How useful is Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), which cost 6 million yuan to build?

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)-the world's largest single-hole 5m spherical radio telescope (FAST) built in China, with a total investment of more than 4 billion yuan, is a high-sensitivity giant radio telescope with an area close to 3 football fields and the largest astronomical telescope in the world at present. Recently, a piece of news made military girls feel a little worried. It is reported that during the National Day, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has become a tourist hotspot, with an endless stream of tourists. At the same time, tourism supporting hotels and other infrastructure are planned nearby. The most terrible thing is that even if a mobile phone is turned on within a few kilometers of Fiona Fang during the operation of the radio telescope, it will cause great damage to the work of this behemoth.

FAST has great sensitivity, and it can receive extremely weak signals from the universe. The weaker it means, the more distant it comes from an unknown field, which is more meaningful to scientists. In order to ensure the normal work of FAST, the local government specially issued the Regulations on Environmental Protection for the Operation of the Electromagnetic Wave Quiet Zone of the 5m Spherical Radio Telescope in Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The regulations stipulate that it is strictly forbidden to set up and use radio stations in the core area with a radius of 5km of FAST, and it is strictly forbidden to build facilities that generate radiated electromagnetic waves, which means that mobile phones, televisions, microwave ovens, induction cookers, gasoline vehicles, etc. will not be allowed to be used in this area.

It is absolutely forbidden for tourists to take photos with their mobile phones while the telescope is working.

It is strictly stipulated that tourists should keep their mobile phones off when visiting FAST, but what is worrying is the enforcement of this regulation. For example, the female tourists in the above picture cheerfully take out their mobile phones to take photos. In the tens of thousands of people's flow every day, it is very likely that one or two tourists who can't hold back will take some photos secretly. After all, they open the security door on the plane to get some air.

Tourism supporting projects around p>FAST are already in full swing

Even if tourists are asked to hand in their mobile phones before the tour, what about other various electronic products? According to Academician Wu Xiangping, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, if calculated according to the service life of FAST for 3 years, the total daily cost is estimated to be around 4, RMB. "That is to say, as long as one day is wasted, 4, RMB will be gone." Once the interference of electronic equipment affects the observation results, the whole day or even more observations may be invalid.

Of course, according to the normal procedure, sightseeing is likely to be prohibited during the working hours of the radio telescope, but once there are more tourists, the management of the radio environment around the telescope will be more complicated. It is understandable to take advantage of FAST to promote the local economy, but we must grasp the scale and never affect the normal work of this great project for money.