This is the most intelligent photo in the world, taken during the 5th Solvay Conference in 1927. The people in the group photo were all the most powerful scientists at the time, including Einstein, Schr?dinger, Lorenz, Marie Curie, Planck, Bohr... everyone in them can be called capable. People who change the world.
Standing in the back row of this photo is a tall man, his name is Auguste Piccard, a Swiss physicist, inventor and An explorer is a magical person who can "go to heaven and earth".
He once took a hot air balloon to an altitude of 16,165 meters, obtained a large amount of information about the upper gases and completed the measurement of cosmic rays; he also drove the "Trieste" for deep diving The vehicle descended to 11,000 meters in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, kicking off the most magnificent scene of human conquest of the ocean.
A trench is a trench in the ocean. It is the deepest place on the seabed. The depth is generally greater than 5,000 meters, and the deepest can reach more than 10,000 meters.
The major trenches on Earth are distributed around the Pacific Ocean. Among all trenches, the Mariana Trench is the most famous.
Relevant data shows that the Mariana Trench is located in the northeast of the Philippines and east of the Mariana Islands. It is the deepest trench currently known. Most of the water depths are more than 8,000 meters, and the deepest is 11,034 meters. It is currently the deepest trench. It is the deepest known place on the earth and is known as "the scary place closest to the center of the earth." If Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain, was placed at the bottom of a ditch, the summit would not be above the water.
Auguste Piccard was born in Bern, Switzerland, in January 1884. He was extremely interested in physics since he was a child. When he grew up, he studied at the famous Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He was Einstein's disciple and one of Einstein's best friends.
In the 1920s, Piccard learned that his senior student, Einstein, was struggling with how to collect data on cosmic rays, so he came up with the idea of ??helping his senior student.
In order to collect data on cosmic rays, astrophysicists at that time mostly took off in balloons with unsealed gondolas.
Picard thought that if an aluminum sealed pod could be built, no matter how high the balloon flew, scientists would be able to conduct more intuitive observations of the air layer outside the cabin in the sealed cabin. measurements so that collecting data on cosmic rays becomes more accurate.
In 1930, with the sponsorship of the Belgian National Research Foundation, Piccard designed and produced a spherical aluminum gondola (a hot air balloon with multiple hanging baskets), and in May 1931 On September 27, he took his assistant Paul into the air from Augsburg, Germany, and finally reached the stratosphere at 15,781 meters, setting a world record for human ascent at the time and completing the first human flight exploration into the stratosphere.
During this flight, Picard collected a large amount of data about the upper atmosphere and cosmic rays, which greatly helped Einstein's research on the universe.
After that, he conducted 27 more hot air balloon flights, breaking this record again and again, and finally raised the record to 23,000 meters. This record also marks a new height in human research on the stratosphere.
Perhaps due to the explorer’s natural desire to conquer, starting in the 1930s, Picard began to turn his attention from the sky to the ocean. He thought: Since the sealed cabin can isolate the surrounding environment, can it also be used as a device for deep-sea exploration?
Before Picard, many explorers had dived into the Mariana Trench for deep-sea exploration. This kind of exploration is not entirely about satisfying people's curiosity, because exploring the deep sea helps people better understand the earth and its creatures, helps discover new ecosystems, and understand new life forms.
In order to complete deep-sea exploration, Picard invented a steel bathyscaphe that could withstand greater external pressure and named it "bathyscaphe" in ancient Greek, which means "deep submersible." This has also become the collective name for all deep-sea detectors today.
Although Picard's process of building a deep submersible was delayed for many years by the outbreak of World War II, for a persistent explorer, war could not stop his dream.
In 1948, Piccard finally completed his bubble-shaped submersible. This deep submersible can still maintain normal cabin air pressure when the external water pressure exceeds 46 MPa.
Its upper part is a huge floating tank, which can hold 10,000 gallons of gasoline. This gasoline not only serves as fuel, but also serves as a constant buoyant force. A removable iron block weighing several tons is also attached to the submersible to facilitate its descent and ascent.
Picard named the deep submersible "Ferns-2" and drove it to successfully dive to 4,176 meters, setting a world record for diving depth at the time.
In 1957, Piccard made continuous improvements on the basis of the "Ferns-2" and built his second deep-sea submarine "Trieste".
On January 23, 1960, the deep submersible "Trieste" was launched from the waters of Guam in the Pacific Ocean and dived to about 11,000 meters in the Mariana Trench, opening the door to mankind's conquest of the ocean. The most magnificent scene.
Although Picard was very confident in his "Trieste", he was already 76 years old at the time and was physically unable to dive to such a depth himself, so he This glorious mission was handed over to his son Picard Jr. and another explorer, Captain Walsh of the U.S. Navy.
On January 23, 1960, perhaps God wanted to test this deep submersible, so the weather conditions that day were not ideal.
