A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 671 Kindergarten Tiger General

The city of Toronto is located on the edge of the Great Lakes, across from Lake Ontario and the state of New York in the United States.

This was Li Yu's first visit to the university and he was immediately warmly welcomed. After giving a regular speech and attending a welcome banquet, Li Yucai came to the medical department where Tang Feifan, Banting, McLeod and others were.

Since Tang Feifan first published the experimental report, this research has received great support, and the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto has gathered a large number of researchers.

Laboratory director MacLeod specially invited biochemists to purify bovine insulin, and at the same time began to study issues such as dose control and how to deal with hypoglycemic reactions.

The overall advancement speed is quite fast.

In the laboratory, Li Yu unexpectedly met Bethune, who had become a formal doctor after graduating from the University of Toronto School of Medicine. But Bethune seemed to be busy with something important.

In addition to them, August Crowe, a professor at the Department of Animal Physiology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, who just won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last year, also brought his wife to the University of Toronto laboratory.

His wife had diabetes, and when she heard about the advent of insulin, she couldn't wait to come to Toronto.

Crowe obtained a license to produce insulin, and after returning to Denmark, he opened a laboratory called Nord Laboratories; two years later, several people from the laboratory left and founded Novo Laboratories.

The two families fell in love with each other for more than half a century until they merged into the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk in 1989.

Novo Nordisk has been very successful in the field of diabetes.

Now that Tang Feifan is here, it is not difficult to get permission to produce insulin.

You know, historically, insulin was introduced by Union Medical College Hospital just after its birth, but it never received a production license.

Even at the beginning, because the medicine was not stable enough, it could not even be transported by sea. Around 1923, the first batch of insulin produced by Eli Lilly and Company in the United States was shipped to China by sea.

Xiehe has always kept medical records, and can still see the treatment records of the first diabetic patient at that time.

Li Yu then took Tang Feifan to give a medical report at the American Medical Congress in New York. His English was good enough to handle it.

In this way, more media will know the face of this Chinese person. It is impossible to miss his name in future Nobel Prize nominations.

Li Yu said: "You will be in Toronto during this period. I will contact China and ask the Union Medical College to send people to study, and then go back to create a medical laboratory to cooperate with Shanghai pharmaceutical factories in insulin production."

"The level of Union Medical College is not bad, and your pharmaceutical company is not short of money. It can be done." Tang Feifan is not worried. He certainly hopes that insulin will enter the country as soon as possible.

Situ Meitang prepared a banquet in Chinatown to entertain Li Yu and Tang Feifan.

"According to Brother Shucai, this Dr. Tang can also win a Swedish Nobel Prize?" Situ Meitang asked.

"It's almost the same," Li Yu said, "so it's something worth celebrating."

"The whole country can celebrate together!" Situ Meitang was very happy, and then regretted, "It's just that we can't buy wine now, so we can't have a few drinks."

"No wine?" Li Yu asked.

Situ Meitang said: "The U.S. government issued a strange decree not long ago that strictly prohibits the sale of alcohol."

Well, the famous Prohibition has begun.

Li Yu took some time off and said, "Americans have lost another item of happiness."

"It's simply outrageous!" Situ Meitang used to love to drink, but now he can't drink. He said angrily, "Americans believe that alcohol is the root of all evil and the cause of the soaring crime rate. Religious groups and the feminist movement have also insisted for many years. Prohibition of alcohol, religious groups say that drinking will lead to the degradation of social morality and ideology; the feminist movement believes that alcoholism leads to domestic violence. I don’t understand. Wasn’t this the case before?

Not only religious groups and the feminist movement banned alcohol, but before that, almost all classes in the United States called for alcohol prohibition. Factory owners felt that alcohol reduced the productivity of workers; workers also believed that alcohol was one of the traps used by capitalists to exploit them; sociologists supported alcohol prohibition. , because alcohol hinders social progress...

The list goes on and on.

Someone also drew a caricature of a bunch of wine barrels holding signs that read, "We make people poor" and "We hinder progress."

When the ban was first implemented, it was quite strict, but there were policies from above and countermeasures from below. Within a few months, many "loopholes" appeared.

For example, Prohibition requires that the alcohol content cannot exceed 0.5%, and light beer with a content of 0.5% has appeared in the United States. The manufacturer also instructs everyone in the instructions, telling everyone what not to do because it will increase the alcohol content.

Some wines use a similar approach, stating on the packaging "No added sugar or yeast, which may cause fermentation."

There are no more three hundred taels of silver in the American version.

In addition, those who really wanted to drink could choose to become religious or call themselves sick, because Prohibition did not prohibit the supply of communion wine and medical whiskey in churches.

Perhaps the most well-known consequence of Prohibition is the large-scale rise of gangs in the United States.

Sometimes the laws that come up in the United States are really baffling.

Alcohol is more difficult to ban than cigarettes. Once formal channels are banned, a black market will immediately arise.

