Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1232 Occupy the High Ground (5k)

At this point, the leader of the Defense Work Committee smiled and said, "But after thinking about it, it's more convenient to ask you here. Well, you also guided Qianshan to plant potatoes, so I think you have some experience, which is better than other comrades. In fact, it's not a big deal. If you remember it, just tell me, if you don't remember it, forget it."

It's mainly about the relationships between those places, so the National Defense Working Committee is also trying to find a solution for this matter, but they are definitely not the only ones trying to find a solution.

Perhaps because they thought this matter was so outrageous, the leader of the Defense Work Committee started laughing.

Growing potatoes and planting trees in the desert are two different things.

Gao Zhendong thought that since he was here, he should talk about it, so he asked casually, "What's the biggest problem?"

"You really know a lot? Sand control is easy to say. Some people have been doing it outside for a long time. Now they have developed a technology that uses grass grids to fix sand, and the effect is very good. But planting trees is hard to say. The survival rate of seedlings is too low. The tree species we choose are supposed to be suitable for the environment, but the key is that they can't even survive the first few months."

In fact, we started sand control quite early. Although the comprehensive large-scale project of the Three North Shelterbelt Project was launched in 79, some special sand control and protection projects for railway projects had started long before.

Gao Zhendong felt very familiar with the word "grass grid". After all, this thing appeared frequently in tourism and news photos of the Northwest in his previous life. This technology has been studied since the 50s and is now basically mature. It can be said to be a highly efficient, effective, simple and easy sand fixation technology.

Don't underestimate it. It's just sticking grass into the sand with a shovel. This technology is the winner of the National Science and Technology Progress Special Award. This thing was actually recorded in the Zhenfan County Chronicles between 1600 and 1700. But how high, how big, and how deep should it be? Too high will cause sand to accumulate, too low will be useless, too big will cause sand to escape, too small will cause the internal sand pit structure to be unstable, too deep will waste materials, and too shallow will not be fixed. In the end, these parameters were finally determined by our sand control personnel after years of experiments and summaries.

It’s like the theory of laser was proposed a long time ago, but the realization of laser on this world line was not realized until Gao Zhendong first figured it out in 1960.

"Low survival rate? Is it because there is no water?"

“Yes, there is a shortage of water! It is said that the evaporation is too strong. The water used for watering the trees evaporates quickly. Due to the limited conditions, it is difficult to replenish water later. People do not even have enough water to drink. The saplings do not survive to take root in the deep layer. Not to mention those places, even the trees outside that have been included in sand control projects have a low survival rate.” The leader of the Flood Control Committee must have attended a meeting and has a good memory.

After all, it is not being developed as a large-scale comprehensive project, so there are some difficulties in water supply. In fact, even for the later Sanbeilin Project, water supply was still a huge problem.

Gao Zhendong thought for a moment and said, "Don't tell me, leader, I don't know anything else, but I do have some ideas about the problem you just mentioned about no water."

He didn't want to do anything fancy like drip irrigation. Drip irrigation first requires a long-term water source, and requires high fixed investment and a lot of installation and maintenance work. It is good for planting in some cases, but it is useless for afforestation at this time or for a long time.

"Do you have a solution? Tell me about it." Hey, this guy really has some solution? Not much, just a little bit will do. And the solutions he mentioned are generally quite effective, just like the SSTO he mentioned just now. More importantly, he knew that Gao Zhendong had his own way of thinking about the feasibility of the plan, and rarely proposed a plan that was not feasible.

Gao Zhendong was so happy when he thought of the name of this thing. This name would definitely confuse the leader.

"I work with materials. I can recommend a material to them that should be useful."

"Materials? Are they expensive? If they are expensive, we can't afford them. Planting trees requires a lot of materials."

"It's not expensive. Compared with other methods, it should be considered not too expensive and the effect is good. It can at least provide water to trees for several months." It is impossible for it to be cheap, but thanks to the comparison with peers and the good effect, the cost-effectiveness is here.

"A few months? That's good. The chance of trees taking root in deep aquifers will be greatly increased. What materials?" Gao Zhendong said it is not expensive, so it should really be inexpensive.

"Dry water!"

"What?" The leader of the Defense Work Committee wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. He knew both words, but when they were put together, it was hard for people to understand.

"Dry water!" Gao Zhendong said it again. He saw this thing when he was browsing the Internet and watching popular science videos in his previous life. It can be used as a new technology in the 21st century and can be used in afforestation in deserts and Gobi. It is still interesting, so he remembered it.

“It’s a new type of material that looks dry like sand but is actually water, and it’s not difficult to produce.”

"Are they really those two words? What on earth is this thing? Since it's dry, shouldn't the water content be too high?" The leader of the Defense Work Committee felt that this matter sounded a bit unreliable. If it wasn't Gao Zhendong who proposed this thing, he might have lost interest in listening to it.

"Boss, I said 'looks like sand', but although this stuff is indeed related to sand, it is actually not dry at all, and the water content can be as high as over 95%."

