Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 116 Wireless Telegraphy
For a certain subject of natural science, even Cheng Nuo couldn't say that he could master it, at most he knew a little bit of superficiality.

However, as the dean of the Academy of Sciences, what he is best at is knowing who is suitable for which specific positions, and maximizing the value of talents. He can always find suitable people for different disciplines.

In the daily work of the weather station, apart from the professional knowledge of meteorology, there is also a very important job, which is the transmission of daily information. In this regard, Cheng Nuo happens to have ready-made talents available.

On that day, Cheng Nuo was going to take Nikola Tesla to Zhang's mansion, and then took a car with Zhang Jian to Xujiahui Meteorological Observatory.

Although there has been a reception dinner before, Tesla was introduced to celebrities from all walks of life, including Zhang Jian.

Even so, Zhang Jian was still very interested in Tesla. He drove Cheng Nuo to the passenger seat and chatted with the Tesla for a while.

When he heard that Tesla was alone at such an age, Zhang Jian's eyes widened and his beard raised in disbelief.

"Zhiyuan, you are not lying to me, right? I remember that he is only three years younger than me, and now my son is only a few years younger than you. According to our rules at that time, after graduation, I would marry and have children. You can be a grandfather, why is Mr. Tesla not married yet?"

At this time, Tesla was looking at the street scene through the car window with great interest, and was still thinking about the new radio in his mind. He never thought that the old man and the young man were gossiping about him.

Cheng Nuo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned his body half sideways, turned around and said in Mandarin: "Mr. Zhang, it's not that he doesn't want to look for it, but that he's really busy and doesn't have time to look for it. Otherwise, with his conditions, how could it be possible?" Can't find it."

Zhang Jian stroked his beard and said curiously: "I think he is quite a normal person. Although you translated what he said just now, the content is also normal people's thinking. How can he be so busy that he is alone? Even if he is busy, Is there really no time at all?"

Cheng Nuo nodded, seeing that Tesla didn't notice the situation here, and said in a low voice: "He himself said that in order to put the ideas in his mind into practice, he only sleeps for two hours a day, and besides sleeping, he spends Thinking, so people really don’t have time.”

Zhang Jian paused, almost hurting himself, and after thinking for a while, he came up like a ghost: "Zhiyuan, Mr. Tesla is now sixty, can we introduce him to someone who is younger, and let him know when he is young?" If China becomes a family, it will tie his heart, and it would be even better if he can have a baby."

Hearing this, Cheng Nuo almost couldn't hold back immediately, and said to himself, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang, you really can think about it. You just want to draw a red line for others and order the local mandarin ducks. I don't know that Tesla himself listens. How do you feel after that.

If you think about it carefully, if you really let him settle down in China, it is equivalent to adding another layer of insurance, and you can also let him do some things with greater national significance later, which will be more convenient to use.

Before he knew it, Cheng Nuo's attitude also became ambiguous. He followed Zhang Jian's thoughts, and the more he walked, the more he felt that it was okay. Later, Tesla could live alone to the age of 86 under such hygienic conditions. The rival Edison is enough to prove that the physical fitness is good. If you can really get married at this age, what will happen later is not impossible.

However, Cheng Nuo didn't have much experience in this kind of thing, and he was still a bachelor, so what right did he have to criticize others, and his attitude was a little vague: "This kind of thing, it depends on one's own opinion, and it is difficult for outsiders to intervene."

Zhang Jian raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "It's okay, I'll just ask casually, and you don't have to worry about the rest."

Chen Nuo adjusted his sitting posture and asked curiously, "Mr. Zhang, you don't really want to take it all in?"

Zhang Jian also looked at the street scene outside the car window, and said indifferently: "The old ancestor said well, people who are not of our race must have different hearts. Instead of worrying about this, it's better to just make him one of our own people."

When asked later, Zhang Jian refused to say anything. Instead, he took advantage of the time he was teaching Tesla's Mandarin to make a conversation. term.

Cheng Nuo was also helpless about this. Seeing that he couldn't speak, he simply sat down in the passenger seat and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

It doesn't matter, I'll do it.

there is always a solution to a problem.

