Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 138 A Victory with Fewer Descriptive Clauses (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

How would I know?

Chen Jingrun was stumped by the question.

There are countless examples of mathematicians scheming against each other.

It's just like a fan club.

Like the story between Shing-Tung Yau and Gang Tien, which is well-known to later generations.

Chen Jingrun shook his head repeatedly: "I don't know what Professor Lin is thinking."

I think Professor Lin is just too busy.

Chen Xingshen said: "When the mathematicians' conference was held some time ago, I noticed that Lin's attitude was very indifferent."

I was thinking that since you were once his student, you might know something about it. Since you haven't heard him mention it, perhaps I've misunderstood.

Chen Jingrun said, "How about this, Christmas is coming soon, and mathematicians in New York usually hold a Christmas party. Professor Chen, why don't you participate as well?"

Chen Jingrun really lacked emotional intelligence, which is why he gave Chen Shengshen such an idea.

Chen Xingshen had it, so when he heard it, he thought it was a good idea.

Even if we don't get along, this idea was given to me by someone else.

Moreover, Lin Ran and he were only superficially indifferent to each other; in reality, they hadn't broken off relations. There could be many reasons for their indifference.

Lin Ran had no idea about Chen Xingshen's meeting with Chen Jingrun. If he had known, he would have felt wronged, as he really didn't have any prejudice against Chen Xingshen.

As an absolute rationalist, he has never believed rumors circulating online.

Various online attacks have been launched against Hua Luogeng, and because of Shing-Tung Yau's autobiography, rumors of a rift between Chen Shengshen and Hua Luogeng have spread like wildfire on the simplified Chinese internet.

They even fabricated all sorts of reasons for this discord.

Lin Ran didn't believe it at all.

There is a version circulating online that in 79, Chen Xingshen hosted a banquet for a group of foreign mathematicians. During the banquet, he bluntly stated that the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences should be permanently closed down, and asked everyone present to jointly write a letter to the Chinese side on this matter. The guests present were all dumbfounded.

There is no evidence to support this claim, and it is highly unlikely that Chen Xingshen would do such a thing. Even if he were to do it, there would be no point in getting foreign mathematicians to sign the petition.

Regarding the conflict between Chen Xingshen and Hua Luogeng, Qiu Chengtong wrote in his autobiography "My Geometry of Life":

"As is well known, Hua Luogeng and my teacher Chen Xingshen had a long-standing feud."

"The dispute between Chen and Hua originally stemmed from a tiny difference, but it intensified over time. In my observation, disputes are easy to form but difficult to resolve. Sometimes, the disputes do not dissipate even after the parties involved have passed away."

Wu Wenjun gained some reputation for the Wu class he developed in algebraic topology. As a student of Chen Xingshen, he had strongly opposed Hua Luogeng. The conflict between Wu and Hua led to a split in the mathematics program at Huaguo Academy.

At that time, Wu was establishing the School of Systems Science as an independent center for mathematical re-search within the school, which was completely different from the School of Mathematics where Hua had served as its founding director.

To me, this seems like an odd choice, because Wu is a pure mathematician, a topologist, with almost no knowledge of applied mathematics, which shows how obvious the rift between Hua and him is.

Lin Ran doesn't even fully believe Qiu Chengtong's autobiography.

Because he was in 1962, he could find a lot of information. For example, when he attended the International Congress of Mathematicians, he heard Professor Xiong Qinglai, who was also attending the congress, introduce Chinese mathematics.

To demonstrate China's emphasis on mathematics and to persuade him to return to China, Xiong Qinglai specifically highlighted the first National Natural Science Award in 1956, two of the three highest awards being given to the Institute of Mathematics: Hua Luogeng's theory of functions of several complex variables over classical fields and Wu Wenjun's research on characteristic classes and embedding classes.

If the two were truly at odds, given Hua Luogeng's status, Wu Wenjun might be able to win an award, but he certainly wouldn't get the highest one.

At least Hua Luogeng and Wu Wenjun are not at odds at present.

However, Qiu Chengtong and Wu Wenjun did not come into contact until 1979. Too many years had passed in between, and Lin Ran could not be sure what had happened.

