The legend of Tiga

Chapter 2296 Learning from Others
Anyone who picked up firecrackers as a child knows that the sound produced by taking apart a firecracker and lighting the gunpowder is far less impressive than that of a regular firecracker.

The reason is that the former is a continuous burning, while the latter is an instantaneous explosion.

The principle of a detonation engine is to use continuous explosions instead of traditional isobaric combustion.

Using the principle of firecrackers, fuel and oxidizer are ignited in a confined space to create a supersonic blast wave, which is ejected from a small opening, thus propelling the aircraft forward.

Compared to traditional isobaric combustion, blast combustion can release more energy in the same amount of time, and it does not require complex structures such as compressors and turbines. All that is needed is a sufficiently rigid engine. Therefore, the biggest factor limiting blast combustion engines is the material, which must be able to withstand thousands of degrees and ultra-high pressure without deformation.

Conversely, as long as the engine can withstand the strain, the engine's output power can be increased by enhancing the explosive force. If the fuel's power is insufficient, gunpowder can be used; if black powder doesn't work, TNT can be used; and if TNT still doesn't work, RDX can be used.
As long as the engine can withstand it, humans dare to stuff nuclear bombs into it.

This demonstrates the importance of materials.
Like a space elevator, this thing is indeed very sci-fi, but the sci-fi part is the carbon nanotubes that are tens of thousands of kilometers long. It took humans thirty years to increase their length from micrometers to half a meter. Once this is solved, the space elevator can be approved and built in no time.

There are also skyscrapers, bridges, and tunnels. As long as the materials are strong enough, they can cross not only straits of a few hundred kilometers, but also the Pacific Ocean of tens of thousands of kilometers.

As is well known, the better the materials, the higher the price, because the more difficult they are to manufacture.

However, the cosmic sphere Sphia overturned humanity's understanding of materials science. Without complicated smelting or various quenching processes, it used very ordinary rocks without being picky, yet created a 'rock skin' that is dozens of times harder than diamonds. The cost-effectiveness is simply off the charts.

Therefore, after the first appearance of the Scia chimera on Mars, companies and scientists related to materials went crazy, sparing no expense to obtain fragments of the Scia chimera and immediately begin research in an attempt to replicate it.

However, so far, none have succeeded, because the rocky skin of the Specia chimera contains all sorts of components that would be considered impurities in human materials science. The only special thing is that the molecules are tightly bound together, which means that the density is extremely high.

The densest natural substance on Earth is metallic osmium, a transition metal in Group 8 of Period 6 of the periodic table. It belongs to the platinum group elements and has a relative density of 22.57 tons per cubic meter, which is more than 20 times the density of water.

However, the density of the rocky skin of the Sphia chimera is several times that of metallic osmium, and almost a hundred times that of water. To put this into perspective, a piece the size of a brick would weigh three or four hundred kilograms, equivalent to three normal adults.

The key point is that this thing is not only heavy, but also has super strong properties such as high toughness and high strength. To put it this way, if you build a house with the same thickness of Specia chimera rock skin, even a cannon cannot blast it down.

If it were used to build a bridge
The reason why many straits have not yet been connected by bridges is not because they lack the capability, but because natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons can cause enormous damage or even destruction to bridges built with reinforced concrete.

Take the Taiwan Strait for example. Its deepest point is only about 80 meters, with an average depth of 60 meters, and its length is only a little over 100 kilometers. Technically, there are no problems. However, the biggest problem is earthquakes and typhoons, especially earthquakes. The up-and-down and left-and-right shaking will repeatedly pull on the bridges, causing a huge impact on steel and concrete. It's like repeatedly bending an iron bar, which will cause metal fatigue, cracks, and eventually breakage.

Of course, humans have materials with excellent toughness, but just like adding points in a game, if one part is high, another part will be low. Similarly, materials with high toughness are not strong enough, and materials with high strength are not tough enough. Materials that have both toughness and strength are extremely expensive, almost as expensive as gold. Using such materials to build bridges would be incredibly costly.

