Emperor Su He heard that Governor Feng Kuang wanted to take him to visit the hydropower station and electric power industrial zone.
He was very excited. The main purpose of coming to Sichuan this time was to understand the development of the electrical industry.
In the field of light industry, Sichuan cannot compete with the eastern coastal areas due to geographical constraints.
Sichuan has always been at the forefront of the Great China Dynasty in the field of heavy industry.
The two major bases where the Dahua Dynasty started were Hanzhong Prefecture and Chongqing Prefecture.
However, as Chongqing Prefecture was directly administered by the imperial court, Chongqing County was established.
Sichuan's industry is far surpassed by major industrial provinces such as Guangdong in both light and heavy industries.
Sichuan's long-term industrial development has cultivated many well-known enterprises and skilled workers.
Among the top 100 private merchants of the Great China Dynasty, one-third were from Shu merchants.
Sichuan's geographical location is also very important, being at the center of the Great China Dynasty.
It also has the protection of the Sichuan Basin, so foreign enemies cannot capture Sichuan immediately.
Sichuan is located inland and has many mountains. The closed mountainous areas are conducive to keeping technology secret.
Sichuan has these advantages at a time when electrical-related technologies are developing rapidly.
Emperor Su He knew that the future of industry belonged to electrification.
Sichuan's industry is relatively weak and has a certain foundation.
This place will not be suppressed by vested interest groups and is suitable for exploring new technologies.
Emperor Su He handed over many technologies related to electricity to Sichuan, allowing these technologies to be incubated in Sichuan and cultivating relevant talents.
Seeing Emperor Su He's interest, Governor Feng Kuang stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, since the hydropower station was put into use, Rongcheng Mansion has received sufficient power supply.
The city is brightly lit at night, making it a veritable city that never sleeps.
In addition to electric light consumption, we are also cooperating with scholars from Beijing to actively explore other applications of electricity.
Now that it has been very effective, Your Majesty, please test our results. "
When Emperor Su He heard what Governor Feng Kuang said, he was most interested in the hydropower station.
There are not many ways to use electricity now, but with the surge in power generation, electricity prices are cheap.
Folks will naturally actively explore the use of electricity.
The rivers in Sichuan have a large drop, which is suitable for the construction of small reservoirs and hydropower-related technologies.
After the technology matures, it will be easier to expand the scale.
With sufficient electricity, various electrical equipment and electrical appliances can be used.
Scientists such as Liu Dongliang of the Royal Academy of Sciences have discovered electricity.
They have been exploring the application of electricity in various fields, especially in industry.
Emperor Su He knew that there was still a long way to go before the real electrification industry.
But the emergence of generators and electric motors is not far away from the electrification industry.
He predicts that the technology will achieve a breakthrough in a few decades.
Emperor Su He arranged for Liu Rushi and others to rest in the temporary palace.
He took Prime Minister Wei Shiming and other entourage to the hydropower station in the northwest of Rongcheng.
This is the closest hydropower station to the train station and is also close to the electric power industrial zone.
Emperor Su He looked through the window of the carriage, and he could see cement poles erected on the side of the road outside.
The wires on these poles are thicker than elsewhere.
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The carriage stopped at a small reservoir covering an area of several hundred acres.
Emperor Su He looked at the small reservoir with only a few meters of height in front of him.
He had looked forward to what kind of breakthroughs hydropower station technology could make.
He also fantasized about whether steam turbine technology could achieve a breakthrough.
The breakthrough of the steam turbine can not only drive the generator, but also greatly increase the power generation.
Ships and trains using steam turbines will also have extremely powerful power.
When Emperor Su He saw the scene in front of him, his disappointed expression flashed across his face.
The power generation device of a hydropower station is an upright generator that stands in the sluice.
It is similar to the generator driven by the steam engine in the palace.
Only the power was changed from a steam engine to an impeller driven by water flow.
The overall structure of the generator has not changed much.
Emperor Su He knew that technological development could not be achieved overnight.
The time since the discovery of electricity is too short now, and many technologies have not yet achieved breakthroughs.
Scientists are all in the exploratory stage.
Emperor Su He believes that power-related technologies cannot be promoted on a large scale for the time being.
Even if a certain electric power technology makes a breakthrough, other technologies cannot advance, and there is no way to form a complete industrial system.
Emperor Su He was usually very busy at work, so he did not give any guidance to Liu Dongliang and others.
Let them use their own ingenuity to explore technology using existing conditions.
Emperor Su He praised: "The hydropower station is a very good project.
Hydropower stations produce electricity at low cost, and I am very optimistic about its future development. "
Governor Feng Kuang heard the praise from Emperor Su He.
He immediately stood up and assured: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Sichuan Governor's Office will definitely vigorously develop hydropower stations and bring electricity to thousands of households."
Emperor Su He walked into the hydropower station to inspect.
He discovered that the hydropower station lacked vital transformers.
Without a transformer to stabilize the voltage, a hydropower station cannot guarantee a uniform flow of water.