Fortunately, the distance is not too far, and the group arrived at the Xujiahui Observatory before squinting their eyes for a while.

Sign up for the name card, and soon someone came down and led him upstairs to the director's office.

Seeing Zhang Jian, the Director of the Observatory, French Catholic Missionary Lao Jixun, stepped forward and gave him a warm hug.

"Mr. Zhang, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to be in such good spirits. It seems that God has blessed you a lot during this time."

It's a pity that Zhang Jian doesn't believe in Christianity, he is a serious Buddhist, seeing this he felt helpless and said: "Lao Jixun, I'm sorry, I think the Buddha's contribution should be greater."

Lao Jixun came to China when he was 24 years old. At the beginning, he served as the assistant of the former Director Nens. Later, he returned to China to study Catholic doctrine and mathematics, and practiced at the local observatory.

After accepting the invitation, he returned to China and directly served as the director of the Xujiahui Observatory. During this period, he was in charge of the observatory. It was not until his health deteriorated 30 years later that he chose to return to China.Because of its excellent meteorological work in China, it provided great convenience for the French Navy to sail in the Far East, and the French Concession even named a road after him.

If you want to understand the meteorological history of modern China, he and the observatory he is in charge of are an important page that cannot be ignored.

However, just because he has been in charge of the observatory for so long, Zhang Jian, who served as the Minister of Water Resources in the middle, had an intersection with him, and the friendship between the two was established from that moment.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Jian introduced Cheng Nuo and Tesla to the side.

Hearing the name, Lao Jixun exaggeratedly gave Cheng Nuo a deep hug: "Professor Cheng, it's hard to imagine that you have made such great achievements at such a young age, especially when you talk about class domains. I am deeply fascinated by the imagination of the development of theory, and I can't help but think of Poincaré in our country. It is really amazing whether God kissed your forehead when you were born."

While Cheng Nuo was ashamed, he also lamented that this guy was so dedicated, and kept his job in three sentences: "Where, where, so far, I have only made some insignificant small achievements, which are far from enough."

But when it comes to Tesla, Tesla himself is more resistant to this enthusiasm.

Firstly, Tesla was introverted and didn't like this familiarity very much.

Secondly, Tesla’s parents are both Serbian. His grandfather and father are both serious Orthodox priests. Although they belong to the same Christianity as Catholicism, there are still quite big internal differences, and there are grievances that cannot be resolved for thousands of years. Due to the influence of his family environment, Tesla could tell at a glance what kind of religious the other party was, so he resisted even more.

Due to the dual factors, Tesla's attitude towards Lao Jixun is not very cold.

However, Lao Jixun didn't care at all. On the way of missionary work, especially in this land where nature is generally worshiped in China, what kind of people he has never met, he still gave each other a warm hug.

Since they came to ask for something, it was impossible for the three of them to come up and ask for it. What was important was a gradual process.

Slowly, the topic gradually turned to the recent weather forecast. When talking about the service targets of Xujiahui Observatory, Lao Jixun couldn't help but be proud: "Don't look at our observatory as if it is not big, but that's just a historical limitation. We The current service targets cover the entire Far East sea area, starting from Siberia in the north, Manila in the south, Indochina Federation in the west (formerly Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), and Guam Island in the east (one of the Aleutian Islands). Waiting place, all in close contact."

Cheng Nuo's eyes lit up immediately, he and Zhang Jian looked at each other and then nodded, which meant that they came to the right place. Such a large area has complex and diverse climates. If we can collect them and get them, it will be of great help to the development of China's meteorological research. , definitely has important reference significance.

Zhang Jian pretended to cough, and asked knowingly: "The climate changes rapidly in various places, when did you start contacting?"

Cheng Nuo was also very confused, and echoed, "There are so many places that almost cover half of the Pacific Ocean, how did you do it? Is God really on your side? "

Lao Jixun was proud: "Because God is on our side, and we are one of the earliest observatories in the history of the Far East. Other places are just our students. As early as the last century, the Central Meteorological Observatory in Tokyo, Japan sent deer to us. Island and Kochi Prefecture weather telegrams."

Zhang Jian continued to ask: "The exchange of information is mutual, they will not always send one-way?"

