I! Pretending to Be Reborn, Director of Doomsday Hoax

"And this is the function that our nuclear-powered trains need most."

Xu Fu nodded: "That's right. The cold resistance performance of their chip is worth learning from!"

Xu Qiu ruthlessly denied this possibility: "If we still use the same computer design as before, we will face the same problems as before!"

"A computer is not just a chip."

"If this kind of computer is still used, we still need to overcome the changes in the properties of materials at ultra-low temperatures, as well as the changes in the electrical properties of these materials and components."

The crowd was awe-inspiring.

Isn't what they need to overcome the changes in the properties of materials and electrical properties at ultra-low temperatures?

Xu Fu couldn't help but said: "Director Xu, the components of a computer are basically fixed, such as the central processing unit, memory, and input and output devices. Every part of these components is inseparable from electricity..."

"Miniature electronic devices use mechanical technology to arrange and connect components such as transistors, resistors, capacitors, and inductors required by the circuit, and wiring together, and finally use semiconductor chips or other dielectric substrates to carry the circuit.. ..."

"This is one of the principles of computer integrated circuits!"

"What we need now are materials that are stable at ultra-low temperatures and materials that do not change their electrical properties!"

"According to you, are you going to design a computer without electrical changes?" someone asked.

"It's impossible! No electrical changes, which means no integrated circuits, the basis of computers are integrated circuits!"

"Even if it is a computer that can only perform calculations, it also has an integrated circuit chip. Its power supply uses an AC converter or a battery, and it is inseparable from electronic accessories!"

Zou Botao looked at Xu Qiu without saying a word.

He believed that Xu Qiu already had a solution.

As long as this young master makes a move, it must be a big move.

"Director Xu, what is your solution?" Xu Fu asked.

Xu Qiu said calmly: "As I said before, learn to turn two problems into one."

"Since we have to face the problems of material stability and electrical properties at the same time, then we have to find a way to solve one of the problems!"

"You guessed it right, what I want is to solve the problem of electrical properties, but I'm not looking for materials with stable electrical properties at ultra-low temperatures, but "Just abandon electricity completely and find a computer that has nothing to do with electricity! "

"This this!"

People were dumbfounded.

Their brains are running very fast, without integrated circuits, chips, silicon, diodes, and even electricity, can they still be called computers?Indeed, if it is purely mechanical, there is no need to consider the issue of electrical properties, but the difficulty is that in today's world, there is no computer that does not need electricity to drive.

Under everyone's surprised and confused eyes, Xu Qiu said slowly:

"Difference engine."

"Um? ! "

At this moment, the pupils of many people shrank suddenly!

"Is this... a machine designed by the mathematician Babbage?"

"A purely mechanical computer without any electrical elements?"

"However, this kind of thing has long been lost! Moreover, it is a purely conceptual machine!"

Someone said: "Eagle Kingdom Lun Dun Science Museum once built a complete difference engine according to Babbage's difference engine drawing. This machine has a huge turntable, and it performs calculations by hand." As a result, this machine has The machine with more than 4000 parts and weighing [-] tons collapsed in the first calculation, and all the gears and chains exploded! "

Xu Fu said sadly: "This thing is hailed as the most pinnacle product in the history of the development of mechanics. So far, no machine can reproduce its exquisiteness and perfection..."

"It's just a pity that the Ministry of Finance of the Eagle Country did not support Babbage's work, which caused him to fail to make a real difference engine..."

"Besides, no one paid much attention to this machine at the time. They thought it was complicated and cumbersome, and it took too much effort. So after Babbage's death, the design method and construction drawings of the Difference Engine were all lost!" Everyone's eyes unconsciously Moved to Xu Qiu.

Could it be...he can make this kind of difference machine, which means the most complicated machine in Blue Star? !

This... is something that will shake the entire human mechanical world! !and.

Chapter 75 The current him is too important to Longguo!

The crowd was silent.

The difference engine and today's computers represent two completely different technologies.

To be precise, the difference engine can be called a mechanical computer, while today's computer is an electrical computer.

Today, the power computer has won the victory, so what we see now is the excitement of electric energy, which can even be called the electric age.

but.…

If the mechanical computer represented by the difference engine became the mainstream, the history of computer history would be completely rewritten, and it would no longer be Von Neumann, but Babbage, the father of the difference engine, who would write in the history books.At the same time, calculation methods, public symbols, academic naming, etc. will all change, and the era of steam will come!

And now, with the arrival of ultra-low temperatures, the era of electric computers may be over, an unprecedented opportunity for mechanical computers.

Xu Fu muttered to himself: "The difference engine back then had a big shortcoming, that is, it was too bulky!"

"Its essence is a professional computer for functional computing, but because of its bulky size, it is difficult to apply it to the entire social industry."

"In addition, the construction process of the difference engine is too complicated. Even Babbage at that time would need several months to assemble an accurate difference engine with complete computing power..."

"It is almost impossible for this kind of complex crafted product to be put into the assembly line production system, and it cannot be mass-produced. It is also doomed that the difference machine cannot be valued at that time!"

