Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1470 Sena's Unfettered Imagination (5k)

Having done all this, the comrade in charge of the measurement pressed the measurement button.

As if nothing had happened, a comrade from the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building said, "All done!"

The other comrades were somewhat surprised to see that only ten seconds had passed.

"Is this good?"

"Yes, this test is quick." The comrades from the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building laughed. It seems that in their minds, the more unfamiliar the parameter was, the more troublesome it was to test, the longer it would take, and the more operations it would involve.

However, the comrades didn't dwell on this; the sooner the better. They were concerned about something else entirely.

"How much damage was incurred?"

The instrument is covered with a dense array of LED digital tubes, and they don't know which one to look at.

The comrade from the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building glanced at the soft magnetic AC measuring instrument and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Huh?! 187!!!"

187mW/cm3?

"How much? Are you sure you've got the units right?"

Although Committee Member Gao had said long ago that he could reduce losses to below 200, many people still found it hard to believe when the result actually appeared before their eyes.

The main change is so dramatic that it's beyond description; it's like a meteoric rise.

Before this, the comrades didn't disbelieve Gao Zhendong's statement about below 200, but they felt that this should be a theoretical value that needed to be gradually approached through repeated improvements and optimizations.

Now, the first batch of sintered products has already reached this number, which is why many people find it hard to believe.

So, what Committee Member Gao was referring to wasn't theoretical limits, but rather real-world data?

"187! It really is below 200!" The comrade in charge of reading the data was full of excitement. This data meant that the use of manganese zinc ferrite in phase shifters had at least cleared up one obstacle.

The key point is that this thing is cheap. As long as it's usable, it's a huge improvement over YIG. At worst, we can achieve miracles by increasing quantity and quality. Compared to YIG, its practical significance at the current stage is much greater.

"Wait a minute, don't rush, let's test the others first."

Another comrade suppressed his excitement and spoke calmly and objectively.

There was more than one sample in this batch. What if it was just good luck?
"Yes, yes, calm down, calm down, let's test all the samples first."

The news was so good that the comrades couldn't believe it was normal.

If the test result were around 1000, they would probably be completely relieved, because a 50% reduction, while a bit outrageous, would still be within the normal range. But a 90% reduction is beyond just whether it's outrageous or not.

The results were so good that it was unbelievable, and Gao Zhendong had nowhere to complain.

At this time, the temperatures of the other samples had also dropped to a testable range. The comrades quickly took the samples over and watched the comrades from the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building wind the coils and test them. The comrades were so anxious that they wished they could take their place.

Fortunately, the test was very fast, and the results came out in no time.

The lowest was 179 and the highest was 185. None of them exceeded the range mentioned by Committee Member Gao, and they were very stable.

This stable performance is better for our comrades than a lower number, since stability and consistency become important once losses are reduced to a certain level.

Fluctuations, even with an exaggerated number in the middle, always make people feel uneasy. On the contrary, this kind of stable excellence makes people feel more at ease.

Furthermore, below 200 is beyond the limit that all comrades could expect. Being able to stay below this line means that, at least in terms of losses, there is absolutely no problem.

"Send it to the XRD department! The other urgent task now is to confirm that they are indeed manganese-zinc ferrite."

What if this thing isn't even ferrite, or its content is limited? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

XRD can detect this result, which is why our colleagues prepared XRD testing methods well in advance.

"Yes, yes, send it to the 17th Ministry of Machinery Industry immediately!" The comrade from the Applied Chemistry Department in charge of this matter hurriedly called for someone to deliver the sample.

As I said before, the result was so outrageous that the comrades dared not relax completely until the very last moment, fearing that they would be disappointed.

"After you deliver it, don't come back yet. Just stay there and wait for the comrades from the 17th Ministry of Machinery Industry to give you the results. Once you have the results, borrow their phone and call us immediately!"

They didn't want to wait even a second longer and wanted to get the results as soon as possible.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll sleep on the floor and wait for the results at the 17th Ministry of Machinery Industry!" the comrade who delivered the sample assured him. They were not familiar with this area and did not know how long the XRD test would take.

The comrade who delivered the samples was gone for several hours, and the phone rang many times during that time, but it was not the result the comrade was waiting for, which gave the comrade several false alarms.

Finally, the phone call they had been waiting for arrived.

"It's manganese-zinc ferrite! The content is very high, it's almost all of it!"

Upon hearing the voice on the phone, the colleague from the Applied Chemistry Department immediately sat down on a stool.

He had been waiting for a while, and the sudden relief made him feel unsteady on his feet.

"It's done already?" He looked at the sintering equipment in the laboratory and muttered to himself in disbelief.

The other comrades also looked like they were questioning life itself. This kind of thing should be studied and progressed in years, or even more than a year or two.

