Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 155 Professor Lin's Immense Power (4k)

Where did you get this information?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shu Xingbei, who had changed his name to Mu Tianlang, quickly realized that he shouldn't have asked.

"Okay, that's not important."

It's really not important.

"It's alright, we can speak freely here. Professor Mu, we invited you here because you are experienced and have a wide range of knowledge in the field of physics."

Here we only talk about science, nothing else, so you can say whatever you want.

The source of the technology is not without value to us. If we know its origin, we might be able to find other materials to corroborate it. Bi Dexian was worried that Shu Xingbei might be hesitant to speak freely because of his past experiences.

Everyone's here now, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

After seeing the information, Bi Dexian knew that he would be unable to leave the base for a long time to come.

This is because I didn't see the Raspberry Pie.

The semiconductor industry experts who saw the Raspberry Pi were prepared to never leave.

In this idealistic era, scientists who chose to return to China from abroad readily accepted this arrangement.

The Panda Radio was very popular in the Soviet bloc, and when it was reported back to Area 51 through newspapers in various countries, they were even more encouraged and felt that their work was meaningful.

It not only has strategic value for this ancient country, but also practical significance; light industry is still industry.

"This magnetron technology path is very complete. It should be the original synthesis path and technology solution of the English, and it even includes improvement schemes."

Back when I was researching radar in Chongqing, we were incredibly envious of magnetrons.

America gave us two sets of this SCR-584 system, which were placed in the southwest to protect the transportation safety of the Hump airlift route and the Burma Road, and to prevent Japanese air raids from disrupting the routes.

Even Chongqing at that time could only use SCR-270 and SCR-268.

Moreover, the radars that America assigned back then, the SCR-270 and SCR-268, were operated by their technicians who trained us on how to operate them. As for the SCR-584, our people weren't even allowed to touch it.

At that time, Chennault's 14th Air Force, also known as the Flying Tigers, had a radar station in southern Yunnan, which was maintained entirely by Americans.

"My assigned task at that time was to study radar. We could only look at it with our eyes, specifically the SCR-270 and SCR-268."

As for SCR-584, it's not even visible.

At most, you have to treat the Americans to a few meals, take them to dance halls, and give them dollars to get even a few words of information.

As Shu Xingbei talked about these things, he stroked the document with his hand, and many painful memories came flooding back to him.

"Speaking of this, I heard from America's radar expert, well, to be honest, I think that so-called expert is quite low-level. At best, he's just an operator. He doesn't know much about radar principles, and he's not interested in going into any further research."

Because he was the so-called technical expert for SCR-584, we had to curry favor with him at the time.

He said that if it weren't for the enormous threat posed by the Luftwaffe to England during the Battle of Britain in 1940, with its air raids causing extremely heavy casualties, the resource-scarce English peninsula would have had to cooperate with America.

Otherwise, the English wouldn't have transferred cavity magnetron technology to the Americans.

(A mural on the wall of the German Kaufbeulen air base during World War II; the device at the top is a radar.)
“I’ve heard about that too. I was studying in California at the time. After the war, I read about it in the newspapers. They said that this technology was the most valuable cargo ever shipped to the American coast.”

This statement was made by James Finney Baxter III, an American historian.

At the time, a team led by English scientist Henry Tizzard carried a black metal box containing the most advanced technological secrets of England, the most important of which was the cavity magnetron technology, model E1189.

These technologies are considered England's trump card.

The American naval representative who attended the meeting said that their shortwave radar system had a power output of only 10 watts, while England's magnetron could output about 10 kilowatts, a huge performance gap.

It was thanks to this technology transfer that America was able to quickly begin large-scale production of magnetrons. MIT subsequently established a radiation laboratory based on this technology, specifically to research and develop radar technology based on magnetrons.

The "MIT Radiation Lab Series" was also created as a result.

"Speaking of magnetrons, although I've been away from the front lines of radar research for many years, I think we should be able to build one now, right?" Shu Xingbei asked.

Bi Dexian nodded and said, "That's right. After we obtained the Soviet radar and disassembled it, we acquired basic magnetron technology, but it is still far from the precision of America's 10-kilowatt-class centimeter magnetron during World War II."

