to Great Britain , studied at the University of Edinburgh and received his Ph.D there in 1948; Doctoral supervisor was Max Born . Then he became a researcher in England.

Cheng returned to China in 1950. He became an associate professor at Zhejiang University, then Nanjing University , where he was later promoted to professor. In 1959, Cheng published his paper "Study of the Mechanism of Superconductivity ", the first study of solid state physics in China.

Cheng was a pioneer in Chinese nuclear engineering and played an important role in the development of the first Chinese atomic bomb . For the first time in China, he calculated the internal temperature and pressure for an atomic bomb. His calculations were difficult because China at the time had no computers and few pocket calculators. He also developed an ignition mechanism for the internal explosion and helped configure it, which enabled him to greatly advance the development of the bomb. Cheng also founded a nuclear research institute and was the chief director of dozens of nuclear weapons tests.

Cheng was an elected member of the Chinese Academy of Science and a permanent member of the Science and Technology Committee of the Chinese National Nuclear Industry Corporation. He was Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Weapons Research Institute of the People's Republic of China. He was an advisor to the former Science and Technology Committee, Science, Technology and Industry Commission for National Defense.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Nuclear Weapon Expert: Cheng Kaijia. In: Cultural China Kaleidoscope. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012 ; accessed on November 17, 2018 (English). 
2. ↑ Cheng Kaijia Biography. In: China Vitae. Retrieved November 17, 2018 . 

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Cheng is the family name here, Kaijia is the first name.