Chapter Thirty: Computational Materials

Lin Yao had assumed that, based on the performance of the torpedo from the day before, both the hull and the engine components would require ultra-high-performance specialty materials. Such materials demand specialized smelting processes. He had spent yesterday digesting the information and preparing, tinkering with the data to see if it would prove useful.

Often, it was not that they lacked the desire to incorporate special metallic additives, but rather that many metals simply cannot be processed through standard smelting methods, or are notoriously difficult to work with. If one cannot successfully melt and bond these elements, adding them only disrupts the orderliness of the stable base material, weakening its structural integrity and causing more harm than good.

"This approach involves injecting oxidizing gases, or perhaps using a method that isolates the material from the air without needing a vacuum chamber, ensuring the material is treated under optimal conditions. This technique requires extremely precise control over temperature and atmosphere. It demands great care—one must be as skilled with materials as you are to pull it off!"

"Heh, Comrade Jingzhu’s understanding of materials is top-tier!" Lin Yao gave a thumbs-up. Even without Elder Meng saying it, Lin Yao, having had access to the core documents, could vaguely guess that these materials had likely been developed by Comrade Jingzhu herself.

As a materials researcher, he knew better than anyone how difficult it was to develop a new material. When they had been tasked with creating several new types, his first instinct was that it would be as difficult as reaching the heavens. He never intended to give up, but he knew it was certainly not something that could be achieved overnight.

Yet here they were, presented with several material formulations. It was highly unlikely that these had come from their peers in the domestic materials industry; he knew everyone of note in the field, and he hadn't heard a whisper of any such breakthroughs. If materials of this caliber had been invented, the news would have been celebrated with firecrackers and reported as a major triumph—it certainly wouldn't have landed in his hands for testing.

"I’m fairly confident in my materials work, but once I received the formulations and preparation methods today, I realized I had been overthinking it."

Although the new materials required high smelting temperatures—nearly reaching the levels needed for top-grade steel—they were still well within the limits of their current capabilities. The design had clearly already taken their existing laboratory and industrial smelting environments into account. If they could refine steel, they could refine these specialty alloys. He had reviewed the projected performance data of the new formulations, and he was left both in awe and completely baffled: how on earth could one pinpoint such a formula with such precision? Even reverse-engineering from physical samples would struggle to reach this level of accuracy.

If the projected performance was met, they would be able to produce several specialty materials far superior to ordinary steel, all at the cost of standard steel production. The smelting technology involved here far exceeded current general technical standards, allowing for a much higher extraction efficiency and reducing the waste inherent in their current processes.

***

If not for the strict discipline against prying, he would have loved to consult with Comrade Jingzhu at length; it would have been a tremendous boon to his research. Heaven knows how hard it is to develop new materials!

"Comrade Lin, I am here to assist. Just give the word and tell me what needs to be done!" Jiang Jingzhu had come to help Lin Yao expedite the material preparation experiments. Once the materials were finalized and the mass-production processes were streamlined, they could begin full-scale manufacturing. Only when the parts were ready could they proceed with the assembly of the rest of the torpedo.

"Not at all, not at all! This is light work; I can handle it myself. I’ll wrap up all the preparation experiments today and head to the factory overnight to oversee the material production and part machining. Don’t worry, Comrade Jingzhu, I won't let a single thing go wrong. If there’s even the slightest delay, you can hold me accountable!"

Jiang Jingzhu was willing to roll up her sleeves and do the work herself, but how could Lin Yao allow that? She had already laid out the exhaustive derivations for the material formulas right in front of him. If he couldn't even handle the preparation experiments, he would be absolutely useless. He had to show his worth—to demonstrate that he wasn't just coasting, but that he actually possessed some genuine skill.

Most importantly, to be part of such a historic project and not fight to contribute would make him a fool—someone who ignores a golden opportunity when it falls right into his lap. He didn't know how such a brilliant talent had ended up among them, but he was grateful for the chance to see her research. He would perform well, and hopefully, one day, he would have the chance to learn more from Comrade Jingzhu about how to better develop materials.

Of course, the realization he had reached would stay buried in his stomach; he would take it to his grave. He understood the concerns of Elder Meng and Elder Du: a talent who could not only design and develop but also derive such high-performance materials must be protected at all costs.

She had the potential to become a pillar of the nation, much like the predecessors who, fearing neither death nor hardship, returned home to help the country build its own atomic deterrent—giving the nation a trump card that allowed it to stand tall on the international stage and command respect.

True ambition knows no age.

The guidance module and the power compartment were the highest priorities, and Jiang Jingzhu worked on their preparation alongside the most experienced experts, Elder Meng and Elder Du.

***

During the two days before the components were fully gathered and the materials completely prepared, Elder Du and Elder Meng each focused on one section, meticulously studying the blueprints and Jiang Jingzhu’s hand-written derivations.

Even with the most complete set of notes to assist them, they still had to constantly think and re-examine the logic, occasionally asking Jiang Jingzhu for clarification. Those derivations were built upon rigorous mathematical and scientific logic, spanning the fields of physics, chemistry, and materials science.

The integration of mathematics, physics, and material chemistry in her work was so profound that even with their extensive background in mathematics and physics, they found it challenging. Many of the applications seemed to hint at the existence of a precise, beautiful, and entirely new discipline.

If they were not mistaken, this was the cutting-edge concept that the West had only begun to hypothesize about following recent advancements in computer science: could materials be calculated? If they had previously held doubts about whether material science could be treated as a calculable discipline, they were now fully convinced.

The results—and the process itself—were laid out before their eyes.

To an ordinary person, these manuscripts would be nothing more than "heavenly books," completely unintelligible. The sciences, especially mathematics, are not subjects that just anyone can master. They knew they had studied as hard as they could during their training abroad, and they hadn't stopped learning since returning home. Yet, many of the applications in these manuscripts—the various transformations and complex logic—were simply beyond their current range of knowledge.

Fortunately, Jingzhu’s derivations were rigorous and meticulous, clear and logical step-by-step. By following her calculations, they were able to trace the path she had taken.