Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

Under Zhou Yunxiao's sincere inquiry, the retired expert gave a detailed explanation of the difficulties faced by Project 596 back then, as well as feasible solutions.

The viewers in the live stream room also tacitly stopped spamming the chat and left the comment section to the elderly man.

First, during that period, the biggest bottleneck faced by the Ninth Academy, which was in charge of Project 596, was the fluid dynamics calculation of the "impulse physics process."

You have to understand, we were poor back then, unlike America across the ocean, which had already developed second-generation transistor computers.

Nuclear physics involves a massive amount of calculation. Equations that Oppenheimer solved in two weeks took Lu Guangda, the director of the Ninth Academy, and his team over half a year to work on using abacuses and hand-cranked calculators!

【…】

Zhou Yunxiao listened intently to the old expert's lecture, and couldn't wait to ask:

"Professor Lü, do you have any solutions? We're out of ideas regarding the computer hardware, so is there anything we can do to compensate in other ways?"

Of course!

[You can copy the optimal algorithm for implosion hydrodynamics. I have a textbook here, which is the optimal difference scheme verified by the Tianhe-2 supercomputer, as well as von Neumann's artificial viscosity method.]

[In addition, this textbook also provides the equation of state for metals under extremely high pressure, as well as the precise correction parameters for the TFD model!]

Sometimes a good algorithm can be more helpful than a good computer. Once Dean Lu sees this system of numerical simulation formulas, he will surely be greatly inspired, thus avoiding many meaningless and erroneous directions.

[I dare not say more, but the original two years of purely manual calculation and verification for Project 596 can be shortened to at least two months...]

Upon hearing this, the live stream chat exploded with excitement.

Netizens were incredulous, but also somewhat elated.

Can a single algorithm save the Ninth Academy a significant amount of research and development time?

Zhou Yunxiao, on the other hand, empathized with this sentiment, saying:

"Gentlemen, the allure of mathematics is just that outrageous."

"Sometimes, the greatest achievement of an mediocre mathematician in his lifetime is to save an afternoon for some genius many years later."

"The algorithm we used to verify with Tianhe-2 was also to save Dean Lu Guangda and the Ninth Academy time; it's the same..."

With the help of this veteran expert, Zhou Yunxiao quickly copied the teaching materials onto draft paper and bound them into a booklet.

Professor Lü then continued:

The second major challenge of Project 596 was materials. Simply put, it was the "Type A separation membrane" technology, which proved incredibly difficult for many people back then.

[Project 596 required a large quantity of weapons-grade uranium-23X, but at that time, the only way to purify uranium-23X was through a gaseous diffusion plant. The core technology of the diffusion machine was this type A separation membrane.]

Unfortunately, the Surians simply left, leaving us to research this vacuum metallurgy technology ourselves, which took us a very long time to master.

The most crucial aspect of the Type A separation membrane technology lies in the microstructure of the sintered nickel powder and its resistance to uranium hexafluoride corrosion...

Hearing this, Zhou Yunxiao had a vague understanding of Professor Lü's intention.

This problem can be easily solved by simply copying the basic parameters of the type A separation membrane technology, such as the particle size distribution of the powder, the pressing pressure, the sintering temperature curve, and the most crucial surface passivation treatment process.

Any few experts in the chemical industry could easily replicate this technology by simply copying its steps!

He then quickly inquired about the third problem.

There was no response from Professor Lü for a long time before he finally sent a comment:

[Hehe, sorry everyone, I'm getting old and can't stay awake any longer. I accidentally fell asleep just now.]

[Let me continue. Project 596 researched implosion atomic bombs, and its key was to perfectly and symmetrically compress the explosive energy of spherical explosives towards the core.]

However, this type of propellant is highly unstable. Even a microsecond-level error or density inconsistency can cause the nuclear charge to be immediately detonated, rather than triggering a chain reaction!

Here I have a manual on casting and detonation of high-energy explosive lenses. You can copy it down. It not only provides the geometric configuration of the "explosive lens," but also the optimal ratio of RDX to TNT, the temperature control range during casting, and the design diagram of a microsecond-level synchronous high-pressure detonation network...