Lin Ran also saw an article on Nankai University's official website that read: "Chen Xingshen and Hua Luogeng: Unwavering Friendship Between Two Mathematical Giants"

This is a bit like Rashomon.

From Lin Ran's perspective, the discord between the two seems to be described only in Qiu Chengtong's autobiography.

In addition, some online marketing accounts claim that Chen Hua's discord was due to Chen Xingshen's teacher, Jiang Lifu, but this claim still lacks evidence.

Therefore, Chen Hua's discord was not like that of Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao, where the parties involved fully expressed their opinions.

This also includes online self-media outlets that insist on smearing Hua Luogeng, claiming that Jiang Lifu failed to be elected as a member of the Academic Committee in 1955 because Hua Luogeng opposed it, which is pure nonsense.

They even fabricated two reasons: first, because Jiang Lifu did not persuade Chen Xingshen to return to China; and second, because Jiang Lifu was in charge of moving all the mathematics books of the Institute of Mathematics of the Academia Sinica to the island, which implied a problem with his stance.

In reality, Jiang Lifu was not in charge of the relocation at all; the relocation had nothing to do with him. Furthermore, according to historical records, only some institutions, such as the Institute of History and Philology, moved to the island; the Institute of Mathematics did not move at all.

For example, Hua Luogeng wanted to become the director of the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, so he promoted himself in various ways in order to squeeze out Su Buqing.

In June 1950, shortly after the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Su Buqing was indeed the director of the Institute of Mathematics, while Hua Luogeng served as the deputy director of the office. Six months later, in January 1951, the Institute of Mathematics was established, and Hua Luogeng became its director.

That's all the publicly available information we have.

Su Buqing was the head of the mathematics department at Zhejiang University in the 30s. He left the Institute of Mathematics in the 50s to return to Zhejiang University. As a native of Wenzhou, his return to Zhejiang University did not necessarily mean that he had lost the struggle.

These self-media outlets are part of a collective effort to smear Chinese scientists, deliberately finding cases with no factual basis to defame Hua Luogeng.

To fabricate facts entirely based on imagination.

Lin Ran has seen far too many scientists in China who have achieved success, all of whom have been smeared by fabricating facts.

Therefore, Lin Ran neither believes in self-media nor has any prejudice against Chen Shengshen.

He was simply too busy, and Chen Xingshen, being a pure mathematician, didn't want to disturb the other person's peaceful life.

Lin Ran was unaware that this would cause such a misunderstanding.

At this moment, he was in the control center of the Redstone base, tracking the flight path of Mariner 2 throughout, waiting for the time window for Mercury 2 to fly over Venus.

Russia's Venera 1 spacecraft was launched on February 12 last year and flew past Venus on May 19, becoming the first spacecraft to fly past Venus.

However, Venera 2 can only be considered a partial success, as it stopped transmitting data on February 26th and failed to bring back any data about Venus for humanity.

Since its successful launch on August 27, America's Mercury 2 spacecraft has maintained a stable signal transmission with the control center.

According to their calculations and predictions, they will successfully fly past Venus around December 14th, bringing back data from Venus for the first time.

This also marks the first time America has surpassed the Soviet Union in the space race.

Compared to the previous lunar photos, this time the adjectives are fewer.

Inside the Redstone base's control center, the rooms were spacious but dimly lit to reduce glare from the cathode ray tube displays.

A large control console sits in the center, equipped with a full suite of equipment including a large computer terminal, displays, and high-gain antenna communication devices. Mission schedules and sketches of Venus hang on the walls.

The air was filled with the aroma of coffee, mixed with the smells of paper and electronic devices.

The whispers of the team members and the soft hum of the machine mingled in Lin Ran's ears.

Jack James is in charge of the Sailors Program. He is dressed in a suit and wears glasses, and is mainly responsible for mission coordination.

He is also a loyal fan of Lin Ran.

Firstly, because Jack James was American, not of German descent; secondly, because after graduating from university in 42, he became an apprentice at General Electric, and later served as a radar maintenance officer in the Navy during World War II. After retiring from the Navy, he went on to graduate school and worked at JPL for a full 36 years.

