Research starts with PhD students

Chapter 247: Joint Strike! Tong Zhiguo: This genius is a bit scary!

"Except for you, Professor Zhang, no one in the world can do this."

"In the field of computing data, especially these technical calculations, you are the first person, the best. If you can't solve it, others can't solve it either."

"We can only rely on you this time."

Tong Zhiguo praised Zhang Shuo highly, but it was also what he really thought.

In the field of computational mathematics, Zhang Shuo has already reached the pinnacle. Not to mention some research related to computational mathematics, just in the technical research and development related to source point theory, his team has never made any mistakes in calculations.

During the experiments of 'quark splitting' and 'nuclear force splitting', the experimental phenomena were consistent with the theoretical calculation results, and the deviations were all within the calculation range.

This is Tong Zhiguo’s personal experience.

Generally speaking, there will always be deviations between experiments and theoretical calculations, because calculations cannot be that precise, let alone technical research supported by a completely new theory.

It makes sense that Tong Zhiguo admires Zhang Shuo so much.

Zhang Shuo didn't seem to be shy about being praised, nor did he feel elated. He just smiled calmly and asked, "Let's get to the point, Professor Tong. What specific problems did you encounter in your research?"

Tong Zhiguo and Liu Honglei looked at each other and immediately started talking seriously.

Simply put, it is a matter of strike accuracy.

The ion cannon developed with the support of "nuclear fission" technology has many technical advantages, including extremely fast speed, wide strike range, strong penetration, and no early warning detection, etc.

These advantages make the ion cannon a very powerful military weapon.

They are using these advantages to make the ion cannon a powerful defense tool, and they are also going a step further and hope to upgrade the ion cannon to a "satellite weapon."

When targeting extremely fast satellites, the flaws of the ion cannon are also exposed - it is impossible to correct its trajectory, and causing damage requires a precise and direct hit on the target.

The ion group is fired out at a very fast speed and is also uncontrollable.

The warheads of missiles that can hit satellites are equipped with the functions of "locking and identifying targets" and "correcting trajectory".

When the missile approaches the target, the separated warhead can detect and lock the target, then use the electronic system to recalculate the path and rely on its own power system to correct the route to make the strike point more accurate. It is more flexible than the ion group that is fired out.

An ion cluster is either a missile or a group of high-energy particle matter.

The process from firing to hitting the target only takes a few seconds, or even only one or two seconds, and after the shot is fired, the route cannot be corrected at all.

Simply put, the moment you hit out, if you can hit it, then you hit it, if you can't hit it, then you can't hit it.

Therefore, the accuracy of the ion cannon is very dependent on the radar system and its own accuracy, so the relevant calculations must be very precise.

"The accuracy depends on the radar system, and there are many other influencing factors."

Liu Honglei explained earnestly, "We think the calculation is very accurate, but there are many factors that cannot be accurately calculated, which also makes the results uncertain and the deviation will become larger."

He noted several important factors.

These include the deviation of radar signals, the deviation of emission time, and the speed deviation of ion clusters. The last point is very complicated and is also affected by air density and, very importantly, the impact of the earth's rotation.

In space more than 1000 kilometers above the ground, the impact of the earth's rotation must also be considered. It is also related to the interference of the air on the ion cluster, which can together affect the impact path of the ion cluster.

No matter how fast the ion cluster is, it is not the speed of light after all. The atmosphere and clouds will also affect the deflection of the trajectory.

When there are too many interference factors and they are not accurate values, the calculation will become extremely complicated and the corresponding deviation will continue to widen.

While visiting the experimental base, Zhang Shuo listened to the introductions of Tong Zhiguo and Liu Honglei.

At the same time, his brows furrowed.

Just by listening to the content briefly, I know how complicated it is to make the calculation more accurate.

If it is a partial differential equation that is difficult to solve, either there is an exact solution, or if there is no exact solution, the most suitable approximate solution can be found.

In the end, the 'optimal' result can be found.

With so many uncertain influencing factors superimposed, no matter how accurate the calculations are, there will definitely be deviations in the strike path.

When reaching a thousand kilometers in space, the target is a satellite whose solar panels are only ten or twenty meters across, or even smaller. The difficulty of a precise strike can be imagined.

this problem……

It doesn’t sound easy!
……

The group took Zhang Shuo and Xue Baikun to visit the experimental base and then went to an office.

