blogombal Chapter 102 High-Frequency Technology in the Golden Age
Chapter 102 High-Frequency Technology in the Golden Age
Chapter 102 High-Frequency Technology in the Golden Age
Horisonburg, third floor of the Colosseum, Andy's private studio.
Andy sat at the worktable, holding tweezers, motionless for two whole hours.
In front of him lay the finished product that had just been ejected from the "Alien Technology Analysis Station": the [High-Frequency Oscillating Particle Module].
It was a rectangular black box, about the size of two bricks stacked together. Its surface was despairably smooth, with no screws, no seams, and even the data interface was a hidden sensor contact.
It must be said that the design concepts of the Golden Age were advanced, but sometimes they could be infuriating.
For an end user, or a soldier who just wants to take a weapon and kill the enemy, this extremely well-sealed "black box" design is undoubtedly perfect. It is dustproof, waterproof, and easy to use. You can pick it up and use it right away, and if it breaks, you can just throw it away.
But for engineers like Andy who were trying to rebuild the industrial system, this design was a disaster.
Excessive simplification implies technological obfuscation.
The nanobots swallowed the Reiss's biological scythe, and after a complex digestion process that Andy couldn't see, they spat out this standardized module and told Andy, "Take it and use it. Install it on your machine, and you'll gain high-frequency oscillation capabilities."
As for the underlying principles, internal structure, and energy flow, what are they?
Everything is owed! No payment!
Having experienced this, Andy instantly understood the predicament of human technological development.
The direct damage caused by the Iron Man rebellion was secondary.
This state of knowing what but not why is the root of all evil that has led to the decline of human technology!
Motor enthusiasts are forced to engage in "machine spirit worship" because they are full of these unopenable black boxes. They can't do anything but pray. Once the black box breaks, the corresponding STc is lost, and the technology is completely lost.
Andy would never allow Deep Space Industries to fall into such a predicament.
Being controlled by others, even by the machines in one's own hands, is unacceptable.
He needs to figure out what's going on here.
"Since you won't let me see, then I'll tear you apart!"
Andy put down the tweezers and grabbed the laser cutting pen next to him.
Although this module was created by consuming precious alien samples, it will most likely be rendered unusable if forcibly dismantled, and may even trigger a catastrophic explosion of the internal energy source.
But in Andy's eyes, the value of the principle far outweighs that of the sample itself.
Once you understand the principle, you can make ten thousand of them with the materials at hand. If you don't understand the principle, this thing is just a disposable toy that can break at any time.
We must not follow in the footsteps of those oily enthusiasts!
"Zi—"
—
The laser beam made contact with the surface of the black box.
Andy didn't make any random cuts; he was currently accessing the STC database deep within his brain.
Although the module in front of him is encapsulated, he can deduce the internal structure of the module by comparing it with the description of "high-frequency oscillation" technology in the database.
This is a high-stakes gamble involving reverse engineering.
As the outer casing was carefully peeled away, the breathtakingly intricate crystal array and coil structure inside were revealed.
Andy's electronic eye flashed wildly, countless data streamed across his retina, overlapping and comparing with the drawings in the STC database.
"Piezoelectric ceramic array — Converter — Resonant cavity —"
Andy's movements became faster and faster, and more and more parts were disassembled and neatly stacked on the worktable.
Until the last core crystal was removed, the once complete module was reduced to a pile of parts.
Andy leaned back in his chair and let out a breath that wasn't actually there.
He understood.
The "high-frequency technology" in the engineering field during the golden age was completely different from that of the 21st century.
In STC's technical definition, this cannot be simply categorized as "vibration".
Instead, it is a microscopic physical technique that uses particle waves of a specific frequency to interfere with the forces between molecules of matter. It does not generate high temperatures, does not depend on the sharpness of a blade, but separates and combines matter at the level of physical laws.
The potential applications of this thing are limitless!
As Andy looked at the pile of parts on the table, several core application scenarios that could disrupt the existing industrial system came to mind.
The first thing that came to his mind was precision machining with ultra-low loss.
Look at how the empire processes parts now.
If a plasma cutting machine is used, the high temperature will melt the metal edges, creating a huge heat-affected zone, which will cause the material to anneal and soften, resulting in extremely poor precision.
Alternatively, they use huge mechanical saw blades, which fly sparks, make deafening noise, and leave behind a mess of metal shavings and burrs after cutting.
To eliminate these errors, craftsmen often need to spend hundreds of hours manually polishing the surface bit by bit with files, and a significant portion of the work also involves applying holy oil and burning incense and praying, making the process incredibly inefficient.
This is why precision-engineered power armor is so expensive; it's a work of art created entirely with human lives and time invested.
However, high-frequency technology is completely different.
By adjusting the oscillation frequency, it can resonate with the molecular bond frequency of the target material.
When the blade cuts into the steel plate, there is no teeth-grinding scraping sound, nor any sparks.
At the microscopic level, metal atoms actively "give way".
The cut will exhibit atomic-level smoothness, with a finish that directly reaches mirror level, requiring no post-processing polishing.
Even more terrifying is that this kind of cutting results in almost no loss!
The cut-off scraps, if stuffed back in, can be perfectly restored with a tight fit, the gaps so small that even water molecules cannot pass through.
During the Golden Age, this was the most common processing method used to manufacture core components of starship engines and ultra-high precision sensor lenses.
The hull of the "Newborn" starship appears to be a single piece, and it is very likely that its armor plates were also cut using this technology.
Although it is most likely not the original technology from the golden age and the materials used are of poor quality, it has at least achieved a level that is invisible to the naked eye.
While organizing his thoughts, Andy took a quick look at the STC tech tree.
"Good heavens!"
Atomic fusion technology is now fully unlocked!
