Chapter 643: Chapter 365: Is a Mathematical Physics Genius Reviewing Your Paper?_2
Ding Shouxian continued, "So, for the past few decades, the main focus has been on civilian applications, such as in medical device manufacturing. Domestic and international medical companies are all paying attention to new cancer treatments..."
Currently, the most definite application of neutron generators in research is for cancer treatment, specifically a therapy called Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, abbreviated as "BNCT".
In the 1930s, Gordon-Latcher first proposed the concept of boron neutron capture therapy, envisioning the eradication of cancer cells through inducing nuclear reactions in tumor cells.
The principle of boron neutron capture therapy is quite simple: it involves injecting a patient with a boron carrier.
Upon entering the body, the boron carrier quickly accumulates in cancer cells through metabolism, while being scarcely distributed in normal cells. The boron carrier itself is non-toxic and harmless to humans but has no therapeutic effect on cancer.
Next, neutron radiation is applied.
Neutron radiation does not cause significant damage to the human body, but it does have a strong nuclear reaction with the boron that has entered the cancer cells, releasing highly lethal radiation.
The range of this radiation is very short, with a range of 5-10μm within cells, approximately the size of a cancer cell, so it only kills cancer cells without damaging surrounding normal cells.
After many years of basic and clinical research, boron neutron capture therapy has gradually matured, with both neutron sources and boron drugs successfully made. The only instability lies in the neutron generator, which controls the direction of neutrons. Some laboratories employ the method of enlarging the neutron source, which is quite wasteful and can increase treatment costs, reduce the accuracy of killing cancer cells, and cause greater side effects.
"If we can develop a method to control neutrons, that is, the neutron generator, we can truly mature boron neutron capture therapy..."
Ding Shouxian’s understanding of boron neutron capture therapy comes from major pharmaceutical groups that specifically inquired about the High Energy Research Institute’s research on neutron generators.
The High Energy Research Institute also needs to cooperate with external companies to obtain more research funding.
As a leader of the High Energy Research Institute, it is only natural that Ding Shouxian would have some knowledge about it. Unfortunately, the research on neutron generators remains at the initial stage of building neutron sources, and there has been virtually no progress in controlling neutrons.
Ding Shouxian was puzzled by the higher-ups’ inquiries about the neutron generator project and thought it was probably due to project-related issues. He didn’t expect to receive some unexpected news.
"A renowned scholar from home and abroad has reported a new principle for neutron generators."
"Impossible!" frёewebηovel.cѳm
Ding Shouxian immediately shook his head, "Our electron-positron collider experimental laboratory has been researching for more than two years, and we have not found a method to control neutrons. Moreover, how can an ordinary scholar conduct research?"
He was utterly incredulous.
The explanation from the higher-ups was, "It’s just a theory for making neutron generators. If you cannot study it in a short period, you can give it a try. Since it involves potential military applications, it must be kept secret."
"Impossible."
"Don’t be so quick to deny it. Once you know the name of the scholar who reported the news, you might change your mind."
"Who is it?"
"Zhao Yi."
"——??"
...
On the last day of National Day, Zhao Yi received a reply from his superiors, asking him to send over the research materials related to neutron generators.
This happened during the research process.
As Zhao Yi was comparing the mathematical analysis results copied from the electron-positron collider experimental laboratory, he glanced at the content of the email and, finding no issues, sent his technical paper over.
Then, he even forgot about it and continued his research on particle mathematics.
Comparing experimental data results and revising the particle energy model is a very tedious task.
With great patience, Zhao Yi did it little by little, taking advantage of the ample time during the National Day holidays. He stayed in his apartment at the faculty building for several days. When the holidays ended, he resumed his normal classes and continued revising the mathematical model whenever he had free time.
Finally, ten days later, he completed it.
He sorted out all the content and wrote a research paper on the supersymmetric theory constructed from the particle boundary theory, which also included some theoretical aspects of particle formation principles.
"Done!"
"It took more than half a month!"
Looking at the dozens of pages of research papers on his computer, Zhao Yi felt a sense of accomplishment welling up from deep within his heart. Instead of rushing to write an English version of the paper, he carefully considered and decided to submit the paper to a domestic journal—
"Journal of Mathematical Physics."
The "Journal of Mathematical Physics" was founded in 1981 and is a comprehensive academic journal supervised by the Science Academy and sponsored by the Physics and Mathematics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has also become an international mathematics journal, with its high-quality papers receiving academic recognition.
Ten years ago, the "Journal of Mathematical Physics" was rated as one of the top three outstanding mathematics journals among the 100 outstanding domestic academic journals, ranking first in domestic journal impact factor for mathematics journals.
Although it may not be on par with top international journals, its impact factor is still very high.
The "Journal of Mathematical Physics" is divided into the Chinese edition, a monthly publication, and the English edition, a bimonthly publication.
Zhao Yi simply submitted two manuscripts.
According to the submission requirements of the "Journal of Mathematical Physics," five to eight reviewers need to be recommended by the author himself. He just filled in a few names and provided their email addresses for contact purposes. These included Zhang Hongzhi and Ruan Wenye from the Physics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nobel laureate Yang Zhenning, Fields Medalist Qiu Chengwen, and Huang Zhong from Nancheng University.