A lot of information has been prepared in the office, and relevant data can also be found on the computer.

Four researchers from the experimental team's computing group will continue to cooperate with Zhang Shuo, providing all the necessary data and helping with other calculations.

Liu Honglei and Tong Zhiguo walked out of the office together.

They took a tour of their experimental base, checked the operation of basic equipment, and explained some basic measurements.

Afterwards, they will come to see if Zhang Shuo needs anything, and they will fully cooperate.

After the two walked out of the office together and into the corridor, Tong Zhiguo couldn't help but sigh, "If Professor Zhang Shuo can't solve it, I can't think of anyone who can."

"Yes."

Liu Honglei also nodded, "Originally I didn't have any hope. The technical situation is very clear, and I still hope to find a way to improve the accuracy."

"That could be a new technical method?" Tong Zhiguo said thoughtfully, "I think it can't be solved by calculation alone. There are other auxiliary technologies, such as using radar to guide ion clusters..."

He even laughed when he said that.

The speed of the ion cluster is too fast, and there are no electronic equipment inside, so radar cannot be used to guide its path.

Liu Honglei also laughed, then shook his head and said, "There are no new technical methods at the moment. This may be a constraint on technology. Otherwise, it would be too much."

Exceeding the standard, the comparison object is existing weapons technology.

Tong Zhiguo also nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's already very impressive now. I didn't expect it to get to this point."

Today's ion cannon is already far beyond the standard.

In previous experiments, the ion cannon accurately struck missiles hundreds of kilometers high, and these were medium-range missiles with speeds exceeding Mach 3, reaching or even exceeding the level of the world's most advanced air defense missiles.

This is just one aspect.

The firing frequency of the ion cannon is also very high. If it is started at full power and supported by several "ion manufacturing furnaces", it can fire at most once every three minutes.

This launch frequency cannot keep up with the multi-shot anti-missile weapons, but the launch loss is extremely small, and the main energy loss is just electricity.

Cost is an issue that must be considered when it comes to military weapons.

So far, they have only spent 900 million yuan on their research.

If the ion cannon enters the large-scale manufacturing stage, the manufacturing cost of a single ion cannon launcher will definitely be reduced to less than 200 million.

In comparison, the famous Patriot missile system has a launch system that costs more than $200 million. This is because the Patriot missile system is manufactured in large quantities and has already been mass-produced.

At the same time, each Patriot missile costs more than three million US dollars.

In other words, the cost of launching a patriotic missile is more than three million US dollars, which is more than 20 million in flower coins.

The launch cost of an ion cannon is much lower. According to current technical research, the cost of each launch is only tens of thousands, and most of the loss is just the ultra-high power electricity.

If there is sufficient electricity support, the cost of each launch can be compressed to less than 1 yuan, including the launch materials and power loss. Compared with missile-type air defense weapons, it can even be described as "no cost".

One Patriot missile is enough to launch 2,000 ion clusters. This ratio is amazing.

"If a large city is equipped with hundreds of them, it can handle a blanket missile attack."

"The total cost of manufacturing, installation and other costs will not exceed 30 billion. The manufacturing cost is low, and the firing frequency, strike accuracy and strike altitude are high."

"The advantage is too obvious..."

Tong Zhiguo and Liu Honglei both felt excited as they discussed.

But after the excitement, they still had to return to reality. Liu Honglei took a deep breath and said depressedly, "No matter what, we still hope to be able to hit the satellite."

"By then, we will be able to effectively strike satellites, not just defend against missile attacks."

"Air defense weapons also have the ability to take the initiative to attack."

Tong Zhiguo also nodded in agreement, "Yes, then it will be perfect."

"It's just that it's difficult..."

……

in the office.

Zhang Shuo already had an understanding of the technical problems he encountered.

He immediately realized that calculation alone could not completely solve the accuracy problem, because there are too many factors that can affect the accuracy, and none of them are 100% certain values.

With multiple factors stacked together, there will naturally be a deviation range, and the minimum deviation will be tens of meters or even hundreds of meters.

This is a conclusion that can be reached immediately.

Of course, more accurate calculations are still useful and can definitely reduce the range of deviation, but it is difficult to say specifically.

Zhang Shuo was not in a hurry to do research, but instead thought about possible solutions.

