Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 67 The professors are not calm anymore! (Please read on!)
The 213 Institute, also known as the Institute of Physical Chemistry, is mainly engaged in research on the chemistry and chemical engineering of military products, design and manufacturing of electromechanical products, and equipment components.

Compared with the research institutes of other military industrial units in Jincheng, 213 may not seem so high-end, but the design research and manufacturing it engages in are quite important.

After all, no matter how advanced the weapons and equipment are, they are assembled and manufactured from parts one by one.

The 213 Institute has not yet had its holiday, and the researchers and engineers in the institute are still working overtime to complete the scientific research tasks assigned by the state.

For example, the compression and release device for the national flag of the Shenzhou and Chang'e series missions, the cutter for unfolding the solar wing and unlocking the digital antenna, as well as the ignition device and ignition cartridge for the rocket, and other seemingly inconspicuous parts, are actually all made by 213.

In the office of Director Guo Changzheng of the 213 Institute, he was looking at the summary materials of the institute in 2007 to see which established scientific research plans had made progress and which ones were still at bottlenecks.

The last paragraph of the 213 annual report of the 2007th Institute reads: In recent years, my country's military parts industry has developed rapidly, and new varieties have continued to increase. However, compared with the United States, it still has disadvantages. The reasons for this phenomenon include relatively backward technology, weak basic research, insufficient technical reserves, too many low-end products, and high-end products rely on imports. Key materials and components are still bottlenecks restricting the development of my country's military parts industry... This has led to a relatively slow level of parts manufacturing technology in my country... Some parts are still burning money in the research stage on the one hand, and relying on imports on the other hand, which is also spending money.

The report also analyzes the reasons for the above situation. One of the key factors is that there are obvious shortcomings in basic subject education.

Director Guo is also very clear about this situation.

Despite what the Western media are reporting, students from Xia Country are able to win top international competitions in mathematics, physics, chemistry and other basic subjects in middle and high school.

However, when these outstanding students choose their majors in college, they either choose more utilitarian majors such as finance, computer science, and the Internet, or are attracted by the favorable conditions offered by foreign universities to study abroad and then serve foreign companies and capital.

In China, there are still only a few outstanding students who are truly willing to study basic subjects or mechanical engineering subjects.

Here is a very realistic example. In 2008, if two students scored 650 points in the college entrance examination, if you applied for finance, your annual income after graduation could be as high as or yuan or even higher. But if you chose basic subjects such as mathematics and physics, you might only get a fixed salary of to yuan a month.

Therefore, the admission scores for basic disciplines and mechanical engineering majors in China have always been much lower than those for popular majors such as finance, computer network science, etc.

Basic disciplines such as those at Peking University and Tsinghua University almost always send undergraduate talent to overseas universities, and very few remain in China.

This is why military universities are located in inland places like Jincheng, where the economic conditions are not particularly good, rather than in economically developed places such as Yanjing and Shanghai - the admission scores are lower and the cost of living is also lower, which can attract more small town test-takers and rural children with relatively good grades who do not have the conditions to study abroad.

Director Guo also lamented that the inability to retain talent is actually the biggest obstacle to the development of basic mathematics disciplines!

"Director Guo, Professor Luo Jianfeng from Jincheng University of Technology is looking for you."

No. 213 Institute and Jincheng University of Technology are long-term school-enterprise partners.

The school is on winter vacation now, and Professor Luo came to see me at this time, so he must have important work to discuss.

Guo Changzheng put down the report in his hand, put his mind at ease, and went to the reception room next door to meet Professor Luo.

The two are old friends. They talk about academics and scientific research while working, and eat steamed buns and drink Fenjiu together after work.

The two of them didn't follow any routine and went straight to the point.

Professor Luo Jianfeng handed the printed paper to Guo Changzheng. On the paper were some comments and thoughts he had written when he had just read it, as well as laboratory experiments that proved that the relationship between spring materials, production equipment and spring technology in the paper is of universal applicability.

Guo Changzheng knew the importance of this paper.

In recent years, the 213th Institute has also been troubled by various springs. Take firearms as an example. Almost every firearm has a receiver, which is composed of springs, levers and pistons.

Don’t underestimate this spring, it’s just a small part among the many parts of a firearm.

But it has a huge impact on the performance of firearms. During combat, the springs of firearms will be repeatedly compressed and stretched, and the degree of fatigue will increase.

If the performance of the spring is not good, then the gun will malfunction during combat, and the price may very likely be the soldier's life.

As for specific equipment, the 213th Institute was recently responsible for improving the QJG-02 anti-aircraft machine gun. The most troublesome issue was the performance and life of the receiver spring.

The paper has given a very good idea, but a paper is a paper after all, and it is only a superficial notification of scientific research results.

If you really want to get the essence of the paper and use the technology in it to optimize the production process of equipment and springs, you have to contact the publisher of the paper.

The two spent a whole day discussing some of the issues in the paper in detail.

Talking about academics makes people happy.

Finally, both of them looked at the author of the paper - Lu Shan.

Guo Changzheng said, "By the way, Lao Luo, you haven't told me where you got this paper? Which journal was it published in?"

"International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacturing or International Journal of Mechanical Sciences?"

When it comes to this issue, Luo Jianfeng still feels quite helpless.

Luo Jianfeng said: "Construction Machinery and Automation."

Guo Changzheng had never heard of the name of the paper mentioned by Luo Jianfeng.

He was searching in his mind for top mechanical journals in the world or in China, but he just couldn't figure out which journal this name belonged to.

But the name "Construction Machinery and Automation" sounds a bit like the name of a water magazine.

Guo Changzheng asked, "What journal is this? How come I have never heard of it? Is it the abbreviation of a top foreign journal?"

Luo Jianfeng smiled bitterly and said, "This was sent to me by a student I once taught. He is the editor-in-chief of Construction Machinery and Automation."

"The journal Engineering Machinery and Automation is from our province, and is sponsored by the Shanxi Provincial Machinery Society and the Provincial Electromechanical Design Institute."

Luo Jianfeng doesn't need to say anything else. This description has already defined this journal as a water journal.

Guo Changzheng shouted, "What! You said this paper was actually published in a low-quality journal? Are you kidding me! Is there something wrong with the author of this paper?"

Please read on! Please read on! Please read on!


(End of this chapter)