However, the rocky skin of the Specia chimera is a 'hexagonal warrior', with both toughness and strength at their maximum, several times stronger than the best human materials. If this material were used to build a bridge, without considering other factors, the single span could easily exceed 10,000 meters. If it were used to build a house, even the largest earthquake could not tear it apart, thus preventing any houses from collapsing.

This exceptionally high-quality material is made from ordinary, readily available rocks. This means that once the technical hurdles are overcome, the cost of this material will be incredibly low, enabling its large-scale application.

just
Horii, who had rushed back after spending a few days with his family, wore large glasses and held a large stack of documents. He said, "Based on the combined results of X-ray testing, ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle testing, penetrant testing, and the system's self-test, the diaphragm is basically normal and there are no major problems, but..."

As we all know, once a transition word like 'but' appears, the words before 'but' can be treated as nonsense. Therefore, Xincheng, who was resting in a chair, immediately straightened up, perked up, and pretended to listen.

Even Lucia sat up straight, wanting to hear where the 'but' was.

As Horii spoke, his expression turned somewhat helpless, and he said with a wry smile, "There was some metal damage at the fracture repair site. It's very minor, but it's definitely there. Sigh!"

As he continued, Horii himself couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, deeply feeling the technological gap.

The man-made parts from outer space are still intact to this day, with only some wear and oxidation on the surface. However, the TPC's repair points suffered metal damage after just one intense battle. Although it was minor, it means that current human materials are not sufficient to withstand such a 100,000-ton impact for an extended period of time. This also indicates that humanity is far behind the creators of the Diablo in terms of materials.

Such a gap left Horii sighing with regret.

Compared to the technological gap, the material gap is even more disheartening.

As we all know, mathematics is an abyss; the difference between a gifted person and one without can be vast. And when it comes to math problems, if you don't know how, you simply don't know how, no matter how hard you try.

Materials science is an even deeper pit than mathematics; no matter how talented you are, you'll be forced to kneel before it.

New materials are never inventions, but rather accidental discoveries after countless ratios and trials, sometimes requiring a stroke of luck to discover that, wow, this method can improve the material's performance.

The most well-known example is the heat treatment of metals, where the performance of treated and untreated metals can be vastly different. But before that, who would have thought that a 'fire' could have such a significant impact on the properties of metals?

Heat treatment is divided into overall heat treatment, surface heat treatment, chemical heat treatment, and aging heat treatment. In daily life, overall heat treatment is the most common, which is further subdivided into normalizing, tempering, annealing, and quenching.
The 'fire' processing technique alone has so many variations, and different processing techniques will also affect the properties of the metal. If you play with permutations and combinations, the results are as numerous as the stars in the sky. This is materials science—one pit after another, each unique, and every pit can reveal new possibilities, giving you a huge surprise.

"What should I do?"

Upon hearing this, Shinjo panicked. He had only just experienced the wonder of the Daiborigu and hadn't had his fill yet. And judging from Horii's words, the Daiborigu might disintegrate during battle because TPC's repair materials were substandard.

Horii waved his hand and said, "It's not that serious. As long as we are diligent in maintenance and replace any damaged parts immediately, it won't disintegrate. I will discuss with the technical team about adding more sensors to the repair areas to monitor their condition at all times, in order to avoid the worst-case scenario."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Shinjo was finally relieved. He still trusted Horii. Since Horii said so, it meant there was a problem, but it wasn't very serious. That was fine. Even if it had to be repaired every time, it wouldn't matter. That's how powerful TPC was.

"Although it's a temporary measure, it can hold out for a while. Once the research is complete, the problem can be solved completely."

Horii reassured them, saying that TPC has never relaxed its research on new materials and has invested heavily every year. Even if there are pitfalls, they can fill them to some extent. Therefore, in Horii's view, as long as they persist in their research with samples, they will eventually achieve results. At that time, they will be able to completely solve the hidden dangers of the Daibo Rigu.

"It was still too much of a stretch."

Dr. Yao sat to the side, shaking his head and sighing. It had been less than a year since he was invited to join the GW-R project team, which was also the time when TPC had truly begun researching giant combat robots.