The cumbersome but exquisite structure of the difference engine emerged in everyone's minds, and they were unconsciously addicted.

With a hoarse voice, Ji Chengping said, "We just caught up with such an era..."

"Under the extreme low temperature, even with the protection of a thermal insulation layer, two hundred degrees below zero is enough to destroy the internal structure of the power computer, causing its electrical characteristics to change, making it unable to operate..."

"If the difference engine really exists, then after the sun goes out, the mechanical computer represented by the difference engine will become the mainstream of heavy industry... The era of big steam will come back!"

Many masters of mechanics have mixed feelings.

Who would have thought that the steam age, which started in the early 70th century and died in the 200s of the [-]th century, would usher in a pandemic again after [-] years!

Steam engines, coal, gears, bearings... will shine again after two centuries.

"So, Director Xu, do you...have a structural diagram of the difference engine?!"

Xu Qiu did not speak, but took out a thick stack of manuscript paper.

"This is.…"

Xu Fu and others were short of breath.

They looked at the cover of the stack of manuscript paper.

"Difference Machine Design and Manufacture Mechanical Engineering Drawings"

call.

call!

This group of train engineers and craftsmen from a big country were short of breath at the moment, looking at the hundreds of pages of manuscript paper in disbelief.

"Is this really white?"

Xu Qiu's voice was full of obsession. These words would drive any mechanics lover crazy. He said, "Imagine it, everyone."

"The difference engine we built has an ultra-high precision of one millionth, with as many as [-] parts, forming a computer that is completely driven by mechanical power!"

"It will be powered by a steam engine, no, it should be nuclear energy! We have already developed higher-end technology!"

"This machine powered by nuclear energy drives tens of thousands of gears on the machine. It can work at any low temperature without any damage to the internal parts!" Everyone was fascinated.

Xu Fu clenched his fists. He had a crazy interest in machinery since he was a child, and he knew about the difference engine since he was very young.

At that time, he was deeply impressed by this structure just by looking at the photos of the non-operational Difference Engine reproduced by later generations based on the incomplete manuscripts left by Babbage!

He never imagined that this magical ancient computer, representing the most complex technology in mechanics and the most ingenious design, could return to human hands in such a way...just as an operating system for nuclear-powered trains a part of!

"Director Xu, can I... can I take a look?" Xu Fu's voice was trembling.

This is an old man's dream!

Xu Qiu pushed the blueprint over.

Xu Fu picked it up like a treasure, and turned a page carefully.

boom!

Precise parts, perfect structure, dazzling mechanical sense...

There was an irrepressible obsession in Xu Fu's eyes, and he quickly admired the structure diagram above.

Gears, bearings, transmissions, gear shafts, pulleys, sprockets, worms, worm gears...

He can even imagine the scene when the difference engine starts to calculate:

The small mechanical parts are tightly snapped together. With the roar of the steam engine, power is generated, and the huge differential engine is all running at this moment...

The gear installed outside the bearing is driven by the bearing for transmission. When the gear rotates, it drives other gears to rotate, so the gears of the entire difference machine rotate with a click!

The escapement governor, which is composed of an escapement mechanism and a vibration system, relies on the periodic swing of the balance spring to maintain precise and regular intermittent movements, thereby adjusting the speed and progress of the entire differential machine......

"Torque converter?!"

Seeing the third page, Xu Fu was shocked.

The hydraulic torque converter is a hydraulic component composed of a pump wheel, a turbine, and a guide wheel. This thing is installed between the engine and the transmission.

Although the hydraulic torque converter had been invented when the differential engine appeared, but... this thing is mainly used in vehicles such as automobiles, and its main function is to transmit torque, change torque, Shifting and clutching.Difference engine, why is there a structure of hydraulic torque converter? !

Xu Qiu said slowly, "This difference engine has been improved."

"The ancient difference engine back then can no longer keep up with the calculation speed required by nuclear-powered trains."

"Babbage, the difference engine, ran out of funds to manufacture two warships and 22 steam locomotives, plus all the wealth left by the banker's father, the machine that he wanted to manufacture all his life... is This one on the blueprint."

"It is more perfect than Babbage's two major difference engines, and the precision required for parts reaches one millionth, and it is more precise than aerospace equipment."

"And if this difference machine is manufactured, the calculation speed will be several thousand times faster than the second-generation difference machine 200 years ago, "[-]", and the calculation accuracy can be as accurate as about [-] digits... ..As a comparison, the calculation accuracy of the second-generation difference engine is [-] digits!"

Xu Qiu's understanding of mechanics is deeper than anyone present, he explained: "The reason why I added nearly a hundred hydraulic torque converters is that..."

"We need to automatically and steplessly change the speed and torque within a certain range according to the running resistance of the train and the running resistance of the differential engine!"

"Furthermore, it brings three irreplaceable advantages to the Difference Engine."

"One, longer life. The working medium of the torque converter is liquid, and the liquid has a shock-absorbing effect, which can greatly reduce the dynamic load generated by the transmission system during the operation of the differential engine."