At first, we thought of reducing the crime rate through prohibition of alcohol, but the result was counterproductive. The crime rate continued to soar, and various mafias also developed and grew. After all, it is much easier to get alcohol than drugs, the profits are still considerable, and you don’t have to bear too much burden. Big psychological burden.

U.S. government officials have gradually been corrupted by gangs and become the protection umbrella of gangs.

In short, Prohibition was a farce and was not repealed until Roosevelt took office.

The speed of repeal is also much faster than when it was implemented.

Li Yu said with a smile: "Brother Situ had better drink enough at one time when he returns to China."

"Hey, I don't know when!" Situ Meitang sighed, and then said, "If Dr. Tang wins the Nobel Prize and rides on the float back home, I really want to see it."

"Sitting on a float is too ostentatious," Tang Feifan said.

"You can't be so low-key in your research. Mr. Kang Nanhai used to be very popular in America." Situ Meitang said.

Tang Feifan said: "Mr. Nanhai is a political figure, which is different."

Li Yuze said: "Brother Situ reminded me that I am going to sponsor a few cars and funds for the University of Toronto. It will be easier for you to communicate around in the future."

This is money well spent.

Toronto is very close to Detroit, and it is very easy to travel there and back. Canadian cities are concentrated on the US-Canada border, and many of their habits are very similar to those in the United States. Although the United States is still not as good as European countries in terms of science, it already has complete science and industrial categories. Insulin was first patented by Eli Lilly and Company in the United States. Although this company is not well-known, it has Medical history is also quite strong.

Therefore, it can be said that the United States in the early twentieth century was not strong in some aspects, but it cannot be said that it was weak.

This feeling is very much like China a hundred years from now. Even if it is not the best in the world in many fields, it is good in everything and has potential.

After staying in the United States for an extra week, Li Yu inspected American factories several times before leaving for Europe.

-

The first place to settle is definitely the UK.

Arriving at Cambridge University, Li Yu prepared to meet Rutherford and found that he was giving a lecture, so he went to the Cavendish Laboratory to wait.

Walking to the entrance of the laboratory, Li Yu saw a student in his twenties wandering around.

"Mr. Li Yu from the East?"

The other person knows you.

"Who are you?" Li Yu asked. "My name is Kapitsa. I come from St. Petersburg. I want to come to the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University as a doctoral student."

Well, another member of Rutherford’s “Nobel Prize Kindergarten”.

Kapitsa is a famous low-temperature physicist in the Soviet Union. He comes from a scientific family. Four generations of his family have academicians.

In 1978, Kapitsa won the Nobel Prize in Physics at the age of 84. He made a special trip to Stockholm, Sweden, and his acceptance speech was: "I really don't know why I won the award. Is the result you are talking about mine? Don't do it. Wrong! Even if it is, it must have been more than 40 years ago, I have forgotten it! "

At a press conference, a reporter asked him: "Which university or institute did you learn the most important knowledge in your life?"

The white-haired Kapitsa answered seriously: "It's not a university or a research institute, it's a kindergarten."

The reporter was stunned on the spot.

Kapitsa explained to him: "In kindergarten, I learned to wash my hands before meals, take a break after lunch, put things neatly, think more when studying, learn to observe, don't take things that are not my own, and apologize if I make mistakes. Change, fulfill what you promised, and be willing to share your things with others. In fact, these are the only things I use in my life.”

The audience who came back immediately burst into thunderous applause.

——An absolute strange person.

Li Yu asked: "When applying for a doctoral degree, can't we just submit the materials and wait?"

Kapitsa said: "Professor Rutherford's quota has been filled, and I am thinking of ways to get involved."

"Do you have to sign up now?" Li Yu asked.

"Yes," Kapitsa said, "the things I study can only be carried out here."

There are indeed not many laboratories that can engage in the field of low-temperature physics.

"So that's it," Li Yu rubbed his chin and said to him, "I'll give you an idea. When you see Rutherford later, if he says that the laboratory is overcrowded, ask him about the allowed deviations in his usual experiments. How much, and you can be that extra bit of deviation."

Kapitsa clapped his hands: "What a great idea!"

More than twenty minutes later, Rutherford returned to the office leisurely and shook hands with Li Yu first: "Hello, Mr. Academician."

"Hello, Professor Rutherford," Li Yu then pointed to Kapitsa next to him, "I just met a very talented student and I really want to enter your laboratory."

"Kapitsa, are you still here?" Rutherford asked doubtfully, "It's not that I don't accept you, it's just that the quota is too full this year."

Sure enough, he said this.

Kapitsa immediately said: "Professor, what is the error you can tolerate when doing experiments?"

"Maybe 2% to 3%," Rutherford said.

