How to build an atomic bomb at home? Netizen: Can I see this with a monthly salary of 3500

Dai Shuxi, a doctor of science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of the School of Physics and Electronics of Henan University, began to popularize his knowledge of science physics in Tiktok three years ago, and became a @ loving and true teacher Dai. His videos are always filled with "hardcore" content, discussing quantum mechanics, chip manufacturing, black holes, and so on.

In order to break down seemingly difficult physics knowledge, he introduced it in the fun form of "how to make an atomic bomb", igniting the interest of netizens and providing in-depth explanations. At present, he has released over 300 videos and conducted multiple live broadcasts, receiving 1.51 million fans and 6.87 million likes.

Recently, Tiktok held the "Open Class" conference, announcing the latest progress of the platform knowledge content and future support plans. It is reported that 93.2% of the double first-class universities have settled in Tiktok. In the past year, Tiktok has watched more than 1 billion live classes in colleges and universities, with an average of 28 per day. Tiktok also released the "Tiktok Knowledge Open Class Content Support Plan" to collect high-quality knowledge live course content from universities, teachers and celebrities across the country, and provide traffic and operational support. In the next month, Tiktok will also launch more than 60 live knowledge broadcasts of "Open Class", led by more than 10 academicians, and joined by more than 30 cultural celebrities and scientists.

Dai Shuxi participated in the speech segment of the press conference, and the following is his complete sharing:

Dai Shuxi shares science popularization stories at the press conference

Short videos spread knowledge faster and more widely

Hello, everyone. I am Dai Shuxi, a doctor of science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a professor of the School of Physics and Electronics of Henan University, and also a teacher of Tiktok @ Aiduan. As for my nickname, it can be interpreted as "being more genuine is a protective color, and being playful is the true essence.".

I have loved tinkering since I was young. Before the college entrance examination, I enjoyed tinkering with various electronic gadgets, such as making a little bird that would chirp when exposed to light, or soldering a radio myself, so when I applied for college, I chose physics. After college, my daily routine was to "set up stalls" on campus with my classmates, set up a shed and Lamian Noodles flags and began to repair things for teachers and students passing by. That was in the 1990s, and most of the "jobs" we received were radios.

In addition to these, I also love to tinker with computers. In 1999, when my university was just online, I made a homepage for our laboratory, updating some commonly used information or group meeting notifications on it. I even created an English website to introduce "The Three Body Problem". Now thinking about it, my career as a self media blogger may have started since then.

Unfortunately, as my research work became increasingly busy, this hobby was forced to be interrupted. After graduating with a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I went abroad to pursue a postdoctoral degree and later became a visiting scholar. Currently, I am a physics professor at Henan University. During those years of turmoil around the world, I spent almost all day in the laboratory, sometimes in a state of isolation.

It wasn't until 2014 that I started to have a little free time and became a blogger again. At first, I was just collecting materials for lesson preparation and writing some popular science articles to publish in some newspapers and magazines, such as introducing Einstein to middle school students or telling them how light formed. Later on, I found it very interesting to answer physics related questions online. Sometimes, I can answer several questions in a day, with each one exceeding 500 words. After a while, I also became the contracted author of Wukong Q&A.

During the epidemic, I had to teach students online at home. I also found that video content is becoming more and more popular among people. I started self-learning editing and trying to post some popular science videos I made on watermelon videos. The length is usually about ten minutes, and the content is usually about the courses I teach daily and my own research direction, such as quantum mechanics and chips, which has accumulated hundreds of thousands of fans.

Later, I found that short videos are the "outlet" of communication. They spread faster and more widely. I officially settled in Tiktok and became a teacher of @ Love is more real.

Dai Shuxi's Tiktok Popular Science Collection

"There's already a popular science nuclear bomb on Tiktok"

At the beginning of Tiktok, I changed the long videos I had previously made into short videos of one or two minutes. Later, I felt that short videos had their own propagation rules, and began to design the rhythm and style of videos specifically for Tiktok platform, such as higher information density and faster speech speed.

After doing it for half a year, I decided to go on camera and shoot. At first, I had some concerns, but later I found out that many experts were also appearing on camera to shoot videos, so I didn't bother so much. At the beginning, there was almost no professional equipment. I pulled a black screen between the living room and dining room at home, set up three storage racks and a few books, and set up the background. I sat at the dining table to take photos. Without a camera, I use my phone to record; Without a teleprompter, I memorized the pre written manuscript.

Later on, I plan to make this matter more professional and interesting. I found some partners from my fans and even asked someone to help design cartoon characters and animation demonstrations. As a technical expert, I have replaced a lot of cameras and lenses, and used a wireless microphone and teleprompter. I have also conducted several live broadcasts, chatting with everyone for one or two hours each time.

My science popularization is quite hardcore, covering quantum mechanics, nuclear power plants, black holes, "Why do rockets ignite while the launch pad sprays water", "Why do particle accelerators consume so much electricity", and "What happens when two black holes collide". Most of the later content is related to chips. As for how to make chips, I divided it into many steps and made multiple videos, starting with chip design, EDA software, lithography, and subsequent packaging testing. The entire process is taught in one course.