Before this, everyone believed that the existing technology and materials could not support such a giant robot, so it was basically ignored. Even the GW-R project was found by Makoto Chiba from old documents. He then went around trying to gain investment and invite people to form a team, which led to the GW-R project team we have today.

Although everyone worked very hard, the time was too short. In just one year, it was not enough to fully master the technology, let alone innovate on it.

The greatest significance is that it has trained a mature team that is proficient in both technology and logistics, covering all aspects of giant combat mechs, and established various standardized systems. This is the key, because with these experiences and systems, we can continuously train technical personnel in maintenance, logistics, and other fields.

For large equipment such as tanks and fighter jets, the pilot is very important, but the maintenance personnel are equally important. Without ground crew to take charge of maintenance, fighter jets will have frequent problems after flying only a few times.

Super-massive equipment like the GW-R and the Daiborigu involve collisions involving tens of thousands of tons, making them more reliant on logistical maintenance. They require comprehensive inspections and repairs after each battle, otherwise, major problems might arise during their next deployment.

Prior to this, TPC had no relevant personnel and no idea how to maintain and care for such a large piece of equipment. The entire GW-R project team was figuring things out as they went along, summarizing experiences and lessons learned through repeated attempts, and establishing a series of standards, which eventually became industry rules.

Because GW-R was a pioneer, and the path of the forerunner was indeed difficult, but everything he experienced will be followed by those who come after. GW-R has become the cradle of giant combat mechs. After the Daiborigu was put on the agenda, it expanded several times based on the original team. Each person takes several 'students' with them. Once they are familiar with and proficient, they will go to various places and become seeds.

However, no matter how significant it is, it cannot mask the shortcomings of too little time and insufficient technology.

Before GW-R, TPC had no experience with giant combat mechs. Everything was done by Dr. Ya-Ooki and his team through trial and error. GW-R was just the threshold of giant combat mechs, and it might not even reach that threshold. After all, the famous robots in the universe are tens of meters tall and weigh tens of thousands of tons, while GW-R barely reaches a fraction of their weight. The difference is enormous.

Meanwhile, Dr. Yao and his team were still improving GW-R and hadn't fully mastered the relevant technology when they were suddenly pulled into the mature robot project, Daiborigu. To be honest, it was a very difficult situation, and neither Dr. Yao and the other technical staff nor the maintenance and logistics personnel were very comfortable with it.

It's like you've just learned to drive, and then you're immediately taken to flight school to fly a plane.

Normally, such a large leap is not allowed, but since TPC is practically a makeshift team when it comes to giant combat mechs, they can only bring in anyone with some experience and learn as they go.

"There's nothing I can do about it, it's the first time after all." Horii took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. Since taking over the Daibo Riku, he has been working non-stop. If it weren't for Chizuru and the others' accident, he probably wouldn't have had time to be with them. Even so, Horii only stayed at home for a few days before rushing back.

The reason is: we're not familiar with each other!
The Diaborigus is a mature giant combat robot. Many of its technologies are unfamiliar and incomprehensible to them. If it weren't for Agamus, the Diaborigus would probably still be in the research and experimentation stage, let alone having formed a combat capability.

Even so, the restoration of the Deborah Rigau is still not comparable to the original parts. It's like a garment sewn together with needle and thread; it looks fine, but once subjected to strong pulling, the stitching points are still the first to break.

Daibo Rigu is currently facing such a problem: the metal in the repair area was damaged after only one battle, while the non-repair area is still intact. The difference is obvious, and this problem cannot be solved until a breakthrough is made in new materials.

"so."

Just as Shinjo was about to say something, a sudden "Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" alarm sounded, making everyone jump to their feet. Then, an urgent broadcast blared: "An anomaly has occurred in Zone D. All personnel are to evacuate immediately. Repeat, an anomaly has occurred in Zone D. All personnel are to evacuate immediately."

Horii paused for a moment, then said, "Sector D? Isn't that where Trafalgar is?"

(End of this chapter)