It's the JPL where Dean Qian once served as the laboratory director.

He had a background in General Electric, Morgan funded part of his graduate studies, and had worked for Chinese people.

Back to working for Chinese people, Jack James felt like he was coming home.

The original observation station was supposed to be at the JPL Mission Management and Data Center in Pasadena, California, but due to NASA reforms, similar functions were centralized at Redstone Base.

The data was originally captured through the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. Goldstone's DSS-11 antenna was one of the main facilities for receiving Mercury 2 signals, responsible for capturing the weak radio signals transmitted from the spacecraft's high-gain antennas. Goldstone relayed the data to JPL. Now, it's not going to JPL, but to Redstone Base.

The atmosphere in the control room was tense. Team members sat around the console, staring at their respective dashboards. Coffee cups were piled high on the table, but no one was in the mood for coffee.

Lin Ran stood up, gripping the edge of the control panel, his gaze sweeping over the team: "Alright, guys, 15 minutes until we fly over the window. James, how's the signal?"

Jack James looked at Richard Goldstein, who adjusted his headset and stared at the waveform on the radio receiver: "Director, the high-gain antenna is locked, the signal strength is at -130 dB, very stable. The data channel is ready to receive at any time."

Bruce Murray opened his notebook and marked the time with a pencil: "The microwave radiometer and infrared radiometer are calibrated and ready to scan the night side of Venus. Carl, is your data logging ready?"

Carl Sagan, sitting in the corner with a stack of papers in his hand, looked up at Murray: "Okay, Bruce. I was wondering if we might discover that the surface of Venus is hotter than Earth's deserts? I suspect Venus has thick cloud layers."

Lin Ran frowned and turned to Carl: "Carl, now is not the time to speculate. Let's wait for the data. Richard, how are the batteries and solar panels?"

Richard Goldstein (typing on the keyboard, checking telemetry data): "Battery level 83%, solar panel output normal, voltage stable at 28 volts."

Jack James felt a strange sense of calm as he listened to Lin Ran's instructions.

As a veteran NASA employee, a senior engineer who worked in NASA's constituent agencies even before NASA was established, Jack James dares to say that having Lin Ran at NASA and not having Lin Ran are two completely different things.

After Lin Ran arrived, just as he said, he brought NASA one victory after another.

Jack James simply couldn't believe that anyone at NASA would be dissatisfied with Lin Ran.

A faint ticking sound came from the radio; Mercury 2 had reached its closest point to Venus, 34,773 kilometers from its surface. The whispers in the control room abruptly ceased; everyone held their breath.

Richard Goldstein suddenly raised his voice: "Closest point confirmed! Data stream has started flowing in, with a delay of about 5 seconds and a bandwidth of 200 bits per second."

Bruce Murray stared at the display screen, his fingers rapidly jotting down numbers: "Nightside temperature reading... 421°F! Much higher than our expected 200°F! Looks like the science fiction tropes need to be rewritten."

Carl Sagan jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair: "421°F? My God, that's twice as hot as boiling water! Bruce, is that even possible?"

Bruce Murray lowered his head to calculate, and said calmly, "The instrument is fine; the microwave radiometer readings are consistent. It's probably because the thick carbon dioxide cloud is trapping the heat. I need to double-check with the slide rule."

Lin Ran stared at the mission schedule: "Trust the instruments, trust the science. The protective measures we've taken for the measuring equipment are comprehensive enough; it won't malfunction."

"Guys, keep watching. Is the magnetometer moving?"

Richard Goldstein adjusted the knob and checked the magnetometer data: "The magnetic field strength is less than 0.0001 gauss, almost undetectable. Venus may not have a magnetic core."

As Mercury2 approached the solar side of Venus, the lights in the control room shone on the tired yet excited faces of the team members.

Jack James, standing next to Richard Goldstein, looked up and reported, "The spacecraft is crossing the day-night boundary; the signal jitter is minimal and remains stable."

