Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1349 The Broken Windows Theory (4k)

Although I knew I would gain something from coming to Chief Engineer Gao's place today and had made preparations, I didn't expect Gao Zhendong to give me such a big surprise. My original preparations were a bit insufficient.

Gao Zhendong himself was unaware of this "minor matter," but his comrades remembered it very clearly. Relevant departments and the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building had already stipulated that when receiving materials from comrades like Gao Zhendong, one should first consider whether one's shoulders could handle the burden.

As for NMOS technology, it's the kind of thing that doesn't need evaluation; you can just openly say you can't handle it.

PMOS has propelled 1234 to the pinnacle of the semiconductor digital chip world, and many other companies in the same industry have followed suit. As for NMOS, which Chief Engineer Gao claims can easily multiply or even tenfold, whether Chief Engineer Gao himself has taken it seriously or not, surely the people at 1234 have no idea what's going on?
Gao Zhendong: Take this little thing, take it away.

1234: Big guy, too heavy, too heavy.

Gao Zhendong didn't seem to care much about this: "Huh? Is that so?"

Hearing his surprised tone, the director of Factory 1234 thought to himself, "That's amazing! It's ten times the current world's highest level. Chief Engineer Gao, you think too highly of our small frame."

However, that's not the right way to put it. If Chief Engineer Gao were to say, "Can't carry it? Then find someone else to carry it," we'd be at a loss. The factory director just smiled and said, "You don't know, many of your achievements are produced in our factory. So in this regard, our department has recently had a new regulation (the bottom of the turtle) – whatever level of achievement you have, you have to get the corresponding treatment. You absolutely can't do anything reckless."

The primary goal of management is safety, which is stated in your management textbook.

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhendong nodded: "I see. How can we cooperate? Or what kind of assistance can we provide?"

"It's nothing, I'll just make a call," the director of Factory 1234 said with a smile. A phone call would bring the necessary support. Then, worried about delaying Gao Zhendong's work, he added, "Chief Engineer Gao, we've made the call and will wait here. You don't need to waste your time with us. We can use this time to learn something."

As recipients, they cannot leave now until a stronger force arrives, and they must remain until all the receiving work is completed; no one can leave now.

So the saying "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about" not only protects secrets, but also protects ordinary people, at least making their lives less troublesome.

Since they were idle anyway, they might as well quickly learn the new technology. The comrades in teams 1234 also knew how to make the most of every minute. As for asking Gao Zhendong to accompany them to learn, they dared not, as Chief Engineer Gao's time was too precious.

"We dare not," was their genuine feeling. This wasn't flattery of Gao Zhendong; it was the truth. They hadn't seen Chief Engineer Gao neglecting his other work, yet he had quietly and efficiently developed NMOS. To have him inexplicably spend even a minute on this kind of thing made the comrades of Team 1234 feel guilty for hindering national development.

Gao Zhendong didn't insist on accompanying them. Anyway, with PMOS technology as a foundation, learning NMOS wouldn't be a big problem for them. The comrades weren't stupid. Although they might be temporarily stuck due to weak theoretical knowledge and find it difficult to find new paths, as long as the path was pointed out, he believed that the comrades would find their way on their own.

"That's fine. If you need anything, just let us know." Gao Zhendong suddenly remembered something as he was leaving.

"By the way, how's the production of your UV EPROM going? Why isn't your factory's chief engineer here?" These were two questions, but having finished his business, Gao Zhendong felt a bit adventurous, asking whatever came to mind.

The former was concerned about the progress, while the latter was curious. Normally, when someone comes to Gao Zhendong's place, the factory's chief engineer is always there, as almost everything Gao Zhendong does is closely related to technology.

"The first batch of trial production devices for UV EPROM has been delivered to the applicant units, and the feedback has been very good. We are now summarizing the experience and preparing to move to the formal stage. As for the chief engineer, he was just transferred, and the new one has not yet taken office, so I am the one leading the team here."

