A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 751 This is what you call ambition.

Seeing Jiang Xia's interest, Engineer Chen perked up and explained in detail: "The core idea is to change the detection mode. We modified the radar's original transmitter and high-power radio frequency source, while significantly reducing the pulse repetition frequency and enhancing the receiver's sensitivity."

Engineer Li added, "The most crucial aspect is the antenna modification. We abandoned the original parabolic antenna and designed our own flat, broadband dipole antenna array, which can transmit and receive signals close to the ground."

Radar waves emitted downwards encounter interfaces between underground materials with different dielectric constants—such as rock strata and veins, or cavities—producing reflected echoes. By analyzing the delay time, waveform intensity, and frequency variations of these echoes, underground structural anomalies can be deduced.

"And most of the oil that Wang Tie and his team are looking for exists in these cavities!"

As Li spoke, he took out a rolled-up blueprint from his backpack.

After unfolding the components on another table, he pointed to one of the parts and continued, "Look, we've abandoned the original radar's high-frequency (GHz) transmitter! We've removed the original main transmitting unit and replaced it with a high-power, ultra-low-frequency pulse transmitter. Electromagnetic waves in this frequency band have long wavelengths and, theoretically, much stronger ground penetration!"

As Jiang Xia listened, his fingers unconsciously tapped on the table: "This idea... is a bit like doing 'ultrasonic detection' on the earth!"

"Uh..." Engineer Chen thought about Jiang Xia's analogy and gave him a thumbs up. "It's almost spot on!"

"Actually, our idea was inspired by doctors at hospitals in Shanghai," Chen recalled, looking at Jiang Xia. He only spoke slowly after Jiang Xia gestured for him to continue.

"I had a tumor growing on my body, so I went to the Sixth People's Hospital of Shanghai. They used a probe modified from a Jiangnan-1 industrial flaw detector to test on me!"

"Although there's only one 'echo line,' it can't form an image. But then I thought..."

"If this can be used on people, then it can also be used underground! We all call our motherland Motherland, right? As her son, I made this thing, which can be considered as giving her a check-up!"

The vivid metaphor made everyone present start to laugh.

There's a certain "wildness" about them in every industry these days... Don't be surprised by their seemingly unreliable actions; it's precisely because of their ambition...

Jiang Xia frowned and handed Chen a cup of hot tea: "Chen, have you had that tumor removed?"

"Hey, it's nothing, it's nothing..."

Engineer Chen changed the subject, drawing Jiang Xia's attention back to the blueprints: "Look here, we're also planning to use buried wire electrodes as the transmitter. The receiver will also be changed to a dipole antenna array to increase the capture accuracy of underground reflected signals!"

"Have you finished building your prototype? Have you used it before?" Jiang Xia was intrigued by what the two men said and nodded as he asked.

The two middle-aged men instantly became nodding dolls, with Engineer Li nodding and holding up three fingers as he spoke: "Three times! Three times! Factory Director Xiong can testify to this!"

Xiong Huoyan nodded, pulled out a stack of records from his pocket, and said very seriously, "I testify with my Party spirit that the data from the three experiments conducted by Institute 706 are as follows. We can now detect cavities two meters deep underground, and at the same time, we can effectively provide feedback on cracks and water accumulation in the foundation!"

Then, his serious face turned into a smile: "Nephew, this 'radar' that looks down is really useful. The foundation of our old factory building at Factory 112 is over ten years old. We're always worried about subsidence when the ground thaws in the spring. With this equipment, we can check for potential problems in advance."

Jiang Xia looked at the modification markings on the blueprints, and the corners of his mouth gradually turned up: "Well done, Engineer Chen, that's a clever idea! Applying aerial early warning technology to geological exploration is quite a novel approach. Tell me, where are you stuck? The difficulty lies in clutter filtering and signal recognition, right? The underground conditions are so complex; rocks, soil, and moisture can all interfere."

"You've hit the nail on the head!" Engineer Chen slapped his thigh. "This is exactly what we're currently focusing on. We've tried multiple superposition averaging techniques to suppress random clutter, and we're also trying to build a database of echo characteristics for different minerals."

Although the accuracy and depth are still very limited, currently only able to effectively detect larger anomalies within a few meters to a dozen meters underground, tests in some known mining areas have indeed revealed some regular anomalous signals, providing reference for geological exploration.

Jiang Xia nodded thoughtfully. This approach, though rudimentary, was indeed logically sound and, to some extent, could be seen as the primitive prototype of later ground-penetrating radar and even more sophisticated underground detection equipment. It didn't pursue cutting-edge early warning systems with high altitudes and speeds, but rather focused on practical solutions to urgent resource exploration needs using existing technology—a pragmatic and potentially promising path.

“So, you want to…” Jiang Xia pondered.

"We hope to receive some guidance from you, especially in signal processing and data analysis," Engineer Chen said earnestly. "We have heard that you have profound expertise in pulse Doppler technology and filtering algorithms in the airborne early warning and control project. If you could introduce some advanced signal processing ideas into our system, even just a little bit, it could improve our detection accuracy by a significant margin."

The office fell silent, with only the faint sounds of arguing outside the window remaining. Everyone was looking at Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia didn't speak. He picked up a piece of frozen fern with his chopsticks, dipped it in some soybean paste, and put it in his mouth to chew slowly. After the crisp, slightly bitter taste, there was a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.

Just like the path these researchers are walking, it is arduous, but full of hope.

He suddenly smiled and looked at the two engineers from Institute 607: "Alright. After we finish this 'Three Treasures of the Earth' dish, show me your detailed data and waveform records from 'Look Down'. But let's be clear, I don't have any ready-made answers here."

Engineer Chen and Engineer Li were overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

However, perhaps because he had been standing for too long, while thanking him, Chen quietly turned his back and clenched his fist, thrusting it straight into his lower abdomen...

Jiang Xia waved his hand, but his gaze drifted into the distance. As if he had thought of something, he muttered to himself, "Looking down... detecting anomalous structures... if this approach were refined further, it could distinguish even more subtle differences in dielectric constant... maybe it could be used to find other things in the future..."

Hey, isn't this the "frequency domain electromagnetic method" used in geophysical exploration?

Although I don't know much about this area, if we break it down into finite element methods, it's basically signal processing, noise reduction algorithms, and inversion models...

It's manageable!

Moreover, this system is really promising!

…………

"Knock knock knock..." There was a knock on the office door.

Jiang Xia thought it was Teacher Shunshou who had finished lighting incense and returned, and happily turned around to invite him to eat.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Squad Leader Ru, who had gone out to gather information.

"Come and enjoy a feast!"

Squad Leader Ru chuckled, picked up a piece of potato, and stuffed it into his mouth. Turning to look at Jiang Xia, his expression turned serious.

"Something's wrong!"