However, every day seems very different. Qian Yuzhi gradually understood what this relay was, what shape the iron core should be processed into the best, how fast the hand-operated copper wire painting equipment should turn, and the paint used for wires of different diameters should be boiled in the paint kettle How long does it take to heat... Li Janai and Feng Shan have become very good friends - they are girls of similar age and always work together, which is quite normal.
As for her and himself... Qian Yuzhi couldn't explain clearly. The playfulness and intimacy that made his heart beat faster when they went shopping, chatted, drank, and went home that day never appeared again. The distance between the two seemed to have been restored. , but in subtle details that are not easy to detect, there seems to be a hint of tacit understanding and a hint of randomness.
"Yu Zhi!" Feng Nuo's greeting interrupted Qian Yuzhi's distraction, "I'm going to the Ministry of Science and Technology for a meeting in the afternoon. I won't be back today. Don't forget to go through the security check when you leave."
"Okay, Chief." Qian Yuzhi agreed while secretly warning himself not to be distracted again.
This afternoon is a discussion meeting on the tabulating machine accumulator scheme. Because the Ministry of Science and Technology is relocating, it will be held at the Astronomical Observatory, Dr. Zhong's hometown. There are many precision instruments and equipment here, so ground-energy air conditioners were fully installed the year before last, and security and drying measures are also very complete.
There were not many participants, and the meeting was held in the Taipei Observatory Conference Room, also known as the Second Conference Room of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Feng Nuo has been to the first conference room before, which is similar to a large lecture hall.
It was his first time to come to this second conference room. It was smaller than the first conference room, but it was more than enough for such a small meeting. A long conference table measuring 3 meters by 15 meters does not look full at all in the room. Handmade rattan chairs are neatly placed around the conference table. The teak floor made in Siam is installed with floor power sockets at intervals. On one side of the wall is a large, integrated viewing glass window, and thick velvet curtains have now been put down. A huge projection screen brought from old time and space hangs at one end of the conference room, and a high-resolution projector is also suspended from the ceiling. The projection cables were neatly routed along the wall to the speaker's position. The reporter can also use the microphones at the location. Presumably the speakers at the four corners of the wall are used for amplification.
"This is not inferior to the luxurious conference rooms in the old time and space. Dr. Zhong is actually so luxurious!" Feng Nuo was very surprised, but then he thought about it, "The Senate has its own purpose for spending so much money here. Didn't today's discussion, which was originally more related to the mechanical port, be moved here?" Thinking of this, he felt relieved.
At this time, the staff brought hot tea from the tea room next door and placed it in front of the participants, and then quietly left.
This meeting was different from previous technical meetings. There were two rows of chairs placed against the wall, which were the auditorium seats for naturalized citizens. In order to strengthen the training of naturalized citizen scientific and technological personnel, the technical seminars that used to be attended only by veterans began to relax the admission conditions. A group of naturalized citizen trainees and technical personnel with solid basic knowledge and considerable talents were selected and franchised to participate in relevant seminars. seminar.
Because of their presence, the Office of Truth will specifically notify the elders before every meeting to pay attention to "speech" during the meeting. Don't leak too much that you can't explain.
Among the naturalized citizens attending the meeting this time were Dr. Zhong’s adopted daughter Zhong Xiaoying, Feng Shan, and several other students who were either disciples of the elders or outstanding geniuses currently in the Fangcaodi selection group. There were only a total of Thirteen people.
As future technology pillars who have access to "black technology", they realize the significance of their appearance on such an occasion, so they are both cautious and excited.
The meeting had no long-winded procedures and went directly to the topic of discussion on mechanical computers. As the leader of the project team, Feng Nuo first reported on the progress of the project, especially the development and improvement of relays. Then, the meeting entered the next step, which was a discussion of the principles of tabulating machine manufacturing.
After researching these days, the project team found that there are roughly three ways to implement the accumulation function of the tabulating machine:
First, because the data on the punched card is punched in one column or several consecutive columns to represent the number of each bit, so to calculate the total, you only need to count how many times each hole in each column has been punched in all the cards. , this can be accomplished with a simple counter.
Next, manually multiply the number of holes in each column by the value of the hole and sum it up. Then the sum of each column is multiplied by 10 or 100 according to whether the column represents the tens/hundreds digit, and finally the sum is added. Then it's ok. Although the final result needs to be calculated separately using another calculator or manually, at this stage, the results of the tabulating machine still need to be manually copied into the record.
