A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 101 Fractals and Chaos

Li Yu has been busy during this period. The reason why chaos theory did not appear until the middle of the 20th century is actually because the computing power in the early days was too poor, and it was difficult to simulate and calculate various complex systems.

Fortunately, Li Yu has a calculator. Although it is a bit troublesome to use, it is much better than Lorenz in the 60s (not the Lorenz who worked with Lorenz, but a meteorologist).

And he doesn't need to introduce too many calculations, mainly some theoretical things need to be written.

Although Li Yu's writing mathematics papers is not his strong point, the mathematics used in chaos theory is not too complicated, and he can master all of them.

For example, the concept of "fractal" was mentioned at the beginning.

Fractal as early as ten years ago, several mathematicians touched the threshold.

The most famous one is the Swedish mathematician Koch, who is famous for his "Koch Snowflake".

It is to use the middle third of each side of an equilateral triangle as the base, and then make an equilateral triangle outward.

Then go on infinitely.It can be understood as nesting dolls, infinitely repeating nesting dolls.

If the perimeter of the original equilateral triangle is 1, obviously the perimeter of the formed Koch snowflake is (4/3) to the nth power, which is obviously an infinite number.

But it is very counter-intuitive: its circumference is infinitely long, but its area is finite.

You only need to draw a circle slightly larger than it to cover it.

In fact, its area is indeed convergent and can be obtained.

The Koch snowflakes formed in this way are not "round" at all, and are everywhere.In mathematical language: Although it is continuous, it is not differentiable everywhere.

The same theory also includes the "coastline paradox" once proposed by Richardson, a bigwig in the field of turbulence.If you use a more accurate ruler to measure, for example, the coastline of the United Kingdom, the measured circumference will be longer.

If you were to measure with an infinitesimally short ruler, the circumference of the British coastline would be infinitely long.

Although it is counter-intuitive and a bit counter-physical, in mathematics, it is like this.

Another well-known one is the "Hilbert curve" proposed by Hilbert ten years ago: divide a square into four small squares, and then spread a curve across each small square.

If the small square is further subdivided into four, and the infinite loop goes on, the curve will fill the whole square.

In this way, the originally one-dimensional curve has an area.

It is also quite counter-intuitive, the line actually has an area.

Li Yu is quite familiar with these contents, but the process of mathematical derivation wasted a lot of time.

At noon that day, after Li Yu had eaten, Uncle Wang saw Li Yu basking in the sun with a small black box, and asked curiously, "Sir, what are you taking?"

Li Yu looked at the calculator in his hand, and said with a smile, "Don't talk nonsense outside, it is the treasure of this house."

"Baby?" Uncle Wang asked in surprise.

"That's right, baby! But don't let people know, or it won't work." Li Yu said.

Uncle Wang nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, master, I will definitely not reveal anything."

"Well, that's good!" Li Yu called Zhao Qian over, "Come on, let's go out."

Zhao Qian had a lot of leisure now, and immediately picked up the rickshaw: "Sir, where shall we go?"

"British Embassy."

Li Yu found him in Pu Lande's office, and first gave him two press releases, both of which were about some routine science popularization content, and these news would be published in China anyway.

Pu Lande said happily: "Mr. Li Yu, I just like reading what you write. I dare say that in terms of scientific articles alone, no one in Asia can write better than you."

Li Yu said: "Mr. Reporter is really joking. There is one more thing. I am here today to ask you how to purchase a telegraph machine."

One of Pu Lande's main businesses is to engage in news, and he must know the best about this aspect. He said, "You came at the right time. The Minister's wife also asked about this a month ago."

"Ms. Minister? Mrs. Takeda?" Li Yu asked.

"That's right. Some time ago, Japan set up hundreds of telegraph offices in North Korea and bought a large number of telegraph machines. The wife of the envoy wanted to get in touch with the country faster, so she entrusted the ambassador's relationship to buy a few." Pu Lande said .

Japan benefited greatly from the telegraph during the Sino-Japanese War.

In the past few years, we have vigorously built telegraph offices again, and the number has reached more than 2000!And vigorously built new telegraph offices in Busan, Incheon, and Seoul (later called Seoul) on the Korean Peninsula.

As for the use, of course, when the relationship between Japan and Russia is tense, a war will break out soon.