"Transferred?" Gao Zhendong was a little surprised. It wasn't that others couldn't be promoted or transferred laterally, but given that tasks 1, 2, 3, and 4 were heavy recently, transferring the person in charge of technology at this time was indeed quite unconventional.

"Yes, he went to Qiancheng. Good people always go to the rear. They're building a factory similar to our 1234 there, and our chief engineer has been transferred there to oversee the related work," the factory manager said with a smile.

The construction in the rear is progressing quite quickly, and the relevant arrangements are pretty much in line with my initial plans, at least in the Qiancheng area.

"It's just that Chief Engineer 1234 was transferred from Jinchen to Qiancheng. I wonder if he can get used to it. I really need to go see him when I have time," Gao Zhendong thought to himself.
-
In the north, in Luo's country, at a certain space design institute.

A Romanian space researcher, holding a notification from Lubyanka, beamed with delight.

"Comrades in the South have indeed figured it out! With it, along with the C6108 and C6110 they sold, we can obtain a fully functional spaceborne computer at a very low cost."

Since the 32-bit CPU C6132 began to be used gradually, the C6108 has also been put on our export list. After all, this thing is only slightly better than a microcontroller, and it uses the same 10-micron PMOS process as a microcontroller, which is outdated.

The report in his hand didn't even have a photo, just a text message.

"Southern researchers are suspected of having completed research on erasable and rewritable solid-state semiconductor memory."

The relationship between Romania and us is not as bad as Gao Zhendong knew in his previous life, so the people of Lubyanka can still glean some intelligence from here, but it's difficult to get very detailed information.

However, information of this level, which we cannot strictly block and which can be obtained through hearsay without providing detailed parameters, is not difficult for Lubyanka.

The people of Lubyanka in the south still have some integrity; at least they didn't make up anything to pad their numbers, unlike Abwell from the Lu Kingdom during Season 2, who suffered a terrible fate. Abwell was very familiar with being deceived.

This simple sentence greatly pleased Luo Guo, a researcher at the Space Design Institute. Judging from the capabilities of his comrades in this area, the credibility of this intelligence was extremely high.

For them, the control and mission computers for various spacecraft are an extremely troublesome matter.

Even with the C6108 and C6110 computers purchased from and reinforced by their comrades in the South, their computers remained remarkably large and heavy. While magnetic cores, magnetic tapes, disks, and even hard drives were now commonplace, the options for storage devices suitable for aerospace applications remained limited. Speaking of this, one must mention the Apollo moon landing spacecraft again; there was a reason why it was still using magnetic core storage devices in 69.

Luo Guo fared even worse, with nearly half of his first 29 Proton rocket launches failing. There were various reasons for this, but the ineffective control system, which failed to make timely judgments and responses, deserves some of the blame.

As for the N-1, which exploded repeatedly five years later due to the difficulty in controlling its 30 engines, it's safe to say that it was absolutely related to various control systems. Controlling 30 engines simultaneously was still far too advanced for the current capabilities of Romania's control systems.

The computer memory that plagues the Kingdom will also plague the Kingdom of Luo, perhaps even more so. After all, the fact remains: in terms of electronic technology, Luo truly cannot compete with the Kingdom.

It's not just a memory issue. For Luo Guo's current aerospace workers, since the chips are imported for civilian or general military use, there are no specific process supplements during production. After purchasing the C6108 and C6110 chips, the Southern comrades need to carry out a lot of additional reinforcement.

It's not just about vibration and radiation; it's also about the chip's operating temperature range. If the Southern comrades say it's for civilian use, it's for civilian use; if they say it's for ordinary military use, it's for ordinary military use. Trying to pick out a chip from this that can be used in aerospace is simply impossible.

After all, we will definitely pick out the best parts for our own use in aerospace first, and we will stockpile the rest for the next time. There is no way we can let them go!

This forces Luo Guo's designers to provide these chips with a basically stable working environment, which in turn brings new power supply requirements, and the whole thing falls into a vicious cycle of "adding water when there's too much flour, and adding flour when there's too much water."