"So we just add some sand to the water? That's indeed cheap. The Hunhe River runs through there. It's not very far away. We can just draw water directly from the river." The leader thought it was even more unreliable and made a joke.

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "Not strictly speaking, there is indeed sand mixed in the water, but this sand is quite special, it is fumed silica."

∵Silicon dioxide = sand

Fumed Silica∈Silica

∴Fumed silica∈sand

The logic is strict, nothing wrong with it!

This thing doesn't exist anywhere in the world now. Not to mention the leaders of the Defense Work Committee, even people who specialize in chemical engineering don't know about it. This thing doesn't have much to do with chemical engineering. Instead, it has a deeper relationship with physics.

"I don't understand these. Can you just tell me what the benefits of this thing are?" The leader of the Defense Work Committee was not interested in the principles, but was very interested in the effects.

"This stuff evaporates very slowly at room temperature. To some extent, you can think of it as fine sand composed of water. Just this advantage alone is enough to be used to plant trees in the desert, right?"

Hmm? No evaporation? It really fits.

“Then the trees can’t absorb it?”

"No, under the action of microorganisms, the roots of trees can slowly absorb the water inside. Don't forget that this is 'water' with a moisture content of over 95%. Roughly estimated, it can provide continuous water supply to plants for three to four months. Even if the water is completely absorbed, it is not a big deal to replenish it. It is much simpler than watering every other day."

"What else is there?"

"I won't talk about other benefits that are not needed now, but this thing is very convenient to transport. As I said before, just treat it as sand and transport it."

Convenient transportation is also a very good advantage.

As for other applications, they are still too far away now. Things like gas storage and fuel cells have not been fully figured out in the 21st century, so there is no need to consider them for now. However, there is one that is quite interesting.

"If I must say... this thing is very interesting for making cosmetics. It's moisturizing but not greasy. But in China, this thing is not very useful for the time being." Don't underestimate this small benefit. It can be touted as having the effect of "three flowers gathering at the top of the head" by cosmetics companies.

"It can't be used domestically... Hahaha, you kid... are you planning to take advantage of other people's wallets again? What do you mean it can't be used domestically? The needs of women comrades are also met." That means it can be used abroad.

In fact, the concept of dry water was proposed this year. When it was prepared and patented in 68, the first companies to compete for it were cosmetics companies.

However, these cosmetics companies didn't use them much at first, mainly because they were very expensive. Gao Zhendong said it was not expensive, but there were other reasons. Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "No, no, it's better to plant trees with this stuff."

The leaders of the Defense Work Committee don’t care about all that. As long as they can plant trees, that’s fine. Generally speaking, we prefer to plant land. When we can’t plant land, that kind of tree will also do.

"How expensive is it?" The leader of the Defense Work Committee was still a little hesitant after hearing what Gao Zhendong said just now. It sounded like it was not cheap.

"It's a bit expensive, but not too expensive. Among the industries we are vigorously developing now, one of the by-products happens to be its raw material." Gao Zhendong said.

So, the leaders of the Defense Industry Committee were relieved. For us now, as long as we have the technology and the raw materials, the price will not be too high. In fact, it is still the same decades later. Many "crown jewels of industry" have been sold at bargain prices.

"Then I will organize some people for you, and you can guide them to get the job done." said the leader of the Defense Work Committee.

"No need. I can ask our comrades from the Third Factory and the 12th Ministry of Machine Building to study this thing. At worst, we can also ask the comrades from the Ministry of Applied Chemistry to join in. All you have to do is give me the money." Gao Zhendong knocked on the stick with a bang.

"Okay, you want to be a hands-off boss, right?" The leader of the Defense Work Committee laughed as he and Gao Zhendong walked into the cafeteria.

……

In the afternoon, the comrades, who had eaten and drunk their fill, gathered again in the meeting room without even a window to continue discussing the remaining matters.

"Comrade Zhendong, you discussed geostationary orbit satellites for a long time this morning, but you haven't come to a conclusion what these satellites will be used for. Can you tell us what you think?" The leaders of the Defense Work Committee knew that comrades who were working on satellites were good at making satellites, but Gao Zhendong was probably more flexible in thinking about how to use them.

"In fact, fundamentally speaking, there is only one application that I am interested in now - communication. Just by expanding from the core capability of communication, we can obtain multiple applications, so I think that while developing geostationary orbit satellites, we should also develop satellite communication technology at the same time. Only with this can we make good use of this orbit. There is no other way. This orbit is too high. Without some reliable communication technology, it cannot be used at all."

There are certainly more applications for aerospace technology than these, but applications like deep space exploration are not very meaningful to us at the moment and are difficult to support, as they will squeeze out resources for other projects. When doing scientific research, we must not only consider whether it is advanced, but also whether it is practical and whether it meets current conditions.

Gao Zhendong’s idea is very direct. He wants it to have a broad impact on the national economy and people’s livelihood. At the same time, it would be best if it has its own hematopoietic ability to lay a foundation for future development.

