In the first and second industrial revolutions, all technological breakthroughs were actually not difficult. They were basically just breakthroughs achieved through repeated trials based on the successful experience of previous generations!
Just like Edison invented the electric light. In fact, scientists at the time already knew the principle. People did not need to spend a lot of trouble on the principle, but only needed money and time!
Edison is not so much a great inventor as he is a successful businessman!
Because he is good at communicating with capitalists, he can easily raise funds, and he has a large number of scientific researchers working for him!
The light bulb was not so much invented by him as it was created by him ordering his team to spend a lot of time and money on experiments one after another!
What material is the filament made of? He doesn't know either, but he can continue experimenting the same way until the day of breakthrough!
In fact, the early human research on internal combustion engines, electricity and other technologies was done in a very stupid way. They just tried one after another. If they failed, they would improve, try again, and improve again!
Cars, airplanes, battleships...these iconic industrial products of the second industrial revolution are all products of empirical science!
When did science begin to have towering barriers and become inaccessible to ordinary people? This is around the time of World War II, especially the latter part of World War II!
Quantum physics, chemistry, electronic technology... Human beings have begun to move towards the microscopic world, and human beings have begun to study the origin of materials!
At this time, science and technology have become much more obscure and difficult to understand!
Because it is invisible to the naked eye, modern technology, especially quantum physics, focuses more on studying the laws of the atomic and electronic world, which people can no longer observe with their own eyes using a microscope.
At this time, mathematicians are needed to model!
In other words, the microscopic world that humans cannot see requires the imagination of scientists to build models for research!
This is too fantasy. Since then, there have been high walls between science and ordinary people!
Not everyone has abstract thinking, and even an electrician who can install the most complex circuits may not be able to draw the microcircuit diagram inside a chip!
The third industrial revolution requires the absolute quality of basic scientists!
If any country wants to stand out in the third industrial revolution, it must rely on a well-known theoretical physicist, mathematician, and chemist to conduct the most basic theoretical research!
These are some social criticisms that Xiao Letian often heard in his previous life. Many people complained, 'What's the use of learning these things? What can you do? There is no need for it in life, it is a waste of time! '.
But something like this, which is invisible and intangible and seems to be of no use in life, is profoundly changing our world!
We have to admit that the vast majority of human beings can only survive in the two fields of action thinking and image thinking!
And the world of higher-level abstract thinking will always belong to a few people!
Fortunately, Xiao Letian did not travel to the future, but to the end of the 19th century. The science and technology of this era was basically relatively crude!
An ordinary lathe or fitter living in the 21st century, or even a skilled repairman in a car factory, can become a very good engineer in this era!
Because in this era, scientific research is still focused on visible and tangible warnings, that is, the fields of action thinking and image thinking!
In this era, it is still very important for engineers to have practical skills. If you have strong practical skills and then be good at learning, and if you are willing to work hard, you will definitely gain something!
The internal combustion engine is not complicated. If you tell these engineers the principles, as long as you pierce the window paper, they will spend time polishing the rest!
Xiao Letian patted Yuan Chao on the shoulder and said, "You are right, what we want is deflagration. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated by instant deflagration drives the piston movement!"
"If you use gas or natural gas, it actually deflagrates in the cylinder. The principle is the same!"
The head of state patted Niemon on the shoulder again, "Don't you Fuso people particularly admire the spirit of craftsmanship? Aren't you so self-disciplined that you're a little perverted?"
"Bring out your obsessive-compulsive disorder and make all experiments as detailed and perfect as possible..."
"Whether an internal combustion engine is good or not, you have to remember a few points. First of all, the materials... use various types of steel for testing, use various types of lubricating oil for lubrication, and use various brands of gasoline for combustion!"
"Test after test, record various data again and again, wear, work times, scrap time...and other data must be studied and recorded by myself!"
"How much gasoline should be injected into cylinders of different sizes each time? How to atomize it, the arc ignition time... you need to get first-hand data on these in person!"
"This is our top secret. This work is very tedious and very demanding... People who are impatient cannot do it, but I believe that you Fuso people with your little obsessive-compulsive disorder can still do it!"
"Every data must be adjusted, and in the end you will definitely reach the most perfect standard!"
"The smallest machine produces the greatest thermal efficiency and is the most reliable... This kind of internal combustion engine is the key for us Chinese people to enter a new era!"
"Remember that all research must be strictly confidential. Whether the Chinese can become a first-class power in the future depends on your group of basic scientific researchers!"
Letting go of the excited and trembling engineer, Xiao Letian turned to his team of officials and said, "We will enter an era of gold swallowing in the future!"
"The era of super arms race has opened the door. In the future, the navy may swallow up tens of billions or even more of our funds!"
"I'm not kidding, nor am I partial to the navy... but I am saying that the mainstream of war in the next hundred years will be on the ocean, and the world's major powers will compete for sea control!"
"The war reparations I extorted from France are actually not enough to support the naval arms race! We Chinese must come up with truly profitable industries within ten years!"
“I don’t feel sorry for the amount of investment in the oil industry and internal combustion engines!”
"The more money you invest in early-stage scientific research, the higher the profit-added value of later-stage products will be! Investing a silver dollar today will result in a return of 10,000 times or even a million times in the future!"
"At the beginning of 1872, the goal I set for you is that the Chinese will produce the best internal combustion engine in the world!"
"This is the heart of the second industrial revolution!"
"Xiang Ying! I can tell you the truth, one day the battleship you are riding on will no longer burn coal... you will command the steel giant ship burning oil to sail across the ocean!"
"One day our army will no longer rely on mules and horses for land mobility! I will put self-propelled wheels on every cannon!"
"Human beings have lost their dreams, what's the difference between that and salted fish!"
"Follow me and fight for another thirty years! Only then can I truly give you a peaceful and prosperous age!"