While explaining, I will also look for visual metaphors that are easy for the public to understand. For example, Einstein talked about general relativity, mentioning that time and space are one entity and can be deformed. This sentence may sound difficult to understand, but one can compare a big star to a lead ball, space and time to a bed, and place something heavy like a lead ball on the bed. The bed naturally deforms with the mass of the lead ball.

To arouse everyone's interest, I also made a video titled "Can we make an atomic bomb at home?". In fact, whether in terms of materials or configuration concentration, it is impossible for people to manufacture with the items at hand. I want to ignite the interest of netizens in a fun form, and then explain in depth and break down seemingly difficult physics knowledge.

I once used an analogy, if the scientific knowledge aimed at professional scholars is vodka with extremely high alcohol concentration, then the knowledge popularization video aimed at the public is fruit wine, which contains alcohol but does not dry people. That slightly tipsy feeling is the process of absorbing knowledge.

Physics is the principle of all things and the foundation of natural science. But there is a common impression that it looks difficult to learn. Actually, there are many interesting things inside. Why do you find it difficult to learn? It's because the theory and formulas seem quite difficult, but these contents have good applications. I will use them to separate the theory and formulas, and with the help of videos, I will explain them to everyone in detail.

One day, my Tiktok background suddenly "exploded". When I opened my mobile phone, "999+" messages appeared. At that time, it was during the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the "explosive" video was about why there was always someone brushing the ice in front of the curling machine. In the end, it received millions of likes and over 70 million views.

I gradually realized that everyone's thirst for knowledge is so strong. In the comments, some people left a message saying, "There's already a popular science nuclear bomb on Tiktok", and others jokingly said, "Is this what I can see with a monthly salary of 3500?" But I can clearly feel the general public's thirst for knowledge from behind everyone's self denial. Someone left me a message, and I still want to see some content. If it suits me, I will continue with it.

I also increasingly realize that being a science blogger in Tiktok may not only be my hobby, but also my job and responsibility as a teacher, in addition to teaching and scientific research. However, this time the classroom is not in the classroom or laboratory, and the students I am facing are not just dozens or hundreds of students in the class, but millions of people. Now, my Tiktok account has 1.51 million fans and 6.87 million likes.

Dai Shuxi uses interesting forms to deconstruct complex physics knowledge

Teachers borrowed Tiktok videos from me to play in class

Relying on the Tiktok platform, besides teaching and scientific research, I have turned science popularization into one third of my work, and I am satisfied. I also want to thank my alma mater and my current employer, Henan University, for their support. The university learned that I am filming videos for science popularization and has provided a lot of help.

A few years ago, I applied for the Henan Province Science Popularization Education Base in Physics based on my college; Last year, with the support of the Henan Association for Science and Technology, I applied for the Chief Science Popularization Expert Studio in Henan Province, which covers over 100 square meters. Now, my videos are also filmed here; At the beginning of this year, I also applied for the Henan Province All Media Science Popularization Creation Base.

I gradually realized that in the past, my videos were more aimed at adults, but teenagers also need to be influenced even more. Once, during a flood in Zhengzhou, I posted a video titled "What to do if there is a power outage in the hospital", introducing how power rescue is carried out during the flood. One of my colleagues told me that his child watched the video dozens of times in a row and boasted about knowing what to do if there was a power outage in the hospital. I was actually quite moved when I found out that children are like a blank sheet of paper, maybe just because of a book or a video, they will fall in love with science.

Since then, teenagers have also become one of the important audiences for my science popularization content. We will invite primary and secondary school students to the base for experiments, such as touching a metal ball and their hair will explode. We will also demonstrate the experimental process to students in the classrooms of various schools.

I will also play short videos of the completed work in my own classroom, as some principles are difficult to understand and the establishment of some formulas is also complex. When I open the textbook and directly face the formulas, I feel a bit confused. Physics has a wide range of research objects, ranging from atoms and nuclei, which are invisible to the human eye; The vast universe is also difficult to observe in practice, and videos can present these contents clearly and concretely. Every warm-up moment before class, I will play a story to the students.

In our college, I have several opportunities to train rural teachers every year, and I always talk about how to make short videos. If a teacher has no experience and wants to lend my Tiktok video to children first, I will always express "strong support".

One of my next work plans is to shoot a group of videos of teenagers conducting fun small experiments using coins or rulers within reach, which may be played in public places in the future.

I also plan to open a live broadcast public class on the Tiktok platform to tell the mysteries of the universe and the story of China's aerospace, so that more people can understand the country's scientific and technological development and the scientists' research spirit. Perhaps some content may not be useful in daily life, but this is the exploration of humanity as a whole. I hope my video can become a small window for everyone to look up at the starry sky.

I am 47 years old this year, perhaps not the golden age for scientific research, but I believe that science popularization work is equally important, full of unknowns and challenges. I still love tinkering and don't want to live an unchanging life. If I can, I hope I am still trembling when I retire and become a real "silver hair creator". Even if only one out of ten thousand people who follow me is interested in science, I would be very happy.

Dai Shuxi is currently conducting science popularization