Lao Jixun shrugged and explained: "Of course it's not one-way. Our observatory sends Guam's weather telegram to Tokyo in exchange."

Cheng Nuo had no choice but to sigh inwardly. Although Japanese militarism has not become a major trend, they have been collecting meteorological data for our largest city since the last century. We don't know anything about others, and we don't even know the local weather better than the enemy, which is really ironic.

So what if Kagoshima is given to you, the navy has no strength for expeditions, not to mention that the weather data is still kept in the hands of the French, which has nothing to do with China in name, how can it be possible to "offend foreign guests" with the piss of the Beiyang government or the national government.

Fortunately, after liberation, the Xujiahui Observatory was accepted by the country and allowed to continue to function. It is based on this continuous observation record that the temperature change curve of Xujiahui's single station in the past 200 years can be accurately drawn. It is also based on this Xujiahui was selected by the University of East Anglia as the only station in China to participate in the reconstruction of the average temperature series of the global land and ocean in the past [-] years.

Although Tesla didn't know much about meteorological knowledge, he was astute and quickly caught a key point and asked directly.

"According to the diversity of the climate, with so many cooperative weather stations, how many telegrams do you send in a day?"

Lao Jixun thought about it for a while, and said: "At present, there are more than 60 meteorological stations in contact with us, and they send out weather telegrams 2 to 3 times, so the number of telegrams sent a day is more than 200."

Cheng Nuo was speechless inwardly. It cost a lot to send one or two hundred telegrams abroad last time. He did not expect that this small weather station would send so many telegrams in a day, and this kind of work started in the middle of last century. How much does it cost?However, according to international conventions, the calculation of fees for meteorological exchanges should be another matter.

Perhaps because he knew everyone's doubts, Lao Jixun continued: "Although the cost of telegrams is high, but because it is related to public welfare, all telegraph companies in various countries transmit news about the Xujiahui Observatory for free, and deliver it whenever they arrive, without delay. "

That's right, everyone is busy making money in China, so how can they ask for money from foreign organizations that serve their own interests?

It is precisely because of the guarantee of this kind of communication system in history that Xujiahui Observatory can gain insight into the opportunities in weather forecasting, which has won praise from sea and land transporters.

If it had been before, Cheng Nuo would have believed it, but since the last time he sent a telegram overseas and saw the piss of the people at the China Telegraph Administration, things must have been not that simple.

For a long time, because the transmission distance of wireless telegraphy was too short, the fastest and most convenient medium for information transmission was wired telegraphy. To the destination, and then distributed by the telegraph office in that place, the specific use is still very troublesome.

Recognizing the importance of meteorological information and providing fast and free communication services are mainly foreign telegraph companies, the free service provided by the China Telegraph Administration is not only much later, but also has a regulation that no more than twice a day, the quota is also Very little.

Not only that, during the entire period of the Republic of China, China failed to form a system of weather telegrams on demand. According to Zhu Kezhen, it took more than 24 hours for the Central Station to receive the weather telegrams from all over the country. It is long gone.

"A Chinese telegram is limited to 10 characters or 50 letters each time. Isn't that enough?"

"This is what bothers me the most." Lao Jixun smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "It's not enough at all. It's hard to condense this information into a single sentence."

Zhang Jian deeply agrees: "Unfortunately, judging from the current Chinese system, it is still impossible to exempt telegraph fees for weather news in accordance with international practice, and to call whenever you want."

Now that the problem was exposed, it fell into the circle drawn by Cheng Nuo.

Patting Tesla on the shoulder next to him, Cheng Nuo said: "The person next to me is an expert in the radio field. Our Academy of Sciences is currently preparing for the Electrical Association. Among them, wireless telegraphy is our most important work. At present, with the establishment of the Electrical Association We are also conducting radio research simultaneously, and it is entirely possible to open up another way besides the wired telegraph in the future."

Lao Jixun was ecstatic. Right now, his biggest headache is the telegram. If this problem can be solved, the development of Xujiahui Meteorological Observatory will reach another level. He hurriedly grabbed Cheng Nuo's arm: "Professor Cheng, what are you doing?" Invite us to be the first user of your wireless telegraph?"