At best, we can say that we have a basic understanding of the technology; there is still a long way to go before it can be applied in practice.

To achieve this level of accuracy from America's SCR-584 of the 40s, I estimate it will take a year and a half, once detailed technical data is available.

To achieve the improved version, we have many difficulties to overcome, especially with the high-power pulse magnetron.

Worse still, the information only mentions high-heat-resistant cathode materials and ceramic insulators, which are materials that improve the stability of magnetrons, in a few words, without explaining how to manufacture these materials or how to apply them after they are manufactured.

These are all very difficult for us.

There are all sorts of difficulties and a great deal of problems.

However, our most important task right now is to thoroughly understand the SCR-584. Only after we've mastered this technology can we discuss other improvements.

After listening, Shu Xingbei nodded and said, "That's right."

I've reviewed your work schedule, and I have no objections.

As radar experts and engineers from various institutes arrived one after another, Bi Dexian divided them into four groups, each responsible for magnetrons, waveguides and antennas, receivers and signal processing, and servo control systems, respectively.

"My idea is to replicate the system separately first, and then unify the workforce to do system integration and testing calibration," said Bi Dexian.

After listening, Shu Xingbei said, "With the technical data, the most important thing is still the issue of precision machining."

Manufacturing a magnetron requires the ability to precisely machine a resonant cavity, a high-temperature cathode, and a vacuum seal.

The precision required for parabolic antennas and servo systems is likely beyond the capabilities of our current machine tools and casting technology.

Bi Dexian looked worried. "Yes, we can still ask the semiconductor group for guidance on circuit design."

Precision is a major challenge.

"That's right. In fact, besides the technology replication itself, machine tool technology is the most crucial thing for us now."

To be honest, I've always felt that if the Russians can send people to America to get technology, why can't we send people to Japan to get technology?
At least in terms of machine tool precision, Japan is at least an order of magnitude better than us.

Machine tool precision is a common requirement for almost all projects.

"Okay, let me think about it first." After a moment's thought, the person in charge of Area 51 said, "Going to Japan to get it is too difficult."

Our overseas resources are limited. If we want to acquire the technology from Japan, from planning to success, it will take at least ten years.

Moreover, this is all based on the premise that no unexpected events occur and everything goes smoothly.

If anything goes wrong, it will result in a complete disaster.

Dean Qian was about to say something when he was interrupted by the other party, "However, if it's just about importing technology, that's not a problem."

We can just ship a batch of advanced machine tools from Hong Kong.

Transporting a few units shouldn't be a problem.

On the one hand, we use it ourselves, and on the other hand, we have machine tool factories conduct research on its replication.

After all, machine tools are the foundation of industry. What we are doing now is climbing upwards, but at the same time we must not forget to put down roots.

"That's settled then. The radio project happens to have a significant foreign exchange surplus on the books."

Hong Kong has a thriving electronics and watchmaking industry, so it has always imported the most advanced precision machine tools from Japan.

Companies like Leeport Precision Machine Tool Co., Ltd. began distributing metal cutting machine tools from Japan in the 60s.

Historical data shows that equipment, including machine tools, electronic equipment, and precision instruments, accounted for a large proportion of Japan's exports to Hong Kong.

This is due to Hong Kong's status as a free trade port, and it is inseparable from America's support for the Baiyue people in the south at that time, as well as from Hong Kong's local industries.

The head of Area 51, as a high-ranking official in charge of science-related affairs, had ample access to information and was able to devise a solution.

The import of high-precision machine tools from Japan to Hong Kong has continued uninterrupted even after 1967, and continues to this day.

The Panda brand radio, while providing foreign exchange reserves to some extent, also gave them more options.

We don't necessarily have to buy machine tools from the big brother.

At that point in time, the machine tools that the Soviet Union could sell you had a precision between 50 and 100 micrometers. Of course, there were also devices with a precision of 20 micrometers, but these kinds of devices used in the military and aerospace fields would never be sold to China.

The precision machine tools exported from Japan to Hong Kong, including lathes, milling machines, and grinding machines produced by Mori Seiki, Makino, and Yamazaki Mazak, generally have a precision of 10 micrometers, with some high-end models even approaching 5 micrometers.