He also thought of what Tong Zhiguo had thought of - a new technology, for example, using radar to correct trajectory.

Then, it was denied.

It is better to research a completely new strike weapon than to research a technology that can use radar to correct the trajectory of ion clusters.

The latter will be easier.

So how to solve it?
Zhang Shuo leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, closed his eyes, and established the attack path of the ion group in his mind.

When ion clusters hit satellites, they will inevitably be affected by the Earth's rotation and air resistance.

Liu Honglei and Tong Zhiguo introduced many influencing factors, but in fact, these two factors are the biggest.

From the ground, the path of the ion cluster appears to be a straight line, but in fact, it is a slightly curved arc.

The combined effects of the Earth's rotation and air resistance are not significant, and in most cases can even be ignored. However, when reflected in space a thousand kilometers away, a slight deviation can have a huge impact.

"So is there some way to reduce this impact?"

"Trajectory correction?"

"Trajectory correction..."

Zhang Shuo thought carefully along the line of thought. The trajectory correction he had in mind was naturally not for the ion cluster to automatically correct its trajectory, but to use a completely new trajectory to strike the space target.

The current attack trajectory is a vertical attack, which can be roughly understood as finding the position of the target closest to the ion cannon, and then calculating and attacking it.

"What if it's not in the closest position, for example, from behind..."

"Strike in a way that's close to tracking the trajectory?"

His eyes lit up as he thought about it.

However, if you want to reduce the impact of the Earth's rotation and air resistance, a close orbital strike is a good method.

A parallel strike means making the strike trajectory as close to the satellite's orbit as possible. The smaller the angle between the two, the better. It is best if the angle is zero degrees. Then the difficulty of the strike changes from a point on the surface to a point on a straight line.

Zhang Shuo continued to think and simply created a task -

【Task 4】

[Research project name: Improving the accuracy of ion cannons in attacking satellites (difficulty assessment: C).]

【Progress: 19.28%.】

(The task can be canceled. The current number of research coins required to cancel the task is 0.)
(The remaining progress requires 79 scientific research coins.)
"really!"

When Zhang Shuo saw the task progress value, his eyes suddenly lit up.

19.28%, which means that his idea is correct, which means that he has thought of the right direction to solve the problem.

Suddenly, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

……

Liu Honglei and Tong Zhiguo came back together.

They were away for about half an hour, and when they returned to the office, they saw several researchers discussing with Zhang Shuo and Xue Baikun. The key words were "new trajectory", "attack method", "power" and so on.

Tong Zhiguo asked doubtfully, "What are you talking about? What new trajectory?"

A researcher named Deng Jian shouted excitedly, "Academician Tong, Professor Zhang Shuo has already come up with a solution, and we discussed it and it feels very promising!"

"Huh? What?"

Tong Zhiguo was stunned when he heard this.

Liu Honglei also looked surprised. He stood at the door and didn't come in. He just stood there listening.

Deng Jian continued excitedly, "Attack by orbital alignment! Try to make the trajectory of the ion cluster close to the trajectory of the satellite. This way, the impact area becomes smaller. At the same time, the combined effects of the earth's rotation and air resistance are minimized!"

"The only thing is that the impact path becomes longer, and we need to increase the initial speed and energy of the ion cluster."

Tong Zhiguo followed his thoughts and then asked, "The longer the strike path, the greater the deviation, right?"

“We calculated it!”

Deng Jian continued, "The strike path has more than doubled, and the direct impact is actually only on the air within a hundred kilometers. As long as the speed is fast enough, the impact will be greatly reduced."

"If we can eliminate the interference caused by the Earth's rotation and air resistance, the accuracy can be at least five or ten times higher!"

"With precise calculations, we can reduce the accuracy to within fifty meters, or even lower..."

After Deng Jian finished speaking, other researchers couldn't help but start a heated discussion.

Tong Zhiguo and Liu Honglei stared at each other blankly, and the expressions on their faces became very strange.

Go out for half an hour and the problem will be solved?
It seems that the office has been discussing this for a long time.

In other words, they had just gone out for a short while, just the time it took to go to the toilet, and Professor Zhang Shuo came up with a solution?

This is a problem that has troubled the experimental group for a long time!
Professor Zhang Shuo...

He's so talented that it's a bit scary!
(End of this chapter)