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

Chapter 612 Several new patents for radio

The main battles of the War to Protect the Country were fought in the southwest region, and there were no wars elsewhere.

After Li Yu finished his lecture at Datong University, a young man in his twenties came up to him and said: "Master Li, my Excellency, Feng Jiayu, on the orders of my father Feng Guozhang and Jiangsu Civil Affairs Chief Han Guojun, I take the liberty to invite you to Nanjing. Lectures at the Normal School.”

"It turns out to be Mr. Feng," Li Yu said, "please come all the way to Shanghai to find me."

Feng Jiayu is the grandfather of crosstalk actor Mr. Feng Gong.

Feng Jiayu said: "Anyway, now that there is the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, travel is so convenient. It would only be troublesome if you were in the capital."

Li Yu thought for a while and realized that Nanjing Normal University should be the predecessor of Southeast University, and it was also a school that valued engineering. (Not the later Nanjing Normal University.)
"Okay," Li Yu said, "I'll pack up and leave tomorrow."

Yuan Shikai placed Feng Guozhang in the position of Jiangsu general. Although it sounded similar to Jiangxi general Li Chun, Feng Guozhang was in charge of the richest area and his status was much more transcendent.

After arriving in Nanjing, Feng Jiayu took Li Yu to Feng Mansion first.

In the living room, Feng Guozhang said with a smile: "Master Li, you are well."

Han Guojun also shook hands and said: "I have admired you for a long time!"

Li Yu asked casually: "The general shouldn't have so much leisure time, right?"

"I'm really in a leisurely mood now and don't want to worry about anything else!" Feng Guozhang stroked his beard and said, "A few days ago Zishi (Korean character for Jun) came to talk to me about the new Nanjing Normal University. I need some advice. Money. Later he said that he would hire many PhD students from the United States as teachers. I suddenly thought of Dr. Li. Isn’t that rude? "

Li Yu said: "Not abrupt."

Feng Guozhang said with emotion: "It's better to be educated. There won't be so much intrigue, and the words in the books won't jump up and fool you. What should be one is one, and it will never become two."

It seemed that he was really angry with Lao Yuan.

Li Yu gave another example: "Knowledge can also save people. Back then, a German wanted to commit suicide. He suddenly thought about Fermat's last theorem all night. He didn't study it, so he stopped committing suicide."

Feng Guozhang said: "Arithmetic? Can Bachelor Li solve it?"

Li Yu said: "This is one of the most difficult mathematical problems, and I definitely can't do anything about it."

Feng Guozhang didn't know much about specific academic issues. He just wanted to get in touch with people like Li Yu who had a high reputation in academic circles around the world. During the Republic of China, major warlords respected great scholars, and he could also improve his taste. . Feng Guozhang said: "This Nanjing Higher Normal School was formerly the Liangjiang Normal College founded by Master Zhang Zhidong. It has always been inherited. It may be a little worse than the Capital University, but it is by no means an ordinary school."

Li Yu said: "Even if it's an ordinary school, it doesn't matter."

It is said that there are no ordinary universities at this time. It should be said that the number is far from enough.

While several people were chatting, Feng Jiayu suddenly ran in in a panic and said to Feng Guozhang: "Father, Jiang Yanxing, the lobbyist sent by the presidential office, is here again."

When Feng Guozhang heard this, he stood up quickly: "Oops, he must have seen us opening the door today and came here in a flash. This guy even planted an eyeliner at my door! Quick, bring my wheelchair over!"

Feng Jiayu immediately brought a wheelchair from another room. Feng Guozhang sat down, covered it with a blanket, and then pretended to be half dead.

Li Yu and Han Guojun also hid in the back room.

After Jiang Yan came in, he said, "General, I can see you today."

Feng Guozhang swallowed hard and said in a weak voice: "Bin Chen (Jiang Yanxing's character), it's not that I don't see you, but you see how I can see people like this."

Jiang Yanxing quickly asked: "What kind of disease does the general have? How long has it been? Have you asked a famous doctor to see him? Have you taken any medicine? The president heard that the general was in poor health and was very concerned about him. He ordered me to ask famous Chinese and foreign doctors to see him. I brought a lot of various tonics, as well as precious Chinese medicines such as ginseng, dog treasure, bezoar, deer antler, and Ganoderma lucidum. I hope the general will recover soon."

As he spoke, he presented a big red gift list.

Feng Guozhang didn't even look at him, thinking, your question is too fake, and just said politely: "Thank you, President, for your concern."

Jiang Yanxing came over and asked, "Brother Hua Fu, why do you feel so uncomfortable?"

Feng Guozhang said angrily: "It doesn't feel good anywhere."