Bruce Murray flipped through the pages, taking notes, and said, "The temperature is still rising... 440°F... It's 450°F now... It's almost constant!"

He seemed very surprised.

Lin Ran pondered, "The temperature difference between day and night is so small? This is completely different from Earth. I guess it's because the clouds reflect most of the solar radiation and lock in the heat."

Jack James nodded, tapping his fingers on the table: “It’s entirely possible, Director. The infrared radiometer currently shows the cloud level to be between 35 and 50 miles, and it could be a mixture of sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide.”

Jack James turned to Goldstein: "Richard, how's the solar wind probe? Any data?"

Richard Goldstein looked down at the particle detector readings: “Particle velocity 400 kilometers per second, density 10 particles per cubic centimeter. Without magnetic field protection, the solar wind bombards the atmosphere directly.”

As the flight over the window neared its end, the team began to relax, but remained vigilant. The coffee cups on the table were empty, and someone started rubbing their eyes.

Lin Ran leaned back in his chair, twirling a pencil in his hand: "Bruce, if there were no magnetic field, wouldn't Venus's atmosphere be gradually blown away by the solar wind, like Mars?"

Bruce Murray looked up at Lin Ran: "Director, that's entirely possible. Solar wind erosion could explain why Venus has no water. We need to bring this data back to the lab for further analysis."

Lin Ran clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention: "Alright, a few more minutes until we fly over the window. Richard, how's the spacecraft's status?"

“Everything is normal. The battery is still at 75%. The signal strength has dropped to -135 decibels, but it can still hold up.” Richard Goldstein breathed a sigh of relief, took off his headphones and put them aside, and took a big gulp of coffee, as if trying to wake up his tired brain.

When the controller's clock signaled the official end of the flight, a low cheer erupted in the control room.

Lin Ran smiled and raised his coffee cup: "Well done, everyone."

This is NASA's first successful planetary flyby. Data transmission is still ongoing, so everyone will need to work overtime tonight to process it.

Bruce Murray closed his notebook and rubbed his temples: "The preliminary conclusion is that Venus's surface temperature is far higher than expected, it has no magnetic field, and its clouds are as thick as a greenhouse. This will rewrite textbooks."

Carl Sagan clapped his hands and exclaimed, “That’s fantastic! I’ll have to write a paper to tell the whole world that Venus is a giant oven! Director, do you think Science magazine would be interested? If you were a co-author, I think Science certainly wouldn’t refuse!”

Richard Goldstein wiped the sweat from his brow and laughed, "Hopefully the next mission will get me a better antenna; this signal almost stopped my heart."

Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Base, Huntsville, Alabama

1962 January 12

NASA achieved a landmark victory in the history of space exploration. Yesterday, December 14, 1962, at 11:59 AM Pacific Standard Time, Mercury 2 successfully completed its daring flyby of Venus, becoming the first spacecraft in history to visit another planet and transmit valuable scientific data back to Earth.

This victory marks a defining moment for NASA, showcasing America's ingenuity and determination in the race to explore the universe.

水星2号于1962年8月27日从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射升空，经历了110天的太空之旅，最终在与金星的这次历史性相遇中达到高潮。

At its closest approach, the spacecraft came within 21,600 miles of Venus's surface, a feat accomplished with astonishing precision by a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory team led by Randolph in Pasadena. During the 42-minute flyby, Mercury2's instruments scanned Venus, unveiling the mysteries that have shrouded Earth's nearest neighbor for centuries.

Data transmitted back to the Redstone base control room revealed a startling discovery. Mercury2 measured Venus's surface temperature at a staggering 421°F on the night side and 459°F on the day side. The near-uniformity of day and night temperatures indicates that Venus possesses a dense atmosphere capable of trapping heat, something never before predicted.

"This is a day of pride for NASA and America," President Kennedy declared at a White House press conference. "The success of Mercury 2 proves our ability to go beyond Earth and unlock the secrets of the solar system. The data we collect will rewrite science fiction and inspire generations to come."

(Sailor 2)
　Anyway, I'm begging for monthly votes, sob sob, to save my bleeding wallet!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)