Memories of Chemistry - Cao Jdong

Today, while reviewing vocabulary, the name of this person suddenly popped up in my mind. It seems that in this lovely spring season, which is perfect for jumping off a building, nostalgia is still the most suitable emotion haha. Cao Jdong is a very smart old man:) He belongs to the type of old naughty boy, hehe. I used to love listening to his lectures, and his organic chemistry classes were very good and lively (and also very fast:( ).

So, I googled him and found blogs written by younger generations, as well as many classic stories, hehe, many of which he had told us before.

Alas, I’m no longer studying chemistry now… crying… In China, stupid people don’t have many opportunities to choose their own future… hmm, I’m very stupid…

—The following is a repost

I actually knew that Cao Jdong had a habit of reading other people’s blogs. I searched for him on Baidu, and this blog post of mine was the first result.. hehe, I’m impressed by this alumnus..

Cao Jdong is a professor in the Chemistry Department of Beijing Normal University, a member of the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Organic Chemistry and Polymer Professional Guidance Group, a member of the Chinese Chemical Society’s Organic Chemistry Discipline Committee, deputy director of the Chinese Chemical Society’s Chemical Education Committee, and a member of the Chinese Chemical Society. His mentor was Xing Qiyi, and he participated in the artificial synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin..

His lectures were particularly fun,

His lecture notes and welcome pages had very long passwords, all the same, which might be related to the phrase “cjdstxdy” (Cao Jdong is the best in the world), but there’s no way to verify this

“What is a chemical bond? A chemical bond is like electronic glue. Lone pair electrons are like 502. If I touch 502 and slap it on someone’s butt, that’s a bond. The strength of the bond depends on the quality of the glue, which is the ability to give electrons, and the surface it sticks to, which is the ability to attract electrons…” He explained chemical bonds in a humorous and concise way

He often told us stories.

For example, when talking about the Beckmann rearrangement, he mentioned: “In 1935, Carothers of DuPont synthesized nylon 6, made a fortune, but was so focused on making money that he neglected academic research. A German scientist (whose name I forgot) then developed a unified theory of high polymers from basic principles and won the Nobel Prize. Carothers was furious, saying ‘I invented it, why did you get the Nobel Prize?’ and then jumped off a building… without taking the elevator…”

He also talked about learning,

He disliked it when people said “invent this or that” because he said: “How can a young student in college invent something? It’s usually the teacher or parent who does it, and then it becomes the student’s work. Genius is rare, one in 10,000 people, but if 200 out of 10,000 people are geniuses, that’s just luck. I support academic competitions because they teach you how to learn. Learning should be about understanding, not just memorizing. You should be able to read a book and understand it, not just memorize formulas. If you try to memorize every reaction, you’ll be exhausted. Many reactions are based on the same principle, so if you understand one reaction, you should be able to understand hundreds of others.” For example, the Wurtz reaction is RX + NA → R-R, and the Ullmann reaction is Ph-I + Cu → Ph-Ph, which is just a variation of the Wurtz reaction. Similarly, there are the Wurtz-Fittig reaction, Grignard reaction, Corey-House reaction, and Reformatsky reaction…

He also said

In 1999, several doctoral students from the Chinese Academy of Sciences put CCl4 and metallic sodium in a large iron pot, sealed it, and then heard a loud bang. When they opened the lid, they found diamonds! This is an application of the Wurtz reaction. They really understood the concept.. Those who just memorize formulas may get good grades, but they lack creativity and don’t know how to learn.

The Dieckmann condensation reaction, Stobbe reaction, and Darzens reaction are all related.. He also said, “Do you know how a crane grows taller?” One day, he saw a tower crane growing taller on the side of the road and said, “This is just like the Darzens reaction, haha.”

Organic chemistry is actually very interesting and has attracted many people. For example, Kekulé, who initially studied architecture, was inspired by Liebig’s lectures and switched to organic chemistry. Liebig’s students included Hofmann, Wurtz, and Butlerov, and Butlerov’s students included Markovnikov and Saytzeff. It’s a big family.. Maybe studying pharmacology isn’t a bad idea either.

When talking about the Lindlar catalyst, he said that pyridine has a special smell, which can knock out palladium, haha.. He also drew a little person when explaining the boat and chair conformations, haha

The person who synthesized skatole was Fischer, and Cao Jdong said that when his mentor Xing lectured, he would often forget things and stare at the students, expecting them to remind him, “Methyl, hydrogen…” If they didn’t, he would scold them after class, “What’s wrong with you, don’t you even know this?!” But when it came to Fischer, he never forgot, because Fischer had synthesized over 150 types of sugars, which is extremely difficult. The president of the chemical society once told him, “I didn’t accomplish anything during my time in Germany…”