Although it was cloudy, the sun was not strong, and the wind and waves on the ocean were 4 or 5 meters high. But the 38-year-old Picard and Walsh had no fear. With their father's dream and the belief that they would win, they began to dive slowly at about 7 a.m.
The weak sunlight quickly attenuated in the seawater, and soon the "Trieste" submersible was completely shrouded in darkness.
Through the portholes, the two warriors saw the colorful and wonderful lights flashing from time to time in the sunless seawater. Little Picard knew that these were those glowing microorganisms in the ocean.
He humorously said to Walsh: "Look, buddy, these elves in the sea are here to guide us and point the way!"
"Trias The submersible's dive started smoothly. But when the dive reached 9,000 meters, an accident happened.
In the silent deep sea, little Picard heard a "click" sound from the glass outside the port window of the "Trieste" bathyscaphe - in the deep sea with a pressure of 91 MPa. , the glass of the deep submersible finally could not withstand the high pressure and cracks appeared!
Of course, little Picard knew what the consequences would be if the glass of the deep submersible broke. In front of nature, human beings are so insignificant. As long as the glass is broken, the two of them will be crushed into meat patties by the extremely high pressure of the sea.
Walsh also heard the sound of the glass and was a little panicked.
The younger Picard was very confident in the deep submersible built by his father - because as early as 1948, his father Picard was piloting the "Foins-2" on a deep submersible. After discovering the portholes during the dive, Picard improved the material of the portholes and conducted multiple pressure tests. Finally, hard glass, fused quartz and other substances were eliminated, and new materials such as acrylic glass were used.
After continuous experiments, Picard has absolute confidence in the glass of the deep submersible.
The "clicking" sound of the porthole glass did not scare young Picard and Walsh. After continuing to dive for more than 6 hours, they finally arrived at the "Challenger Deep" in the Mariana Trench. ".
At this time, the instrument of the deep submersible showed that the depth had reached 10,916 meters. What is this concept? In layman's terms, an area the size of a human thumbnail has to bear a weight of more than 1,000 kilograms!
In this sunless ocean world, the two explorers conducted a 20-minute scientific investigation. They saw the yellow-brown ocean bottom soil, with fish similar to flounder swimming under the illumination of searchlights.
They also saw some small creatures moving around, including a red shrimp about 2.5 centimeters long, swimming freely around the porthole.
This expedition confirmed the fact that even in the deepest abyss of the world's oceans, there is still life.
Of course, the marine life here has its own unique characteristics in terms of body color, visual organs, limbs, bones, feeding organs, light emitters and reproduction methods.
Just when little Picard was immersed in the wonderful scenery of the underwater world, he suddenly heard a strange sound. According to Picard Jr., the sound was like someone knocking on the cabin door, like a polite gentleman coming to visit. This "knocking" sound was very rhythmic.
Walsh also heard this sound. After careful search, the two did not find the source of the sound.
The two of them looked at each other, and a sense of fear came up inexplicably - after all, no one has ever been here since the birth of the earth. Who knows how many secrets there are that no one has discovered. What a strange creature!
After staying at the bottom of the ocean for 20 minutes, little Picard and Walsh, with the joy of victory, floated out of the water on the "Trieste" at 16:56.
After returning to Guam, the U.S. Navy sent a special plane to bring these two heroes of deep-sea exploration to the United States.
To celebrate this major achievement, Washington issued a formal proclamation to the world, and President Eisenhower personally awarded the two deep-sea explorers medals.
On February 9, the President of the United States also sent a handwritten letter of congratulations to Piccard to express the gratitude of all American citizens to Piccard Jr., Walsh and Piccard Sr. .
For the 76-year-old Picard, who has been engaged in deep-sea exploration all his life, although he did not personally participate in this expedition, he still had mixed feelings after hearing that his son had successfully explored the Mariana Trench. , eyes filled with tears of happiness.
He has been associated with deep-sea exploration all his life. His son's deep-sea exploration has changed people's understanding of the ocean, especially the deep sea, and further sublimated this understanding. This is where Picard fell. The real reason for the tears.
This deep dive by Little Picard and Walsh set the world’s highest record for manned deep-sea diving, and also made more and more people know and love deep-sea diving adventures.
After them, scientists are no longer satisfied with just deep-sea observation expeditions, but are working hard to improve the maneuverability of deep submersibles to make them more flexible and convenient; install necessary instruments and equipment, To improve the "vision", "hearing", "touch" and "smell" abilities, a new chapter in deep sea exploration has been opened.
The form and performance of today's deep-sea bathyscaphes are no longer comparable to those of the "Trieste" in 1960.
The most advanced deep submersible at present is the American nuclear-powered submersible "NR-1". It weighs 400 tons and has an underwater self-sustainability of 45 days. It has a The gate seals the entrance and exit, and can be docked with submarines or other underwater structures underwater, and the transportation and transfer of inspection personnel and materials can be carried out under normal pressure.
