Chapter 199 Improved Night Vision
In the twelfth lunar month, Xiangyang Brigade was covered in a blanket of white snow.
The fishpond was covered with a thick layer of ice, and children were skating and playing on it, their laughter echoing through the cold air.
Xu Zhili stood by the pond, looking at the vibrant scene, her heart filled with joy.
"Sister Zhili, your letter is at the Post and Telecommunications Bureau!"
Tiezhu ran over through the snow, his breath condensing into mist in the cold air.
Xu Zhili took the letter and recognized it as being from Xie Yunze as soon as she saw the familiar military unit designation.
"Thank you, Tiezhu." Xu Zhili took the things, a gentle smile on her face.
Tie Zhu scratched the back of his head, chuckled twice, revealing a set of white teeth, and without saying much, turned around and walked away with light steps, his back view exuding a simple and honest charm.
She carefully tore open the envelope and walked behind a haystack to read it.
In his letter, Xie Yunze said that his unit was undergoing winter special training and often needed to conduct reconnaissance at night.
However, the night vision equipment he used was not only bulky, but also had poor imaging quality, "like looking at things through frosted glass, blurry and unclear."
A few days ago, during a mission, the night vision goggles suddenly malfunctioned, almost exposing the entire team.
Xu Zhili's heart clenched upon reading this.
The two have been corresponding for several months.
Xie Yunze never mentioned the specific details of the mission in his letters, but Xu Zhili could sense from between the lines that he was carrying out dangerous missions.
This letter gave her an idea: why not try to improve night vision equipment?
As someone with a background in mechanical engineering, Xu Zhili is no stranger to optical instruments.
She knew that night vision technology at this time was still in its first generation, relying on the principle of photomultiplier tubes, which were large, heavy, had low resolution, and required extremely strong ambient light to work.
However, she possesses more advanced design concepts within her knowledge base.
Although limited by the technology and materials available in this era, it is impossible to create products that surpass our time, it is still possible to improve existing night vision equipment.
In the days that followed, Xu Zhili participated in the brigade's labor during the day and delivered purchased supplies every other day.
He would bury himself in researching night vision technology at night.
She obtained relevant books from the subsystem and asked Director Chen to send her some basic materials from that era, gradually gaining a clear understanding of the current technical level of night vision equipment.
"The problem lies in the optical system and photoelectric conversion efficiency."
Xu Zhili wrote in her diary, "The existing objective lens group design is unreasonable, resulting in severe light loss; the photocathode material is not sensitive enough; and the power supply system is too bulky..."
She began designing an improvement plan.
First, the optical system was improved by recalculating and redesigning the objective lens group to increase the amount of light entering the system.
Secondly, the power supply system should be improved to reduce weight.
Most importantly, she proposed a new image enhancement tube design that can improve image sharpness and contrast.
Another sleepless night.
Under the kerosene lamp, Xu Zhili focused intently on drawing the design, pausing occasionally to calculate data.
When the mother opened the door and saw this scene, she shook her head and went back out, leaving only a bowl of porridge warming on the stove.
Two weeks later, a complete design scheme for improving night vision goggles was completed.
Xu Zhili sent it to Director Chen of the military region's arsenal, explaining in the letter that it was intended to improve the nighttime combat conditions for border guards.
To her surprise, just ten days later, Director Chen personally came to Xiangyang Brigade.
"Amazing, Comrade Zhili, your design is absolutely brilliant."
Upon meeting you, Director Chen excitedly said, "We organized optical experts to study your plan, and everyone agrees that it is entirely feasible, especially the improved design of the image intensifier tube, which is simply a stroke of genius!"
Xu Zhili was a little embarrassed by the praise, "I just made some improvements based on existing technology."
"This is no small improvement."
Director Chen took out a document from his briefcase. "The arsenal has decided to immediately produce a batch of prototypes. If the tests are successful, they will be deployed to the troops as soon as possible."
Xu Zhili's eyes lit up. "That's great!"
“However,” Director Chen hesitated for a moment, “we need your continued assistance. We may encounter some technical problems during the trial production process, and we hope to get your guidance.”
Xu Zhili agreed without hesitation.
So, over the next month, she went to the military region's arsenal three times to work with the technicians to solve problems during the trial production process.
This made the people in the brigade look at her with even more admiration. A girl from the countryside could actually be invited by the military region's arsenal to be a technical instructor.
The first batch of trial-produced night vision goggles was finally completed before the Spring Festival.
The arsenal conducted preliminary tests, and the results far exceeded expectations: the weight was reduced by one-third, the clarity of the field of vision was doubled, and it could work normally even in low-light conditions.
Director Chen specially set aside a sample unit for Xu Zhili to send to Xie Yunce for "on-site testing".
Xu Zhili carefully packed the night vision goggles and attached a long letter detailing the usage instructions and precautions.
At the end of her letter, she wrote: "I hope this will help you and your comrades, and that you will return safely."
After the package was sent, she looked forward to a reply every day, but was also worried about hearing news that the product was not working well.
......
Along the border, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, with only a few scattered stars providing a faint glow.
Xie Yunze and his reconnaissance team had been lying in ambush in the bushes along the ridgeline for three hours.
They are monitoring a suspicious location in the opposite valley, where intelligence suggests that a group of enemy agents may be active.
"Company commander, my night vision goggles are malfunctioning again."
The soldier next to him, Xiao Li, complained in a low voice, "The image is shaking so badly that it's impossible to see anything clearly."
Xie Yunze adjusted the night vision goggles he was wearing; they were the same ones Xu Zhili had sent him.
Through the eyepiece, distant scenery was clearly visible, and even details of the entrance to the hut in the valley could be distinguished.
"Hang in there a little longer, it'll be time to change shifts soon."
Xie Yunze comforted her, but secretly rejoiced.
Since receiving the night vision goggles from Xu Zhili, he has tested their performance in numerous nighttime training sessions, and each time they have far exceeded his expectations.
These night vision goggles are not only lightweight and comfortable to wear, but also provide clear imaging and a wide field of view.
What surprised him most was that it could provide usable images even in almost complete darkness.
In comparison, the old-fashioned night vision goggles issued to the military were practically toys.
Suddenly, several moving points of light appeared in Xie Yunjing's field of vision.
He immediately became alert. "Something's wrong. At the ten o'clock position, about 800 meters away, there are four or five people moving into the valley."
The other members of the group adjusted their direction, but soon a disappointed voice came: "Company commander, I can't see clearly, it's too far away."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
