Chapter 8 Progress

  PS: Today I received news that next week I will have the opportunity to be recommended as a historical category news, here I bow to thank the editors and book friends.

  Leibniz was not only a great German mathematician, but his achievements in invention and creation were no less than his contributions to the field of calculus. He fully utilized his mathematical expertise to improve Pascal's mechanical calculator, ushering in the computer age for humanity. Although humans lived in a world of abacuses and mechanical calculators for a long time, with the advent of binary systems, relays, vacuum tubes, logical mathematics, and more, it was time for humans to enter the era of electronic computers...

  "Some people say that in the history of computer development, there are three things or inventions that are very critical. The first is the electronic tube, which ended humanity's century-long mechanical way of running computers and made computers truly electronic, completing the transformation from quantity to quality, with the birth of electronic computers as its symbol."

  In 1904, the world's first electronic tube was born under the hands of British physicist Fleming. Its appearance marked the entry of human society into the electronic age.

  The vacuum tube is an electronic device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. It is widely used in television sets, radios and broadcasting systems before the invention of transistors and integrated circuits, it was the main component of most electronic products, also the most valuable one. The most famous and best-selling electronic product at the beginning of the 20th century was the vacuum tube radio.

  However, the electron tube has the disadvantages of large volume, high power consumption, severe heat generation, short lifespan, low power source utilization efficiency, fragile structure, and requires a high-voltage power source. These defects have determined its applicable range, which will become smaller and smaller with the progress of technology. It has a very powerful enemy, that is, the transistor.

  "The second key invention is the transistor." Zhang Yu took Zhang Yusheng to stroll around the computer experimental area of the Taishan plan, after strolling through academic exchanges and conference discussions, they headed towards the experimental center, whispering to each other along the way.

  "In our timeline's 1947, the transistor was born in Bell Labs, and soon led to a new wave of computer development. Cambridge University quickly produced a stored-program computer, although input/output was still done with paper tape. After the birth of floppy disks, high-level language compilers also emerged. All sorts of new things kept appearing, and transistor computers immediately replaced vacuum tubes, with advantages in volume, efficiency, calculation speed, etc."

  "However, vacuum tubes are not useless, they have strong load capacity and better linearity than transistors. In other words, their working characteristics in the high-frequency high-power field are better than those of transistors. For example, in the field of high-power wireless transmission equipment, the position of vacuum tubes is irreplaceable. Transistors and vacuum tubes actually have no right to fight, the third thing that changed the history of computer development is integrated circuits. No matter what scale of integration, in short, in front of integrated circuits, these two things instantly became useless, especially vacuum tubes, really pitiful..."

  "After the advent of integrated circuits, the birth and development of microprocessors quickly followed. Computers have become smaller in size and faster in calculation, with more and more transistors being integrated onto a single chip - thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands... More and more transistors are being integrated into processing chips to form central processing units, with the level of integration and number determining their operating speed. Humans have begun to pursue even faster computing speeds - millions, tens of millions, billions of times per second. Especially after the maturation of internet and multimedia technologies, computers have influenced the entire world and permeated many fields. Of course, that's also what you often refer to as the Information Age!"

  Under Zhang Yu's leadership, the two quickly passed through two checkpoints and entered the "Villa District". Not all research institutions are set up underground or in caves. The Tai Shan plan has many research institutions built into mountain villas, from high above it looks like a super-large resort, but each "Villa District" has its own connotation, each villa may be a branch of a research institution, and the four-story apartment building is where the researchers live. So, the researchers are conducting scientific research in this green mountains and water, with sufficient supplies and power supply, tens of thousands of people seem to be on vacation in the mountains...

  "A long time ago, I said that everything has its own foundation. Computers are an organic combination of mathematics, materials, electronics and so on. If one aspect is missing, it will lead to the immaturity or poor performance of computer technology. Therefore, while we are carrying out applied research in computer technology, our material research work is progressing faster, with good progress in basic research in metals, non-metals, rare metals and other areas. Like this transistor computer we see now, it's obviously smaller than that electronic tube computer next door, of course, this lab is also a bit smaller. Although transistors and electronic tubes must be exchanged one for one, the transistor computer is still much slimmer..."

  "Compared with electronic tubes, transistors have many advantages. First of all, the components of transistors do not consume, while even the best electronic tubes will gradually deteriorate due to changes in cathode atoms and chronic air leaks. Of course, for technical reasons, our transistor manufacturing also has the same problem, but I believe that with the progress of related materials and manufacturing technology, the high precision and simple process manufacturing it requires will be mastered by us."

  By that time, the transistor's life expectancy was estimated to be around 700 to 1500 times longer than that of vacuum tubes, and its sturdy body made it a hundred times more reliable than vacuum tubes. Moreover, it had the advantages of withstanding shocks and vibrations while being only one-tenth the size of vacuum tubes. Obviously, these were all beyond what vacuum tubes could compare to.