After this expedition, Picard Jr. later built four deep-water probes, including the world's first tourist submarine that carried tourists into Lake Geneva in 1964.
In 2009, when 86-year-old Piccard died, the U.S. government issued a memorial article calling him "one of the great explorers of the 20th century. He dived deeper than anyone else. He was Jules Van The real 'Captain Nemo' in Erner's novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea""
Half a century after Little Picard's expedition, no one has ever dived to the Mariana Trench. bottom of the ditch.
Until March 2012, James Cameron, the famous director of "Titanic" and "Avatar", personally piloted the Deepsea Challenger submarine and single-handedly drove the Challenger submersible. After reaching the "ultra-abyssal zone" at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, it broke the record for the deepest dive set by Picard Jr.
The Deepsea Challenger submarine is 7.3 meters high, weighs 12 tons, has a pressure-bearing metal plate 6.4 centimeters thick, and can accommodate one person in the cockpit.
In order to film his diving process, he installed lighting equipment and high-definition 3D cameras on the submarine, and produced a 3D documentary called "Deep Sea Challenge".
He believes that the greatest scientific achievement of this expedition is the discovery of a large, possibly newly discovered amphipod species at 27,000 feet in the New Britain Trench. "It is almost a foot long. .
You have to remember that the energy there is very limited and completely dependent on the flow of nutrients from a few miles above, so I was very surprised to see such a large and active animal. . This may bring some enlightenment to the mystery of how life appeared on the early earth."
Regarding Cameron's "crazy move", he also told those in the interview. Skeptic: "I don't know what good will come from (this expedition).
People need to know that there is a large part of the world that we live in and depend on, and We knew nothing about it.
When an earthquake caused a tsunami that swept through Indonesia and killed 250,000 people in a matter of minutes, I thought we needed to understand what was going on in the deep ocean trenches. What happened there, we need to know more about."
Although much of the reason for Picard's expedition in 1960 was to satisfy curiosity, today, more and more. Many scientists realize that the deep sea is a natural laboratory with excellent performance.
Professor Bartlett of the University of California Institute of Oceanography said: "Exploring the Mariana Trench will help us better understand the earth and its organisms, help discover new ecosystems, and understand New life forms. ”
Today more and more scientists are showing great interest in deep sea research. For example, seismologists are preparing to establish a ground dew observation network on the deep seabed to reduce the damage to coastal areas caused by deep-sea earthquakes and tsunamis;
Even astrophysicists are going to the ocean to "step in" ", imagine establishing a neutrino detector array in the deep sea, so that we can use the deep sea with less interference to search for neutrinos.
But today, when technology is so advanced, a trip to the Mariana Trench is no easier than going to the moon. In terms of numbers, there are fewer people who have reached Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench than astronauts who have landed on the moon.
At 8:12 on November 10, 2020, China's "Struggle" manned submersible successfully landed on the bottom of the Mariana Trench, with a depth of 10,909 meters, setting a new record for China's manned deep diving set a new record and brought back precious samples of rocks, seawater, organisms and other materials from the bottom of the trench.
The Struggler is a 10,000-meter manned submersible developed by China. The project was established in 2016 and is undertaken by a scientific research team based on the research and development capabilities of the Jiaolong and Deep Sea Warrior manned submersibles.
It combines the excellent pedigree of deep diving equipment, adopts a safe, stable and powerful energy system, and also has a more advanced control system and positioning system, as well as a more pressure-resistant manned spherical capsule and buoyancy Material.
In the words of Hu Zhen, deputy chief designer of the "Struggle", "What we are challenging is the deepest point in the world. In particular, the narrow spherical manned cabin can carry three people to a depth of 10,000 meters. , which is very impressive internationally!”
At present, our country already has three deep-sea manned submersibles: "Jiaolong", "Deep Sea Warrior", and "Struggle", as well as The "Hai Dou", "Qian Long", "Hai Yan", "Hai Yi" and "Hai Long" series of unmanned submersibles have initially established a full-sea deep submersible pedigree, and have continuously achieved new breakthroughs and major achievements in the development of deep sea equipment technology. New leap.
The successful development of the "Struggle" marks that our country has reached the world's leading level in the field of large-depth manned deep diving, and has also given mankind a powerful new platform to explore the 10,000-meter abyss.
In the near future, my country's independently developed 10,000-meter manned submersible will carry more Chinese scientists to freely swim in the deepest parts of the world's oceans, realizing the scientific dream of the Chinese people.
By then, if there is another mysterious creature "knocking" again, maybe we can solve the question that little Picard never got an answer to until his death: Who is "knocking"? Door"?
Yi Shi: "The Legend of the Mariana Trench"
Wang Zhijun: "Advancing into the Abyss: Man's Exploration of the Deepest Ocean"
Lugier: "James ·Cameron pours out his deepest feelings》