听大师Linus Pauling讲“诺贝尔奖背后的故事”

Linus Pauling是最伟大的科学家之一，也是少数几个获得两次诺贝尔奖的大师之一。上周我拿他的故事为例，给大学生讲“摩登化学”（官方称“当代化学”，呵呵），大家还挺有兴趣的，拿出来分享一下。

Pauling 获得Nobel Chemistry prize主要归功于1931年在Journal of American Chemical Society上发表的一篇文章：“The Nature of the Chemical Bond. I. Application of Results Obtained from the Quantum Mechanics and from a Theory of Paramagnetic Susceptibility to the Structures of Molecules”，1931, 53, 1367。1979年8月6日他写过一篇散文（全文图片见http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/bond/notes/1979a2.10.html），介绍了这个“诺贝尔奖背后的故事”。（注：红斜体为原文，黑汉字为本人评论）

"During my early years as a scientist, beginning in 1919, I had a special interest in the problem of the nature of the chemical bond; that is, the nature of the forces that hold atoms together in molecules, crystals, and substances. Much of my work during this early period was directed toward a solution of problem, by application of both experimental and theoretical methods."

从这一段可以看出三点：

(1) Pauling还是个大学生的时候（1917-1922），就已经自称为“科学家”了，更确切地说，树立了要当“科学家”的伟大目标。因此，现在有人甚至还在争议“科学家”与“科学工作者”等称号的“级别”，多么可笑啊！

(2) 想当科学家，有个特别感兴趣的问题非常重要！还是本科生的Pauling，就认准了一个问题，一生再也没有放弃过！

(3) 为了能解决问题，实验与理论并重。虽然普遍认为Pauling是个理论化学家，但实际上他对实验的掌握程度绝对不输于任何一个实验化学家，他的博士学位其实就是做的实验研究。

"As soon as quantum mechanics was discovered, in 1925, I began striving to apply this powerful theory to the problem. I published several theoretical papers in this field during the next few years, without, however, having been able to answer a number of important questions."

从这一段可以看出三点：

(1) Pauling能及时发现、并充分利用现有条件开展有效的工作。量子力学在当时还是非常抽象的（当然至今仍然是^_^），基本属于物理研究领域。但是，做为一个刚毕业的搞化学的博士生，Pauling就能主动拿过来为己所用，是不是要比现在那些“饭来张口、衣来伸手”型的研究生好很多？

(2) Pauling不怕失败，虽然没有解决自己的问题，但仍然保持高度热情，大有不解决誓不罢休的豪情。看来，没志气是不会有多大出息的。

(3) 发表学术论文是做为一个科学家的基本功夫，是最基本的科研训练，虽然都是解决不了问题的“垃圾”，对于年轻科学家来说，还是非常必要的。

"Then one evening, in December, 1930, while I was sitting at my desk in my study at our home on Arden Road and California Street, in Pasadena, California, I had an idea about a way to simplify the quantum-mechanical equations in such a manner as to permit their easy approximate solution. I was so excited about this idea that I stayed up most of the night, applying the idea to various problems."

从这一段也可以看出三点：

(1) 搞科研不分场合地点，即使在家里，脑子里想的还是科学问题！现在有多少人能做到这一点？陈景润应该算一个，走路都撞电线杆。不要说在宿舍了，就是在实验室里，也是QQ消磨时间！教授？教授的问题都在饭桌上解决了，呵呵！

(2) 创新成果靠积累，虽然只是一闪念，但这一闪需要长期坚持不懈的积累才行哦！只有等到云雾的电压积累的足够高的时候，才能一道闪电耀眼，正所谓“山穷水尽疑无路，柳暗花明又一村”是也！山不穷、水不尽，是看不到路的。

(3) 科学家的特点就是对自己的成果感到“兴奋”，兴奋的一夜都睡不着觉！兴奋的感觉来源于“自我实现”，当然是兴趣使然。那些按部就班的“研究”，到点下班，即使有个金元宝在前面等着捡，也要先睡一觉等到明天再干，据说寒号鸟就是这么冻死的！

"During the next two months I continued to work on this idea, and to write a paper communicating the results of its application to the problem of the nature of the chemical bond. As I recall, the manuscript to which this is an introduction was written in early February 1931. A typescript was prepared from it, and the manuscript was put in the wastepaper basket, presumably by me, although I do not have a clear memory of this matter. Forty-seven years later the manuscript was given to me by Professor Ralph Hultgren. In 1931, Ralph Hultgren was one of my graduate students, working for his Ph.D. in chemistry. He stated, when he gave me the manuscript, that he had removed it from the wastepaper basket and had kept it for the intervening forty-seven years."

从这一段可以看出两点：

(1) 自己写的“草稿”最好不要随便扔到垃圾桶，说不定哪天就成了文物！

(2) 当个勤快的学生很重要，每天替老板倒垃圾，看似是下等活，但也能跟着老板名垂青史，呵呵！当然，这离不开对老板的尊重与信任。

"I made some changes in the typescript, and the revised typescript was submitted to the editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society" on 17 February 1931. It was published in the April issue, which appeared on 6 April 1931, on pages 1367 to 1400 of the JACS, Volume 53. The short time that elapsed between receipt of the article and publication in the Journal indicates that the Editor of the Journal, Professor Arthur B. Lamb of Harvard University, did not go through the usual process of submitting the paper to referees for criticism, but instead decided that it was proper for it to be sent immediately to the printer."

从这一段可以看出两点：

(1) 文章能否发表，与编辑、评审人关系不大，只有作者自己才是文章发表与否的决定者！你的文章有真货，自然能发表，而不是靠与编辑、评审人进行所谓的“争论”来达到目的，当然更不可能是花钱买啦！

(2) 即使文章不受“同行”普遍所认知，一样也可以闪光。据当时JACS的主编Lamb后来说，没有对Pauling的文章进行评审是因为：“could not think of anyone qualified to referee it”。因此，根本用不着抱怨自己的成果“太超前”而发表不了，如果是真家伙，发表根本就不是问题。

后面还有两段，篇幅所限，从略。从以上几点，或许已经能够体会到Pauling为啥能够获得Nobel奖了。再反过来对照一下我们自己，是不是也能找到为啥无法获得Nobel奖的原因呢？