The empire's welding technology was still at a primitive stage, where it was "melted and stuck together".
The welding torch generates high temperatures, melting the edges of the two metal pieces before filling them with solder.
The weld is ugly and fragile, full of bubbles, slag inclusions and stress concentration points. When subjected to a huge impact, the weld is often the first part to break.
The Empire's ships and tanks always looked bulky and rough, covered with rivets and patches, because they had to use thicker armor to compensate for structural weaknesses at the joints.
With the high-frequency process, Andy was able to achieve "cold welding".
Andy can create a special pressure head that uses high-frequency oscillations to activate the atoms on two metal surfaces, breaking the oxide layer on the surface and allowing the electron clouds to intertwine.
Then, under immense pressure, the two separate pieces of metal will fuse together the moment they come into contact.
The two metal blocks instantly transformed into a single piece of metal, without welds, without thermal stress, and with the same strength as the original material.
Atomic fusion!
During the Golden Age, those starship keels that looked like they were cast in one go by divine power, stretching for kilometers, and the research towers of Fort Harrison, were actually made up of tens of thousands of parts using this process.
The planetary terraforming technology has now been partially activated, though not much, and Andy is already quite satisfied.
Let's drag the empire out and whip its corpse.
How does Imperial Mining currently mine?
High explosives blast the mountain, and a super tunnel boring machine drills through it.
The noise is so loud it could trigger an earthquake, fill the sky with dust, and easily cause landslides and damage the surrounding geological structure.
It is inefficient and extremely damaging to the environment.
Mining ships in the Golden Age used large high-frequency resonant field generators.
It's an enlarged version of the core crystal that Andy just disassembled.
By firing shockwaves of a specific frequency at the rock layer, the hard granite instantly loses its cohesion and turns into soft, flowing sand, which is then easily sucked away by a vacuum tube.
This explains why the underground structure of Horisonburg is so well-organized and why the foundation above ground was not damaged during construction.
It's easy to imagine that this technology could also be used to carve out massive underground cities deep within the earth without damaging the geological structure, or even to directly excavate through the earth's core for thermal energy extraction.
Having figured all this out, Andy felt completely refreshed.
This is the technology tree he wants; this is the technological barrier that deep space industry should have.
"start!"
Andy immediately cleared a space on the worktable.
He didn't try to restore the disassembled alien module; it was useless now.
He wants to build a new one.
A "high-frequency process machine" belonging to humankind, based on the standard industrial architecture of the Golden Age.
Of course, limited by the materials at hand, the Reiss scythe had already been used up, so he couldn't build that kind of large industrial equipment for the time being.
He could only build a small prototype first, to process precision parts and integrate as many other functions as possible.
Andy brought in the best servo motors from the warehouse and produced another batch of high-purity piezoelectric ceramic crystals.
After doing all this, Andy's fingers moved like afterimages for the next few hours.
Assemble, solder, and debug circuits.
Although the process was tedious, it was still very enjoyable to watch the machine take shape little by little.
Finally, a strangely shaped machine appeared on the workbench.
It looks like—it's hard to describe—a large microscope with a worktable at the bottom, a sharp probe head suspended above, surrounded by complex cooling pipes and control circuits, and also integrated with some structures resembling a robotic arm.
This is the prototype of Deep Space Industry's first "high-frequency process machine".
A thought suddenly flashed through Andy's mind.
He instantly understood why the Reiss were so keen on bioengineering instead of developing their own psionic talents.
With this level of bio-vibration technology, who would bother practicing psionic abilities?
Psychic energy is too unstable; it can backfire at any time, and you also have to worry about being targeted by warp demons!
This high-frequency oscillation, based on the laws of physics, is stable, efficient, and extremely powerful!
For example, the biological scythe from before was essentially a living high-frequency oscillation generator.
When the Reiss swung his scythe, the blade wasn't cutting; it was vibrating at a frequency of tens of thousands of times per second, directly "shaking" open the terracotta armor plates of the power armor.
Its absolute destructive power at the physical level is far more reliable than any psionic lightning!
With all this, what more could you want?!
But the complexity of the matter still puzzled Andy.
There's still one spot missing.
Since the Reiss have mastered this technology, why do they only pursue a purely biological approach?
Metals have a significantly more stable crystal structure and are more resistant to damage than biomass.
If high-frequency oscillation technology were used in metal weapons, its power would be at least ten times greater, and it would also be more durable.
Why would the Reiss go to such great lengths to cultivate such easily injured biological weapons that need to be fed?
There must be some reason behind this that Andy is unaware of.
The brain circuits of aliens truly defy conventional logic.
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore."
Andy shook his head, temporarily putting these questions aside.
Regardless of what the Reiss people think, this technology now belongs to the An family.
He casually picked up a piece of composite armor plate from the side, which had been taken from a destroyed Leman Rustam. It was a full five centimeters thick and had a ceramic layer in the middle. It was extremely hard, and it would take a lot of effort to cut it with an ordinary cutting machine.
Andy placed it on the machine tool's worktable and secured it with clamps.
"start up."
Andy pressed the power switch.
"Buzz—"
An extremely faint buzzing sound rang out, a high-frequency sound that was almost inaudible to the human ear.
The probe head above the worktable began to vibrate, and the frequency instantly soared to tens of thousands of hertz.
Andy manipulated the handle, causing the probe head to slowly descend and touch the surface of the armor plate.
No sparks.
There was no harsh noise.
There were no metal shavings flying everywhere.
The probe pierced the hard armor plate without any resistance, just like a hot knife cutting into butter.
Andy flicked his wrist lightly.
The armor plate split silently in two.
The cut was smooth as a mirror, cool and silky, with no burrs to be felt, and even reflected Andy's expressionless metallic face.
This is so comfortable!
This is the technology that can replace photolithography etching!
>