251: Recoil

"Outdoor Testing Application Form"

After Xu Bai confirmed the drone's functions were normal, he returned to his office to write the application.

In less than five minutes, he was done.

Stepping out of his office, he saw the Research Institute staff gathered together, playing. He smiled and walked out of the Research Institute alone, heading towards the Administrator's office.

On the way to the Administrator's office, Xu Bai wasn't idle; his mind was busy contemplating what weapons to put on the drone.

If the drone were to be a one-time use item, then he could just equip it with artillery shells. He'd have the drone fly into a beast horde, press a button, and the shells would explode.

However, if he wanted the drone to act like a soldier, then it would need a gun: a pistol? A sniper rifle? A submachine gun? A shotgun? ... All types of guns flashed through Xu Bai's mind.

But no matter what type of gun, there would likely be recoil.

According to Newton's Third Law, when a gun fires a bullet, the gas pressure from the burning gunpowder propels the bullet forward, simultaneously creating an equal and opposite force. This force acts on the gun body, resulting in recoil.

However, with significant recoil, it could even fracture human bones. If a gun were mounted on a drone, too much recoil might cause the drone to crash, making it a one-time use item again.

To avoid this, Xu Bai needed to reduce the gun's recoil.

Initially, Xu Bai had thought about a permanent solution, making the recoil disappear entirely, but after much thought, he concluded that this was currently unfeasible.

Reason one was the law of conservation of momentum; recoil is essentially a manifestation of the law of conservation of momentum. As long as there is directed movement of matter, there must be a compensatory movement in the opposite direction, an unavoidable limitation.

Reason two was the law of conservation of energy; any design to reduce recoil would require energy consumption. In other words, to achieve a force equal to the recoil generated by the bullet, more corresponding energy input would be needed, which could lead to an energy efficiency paradox.

Reason three was that Xu Bai's current abilities were not yet sufficient.

In other words, making recoil completely disappear would be like one hand clapping another, with the second hand remaining completely still, which violates natural laws.

However, Xu Bai was not discouraged by this.

Black cat, white cat, if it catches mice, it's a good cat. After confirming he couldn't make the recoil disappear entirely, he focused on minimizing the gun's recoil.

Method one: Add weight to the gun body or the drone.

Problem: Can the drone carry excessively heavy items? Or, if the drone is too heavy, can it even fly?

Method two: Choose small-caliber ammunition, which would produce less recoil.

Problem: Is small-caliber ammunition powerful enough to kill exotic beasts?

Method three: Install a compensator on the muzzle to guide the gunpowder gases to vent in a specific direction.

Problem: Venting in other directions would also cause the drone to drift. Can the drone operator adjust it back to its original position in time?

Method three: Do not fully fix the gun to the drone, but instead use sufficiently strong lines to connect it, utilizing the gun's own weight for counteraction.

Problem: If not fully fixed, the gun would swing with the drone's flight. Can a swinging gun hit an exotic beast?

...Unconsciously, sweat beaded on Xu Bai's forehead. The more methods he came up with, the more problems arose.

Headache!

(╯'-')╯︵ ┻━┻

..."Xiao Bai, where are you going?"

Sun Puge's voice came from beside him.

It turned out Xu Bai had unknowingly walked to the outside of Sun Puge's Research Institute.

Sun Puge was walking out with something in his hand and saw Xu Bai approaching, so he asked.

"Elder Sun, I'm going to the Administrator's office."

"Perfect, we're going the same way."

Sun Puge said as he walked forward with Xu Bai.

Because of the interruption, Xu Bai also stopped thinking. Looking at Sun Puge beside him, Xu Bai suddenly thought of something... "Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in."

Xu Bai and Sun Puge entered the Administrator's office one after another.

The Administrator was writing something, but he didn't make them wait for him to finish; he directly asked them to report.

"What do you have to report?"

Xu Bai gestured with his head, indicating for Sun Puge to report his matter first.

"Administrator, my No. 3 Research Institute needs one ton of star energy stone for its research, and may need another four tons later."

Sun Puge said, placing the application form in his hand on the Administrator's desk.

The Administrator took the application form, confirmed that the subsequent research content of the No. 3 Research Institute was consistent with their previous research project and that they were not using the star energy stone for other research, and then signed and approved the application.

He then looked up at Xu Bai, signaling him to come forward and state his reason for coming.

"Administrator, I need to apply for an outdoor test."

Hearing this, the Administrator's pen dropped onto the table.

"If I'm not mistaken, you submitted the experiment application three days ago, which means you finished the new cards in two and a half days?"

Hearing this, Sun Puge also looked at Xu Bai.

Although he had experienced Xu Bai's incredibly fast research speed during their last collaboration, the time wasn't this short last time.

Moreover, this research was different from the previous one. After all, the last one was a collaboration with the military, an outsourced project, while this one was for the Government. Therefore, the research project would be more difficult.

If the research project were too simple, the Administrator would not have approved Xu Bai's application, as resources are limited and cannot be wasted arbitrarily... "Yes, we have already produced the drone cards today. It is currently unarmed. Because the laboratory space is relatively small, it's better to test it outside."

"Alright." The Administrator thought for a moment. "To save time, how about we go test it outside now? I'd like to see it too."

Xu Bai was eager to test as soon as possible; earlier testing meant an earlier start to the next phase.

He also didn't mind that the Administrator wanted to observe their test. In fact, he thought that if they went out with the Administrator, perhaps the back-and-forth would be less troublesome.

"Of course, no problem." Xu Bai nodded in agreement.

"Can I join too?"

Sun Puge was very curious about the cards Xu Bai had created in less than three days and looked at Xu Bai and the Administrator with an inquiring gaze.

"I'm fine with it," Xu Bai stated first.

"Okay, then let's go together to see it." The Administrator also nodded in agreement. "We'll go to Mr. Bai's Research Institute together to get the cards and testing tools, then head straight out."

That would be excellent, of course. Xu Bai led the way to his Research Institute.