This is not a real totalizer, but Hollerith's tabulating machine does this. The mechanical design is also the simplest. It only needs a relay or a relay-driven pallet fork to turn the dial.
Second, instead of meshing the main power gear directly with the rotating shaft of the dial, a relay is used to control the gear connecting the two. Only when a relay corresponding to the numbers 0-9 is energized can the main power drive the corresponding mechanical structure. Turn the dial.
At this time, the mechanical structures corresponding to 0-9 can operate differently when turning the dial, or turn it multiple times, or turn multiple digits at once, so as to achieve the purpose of accumulating the numbers in each hole. As for the carry, it is the same as the first solution. It is completed by adding a relay between 9 and 0 of the low-digit disk to drive the high-digit disk to rotate.
Such a mechanical structure is slightly more complicated and definitely takes up more space. The advantage is that it combines the accumulation of each hole in each column, avoiding a large number of manual calculations of multiplication and summation, and even the carry problem can be solved. The final number on the dial is the cumulative result, what you see is what you get.
Finally, there is the solution of simply using relays to build a binary accumulator. The theoretical design is not difficult. However, Dr. Zhong distributed a drawing of an all-relay arithmetic logic unit (alu) built by a relay fanatic in the old time and space that he found during the meeting. The densely packed honeycomb-like relays in the data picture made the attendees' scalps tingle. A patient with trypophobia immediately asked to go out and take a break to "breathe some air."
Dr. Zhong explained that if only the function of the adder could be stripped out, it would probably not be particularly complicated. However, the attendees were probably frightened by the ALU built by this madman, and they shook their heads. Even Feng Nuo, who was originally looking forward to the plan, gave up the idea. ——Mainly because he knows the performance of the relays he developed himself very well. Even if he only strips out the function of the adder, it also involves the mutual control of a large number of relays. The kind of crude products now produced may not be reliable. sexual requirements.
The third option was abandoned at first, but Dr. Zhong planned to continue the experiment to accumulate some experience for designing binary computers in the future. Feng Nuo also agreed to give priority to the development of more sensitive, reliable, smaller and lighter relays in the next step. For testing purposes of this solution - the premise is that the mechanical port can provide sufficiently thin copper wires, and his local insulating paint is still effective on thin wires.
Next, the meeting had a lengthy discussion on the first and second options. The veterans of the mechanical port said that there was definitely no problem with the first option and that they could trial-produce it now when they went back. The second option required re-optimizing the design, and it was also It depends on whether the performance of the relay provided by von Nuo is sufficient.
In the end, the project team decided to go with option one first. Because according to various evaluations, this plan has the least chance of problems - after all, the structure is simple and the action is reliable, and it is easier to achieve based on their difficult material level.
"It's back to the level of 1890." Feng Nuo sighed secretly. This plan is not much better than the last one that was ridiculed as a "money detector". But the punched cards have been in place for several months and have been moth-eaten and moldy in the warehouse. We can't always let the data wait for the machine. From the Governor's side, it's best to report good news in the near future. It's almost the end of the year...
At the end of the year, it’s time to assess projects again. If you can’t produce results, you have to at least put out a few papers as “phased results.” Otherwise, the Planning Institute and the Ministry of Finance and Economics will have a hard time. Feng Nuo is not a person who enjoys socializing.
Next, the elders attending the meeting had a lengthy discussion on the specific mechanical design, technology, materials and supporting equipment of the tabulating machine. The discussion was very detailed, so the meeting often became a marathon meeting - but it was very necessary: Elder The hospital's industrial system is extremely incomplete, and almost any new equipment must be manufactured from scratch. Coupled with the shortage of technicians and skilled workers, the variety of raw materials is even scarcer. Nothing can be built by handing out design plans and drawings as they did in the old days. The entire equipment, whether it is a core component or a mere screw, must be implemented down to the last detail, from raw materials to processing procedures.
Two weeks later, the first prototype of the tabulating machine was finally completed. The machinery factory manufactured various components of the mechanical system, including two solutions for the main power using steam power and electric motors. Feng Nuo took Qian Yuzhi to assemble the relay control part.
Von Nuo immediately moved the cards and started actual testing, and the test results were satisfactory. In multiple tests, they input census cards from different communes and calculated the age sum of the population in that commune. They then compared the results with manual calculations. No calculation errors occurred. This showed that the design of the tabulating machine was reliable, and Von Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. However, the efficiency of the equipment is much slower than expected, and it can process one card every 10 seconds. This takes too long, only 6 cards can be processed per minute, which is much faster than human power.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangdong and Guangxi Strategy Chapter 51