The voltage and current output by a hydropower station fluctuate greatly.
Without the ability to provide stable power, supporting industries will naturally not be able to develop.
When Emperor Su He saw this situation, he knew that the application of electricity in industry was very limited.
The current power industry lacks too many technologies.
Factories needed stable power, which was an important reason why steam engines replaced water power.
No one can imagine that the drill bit of the machine tool will be faster and slower at other times.
Such machine tools cannot process industrial parts at all.
Dahua Dynasty Industries still has a long way to go if it wants to enter electrification.
Emperor Su He asked: "Are the voltage and current output by the hydropower station stable?
I watched it for a while and saw that the generator's speed was fast and slow.
Different generators have different revolutions at the same time. "
When Governor Feng Kuang heard Emperor Su He's question, he looked confused.
Voltage and current, what are these? He doesn't understand at all.
Feng Kuang looked at the chief envoy Zhou Wenhua.
Zhou Wenhua was indifferent. He didn't understand anything about voltage and current.
They pay attention to hydropower stations only because the emperor pays attention to them.
What changes can electricity bring? They can also tell a thing or two.
I really don’t understand the principle of hydropower stations.
Zhou Wenhua can stand out among many masters, he will not pretend to understand.
His understanding of the situation at the hydropower station is also extremely limited.
Now it seems that Emperor Su He knows something about hydropower stations.
If you talk nonsense, once the truth is exposed, you will really be in big trouble.
Honeysuckle, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, saw that no colleagues came forward.
Unlike professional scholars like Tian Jiapeng, he is not proficient in electricity.
But he was the only industrial official on the scene.
He stood up bravely and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know much about hydropower stations.
But I often hear craftsmen at the Ministry of Works discussing these things.
The current and voltage output from hydropower stations are unstable.
Scientists at the Royal Academy of Sciences are working on ways to keep the current and voltage output stable.
It is precisely because of the unstable current and voltage that it cannot be applied in many situations.
The structure of a generator is similar to that of an electric motor. It only needs one wire to transmit the power of the river to the factory.
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However, it is precisely because the generator is unstable that the motor speed is also unstable and cannot be used in factories. "
Emperor Su He was not surprised when he heard Honeysuckle's words. This was the same as what he expected.
"The Royal Academy of Sciences will continue to explore, and I believe they will be able to solve the problem of voltage and current instability."
Emperor Su He knew about the transformer, but he didn't tell it.
If electric motors want to replace steam engines, there are still many difficulties that need to be overcome.
This is a new industrial system that completely replaces another industrial system.
He can solve the transformer, but cannot solve more problems.
Leave these problems to scientists, and with the advancement of technology, they will naturally be gradually overcome.
Emperor Su He thought of this, and he ordered: "I have seen the hydropower station, take me to see the application of electricity.
The electricity generated by the hydropower station cannot be used to light all the lights. "
When Governor Feng Kuang heard Emperor Su He's order, he reacted.
"Your Majesty, most of the electricity generated by hydropower stations is used in the industrial field, and only a small amount is used in the lighting field.
I will take Your Majesty to the Electric Power Industrial Zone. "
A group of them took a carriage and rushed to the electric power industrial zone east of the hydropower station.
Emperor Su He approached the electric power industrial zone. His first impression of this industrial zone was that there was no towering black smoke and pungent smell.
In the past, when I went to other industrial areas, if I stood outside for about ten minutes, I would be covered with a layer of soot.
This is the price that must be paid to develop industry.
This industrial area looks very neat and clean.
Emperor Su He had a smile on his face, this is a sustainable industry.
Governor Feng Kuang asked: "Your Majesty, there are more than a dozen factories in the industrial zone. Which factory should we go to?"
Emperor Su He looked at the scale of these factories.
He ordered: "Visit according to the size."
The emperor specially asked Qin Shanshui, the commander of the Qilin Guard.
There is no need to block the entire factory area and affect the operation of the factory.
Just control the production floor he goes to.
Chief envoy Zhou Wenhua accompanied Qin Shanshui to take the first step.
The emperor and his party could only inspect the safer production workshops.
The emperor was not allowed to enter the dangerous production workshop.
If something happens to the emperor in Sichuan, they simply cannot bear the consequences.
Zhou Wenhua returned quickly, and he led the way: "Your Majesty, this is the Rongcheng Metallurgical Factory, the largest factory in the Electric Power Industrial Zone.
They use the latest electrolysis technology to smelt metal, which consumes more than 70% of the electricity. "
Emperor Su He was a little surprised when he heard the word electrolysis.
This is a word that is both familiar and unfamiliar.
He walked into the Rongcheng Metallurgical Factory, but did not enter the production workshop, which was somewhat dangerous.
They went to the finished product warehouse and saw the products of the Rongcheng Metallurgical Factory.
Here are stacks of copper and aluminum wire that have been machine-drawn into wire.
Honeysuckle, Minister of Industry, introduced at the side: "Your Majesty, we are relatively short of copper in the country.