Japan attaches great importance to telegraphs and railways. Although Japan is still unable to manufacture its own, it has purchased a large number of British and American telegraphs through the government-run Postal Steam Company and the private Mitsubishi Corporation.

Moreover, it was the kind of purchase that did not hesitate to spend, and the order even greatly exceeded the actual needs.

Originally, Japan wanted to extend its tentacles to Manchuria at the same time, and continue to build telegraph lines in Fengtian (now Shenyang), Harbin, Dalian and other places. However, Russia sensed Japan's ambitions and tried to obstruct it. Therefore, there are currently many idle telegraphs on the Korean Peninsula. .

Of course, Russian Mao itself is also ambitious.

After all, the Mitsubishi Group is a business group. So many telegraphs are placed in Incheon, and it is not an option to recover the cost, so they are looking for buyers everywhere.

Takeda, the wife of the British ambassador to the Qing Dynasty, Sa Daoyi, was also Japanese. She just thought that there would be a telegraph machine to communicate with China more conveniently.

Li Yu sneered: "It seems that Japan and Russia are about to bear it."

Pu Lande asked: "Why can't you bear it?"

"Of course it's a war." Li Yu said helplessly, "And it's a war on our Chinese territory."

Pu Lande laughed loudly: "Are you kidding me? If you use your Chinese language, Japan would not dare to offend a big European country even if it gave Japan the courage. Although Russia is only a backward country in Europe, it is not mere Japan can afford it."

Pu Lande is an Englishman, and he still thinks that the entire East is relatively weak in terms of national strength.Even though Japan had just won the Sino-Japanese War, he had been in the Qing Dynasty for so many years and knew the details of the Qing Dynasty. It was indeed because of weakness that he lost the war.

But Russia is different. Anyway, it is a ferocious polar bear, and Japan is a wild boar.

When a wild boar meets a bear, how can there be any reason to win?
This is the prevailing thought in the whole world at present.

Li Yu said: "Japan now has your Anglo-Japanese alliance behind you, and to a certain extent takes advantage of the short distance, maybe it will dare."

"No, no, no!" Pu Lande shook his head, "Even though we, the British Empire on which the sun never sets, stand on the side of Japan, we definitely won't believe that Japan dares to fight, let alone the question of whether we can win or not."

"Okay, wait and see." Li Yu didn't want to talk too much about this issue, after all, it couldn't be stopped, so he might as well think about what he should do.

Pu Lande is obviously not interested in continuing to talk about the issues of Japan and Russia, because in his opinion, there is no need to consider the situation at all. He asked: "If Mr. Li Yu wants to buy a telegraph, he can just participate in a meeting tonight. People from Mitsubishi will also attend the party organized by Mrs. Takeda."

Li Yu can only agree, it is really not easy to find a channel to buy a telegraph now.

Li Yu asked again: "If you buy a telegraph, how will the line be connected?"

Pu Lande patted his chest and said: "We also have a telegraph office, you don't have to worry about the line, but you have to pay fees to the Daqing Telegraph Office and the newspaper office regularly, depending on the number of telegrams sent each month and the areas to which they are sent."

Li Yu nodded: "I understand."

It's really helpless to think about it, communication is so important to a country, and now they even send a telegram and have to pay the British.

But there is no way, and it is the same in Japan now, after all, the equipment and patents are in the hands of the British and American countries.

Li Hongzhang, who has passed away, understands that not any industrial field can introduce foreign capital at will, and railways, mines, communications, banks, etc. must be firmly in his own hands.

Therefore, the domestic telegraph lines were indeed built by the Qing Dynasty itself. In this regard, Li Hongzhang is actually better than the Japanese. The current telegraph lines in Japan are basically built by British and American companies.

But it's a pity that I didn't think of going further to study the deep principles of communication.

In short, to send domestic telegrams, you have to pay the telegraph office of the Qing Dynasty, but if you want to send a telegram overseas, the British and American telegraph offices are naturally charged, and the price is quite high.

In the evening, Li Yu came to the party of the British Minister's Wife as scheduled. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Yu Geng and his wife and their youngest daughter Yu Rongling.

Li Yu stepped forward to say hello, "I didn't expect Mr. Minister to attend the party."

Yu Geng said: "It just so happens that the staff of the British Legation came to invite the wife of the French Minister to the party. We are having afternoon tea with the French Counselor. We heard that you are going too, so naturally we want to join in the fun."