Under the constraints of these conditions, there is not much left for Gao Zhendong to consider for current aerospace applications.

It has to be communication!

"Communications? Geostationary orbit communications satellites? That does require very advanced communications technology." The satellite comrades agreed, but they didn't have much to do about it. The distance of 36000 kilometers was a huge gap.

The National Defense Committee knows that this is a good thing. The sun-synchronous orbit communications satellite that they have decided to develop is just a low-end version of this one.

"Isn't it a bit too advanced?" said the chief engineer of the Defense Work Committee. As the chief engineer, he knew the technical difficulty involved.

The comrades working on the satellite did not respond, as they were simply too busy to handle everything.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "It is a little ahead of its time, but it must be ahead of its time. My suggestion is that comrades working on satellites should focus on the geostationary orbit satellite platform. As for what is carried on this platform, don't worry about it for now. As long as the satellite platform provides qualified volume, payload, power supply, and lifespan, you will not be under so much pressure. Other comrades will study the specific contents."

Gao Zhendong's suggestion is actually to completely separate the satellite and the mission payload, allowing professionals to do professional work. This approach is beneficial to both people and things.

The leader of the satellite comrades nodded and said, "This is indeed a good idea. We are specialized in platforms, which can give full play to our capabilities in satellites. At the same time, it also allows us to focus our energy and not be distracted by other fields. We can exert greater strength in the satellite business. To be honest, in terms of professional direction, we are not as good as comrades in other fields."

The Defense Working Committee also agreed with Gao Zhendong's suggestion: "Well, you can consider it this way. So what are you going to do?" The leader knew that Gao Zhendong must have given him a task.

"Theoretical research! Within two years, I will be responsible for completing important theoretical research related to satellite communications, as well as theoretical research on some other applications."

Satellite communications were not within the scope of his professional expertise in his previous life, and he had not saved up much of the relevant theories, so he couldn't find them before, but now he can find a way.

Moreover, within two years, the geostationary satellite platform will be able to produce some rough results, and we can start integrating the two, and we can still achieve good coordination in time.

When he said this, which sounded a bit like a "military order", the comrades working on the satellite were fine, but the people on the Defense Work Committee were a little surprised. This was the first time that Gao Zhendong took the initiative to propose that he would be responsible for theoretical research in a certain direction before the equipment was completed.

It seems that he takes this matter very seriously.

"Okay, then this task is handed over to you! Comrade Gao Zhendong!" In the view of the Defense Working Committee, this matter is extremely difficult, but Gao Zhendong himself said it would take two years, so they couldn't say anything. They couldn't bargain backwards and say, "Comrade Zhendong, how about five years?"

It turns out that it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking when you bargain for him. For example, he managed to do a great job on the solar cell that he bargained for, far exceeding everyone’s most optimistic estimate.

There are even more similar things happening in military equipment.

Therefore, the leaders of the Defense Work Committee were concerned about another thing: "Can you... handle it? Physically..." If Gao Zhendong was only responsible for this matter for the next two years, although the task would still be heavy, he might not ask this question, but it was obvious that this was not the case.

At this time, the satellite comrades were shocked. Could this comrade really handle the work? Could he physically bear it? Although they didn't know much about Gao Zhendong's work, the little they knew was already beyond the ability of ordinary people.

Gao Zhendong rolled up his sleeves, bent his arms like a bodybuilder, and flexed his biceps: "It's okay! I'm fine!"

This slightly funny action made all the comrades laugh, but the eyes of the comrades from the Defense Work Committee lit up a little.

The chief engineer of the Defense Work Committee took off his glasses and said, as if to change the subject, "Comrade Zhendong, you just said that in addition to communication, there are other theories. What are they?"

"In fact, communications already include a lot of things, such as television, radio and so on. We can probably just dig deeper in these directions, but what to do specifically depends on the situation. It's a bit like fate." Actually, it's not that there is no possibility, it's just that it's a bit scary to talk about it now. Let's talk about it after the results are out.

"TV? Radio?" How wide would the coverage be if TV was forwarded by satellite? I just had a question: "Zhendong, isn't this a bit too advanced? After all, our TV coverage is not very high."

Compared to the future, the current TV coverage is not low, but very low. The masses can hardly afford this thing, and a considerable part of it is exported first. Not to mention color TV, even black and white is a hot commodity in the countries of the Economic Assistance Association. There is no way, who let the Russians suck in this area.

"It's not just for our own people to see, but also for other places to see." Gao Zhendong said meaningfully.

"Other places? You mean..." The leader of the Defense Work Committee didn't finish his words, but he believed that Gao Zhendong could understand what he meant.

Gao Zhendong did understand and nodded: "Yes, my opinion is that if we don't occupy the propaganda position, others will. I am a soldier, and I know one thing - if you want to fight, you have to occupy the high ground. This geostationary orbit in the sky should be a very high ground."

This metaphor, with its double meaning, reminded the leader of what Gao Zhendong said at the beginning.

"Soldiers are the track!"

(End of this chapter)