The weight of the memory, the need for computer ruggedization, and the maintenance of the working environment—one problem after another—caused the control system designers in Luo Guo considerable trouble. At times, this computer, despite its significant performance advantages and potential in terms of weight and size, was even less efficient than their original, heavy vacuum tube system. After all, for certain simple tasks that don't require powerful functionality, vacuum tube systems or even purely analog systems might be lighter and more convenient.

However, as the workload increased, the problem became more and more serious—the complex control functions were increasingly exceeding the limits of Luo Guo's own system.

"Comrade, as long as we have this kind of solid-state semiconductor memory, I believe I can put a much more powerful C6108 computer into our satellites, spacecraft, and rockets with half the weight of the current system!" The Romanian control system expert pondered for a while before affirming.

"Impossible. Even if the Southerners provide us with this new type of semiconductor memory, they will still not provide us with aerospace-grade devices, just like with the C6108 and C6110. That huge environmental protection system and ruggedized components will still be there," another person retorted.

The control system expert shook his head: "No, Comrade, the weight can be reduced simply by the weight of the memory. Don't forget, adding or removing a few chips doesn't change the cost for the existing environmental protection system and rugged components. But those extra chips can replace our previous bulky memory module!"

Despite the fact that Romania's rockets, satellites, and spacecraft have always been known for their large, black, and robust designs, this unavoidable outcome actually masks another deficiency—they are severely lacking in rocket launch quality.

Otherwise, the N-1's first stage wouldn't have increased from 24 engines in parallel to 30 in parallel, a number that seems incredibly advanced by today's standards.

Moreover, because of the systematic large, black, and bulky design of their spacecraft from the outside in, their spacecraft appear quite large, but their functions are relatively limited.

High emotional intelligence: high potential, high redundancy.

Low emotional intelligence: bulky, crude, and with simple functions.

Therefore, for Romanian aerospace designers, every kilogram saved is crucial.

"you sure?"

"I am certain, and more importantly, that we can confidently use this state-of-the-art control system on spacecraft and rockets," said the control system expert from Romania.

If the availability of only CPU and RAM in semiconductor computers before the advent of EPROM allowed Romanian aerospace personnel to maintain their composure due to supply constraints, then the emergence of EPROM, with its complete CPU, ROM, and RAM, made it an indispensable part of semiconductor computers.

“Then we should make some suggestions to our superiors, comrade!” said another aerospace researcher from Luo Guo. Although he was not as technically proficient as the former, his management-oriented nature made him clearer about how to do something systematically and well.
-
"Comrade Leader, many military research departments have made the same request to us..." In the office of the leader in charge of military technology exchanges with the South, Linochka reported to his leader while holding a stack of documents.

"The same one? Could it be that solid-state rewritable memory again?" The leader wiped his face wearily.

"Yes, this intelligence from Lubyanka's comrade seems to have stirred up a hornet's nest in the military research department."

What the people in the aerospace sector can see, other research institutions are certainly not stupid either. In fact, they are even more eager than the aerospace sector—they don't have such high environmental and hardening requirements, so they can reap more benefits!

"What do you think, Linochka?"

Linochka was prepared: "Comrade Leader, regardless of whether the comrades in the South are willing to sell this chip, I think that instead of buying eggs every day, we should try buying a chicken."

The leader's eyes widened. "Comrade, you're really daring!"

"Linochka, this matter is far more difficult than purchasing chips! The comrades in the South will never agree to it."

Linochka laughed and said, "If they are unwilling, then we will take a step back and offer to buy their aerospace-grade components. Maybe then they will be willing to sell their aerospace-grade components."

The broken windows theory suggests that if you're thinking of breaking a window, you should first suggest to the people inside that you tear down the roof.

Linochka's real purpose was to directly purchase a complete set of aerospace-grade components. He believed that the Southerners definitely had such components, after all, their satellites were better than Romania's own in some aspects, and he had even had to purchase their reconnaissance satellites.

(End of this chapter)