| Qian Xuesen's Servomechanism | |
|---|---|
| |
| “I do not plan to come back. I have no reason to come back. I plan to do my best to help the Chinese people build up the nation to where they can live with dignity and happiness.” | |
|
Origin |
Qian Xuesen |
|
Type |
Feedback Servo |
|
Effects |
Airborne Streamlining |
|
Downsides |
Massive Power Fluctuations |
|
Activation |
Attachment to a mechanical system |
|
Section |
|
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Qian Xuesen or Hsue-Shen Tsien (11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009) is an unsung revolutionary in the fields of aeronautics and rocket science. Many budding scientific minds were his professional colleagues - Theodore von Kármán was his MIT doctoral advisor and Jack Parsons was his Caltech buddy. Qian designed rocketry for the Manhattan Project and dreamed of a fixed-wing spacecraft, later inspiring the American shuttle programs. His specialty was systems engineering, where dynamic systems are adjusted with real-time equations and equipment. A common application is sensors to provide feedback on evolving conditions.
In 1950, anti-Communist hysteria swept the nation. The FBI was suspicious due to a past party with known communists and some minor top-secret documents accidentally taken home. Qian garnered support from fellow scientists and military personnel (including the Navy Under-Secretary) but his security was revoked. Placed under house arrest for 5 years, Qian was deported home and effectively kicked out of American science.
The Chinese government under Mao quickly positioned Qian as a leading researcher, especially due to his repeated patriotic love for his homeland. Rocket programs including the Dongfeng ballistic missiles and Long March space rockets were supervised with Qian’s guidance. His work also allowed for the nation’s first working atomic and hydrogen bomb tests, becoming the 5th state to possess such weaponry. Father of modern Chinese rocketry and nuclear program – the Two Bombs, One Satellite progenitor.
Effects[]
Makes any electrical system or mechanical apparatus involved with flight perform to aerodynamic perfection. Continually minimizes drag by buffeting the smallest profile along the changing air currents. Will pressurize any interior to the desired atmospheric level even when there’s a leak. In general, just turns the whole composition into a more streamlined version of itself.
The mechanism does require a large amount of nearby power to sustain thousands of continuous millibar changes. Often depletes any internal source within the device before siphoning from surrounding area. Without enough fuel the entire structure just shuts off. Momentum continues the rest of the journey blind with no controls or guidance at all.