And now, almost in the blink of an eye, the matter was resolved.

If we consider the time frame, it doesn't seem like scientific research; it's more like a batch in mass production. The time consumed is only for some preliminary preparations and the normal time required to mass-produce a batch of products.

The other comrades laughed and said, "No, no, no, it's not over yet. You've basically completed your task, now the pressure is on us."

They are experts in electromagnetism and electronics, and now the pressure is on their shoulders. They have the raw materials, but the gap between ferrite and ferrite phase shifters is not exactly enormous, but it is certainly not within reach.

As we all know, a chip is just sand, but the distance from sand to chip is extremely long.

Although these comrades said they were under immense pressure, they couldn't suppress the smiles on their faces.

After all, the fact that the raw material issue was resolved so quickly and effectively is a major benefit for them.

At least we don't have to waver on the choice of ferrite raw materials, anxiously waiting for the research progress and implementation status of the materials. Different raw materials require different designs, and uncertainty about the raw materials makes many things difficult to handle.

But now there's no need to worry about that. It's manganese-zinc ferrite, which has sufficient performance in all aspects and is also cheaper. Why choose it if not this?

"I remember that Committee Member Gao once asked you to send him the relevant requirements and background information for ferrite phase shifters so he could see if he could help. Did you send them over?" a comrade asked with a smile.

The electrical engineers looked embarrassed.

"not yet……"

"Not yet? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If you don't hurry, this chance might be gone if Committee Member Gao gets busy." The comrade from the Applied Chemistry Department had a look on his face that said, "We're giving you a chance, but you're not going to use it."

Just because Committee Member Gao had time when he said this last time doesn't mean he'll have time to help now that a long interval has passed.

The comrades working in the electrical field wore wry smiles: "Mainly, we didn't expect the manganese-zinc ferrite to move so quickly. We were hoping to collect more data and make it more solid to facilitate Committee Member Gao's work and increase our chances of getting more help from him."

It wasn't that we weren't prepared, it's that we didn't have time. Who knew that producing qualified manganese-zinc ferrite was as simple as cooking a meal? It was truly unexpected. "Then hurry up, I don't have much work to do here anyway," the colleague from the Applied Chemistry Department said with a smile.

He really didn't have much else to do. The remaining tasks were, firstly, to see if he could optimize and improve the existing process to reduce costs as much as possible, and most importantly, to cooperate with the colleagues in charge of phase shifter design to make corresponding adjustments to the production of ferrite raw materials after they had their results.

"Okay, we'll handle it as soon as possible."
-
In Gaul, in the office of Mr. Sena, who was in charge of trade with the East, he was looking at a note sent by his subordinate, deep in thought.

"They want to obtain shallow-sea offshore oil drilling platform technology through us?"

“Yes, and the desire is very strong,” his subordinate nodded.

"Hmm... Could it be that they've made some kind of discovery at sea, like John Bull from across the strait?"

John Bull's North Sea Light Crude Oil is world-renowned; in fact, it's used as the benchmark for pricing crude oil on oil exchanges. However, it has only just been discovered and large-scale development is just beginning.

Even so, at least John had oil, which was quite different from Gaul.

"It should be, but we don't know the specifics."

"They didn't disclose it?"

“It wasn’t revealed, and you know, our people want to get more intelligence on their own soil, which is difficult.” The key is that they can’t go out on field missions. Others can recognize them just by looking at their eyebrows and eyes, their faces, or even more exaggeratedly, just by smelling them.

In this respect, they are more limited than the polar bears, who have long-standing relationships, substantial aid, and more traditional and long-standing friendly exchanges. Their numerous aid projects, even today with changes in relations, still allow the polar bears to reach various parts of our country relatively easily.

As for strategic resources like oil, they fall under the category of strategic intelligence, and given our confidentiality regulations, it's even less likely that we can reveal too much.

"What suggestions do you have?" Sena asked his subordinate without saying anything.

His subordinates seemed to have been prepared: "Mr. Sena, I don't have any special ideas. We can treat it as normal trade. If there is anything special about it, it's that this is high-tech equipment, and our technology is also brand new. There are some things we need to pay attention to in terms of maturity and sensitivity."

The first offshore oil drilling platform in Gaul was put into use on May 31, 1965. To be precise, it was not even operational at this point in time.

Therefore, this technology is completely new to them, and there are naturally certain obstacles or impacts on their export of this technology.

“Hmm…” Sena fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, he looked up, his face showing an expression of having discovered a new continent.

"Do you think it's possible for us to get a share of their newly discovered oil field?"

His face was full of excitement as he said this.

“That…is unlikely, isn’t it, Mr. Sena? You know, Easterners follow a different path than us.”