Copper produced through electrolysis technology has basically no impurities.
It is used in precision electrical machinery.
The price of copper is so high that it is basically equal to money.
Even if small-denomination banknotes appear, there is no way to replace copper coins.
The people's acceptance of paper money is far less than that of copper coins.
The two better materials for making wires are silver and copper.
Their prices are extremely high, and scientists have been trying to find a replacement material.
After the efforts of the Royal Academy of Sciences, this material was actually found, and it is aluminum.
But in the early days, this material was not the best choice.
Bauxite reserves are very large and the price is very cheap.
However, the production of aluminum requires extremely complex technology. Only small amounts of aluminum powder can be produced using chemical methods, and the output is also very low.
Finished aluminum is so rare that its price is comparable to gold.
Aluminum heats up more than copper and silver, so this material is not the best choice.
The Royal Academy of Sciences and Hua Xia University discovered the phenomenon of electrolysis while experimenting with various uses of electricity.
When electricity is passed into a salt solution, various substances can be obtained. In a metal salt solution, metals can be easily obtained.
When Qin Shu, a student at Huaxia University, was doing an electrolysis experiment, he prepared electrolytic salt water because of an operation error.
He inserted the electrode into the molten aluminum oxide salt that was being dissolved by cryolite at high temperatures.
An accident occurred, and a large amount of aluminum precipitated from the dissolved salt.
Huaxia University attaches great importance to this phenomenon, and after repeated verification, it has found a low-cost production method of aluminum.
The only disadvantage of this production method is that it requires a lot of electricity.
Aluminum wire has replaced copper wire as the main material for electrical wires because of its low price. "
Emperor Su He listened to Honeysuckle introducing the origin of aluminum wire.
Emperor Su He had no involvement in the discovery and production process of aluminum.
The discovery of aluminum proves that current scientists, following the scientific system established by Emperor Suhe, have been able to create new things independently.
He had been worried that if he provided various technologies, he would encourage innovation and suppress scientists from creating new things.
This incident has proven that this scientific system can operate autonomously.
Emperor Su He continued to visit and he understood the situation of the factory.
Electrolysis must use direct current, and scientists cleverly designed the commutator of the generator to output direct current specifically for this factory.
Emperor Su He was quite satisfied with the Rongcheng Metallurgical Factory.
They walked out of the factory and headed to other factories.
Governor Feng Kuang said: "Your Majesty, the Rongcheng Metallurgical Company mainly uses electricity for production.
The factories we visited next mainly produced various electrical appliances. "
Prime Minister Wei Shiming suggested: "Your Majesty, I think it is not necessary for us to visit these factories one by one.
Governor Feng asked the factory to show us these appliances. "
Emperor Su He agreed with Prime Minister Wei Shiming's suggestion.
They came to the exhibition hall to view various electrical appliances currently produced.
Emperor Su He was still guessing, in the early days of the development of electricity, what kind of electrical appliances could be invented?
The most eye-catching appliance is the electric fan.
After being plugged in and running at high speed, the motor makes very little noise and does not produce any noise.
It's the speed at which the fan rotates, sometimes faster and sometimes slower, and it can't be adjusted.
Su He also saw electric stoves and electric kettles, which are electrical appliances that use electrical energy to convert heat energy.
They were simply not practical in this day and age and were not as effective as coal stoves.
Emperor Su He stopped in front of an electrical appliance.
This is a big iron box, and on a hot summer day, it vents air-conditioning to the outside.
Emperor Su He blurted out: "This is a refrigerator."
Governor Feng Kuang immediately stepped forward and said: "Thank you for the name, Your Majesty. This kind of electrical appliance has just been developed and has no name yet.
The inside of the refrigerator can reach a temperature of more than ten degrees below zero, which allows food to be stored for a long time. Weichen thinks it is very practical. "
Emperor Su He asked with great interest: "How does the refrigerator cool down?"
He was a little surprised. He didn't expect to see a refrigerator at this time.
Could it be a scientist who found a method to synthesize the refrigerant Freon?
Honeysuckle was speechless again when she saw Governor Feng Kuang.
He stepped forward and explained: "Your Majesty, I have heard about this situation.
Ammonia should be used in the refrigerator. This kind of stuff vaporizes and liquefies very easily, and can transfer a lot of heat in the process. "
Emperor Su He heard about ammonia. This substance is inefficient, but it should work.
He saw so many electrical appliances, and he was most optimistic about the refrigerator.
Refrigerators can be made, and air conditioners can be made after improvements.
The Dahua Dynasty has captured the tropics, where refrigerators and air conditioners are extremely important and can significantly improve local work efficiency.
Emperor Su He left the industrial zone. He was very satisfied with the development of the electric power industry.
The power industry is not very practical now, but the future is promising.
There are several practical technologies that can be produced here, which have exceeded Emperor Su He's expectations.
The imperial court's continued investment will surely yield fruitful results in the future.