Seeing the comments posted by the veteran expert, Zhou Yunxiao couldn't help but admire them.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor Lü, and for the valuable information you provided. You have truly made a tremendous contribution to the success of Project 596."

"Although I cannot speak with you in person, on behalf of Director Chen, Deputy Chief of Staff Ping, Dean Qian, Dean Lu, and all the researchers, I extend my highest respect to Professor Lü from 2026!"

Professor Lü modestly declined, but amidst the cheers of netizens, he gladly accepted the respect.

I spent the whole night copying books.

When Liao, Xu, and Hu, the translators, woke up to the sound of the rooster crowing, they found a thin figure still hunched over the table, writing furiously.

Even more astonishingly, the ink bottle, which was full just two days ago, has already sunk significantly.

It's only the second night, and they've already used so much?

How much did Comrade Xiao Zhou translate?!

Liao, the translator, was completely dumbfounded. These days, Hero brand ink usually comes in a 30ml bottle, and a whole bottle can write about 20 words.

That means they translated nearly 10 words of material in those two nights!

Looking at others and then at her own pitiful few pages of paper, Liao, the translator, couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Look at their fighting spirit!

When Captain Mu came to collect the original manuscript, he discovered that Zhou Yunxiao's pen nib was dull.

He gasped in astonishment, "Comrade Yunxiao... you translated over a hundred pages of just over thirty pages of material?"

Captain Mu looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Don't try to fool me, I'm not well-educated." He seemed somewhat incredulous.

Zhou Yunxiao explained matter-of-factly, "Of course, many Russian words are abbreviations. A true translation would be equivalent to a long paragraph, and this is already a simplified version. Never mind, you can't understand Russian anyway, so hurry up and return the materials. If you keep dragging this out, the Surinamese will be up..."

He gave a casual explanation and then shoved Mu Chunsheng to hurry back and return the things.

Then he went to the cafeteria with translator Liao and the others for breakfast.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Yunxiao, carrying a file folder, went to the government building and knocked on Ye Ling's door.

"Enter!"

A strong, resonant voice came from inside the room.

He pushed open the door and went inside, and found that Political Commissar Sun and Director Qin of the Logistics Department were also there.

"Hey, Comrade Zhou's here! Have you had breakfast yet? Come on over and grab something to eat!"

Ye Ling greeted him warmly.

The three leaders were eating around a small dining table, on which was a small dish of pickled radish. Each of them held a bowl of corn porridge and a cornbread in their hand, talking and eating as they went.

Zhou Yunxiao waved his hand and said, "Commander, I just ate at the canteen."

"Eat some more, though. The food in the canteen isn't enough to keep you full. You intellectuals should eat more; we cadres should eat less!"

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound. These days, the food supply at the base has become increasingly tight. The cooks came up with a rather ingenious, albeit seemingly foolish, solution: to steam the cornbread twice.

Although the steamed buns were a size bigger, they still weren't very filling, and many people's stomachs started growling again shortly after they finished eating.

Without giving him a chance to explain, Ye Ling pulled Zhou Yunxiao to a seat, shoved a cornbread into his hand, and ordered him to finish it.

"Commander...I..."

"Eat! Don't leave a single bite!"

Seeing this, Zhou Yunxiao felt a warmth in his heart and took a bite.

At the Dongfeng Base, everyone's food rations are fixed, even for leaders like Ye Ling. No one is entitled to more food just because they hold a higher rank.

I'm eating Ye Ling's rations!

Seeing that Zhou Yunxiao had eaten, Ye Ling chuckled and continued the conversation:

"Xiao Zhou, we were just talking about the materials you translated, such as 'Postpartum Care of Sows' and 'Scientific Pig Farming and Fermented Bed Technology'."

"Last night, Director Qin returned from Huangyangzhai Railway Station and immediately read it through. He said 'good' three times, indicating that there's hope for meat supply at the Dongfeng base this time!"

Director Qin of the Logistics Department raised his head, his eyes shining, and said:

"There's hope for food and vegetables too. I never imagined the Surians would bring so much valuable information; their archives are a veritable treasure trove!"