For China, Japanese goods are a good choice that offer good quality at a low price.

At that time, the Soviet Union probably wouldn't even sell you a machine tool with a precision of 50 micrometers, and even if they did, it would come with a whole host of conditions.

While China was climbing upwards and taking root in the Raspberry Pi, Lin Ran was even busier in America.

Lin Ran wouldn't see the Chinese Academy of Sciences holding a joint examination to recruit talent without being bound by convention until he returned to his residence in New York for the year-end holiday.

At this time, he was at Redstone Base. Outsiders thought he was very busy and had too much work to do, and all the technology-related work had to be assigned to him.

McNamara invited him to serve as a science and technology advisor to the Department of Defense.

If Lin Ran hadn't been the White House's special assistant for space affairs, McNamara would have even wanted him to become the director of ARPA.

"If only the professor could be the director of ARPA and report to me every day, that would be wonderful."

ARPA is an organization established in 1958 specifically to sponsor cutting-edge technology projects. It is affiliated with the Department of Defense, independent of other research and development departments, and reports directly to senior officials of the Department of Defense.

Also, don't say that Americans don't like being officials.

Roy Johnson, ARPA's first director, gave up a high-paying executive position at GE with a salary of $16 a year to become ARPA's chief of staff, a job with a tenure of only $1.8. Was it because he wanted to serve his country?

Unfortunately, Lin Ran had already been hired by Kennedy before him, which made McNamara lament that he had heard of such a talented person too late.

However, it's not too late, since we can still hire professors as consultants.

The salary for a full-time ARPA director is $1.8, while McNamara offered Lin Ran a salary of $6.8 for his part-time consultant position.

When Jack Rui, who was then the director of ARPA, found out, his resolve was shattered.

“Professor, this is our most important project right now,” Jack Ruiz explained.

Last time, he came to inspect the progress of the Georgetown translation machine; this time, at the Redstone base, it was his turn to report to Lin Ran.

After passing through layers of security checks at Redstone Base, Jack Rui, accompanied by a group of experts from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, finally met Lin Ran at the renowned Redstone Base.

Redstone Base was portrayed by the media as the technology center of the free faction and an important stronghold against evil forces, and Lin Ran was the number one figure here.

James Webb is based in Washington, D.C., and his presence is much weaker than Lin Ran's.

Should the media report on how he argues with members of Congress in Washington over the budget?
The evil doctor in the movie "Dr. No" was transformed from a mixed-race individual of Chinese and German descent into a purely German scientist.

"Transit is a low-Earth orbit, small-scale navigation system based on the Doppler effect, mainly serving the navy. When this project was first initiated, its main purpose was to provide navigation support for the Polaris ballistic missile submarine and correct the past inertial navigation system."

After Rui finished speaking, Richard Kershaugh, the person in charge of the project, continued with his introduction.

Lin Ran recognized what this thing was at a glance; it was the predecessor of GPS.

It is also a product of Cold War mentality.

After the Soviet Union successfully launched its satellite, America was already considering how to use satellites to enhance missile accuracy.

Lin Ran countered, "Are you thinking of using the Doppler effect for localization?"
The receiver calculates its position by measuring the frequency change of the signal, also known as the Doppler shift, and then combining this information with satellite orbital parameters.

This surprised the experts present, who then exclaimed that the professor was indeed a professor, able to explain the principles clearly just by listening to an introduction.

Clearly, ballistic missile technology is the most sensitive type of technology, especially since it is related to nuclear submarines.

Even with Lin Ran's past status, he wouldn't have had access to Transit.

Or rather, if it weren't for McNamara, Lin Ran wouldn't have had access to Transit.

"That's right, that's what we thought before."

We have now achieved sub-meter level accuracy.

"Dog shit!"
Given the current computing power of computers, it would take at least fifteen minutes for your receiver to receive a signal and perform location tracking.

Moreover, due to the influence of atmospheric drag and gravitational changes, the accuracy of your measurements is still far from the results you want.

And you can't even solve this problem!

(End of this chapter)