Researchers from the Chinese Felid Conservation Alliance on a field trip to the Taihang Mountains. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Knowledge matters

Those who update the articles are no more than 30 years old, and several volunteers are the institute's postgraduates.

"It's our obligation and responsibility to popularize science. We hope students will choose to study physics in the future after knowing more about it, so we can recruit more talented people," Wei said.

According to Wei, a survey last year showed that more than 70,000 of those following the app account had physics as their major subject.

The account's articles feature formulas and models to explain simple questions in life. For example, how to cut a watermelon into pieces while avoiding the seeds.

The account has a weekly column to answer readers' questions, and has so far answered more than 600 questions. Some are issues related to daily life such as why earphone wires easily entwine, and some are broader ones, such as the differences between physics and chemistry. Each week, 10 questions are selected and placed into three categories－easy to understand, needs basic knowledge to understand and only professionals can understand.