Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 28 Preparations before visiting Hong Kong
"I'm very happy working at the Redstone Base and I'm not considering it for now," Haynes declined.

At the same time, he complained in his heart that the rich man was too rich, worthy of being the Morgan family.

He usually eats in Huntsville, eating simple fare like burgers and milkshakes at places like Gibbs' Grill or Carter's.

Even when having dinner with colleagues, we would at most go to places like Green Rose Restaurant to eat barbecue and fried chicken.

He would not visit a place like the Russell Erskine Hotel more than once a year at his own expense, unless Arthur Rudolph was treating.

The starting annual salary for a GS-9 engineer at NASA is about $6435 a year, which is equivalent to $536 a month. A meal at the Russell Erskine Hotel can cost $30, and people like John Morgan make business meals at the hotel even more expensive.

The clothing brands that John Morgan just mentioned are luxury goods among luxury goods.

Haynes had only heard of the name Savile Row because JP Morgan liked to fly to London specifically to have Savile Row custom-made suits.

He had never heard of the other two names, Brooks Brothers and Chipp.

You know, Haines' family is considered middle class in America.

That's how big the gap is between the middle class and the old aristocracy.

"Well, it's a shame your talent can't work for GM.

I thought you and Randolph working together would become a classic partnership like Von Bryan and Ernst Stillinger," said John Morgan.

The two he mentioned were scientists brought from Germany by America through Operation Paperclip. They worked together at the Redstone Base in the 1950s, focusing on the development of rocket technology.

Von Brünn was responsible for overall design and leadership, while Stillinger provided support on the propulsion system and electric propulsion concepts.

Their collaboration led to the success of the Redstone rocket and the launch of the United States' first satellite, Explorer 1958, in 1. Stillinger's theoretical work provided an important complement to von Braun's practical rocket designs.

Haynes was even more jealous. What kind of rich man could actually poach Randolph Lin?

Before, John Morgan came to him to consult about Lin Ran and showed his intention to recruit Lin Ran. At that time, Haines had seen a lot of news about Lin Ran's proof of Fermat's conjecture in the newspapers.

He originally thought that John Morgan was a dreamer. He had already become famous in the mathematics community and was known as the Chinese Gauss. He was likely to become the next Pope of Mathematics. How could he possibly go to work for General Electric?

Unexpectedly, John Morgan actually did it.

This made him feel that in America, there was nothing that money couldn't buy.

"Randolph? His talent in the aerospace field is much better than mine." Haynes sighed.

This was also the consensus of all the engineers in GE's aerospace department who had worked with Lin Ran: "Randolph is incredible. It's hard to find someone more capable than Randolph in aerospace theory."

It is precisely because of the endorsement of all the engineers that John Morgan trusts Lin Ran more and more.

John Morgan knew very well that in the current environment, there was only one possibility for making these white engineers convinced by a Chinese person: that the other party was really better than them, and it was visibly better than them.

"But Randolph had too many things to do, he had to teach, he had to do mathematical research, and he couldn't focus all his energy on GE's aerospace business.

"I need someone to help me lead this work," John Morgan said. He was looking for Haynes because Lin Ran had mentioned that he was a good hire. Haynes felt relieved. It turned out to be a part-time job. "I'll think about it."

John Morgan changed the subject, "Haines, I heard you talk about what kind of person Randolph was before. Can you describe him to me in more detail?"

“Before I met Randolph, it was hard for me to imagine someone breaking the line between professional and amateur.

As a GS-9 engineer, I have been focusing on complex orbital calculations. My professional ability is definitely in the top 1% among the engineers at Redstone Base.

But Randolph gave me the feeling that the difference between him and me was that I was only capable of so much, and he only wanted to do so much."

When Haynes mentioned the difference in their abilities, he first raised a small glass to indicate that this was his own ability, and then raised a large red wine glass to indicate that this was Randolph's ability.

“I doubted myself for a long time until I saw the article about Randolph in the newspaper.

The other person is a genius who proved Fermat's conjecture at the age of 22. Isn't it normal that there is a huge gap between us? "

John Morgan said too little about Lin Ran's daily life in 1960.

In addition to teaching, attending academic conferences, conducting mathematical research, and teaching General Electric's aerospace engineers, Lin Ran also has to teach himself.

Professor Horkheimer prepared a large number of critical theory books for Lin Ran to read, and they had regular discussions once a week.

There is also preparation work before going to Hong Kong during the summer vacation.

According to public information, China will complete the test launch of DF-1 this year. DF-1 is designed based on the Soviet R-2 missile and is powered by a mixture of alcohol and liquid oxygen. It has a range of only 550 kilometers and a payload of only 500 kilograms, making it suitable for short-range tactical use.

"The DF-1 will be put into cold storage after its test launch this year. It is more like a practice run led by Mr. Qian, in preparation for the subsequent official deployment of the DF-2 and DF-3.

Soon after, the DF-66 was developed in 2, with a range increased to 1300 kilometers. The DF-3 was later developed, with a range increased to 2800 kilometers.

All three missiles have the problem of insufficient accuracy. Among them, the range of DF-1 can be improved if the ballistic trajectory is optimized.

Essentially, what I need to do is to provide some mathematical calculation methods that can be used in China today.

China currently lacks computers and can only rely on manual calculations. Whether it is ballistic trajectory optimization, propulsion system design, structural mechanics analysis, navigation and guidance systems, or aerodynamics, everything must be built on the existing foundation.

Also, I can’t reveal too much at once, after all, we’re still in Hong Kong.”

Lin Ran felt that it was a daunting task to find a suitable mathematical method from the data, which had to be disguised, and to make Qian Xuesen realize how to use it.

As June arrived, before Lin Ran even visited Hong Kong, the Hong Kong media had already started warming up in advance.

Because the Department of Mathematics at Hong Kong University is already recruiting students for the Lin Ran Mathematics Seminar from the general public.

"Enrollment Notice for Dr. Lin Ran's Seminar, a Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University"

(End of this chapter)