His men were utterly astonished; you really dare to dream of this. The fact that we can now have normal trade relations with them is already a huge surprise to most countries.

"What if? I mean what if... After all, you know, even White Bear and Citibank have a joint venture, and it's been going on for a long time."

The example he gave was actually a bit off. The joint venture between the two companies was a product of the special struggle between the White Bears in the 20s, and strictly speaking, it wasn't a legitimate business company.

But regardless of whether it's proper or not, just tell me if it's true or not. His words really made it difficult for his subordinates to refute him.

However, his subordinates could tell that Mr. Sena was extremely interested in this matter. In that case, he needed to adjust his thinking.

"Well... all I can say is that from a business, technical, and legal standpoint, we have no problems."

"Then let's give it a try!"

“But oil prices aren’t high right now, so this move carries both political and economic risks and may not bring much benefit,” his subordinate cautioned.

At this time, oil prices were low. In fact, before the 73 oil crisis, oil prices were not high.

Sena shook his head upon hearing this: "No, no, no, oil is a strategic resource. Sometimes, we can't judge this matter based on commercial interests."

He was very clear-headed. For a country of the caliber of the Five Great Benefactors, strategic resources cannot always be considered solely from an economic perspective. If, without incurring losses, one can gain control or influence more strategic resources to a certain extent, then it is worthwhile.

Sena added, "You have to understand, we don't have much oil on our own soil. More than 60% of our oil comes from our colonies or former colonies, and the scope of our colonies is being explored, and our influence in our former colonies is waning."

Since they were all from the same nest, Sena used the word "colony" very directly.

In fact, among the five philanthropists at this time, they were the ones facing the most serious challenges in terms of oil security.

Citibank has no shortage of supplies, John imports large quantities but has discovered reserves, White Bear is actually a large gas station disguised as a country, and the remaining one is under special circumstances and will not be discussed.

Only Gaul, whose oil imports accounted for more than 50% of its oil consumption in 1965, had scarce domestic oil resources, and the oil resources it could control posed certain geopolitical security risks.

In terms of output, although we have just recovered, our output is still higher than theirs, and we have even almost reached a point of complete self-sufficiency. However, once our industry develops rapidly, our domestic production will be far from sufficient, but that's a story for later.

Therefore, for Sena, if he can broaden the oil channels to a certain extent, or even control them to a certain extent, it can be said to be a great achievement for him personally.

"This..." His subordinates had to admire him. Mr. Sena was indeed their superior, thinking much more and further ahead than they did.

He quickly reorganized his thoughts: "You make a good point, but the only problem is whether the other party agrees."

Sena laughed, "How would we know if we didn't try? A few years ago, no one would have imagined that we would have so much trade with them, would they?"

"Perhaps you are right."

Sena was very confident: "I must be right! Haha. I have to try. I'll explain the situation to that gentleman and ask for his support. If the Easterner softens his stance on this, then we really need some support from him, otherwise there might be some trouble with the law and current strategies."

In Beijing, at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, a leader was looking at a document, frowning and picking at his teeth as if he had a severe toothache.

The document in his hand was indeed a pain in the neck... no, a headache.

"They actually want to form a joint venture with us in offshore oil development, using technology and capital as conditions!" The Ministry of Foreign Trade was somewhat uncomfortable with this rather far-fetched idea from the other party.

If we disagree, it means they do possess the technology, which is their advantage, and we do lag behind in this area—this is their biggest bargaining chip. If we disagree, it might mean we can only watch helplessly as oil and gas fields are discovered in places like Bohai Bay, so close yet yielding nothing.

To be honest, this is indeed a difficult matter, a very difficult one.

He thought about it and decided to ask an outsider for their opinion, someone with a very bright mind who always had unexpected ideas.

It's not about asking him to make a decision, but about listening to his thoughts and broadening our perspectives.

However, this matter was not suitable for public discussion. He made a phone call to confirm the other party's whereabouts, then stood up and called his communications officer.

"Let's go to the No. 3 Rolling Mill of the 17th Ministry of Machine Building!"

Gao Zhendong hung up the phone from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, somewhat puzzled. What could possibly require him to make this trip in person? Normal matters, even those requiring consultation, could be discussed over the phone. After all, there was no risk of being disconnected now, and matters concerning the Ministry of Foreign Trade were generally kept confidential through the classified channels.

However, Gao Zhendong didn't think much of it. Anyway, the person would be there soon, and he would find out quickly.

Not long after, Gao Zhendong met with the leader of the Ministry of Foreign Trade in his office. He came in alone, leaving his communications officer in the outer room of Gao Zhendong's office to chat with him.

Seeing this situation, Gao Zhendong realized that this was no small matter.

"Boss, what are you up to? Why are you being so mysterious?" Gao Zhendong asked with a smile.

(End of this chapter)