Jiang Yanxing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he could only reply cautiously: "The general is busy with military affairs and is sick from overwork. You should pay more attention to your health in the future."

Feng Guozhang raised his eyelids: "You are absolutely right, I need more rest!"

Jiang Yanxing was stunned, feeling that he had been tricked by him, so he expressed his intention: "General, to be honest, the president sent me here this time, firstly, to see the general's illness; secondly, to invite the general to serve as chief of staff. I wonder what your Majesty’s wishes are as commander-in-chief of the expedition to Yunnan?”

Feng Guozhang paused for a long time before he said leisurely: "The crux of the Yunnan uprising lies in the restoration of the imperial system. As long as the president explicitly cancels the imperial system, the war will stop without a fight."

Jiang Yanxing knew that Feng Guozhang, like Duan Qirui, was against the imperial system, and had been manipulated by President Yuan before. Seeing that the rational strategy was not working, he immediately changed to using emotion: "Let bygones be bygones. The general and the president have a close relationship. At this time of national crisis, for the sake of decades of friendship , and should also lend a helping hand to the president.”

Feng Guozhang was indeed a little moved after hearing this, but returned to his normal expression after a few seconds: "What's the point of talking about friendship? I have followed the president for most of my life, and I have worked hard without any credit. I have always been loyal to the president. Why does the president hide everything from me? , don’t treat me as one of your own!”

Feng Guozhang just bit hard and soft and refused to eat.

Jiang Yanxing was really helpless, and he was sent out not long after, and returned without success.

When Li Yu and Han Guojun came out of the back room, Feng Guozhang had already left his wheelchair and was sitting on the Taishi chair, drinking tea leisurely. He said to the two of them: "No matter what, I will definitely not go out. I remember last year when I paid homage to the great master. The president took Duan Qirui by the way. But the Presidential Palace actually resumed kneeling! Duan always disliked this etiquette of a tall man turning into a short man, and refused to go. I was afraid that the relationship would become tense, so I forced him to go.

"After seeing the president, I knelt down first and then Lao Duan. Fortunately, the president showed some respect to us and said that his brothers did not need to perform such a grand ceremony.

"But later when we met Mr. Yuan, this boy was very rude. He didn't move his body or arms, and acted like a crown prince! If we fall into his hands in the future, how can we repay him?"

Han Guojun said: "The etiquette of kneeling is really backward. Remember when the president proclaimed himself emperor, didn't he say that he would abolish kneeling and replace it with three bows?"

"There are always some people who flatter you and want to be the hero of Conglong," Feng Guozhang said, "Zishi (Korean word for Jun), please take Grand Scholar Li to the school. I'm worried that Jiang Yanxing will send someone to spy on you secretly."

Han Guojun and Li Yu immediately stood up and said goodbye: "Don't go past the general."

-

Arriving at Nanjing Normal University, President Jiang Qian and Provost Guo Bingwen greeted him at the door.

"Thanks to the visit of Dr. Li, our school is very grateful." President Jiang Qian said.

Li Yu politely replied: "I am equally honored."

After saying a few more words of greeting, Guo Bingwen said: "All the teachers and students of the Department of Physics and Chemistry of our school have gathered in the auditorium, waiting for Sir to give lectures." Li Yu stretched out his hand and said: "Please lead the way."

As soon as he entered the classroom, there was a long burst of applause from the entire venue.

Among the students in the front row, Li Yu also saw an extraordinary figure: Wu Youxun.

This is the key target of Li Yu's plan, and he must be helped to win the Nobel Prize in Physics for the Compton Effect.

However, the focus of today's lecture is not purely mathematical, but the radio that Guo Bingwen ordered in advance. ——After all, this is a field of science and technology that everyone is extremely concerned about at the moment. It also coincides with the war, and the role of radio has been further amplified.

Li Yu saw a "hand-made radio" placed on the table in front of Wu Youxun, so he asked, "Did you make it?"

Wu Youxun said confidently: "Yes, I went to Datong University to learn from the seniors there a month ago."

"Very good." Li Yu gave him a thumbs up. "It seems that you have a good foundation. You are worthy of being a student in a land where dragons and tigers roost. Today I will talk about something new, I guarantee you haven't heard it before."

Wu Youxun asked: "It's not taught in American universities?"

Li Yu said: "Definitely not."

Wu Youxun and others immediately became interested.

Li Yu drew a sketch of an airship on the blackboard, as well as some formulas.

Wu Youxun wondered: "Mr. Academician, don't you want to talk about radio?"

Li Yu said: "There are many application scenarios for radio. What I want to talk about today is about how to use radio navigation."

Some students wondered: "Radio, for guiding airships?"