Yu Geng has been a minister in France for many years, and now many negotiations with France are still entrusted to him.

Li Yu's appearance caused a little commotion. The French minister's wife, Elodie, asked Mrs. Takeda, "That Chinese is Li Yu?"

Mrs. Wutian had met Li Yu before, she nodded and said, "That's right, it's him."

Ai Luodi whispered: "It's really amazing. He was received by the president in our country. It's unbelievable that you can invite him."

These ministers' wives also like to compare, and they are very free on weekdays, and how well the party is held is the topic of conversation the next day.

Mrs. Takeda said with a little pride: "He is now a big celebrity in the scientific circle."

Elodie walked up to Li Yu lightly, "Hi sir, I am Elodie, wife of the French ambassador."

"Hello, madam." Li Yu replied with a French hand kiss.

"I know your story, and I even gave a speech at the University of Paris, which is really great," said Alotti.

"Thank you Madam Xie for your compliment."

The wives of ministers from several other countries are also very interested in Li Yu. Apart from those high-ranking officials and dignitaries in Beijing, Li Yu is probably the most famous.

But today's protagonist is not him. A young man coughed a few times, "Dear gentlemen and ladies, allow me, Koyata Iwasaki, to introduce some of our Mitsubishi products."

Li Yu has heard of the surname Iwasaki. The founder of the Mitsubishi Group is called Iwasaki Yataro. The Japanese man in his early 20s is his son.

Iwasaki Koyata did inherit the Mitsubishi Group 14 years later and became the fourth president.

Iwasaki Koyata said: "First of all, I would like to thank Mrs. Takeda for her kind invitation, allowing me to attend such a grand party. For this reason, I specially brought the latest telegraph purchased by our company from AT&T and German Siemens. .”

Today's Japanese companies are really looking for opportunities to sell their products when they see the opportunity.

Mrs. Takeda is most interested in American products: "I want an American one."

Iwasaki Koyata said: "Mrs. Takeda has a good vision. The transmission loss of AT&T's telegraph is very small."

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company was the Bell Telephone Company back then, and its later abbreviation was AT&T. I believe many people who have used a locked iPhone know it well.

Now the United States is a big business country. It doesn't listen to the outside world, and only wants to make money from the war. Many products it launches are indeed cheaper than those in Europe and the United States, and the quality is not bad.

Several other counselors quickly bought the remaining American telegraph machines.

Li Yu said with a smile: "It seems that I will choose Siemens."

Iwasaki Koyata is very good at sales. He said: "Great scientist, German manufacturing is more rigorous for you."

This is Li Yu's first contact with Mitsubishi Group, and of course it won't be the last.

Li Yu has not touched the industry now, but when he makes a move, whether it is Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, or Yasuda, they will all usher in a trembling era.

This is also his protection for himself, not only because the pH value of industrial soil in the Qing Dynasty is too low, it is not suitable for premature industrial production at all.There are also these four big Japanese chaebols who are coveting. Once they attack you, it will be a disaster, and it can be concluded that the Qing Dynasty will not take any effective actions to protect its own industrial and commercial groups.

Li Yu asked, "How much is this telegraph machine?"

Iwasaki Koyata said: "The price is 365 silver dollars."

Li Yudao: "It's auspicious for you to get the numbers."

Iwasaki Koyata said: "The implication is to wish customers a fortune every day."

"Okay, I bought it." Li Yu said.

Iwasaki Koyata immediately bowed ninety degrees: "Thank you for your support."

Today, the Mitsubishi Group brought not only telegraphs, but also several boxes of Kirin beer, which was definitely a rarity in the Qing Dynasty.

Except for people from Harbin, I am afraid that all Chinese people have never drunk beer.

Iwasaki Koyata said ambitiously: "We, Mitsubishi Corporation, have the confidence to establish a brewery in Daqing to compete head-on with the hard-to-drink beer of the Russians!"

Li Yu remembered some not-so-good things after hearing Xiao Mita's words.

But counting the time, the Tsingtao Brewery is about to be established, and it is best to find a way to let them catch up.

Although Tsingtao Brewery was also foreign-owned at first, but as far as the Japanese are pissed, they will not leave anything of value in China.

(End of this chapter)