  "There is another point that cannot be ignored, that is, the transistor consumes very little electricity, only one-tenth or several tenths of an electron tube. It does not need to heat the filament to produce free electrons like an electron tube, and it can work for half a year or even one or two years with just a few dry batteries, without preheating. This will be extremely beneficial for the development of wireless technology, and after the transistor manufacturing technology matures, autonomous regions can establish their own electronics industry, truly leading the development trend of the electrical age!"

  "If you put it so well, how fast can its peak operating speed be?"

  Zhang Yu-sheng gazed through the thick glass at everything in the laboratory, that huge iron box, which was almost as wide as his bed and as tall as a cabinet, was what they called a computer. As a super hacker of the 21st century, he had never seen such an ancient computer before, it was so majestic and powerful!

  "It can process 5,000 characters per second! A terrifying number, but theoretical research has proven that computers will have even faster speeds, and there will be more incredible things born from the hands of researchers. If one day it really achieves millions or tens of millions of times per second, I estimate that even they themselves will doubt whether all this is just a dream!"

  "What about the speed of your computer back then?" Zhang Yusheng said, looking around and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, everyone was busy with their own affairs. "In college, my computer was already dual-core, and the speed was very good!"

  "Haven't you played with it? Anyway, it's different from the traditional silicon chip computers you're used to. The Optic Brain uses light beams instead of electrons for computation and storage. In other words, it represents different data with different wavelengths of light, and transmits data from one chip to another through a large number of lenses, prisms, and mirrors. It can be said that the Optic Brain is made using nano-electromechanical components as its core, performing information operations through optical signals, with a carrier different from the electrons in dual-core computers - it uses light! Over a trillion times per second, and it doesn't consume much power!"

  "Trillions? My god, what's the concept?"

  In the 21st century, when Chang Yusheng was alive, major countries around the world were competing to develop high-speed computers. Although national computer laboratories had achieved speeds of billions of calculations per second, civilian computers used by the general public only had processing speeds in the millions of calculations. However, this was still sufficient for people's daily needs, such as watching movies, surfing the internet, and doing word processing. The idea of having a computer with a speed of billions of calculations was as unattainable as a terrorist obtaining an atomic bomb.

  "What concept? The design calculations for large-scale projects require computers that can perform over a trillion calculations per second, otherwise the tedious data processing will have a serious impact on the project schedule. For example, weather forecasting, simulating crustal movement, simulating nuclear weapon tests, and so on. Of course, a calculation speed of one trillion times per second is the minimum threshold to enter the human-machine intelligent interaction era, but since we've already reached this world, let's not have that idea anymore!" Zhang Yu said, pointing to the computer in the lab that calculates at a rate of thousands of times per second, and needs nine more zeros to reach one trillion.

  "It's a pity that we only have this one computer, it would be better if we had more! Unfortunately, there is only one, and even more unfortunately, our computers are still in the primitive era!" Zhang Yusheng said, staring blankly at the huge tube computer through the glass window.

  The progress of assembly technology is always coordinated with the replacement of computers, and the continuous development of computers towards miniaturization and micro-miniaturization is also a contribution to the progress of assembly technology. Therefore, it was possible to make the transistor computer in this laboratory smaller than the electronic tube computer next door because the assembly technology of the experimental department had improved.

  In vacuum tube computers, a "gate" was an individual plug-in unit, wired together with solder and wire nuts. Transistor computers could have each plugin contain multiple "gates", increasing the packing density by an order of magnitude, and use single or double-sided printed circuit boards to make much more efficient use of limited space within the computer.

  Of course, in the future development, integrated circuits will absorb plug-ins into device internals and adopt multi-layer printed plug-in boards and backplanes, as well as wire wrapping connection technology, which will greatly increase assembly density. After large-scale and ultra-large-scale integrated circuit gate arrays are applied, the miniaturization of computers becomes possible, making it possible for computers to be widely used on a large scale at an early date.

  Of course, Zhang Yusheng's sigh is reasonable. The development of computers, like other scientific fields, is a systematic project that requires overall progress in multiple aspects to achieve an overall leap. Computer technology includes many aspects, such as the basic principles of calculation methods and calculator design, instruction systems and central processing unit design, pipeline principles and applications, storage systems, etc. This also requires that computer development needs to use many scientific technical methods and means, and integrate them, electronic engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, modern communication technology, and mathematics must be closely combined, and from scientific theoretical research to experimental trial production, to large-scale production and use, the autonomous region wants to play with computers, there are still many aspects of technology that need to be built.

  Pulse technology, electronic counting technology, communication technology, especially microelectronic technology in electrical engineering are the foundation of computer development. Vacuum electronics, magnetic recording, optics and laser, superconductivity, optical fiber, thermosensitivity and photosensitivity in applied physics are also important applications in computers.