Looking at those arms that looked like they were wearing sweaters, Cheng Nuo pushed them away without a trace, and said with a smile, "Of course, Mr. Lao Jixun, this is the purpose of our visit, and the purpose is to support the development of meteorology."

Speaking of this, Cheng Nuo deliberately bumped Tesla's arm, and Tesla understood: "Yes, our Academy of Applied Engineering Sciences is researching this work, and the finished product will be launched soon, and then it can be established in important cities. The transmission speed will be faster and the content will be unlimited, and we will not charge a penny for public welfare undertakings such as meteorology."

When he saw that it was time for him to perform, Zhang Jian said with a smile: "But we are also very interested in weather forecasting, and we want to collect some data to help localities forecast the weather. It's a pity."

Poor Lao Jixun didn't know that he had been hooked, and he was still concerned: "It's a pity, if you help us, God will definitely let us help you."

Cheng Nuo stood up and said, "It's a pity that we have just started, and the meteorological stations in various places have not yet been established. As a result, we have too little meteorological data and it is difficult to start the work."

Seeing this, Lao Jixun breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Well, what our Xujiahui Meteorological Observatory lacks most is meteorological data, as much as we need."

In order to completely dispel the "worries" of the three, Lao Jixun took them to the reference room.

Pushing open the door, there are more than a dozen bookshelves, which are classified one by one according to the specific year and region.

Open the roster, and the domestic cities above include Guangzhou, Xi'an, Tianjin, Zhenjiang, Hankou, Yichang and other places, which basically covered the cities with relatively strong domestic economic strength at that time. The east longitude and north latitude are detailed in the book, basically covering 76 east longitude °50'～142°7', a vast area of ​​10°20'～58°8' north latitude.

With these materials, when Zhu Kezhen comes back at the end of the year, he will be able to start working in the shortest possible time with a few strong men from Peking University.

However, among these materials, Cheng Nuo discovered that in addition to meteorological data, there are records of geomagnetic survey work, and this is the favorite of Little Japan Dance, claiming to help us do this kind of work.

Geomagnetism is closely related to our lives and has important applications in earth science, aerospace, resource detection, transportation and communication, etc. However, magnetic images often vary from place to place, for example, the magnetic needle in Shanghai is three degrees east, and the magnetic needle in Hubei points to the south.

The little devil obviously didn't have such good intentions. He came to help us with this drudgery. Maybe he would use this banner to come to the country to survey minerals to facilitate the subsequent war of aggression.

Therefore, Cheng Nuo opened meteorological stations in various places, which seemed to add another layer of meaning.

In addition to basic meteorology, three items of astronomy, earthquake and geomagnetism must be added.

Looking at it this way, it's hard for junior Zhu Kezhen to carry such a heavy burden when he comes back.

In this way, the Academy of Sciences and the Xujiahui Observatory reached a preliminary cooperation. While waiting for Tesla's progress on wireless telegraphy, they arranged for people to transcribe the materials.

After all, this thing is very precious, and it is impossible for people to give it away for free. It is not easy to open the reference room.

It's a pity that copying by hand is slow and prone to problems. It seems that the best way is to take photos. Unfortunately, after seeing the technology of this era, copying by hand has become unacceptable.

Before leaving, thinking of Little Japan's activities, Cheng Nuo deliberately borrowed a copy of the materials.

"Mr. Lao Jixun, I remember we have weather data for Tokyo and Nagasaki?"

"Yes, it's on the No. XX bookshelf in XX district. You can look for it. Why, didn't you start the domestic weather forecast system?"

"Yes, it's just that our neighbors are also very interested, but it's a pity that there is no Hiroshima."

"Well, I will use the name of the Xujiahui Observatory to invite the Japanese side to increase the observation area. I think they will agree."

"Then thank you, Mr. Lao Jixun, this meteorological data will definitely be useful."

Just like that, while walking and watching, Cheng Nuo ran into another acquaintance—Wu Changshuo from Xiling Yinshe.

"It seems that the person next to him is the 'Master Hongyi' who has not become a monk. No, he should be called Mr. Li Shutong."

(End of this chapter)