主题：【原创】周文晋 – 美国洲际弹道导弹电脑后面的人脑 -- 镜山口

周文晋 – 美国洲际弹道导弹电脑后面的人脑

那年感恩节应周文晋(俊)先生(Chow Wen Tsing)邀请去他在纽约长岛的家作客, 在一张美国国会拍的周先生旧档案照片上看到了这样的题字, 当时吃惊不小.

1950年代美国空军在全美寻找能够用在美国第一代ICBM Atlas上的更好的制导系统 (当时还是用地面计算机). 据说没找到现成的, 也没有更好的. 美国空军也找了周先生所在的Arma公司, 他当时承担美国海军鱼雷制导系统的工作. 周先生以自己的经验和独到的前瞻眼光提出了新制导系统建议: 弹载全惯性制导加全固态数字电子计算机控制. 当时根本没有合乎条件的这两样设备. 军方怀疑, 说就算你能做出足够小的数字电子计算机, 我的导弹也放不下两个哈佛教授来维修呀. 那时侯, 号称有Ph.D.的人才敢伺候这玩意儿. 专家权威反对, 说惯性制导用在你那鱼雷上就得了. 周先生那时年轻, 心说那是你们不懂. 正所谓初生牛犊不怕虎. 周文晋1919年生, 1940年毕业于上海交通大学, 1941年赴美, 1942年在MIT获MSEE.

美国空军最后还是与Arma签订了研制新制导系统的合同, 代号WS-107A. 周先生担任设计总成总监, 负责系统设计. 然后担任数字电子计算机总监, 亲自设计. 他是Photochemical Circuitry的先驱. 周的好友博克博士按周先生的构思设计惯导平台和陀螺仪.

有趣的是, 空军一度不满合同进度, Arma让周先生出面解释, 结果美国空军说可以继续执行合同, 但必须由周主持全局. 就这样周先生当上了项目经理, 负责10亿美金的军方拨款, 8000员工(包括2000多科学家和工程师)的设计, 实验, 制造, 检测和系统试用全过程的工作. Arma创先使用了X光检测芯片, 真空净室. 1956年, 根据空军安全输入导弹目标的要求, 周先生发明了PROM. 值得一提的是, 在美苏冷战的黑暗年代里, 周先生的成果都是极端机密, 少有人知晓, 至今一些文章连标题还是保密的. 少数专利也挂上美国空军的名义, PROM是唯一在周先生名下的美国专利(US Patent 3,028,659). 说到保密, 周文晋可接触最高机密, 同时也受到严密监视. 一次FBI发现一封巴西女子从巴西寄至周宅的信, 认为是美人计, 进行调查. 结果信是写给那时借住在大哥家的周文中(作曲家)的, 差点儿闹笑话.

周文晋在Arma

最终, 美国空军提前订购了Arma新制导系统, 使其成为第一个实际用在洲际弹道导弹(Atlas E/F)上的全惯性制导加全固态数字电子计算机控制的制导系统.

美国Fortune杂志1959年1月号上刊登的文章和照片首次公开了周先生的成就(周手中的是当时世界上最小的数字电子计算机)

此后, 美国政府/军方宣布周文晋是国家财产, 把他调来调去, 参与了美国重要的导弹和空间计划, 包括ICBMs, space boosters和manned spacecraft从Atlas, Titan, Saturn和Skylab到Minuteman以及space shuttle, 并打下了深深的烙印.

周文晋在Aero Space

周文晋在IBM

Cooper博士给周文晋的感谢信(周的提案使IBM获得了航天飞机计算机系统集成合同)

2004年8月24号美国Air Force Space Command官员宣布周文晋等六人作为空间与导弹先驱被迎入Air Force Space and Missile Program名人堂.

周先生的人生信条是做没人能做的事, 做自己没做过的事, 不断创新. 他没有专著, 认为写博士论文是浪费时间. 时代周刊资深编辑曾两次找他合作写传记, 都被谢绝了. 河里牛人多, 懂行的多, 就周文晋请多加评论. 感恩节又到了, 老先生已辞世七年, 感而发之. 抄录一封他得知他的制导系统要保存和展出时写给华盛顿博物馆的信, 作为结尾.

(资料和照片由公开渠道获得)

"March 4, 1969

The Curator

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir:

During a recent visit to USAF Space and Missile System Organization in El Segundo, California, I was informed that a set of the guidance computer or guidance system of the Atlas ICBM has been released to your institution at your request for eventual display. This news interests me greatly since I had conceived both, personally designed the former, and managed the development, production and flight testing of both, now more than ten years ago.

Although this equipment is now outdated in the rapid progression of technology, it had made the large scale operational deployment of our ICBMs practical. It significantly contributed to the security of our country. The basic principles developed and established at that time are still being followed and used in today's refined models.

I well remember the excitement, doubt and conviction associated with the postulation and subsequent demonstration of the feasibility of designing a solid state digital computer for use in the rugged environment of a weapon system; or the use of a gyro stabilized reference frame that is truly inertial - oriented towards the stars rather than the earth coordinates, which would result in a great simplification of the instrumentation; or the use of approximating expansion equations in the missile borne computer rather than the rigorous but cumbersome trigonometric and integral-differential equations. Each of these ideas was necessary to make possible a realizable self-contained missile borne guidance system, yet each had to survive the most critical, prolonged and punishing debate because they were considered as revolutionary and unproven in concept. Seeing through their birth, outliving the challenges, growth and eventual embodiment in proven and reliable equipment was a maturing experience.

I also remember the long days and nights when thousands of my colleagues labored with devotion and skill to convert the ideas into workable models in the laboratory, producable hardware in the factory, reliable equipment in flight tests and finally the "brains" of this country's first ICBM's. Many of these fine people are today designing, producing and caring for our new "brains," for rockets, airplanes, and spacecraft.

I am very proud and very please to know that one of these original models will now survive in your institution. I shall be happy to provide any help that may be useful.

Sincerely yours,

Wen T. Chow"