  Computer hardware devices rely to a large extent on precision mechanical processing. Especially, integrating tens of thousands of transistors on a single chip requires such technology, and without it, high-speed central processors cannot be made. Precision mechanical craftsmanship and metrology can be said to be the driving force behind the development of computer hardware.

  The advancement of communication technology has greatly changed the way human society communicates, relying on computer networks to achieve rapid sharing of information resources. After combining with multimedia technology, the distance between people is no longer far away, and human will and behavior begin to be partially realized through computers...

  Discrete mathematics, algorithm theory, language theory, control theory, information theory, automata theory and other theories have provided an important theoretical foundation for the development of computer technology. Computer technology has emerged and developed on the basis of many disciplines and industrial technologies, and is widely used in almost all scientific and technological fields and national economic fields. The content of computer technology is very broad, which can be roughly divided into several aspects: computer system technology, computer hardware technology, computer component technology and computer assembly technology.

  It can be said that in order for the autonomous region to occupy a high position in the field of information technology and have an absolute leading edge, there are many things to strive for and much time is needed. The favorable conditions are that from June 1923, more than 4,000 scientific research personnel officially started various scientific research work, until Zhang Yusheng came to inspect today, which is April 5, 1927. In the years of 24, 25, and 26, the Taishan Plan has welcomed a total of more than 6,000 new faces, so when Zhang Yusheng came to inspect, there were already more than 10,000 scientific research workers in the Taishan Plan, and even more talents will join in the future.

  So, the Taishan plan is not short of money, time or talent. Researchers are carrying out a massive research project in a relatively relaxed environment, with tens of thousands of researchers gathered together in the mountains, and due to different research institutions, they are independent of each other, forming a huge research city. The headquarters of various major research institutions are like districts in cities, and Zhang Yu and his team are currently in one of the experimental centers of the Taishan Plan's computer research department.

  "This is Zhu Jiawei, the deputy director of the Taihang Plan's computer technology and development leading group. He also serves as the vice dean of the School of Applied Sciences at China Industrial University, where he is also engaged in teaching work, and is a professor with strong teaching and research capabilities."

  Zhang Yu enthusiastically introduced the deputy group leader who had rushed back from other places to Zhang Yusheng. Although Zhang Yu himself had a group leader's name tag, and many research institutions in the Taishan plan had his position. But in fact, he played a role mainly as "suggestions" at times of sudden inspiration, which was also very beneficial to computer research.

  "I heard that the Premier has arrived, so I rushed over from the theoretical research room!" Zhu Jiawei is a typical scholar, with the most striking feature being the thick-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Premier, let me introduce you to this place. This is our largest laboratory, where the results of each research room are assembled, tested and run to verify whether our research results are correct."

  "At present, we have completed the first phase of the project, that is, the research work on electronic tube computers and transistor computers. In the next stage, we will focus on the theoretical research and practice of computer science. We are carrying out in-depth research on system structure, management, application technology and other aspects, and many scientific research institutions cooperating with us are also working intensively..."

  What Vice Zhu said about system structure technology is to make the computer system have good problem-solving efficiency and reasonable performance-to-price ratio. The hardware resources and capabilities of computers are limited, and apart from establishing a good computer system to manage and utilize them, fully exerting their due performance, it is inseparable from the breakthrough of management technology, of course, the design of computer languages, basic program compilation, application software development, etc. in system application technology are also very important.

  Next, Zhu Jiawei took the two of them on a tour around, most of which were theoretical advancements, and the actual achievements had already been seen by Zhang Yusheng. So the whole tour was quite unbearable for Zhang Yusheng, a liberal arts student, it's not as refreshing as visiting the new developments at the Mechanical Industrial Research Institute, there are also new materials, new medicines and so on that make Zhang Yusheng feel more realistic, and the progress in those areas is pretty good. Especially the research on materials is exciting, the successful significance of high-temperature ceramics, composite materials and so on is also huge.

  However, between "1" and "0", the importance of computers in the future is self-evident, but the results of these studies are really too illusory, which makes his head big. Apart from encouragement and support, he can hardly find anything to say, while Zhang Yu is a busy person, wherever he goes, there are people asking questions and seeking advice, no matter what aspect of Zhang Yu is simply a role that everyone loves, and he is the "tiger" that everyone fears.

  "Theory is always far ahead of practice, but without theory as the foundation, how can you get practice?" Zhang Yu said to Zhang Yusheng before he left. The implication was that Zhang Yusheng should not have a "one-step-to-the-top" mentality, and instead take steady steps forward to achieve long-term progress. After all, one meal cannot make someone fat.

  Along with Zhang Yu-sheng leaving the Taishan Plan Base, there were also some research results that could be widely applied. They were the crystallization of the day-and-night efforts of the research experts and also the return on investment of the large sums invested by the People's Autonomous Government. Only when the government has returns can it provide continuous funding for research, which is a guarantee for long-term sustainability. The logic is simple: "Money may not be omnipotent, but without money, nothing can be done." Without strong backing, who dares to hope for success in such a massive research plan?