Kapitsa calculated slightly and said: "There are now more than thirty people in the Cavendish Laboratory, and the error rate is 2% to 3%, which means that the tolerable personnel error is 0.6 to 0.9. Taking into account rounding, it is just right. Give me more space."

Rutherford was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "What a boy, you actually got something out of me! I can consider your request, but I still need to know more about your situation."

By saying this, he basically accepted Kapitsa.

Kapitsa said happily: "I am good at experiments and can definitely help the professor a lot."

"Really?" Rutherford deliberately tested him, "I can say that there are many talents here, but I recently encountered a problem that no one can solve."

"What's the problem?" Kapitsa asked.

Rutherford took them into the laboratory, pointed to an instrument with outstanding merits, and said: "We often measure the speed of alpha particles, but the solenoid of this instrument is always burned by the electromagnetic heat effect. I have thought of many ways to cool down. ,Will not work."

Kapitsa thought for a while and said, "Give me a week and I can get it done."

"A week?" Rutherford didn't believe it. "Don't say a week. If you can solve it in a month, I will accept you into the laboratory unconditionally."

Kapitsa said confidently: "As long as the professor provides enough funds, it can be done easily."

"Then I'll wait and see," Rutherford said.

In the next few days, Rutherford let him try his fists.

Li Yu participated in several Royal Society reports. It is rare for a foreign academician like Li Yu to be elusive and unable to attend one or two Royal Society physics conferences a year.

However, the Royal Society gave Li Yu a lot of face, and it was enough to keep him. They didn't care whether he attended ordinary meetings or not, and they had even become accustomed to it.

By the way, Li Yu gave another lecture in a garden in Cambridge. After the lecture, he found that Lin Changmin, Lin Huiyin and his daughter, and Xu Zhimo were also present.

Lin Changmin is now the Chinese representative in the League of Nations. He smiled and said: "We came here specially to support Mr. Academician."

"Thank you, Representative Lin," Li Yu said, and then asked Xu Zhimo, "Aren't you studying at Columbia University in the United States?"

Xu Zhimo said: "I hate the madness and greed that is strongly dominated by capital in American society. In my opinion, Britain's modern democratic politics is the best political system."

"So, you transferred to the political department?" Li Yu asked.

"Yes, I studied political economics at Royal College, Cambridge University," Xu Zhimo said. "Although my original intention of going abroad was to learn advanced foreign technologies and save the country through industry, but two years later, I found that I saw Chimney felt disgusted and sympathized with the workers struggling to make a living amid the roar of large industrial machines, so I changed my views and now believe in new literature and art and am interested in politics.”

Li Yu smiled faintly. With Xu Zhimo's character, he was not suitable to be a politician, but he could not directly say it to attack people, so he said: "Britain is known as the foggy city, and it is not much different from what you see in the United States. Even Germany, France is pretty much the same.”

"I think it's different," Xu Zhimo said. "The Germans are too mechanical, the French are too willful, and the Americans are too shallow. Only the British can be called a modern political nation. The British are free, but not fierce; they are Conservative, but not stubborn.”

The poet's feelings are really a bit subjective.

Fortunately, Xu Zhimo expressed his views at this time and did not really enter politics. He is still suitable to enter the field of literature and art.

Lin Changmin said euphemistically: "People are complicated. After becoming a representative of the League of Nations, I can better understand Gu Weijun's situation at that time."

I don’t know if Xu Zhimo heard the meaning of Lin Changmin’s words. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to continue talking about politics at the moment. He said to Lin Huiyin, who had been silent behind Lin Changmin: “Huiyin, the scenery of Kangqiao is very good. I will take you there. Look at the river."

Lin Huiyin said softly: "Brother Xu, your wife has also come to the UK and is even pregnant. Have you taken her to see her?"

"Whatever I brought her here for is all burdens from the past." Xu Zhimo said.

Lin Huiyin shook his head: "I want to be with my father."

Xu Zhimo said: "Then I won't go either, I will stay here with you."

Xu Zhimo has begun to pursue Lin Huiyin crazily, and this relationship is a bit sudden and intense.

In Xu Zhimo's own words, this kind of love is the result of his spiritual awakening. His pursuit of Lin Huiyin is the highest expression of the pursuit of love, beauty and freedom; his bold expression of this emotion is out of moral courage and is in line with humanity. spirit, the spirit of the new era. Therefore, he wants to end his loveless marriage with Zhang Youyi in order to get his true love.

Lin Huiyin should be moved, but her preconceived notions made her think that Xu Zhimo, who was seven or eight years older than her and was already married and had children, was just an older brother.

Afterwards, she even said: "Xu Zhimo has a child-like innocence."

It seems that Hu Shi also said something similar: "Xu Zhimo's outlook on life is really a kind of 'simple faith'. There are only three big words in it, one is love, one is freedom, and the other is beauty."

Xu Zhimo's wife Zhang Youyi is a very outstanding woman, but Xu Zhimo's character is a bit stubborn, so let him go.