"That's right," Li Yu said, "In fact, it is easy to think that if flying at night or above clouds, it will be difficult for an airship or aircraft to identify the direction through ground targets. At this time, it can only rely on radio."

Wu Youxun asked: "Why do we have to fly at night?"

A student helped Li Yu answer: "If you want to make a sneak attack, of course you can't fly over openly."

Wu Youxun nodded: "Forget about this."

Li Yu continued: "Aircrafts are fast and have limited space. It is troublesome to install radios, and operation requires a dedicated co-pilot. So relatively speaking, it is easier to establish a radio navigation system for airships. As for the principle of navigation , which is to use ground radio stations and then calculate distance information..."

Li Yu explained it to them in detail.

During World War I, the Germans did think about equipping Zeppelin airships with radio navigation systems, hoping to dispatch them at night and quietly cross the strait. However, the bombing accuracy of the airship was a bit poor. When bombing London, none of the bombs hit the target.

But it cannot be said that it is completely useless. When the huge figure of the Zeppelin flew over London, the powerful sense of oppression was enough to shock people.

Wu Youxun was very smart, and it didn't take him long to figure out this practical difficulty: "If the distance is too far, or the signal is not strong enough, or the radio station is destroyed, won't the airship in the sky still become blind?"

"Good question," Li Yu said, "so I want to talk about one more thing, the backpack radio. This is also one of my recent research directions, and I will apply for a patent soon."

Li Yu continued to draw on the blackboard: "This portable radio has a strong signal and is equipped with the antenna, grounding pad and battery required for communication. It weighs about 80 kilograms and requires the cooperation of a four-person team to achieve high-power signals in the wild. transmission."

Wu Youxun said: "It sounds like it is still inseparable from the military."

Li Yu said: "From the day it was born, radio was destined to be used both military and civilian."

Wu Youxun said: "That said, I still like mathematics and physics that cannot be used in war."

"Actually, I am the same. But wireless is also very useful for civilian use, isn't it?" Li Yu said, and then encouraged, "Keep your preferences and get admitted to study in the United States as soon as possible. We will also cooperate in the field of mathematics and physics in the future."

In the next two days, Li Yu explained more about radio in detail.

Provost Guo Bingwen expressed deep admiration for Li Yu’s ability: “I am also a PhD student in the United States and received a doctorate in education from Columbia University. But after listening to your lectures, I feel that there is no one as knowledgeable as you even in the United States. "

Li Yu said: "Thank you sir."

Guo Bingwen is the founder of Southeast University and has made great contributions to education.

He asked again: "Mr. Academician, I still don't understand something. Although I don't understand the field of radio, I can tell that what you are talking about is cutting-edge technology. According to you, they are all new achievements that have not been registered for patents. , shouldn’t it be a technology that the military departments of various countries are competing for? Why... why are you talking about it so casually?”

Li Yu said with a smile: "I just want to tell it publicly, and I also have to travel around to let everyone know."

Guo Bingwen said: "If you sell these technologies to any country in Britain or France, it will cost more than hundreds of thousands."

Li Yu said: "The student named Wu Youxun spoke my mind. I personally don't like military affairs, and I don't want my research to become a murder weapon for one party, so I can only let everyone in the world hold it. , and this can also promote its entry into the civilian field earlier. Otherwise, the most cutting-edge research results will only be used in the military field, and it will cost tens of thousands of people their lives before other countries will gradually figure it out."

Guo Bingwen suddenly realized: "Academician Suwen doesn't like military affairs or being an official. He turns out to have such a philanthropic heart. I admire him so much!"

Li Yu said: "Sir, you rewarded me again."

Guo Bingwen said: "In addition, I also heard that it is war that promotes technological progress, including the current war in Europe. It is said that many different types of aircraft have appeared on the battlefield."

Li Yu smiled slightly: "Whether war promotes technology, or whether technology expands people's self-confidence and triggers war, is a question worth pondering. Technology itself is technology, and I really don't want to associate it with war."

Guo Bingwen said: "But no one can stop it, right?"

Li Yu spread his hands: "That's not something I can do, but at least I won't throw a tantrum at you. Because I firmly believe that people are inherently good in nature."

Guo Bingwen bowed: "I have learned a lesson."

After a period of time, Li Yu gave lectures at several universities in Shanghai and registered patents in Beijing and the United States.

Not only road-based radio navigation systems and backpack radios, but also new signal detectors based on silicon carbide crystals.

This kind of detector can replace the electromechanical metal chip detector that was susceptible to interference in the past. In addition to its strong anti-interference ability, it can also be used in environments that require frequent transfers, greatly improving reliability under field conditions.

——In short, many advanced patents in radio are still firmly in Li Yu’s hands.