The campus of the Royal Institute of Technology is located on the south bank of Xuanwu Lake. To the southeast of the campus is the Imperial College, which is also located on the south bank of Xuanwu Lake. To the south is Yingtian Institute of Technology, and to the southwest is Yingtian High School.
This area is the centralized campus in Jinling City. There are no ordinary civilian buildings, not even official administrative buildings, just school buildings.
There is even a campus in the north, near Lion Mountain, but it is not an ordinary school, but the Chu Empire Army Officer Academy.
Near the northwest side of the Officer Academy, in the Lion Rock area, is a military camp. The main guard troops stationed in Jinling City are stationed here. They are also responsible for the defense of the Lion Rock Fort and guarding the Yangtze River.
Luo Zhixue arrived at the Royal Institute of Technology at about ten o'clock in the morning. Before that, he held a morning meeting. With the assistance of a group of ministers and co-organizers, he handled more than ten official tasks and also returned He summoned the new governor who was about to take office in Chubei and briefly talked with him about the subsequent local economic development issues in Chubei.
After finishing these initial tasks, Luo Zhixue, accompanied by more than a dozen courtiers and protected by many guards, went to the Royal Institute of Technology.
Because Luo Zhixue had a lot of things to do on weekdays, and the purpose of his inspection today was very clear, he did not waste too much time in other directions. After arriving at the Royal Institute of Technology, he went straight to the location of the steam engine project team.
At this time, a group of teachers from the Royal Institute of Technology and students involved in research and development work were already waiting in the courtyard where the project team was located.
When Luo Zhixue arrived, because there was not much time, the people in the project team did not waste any extra nonsense, but directly began to introduce the development of steam engines.
"At present, we have basically understood the principles of steam engines and have successively trial-produced different steam engines."
"This steam engine is our latest trial-produced steam engine. It has been able to realize the reciprocating motion in the cylinder according to your Majesty's instructions!"
A man in his thirties stepped forward, pointed to a rough, tall, black machine in the open space and said: "This is a boiler for boiling water. The one with a blower is used in the current test. Coal, but charcoal and even wood can be used.”
"After the water in the boiler is boiled, a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure water vapor will be produced. This water vapor will be connected to the cylinder through pipes."
"There is a piston in the cylinder. The piston can drive the external wheel to rotate. At the same time, the power driven by the piston is also used to open and close the air valve in the small cylinder inside the cylinder to achieve its own reciprocating motion."
"Because we also use a blower to burn coal, the power of the blower also comes directly from the power of the piston."
Luo Zhixue looked at the big guy in front of him. To be honest, just looking at the appearance was just some iron pipes, a few large iron cylinders, iron frames and the like, and he couldn't tell much... But at any rate, this time he saw the use of Cylinder with piston on it.
He remembered that when he came to see it the year before last, they had not yet used pistons, and they did not even have the concept of reciprocating motion. They only started to do it after Luo Zhixue reminded them. Previously, Luo Zhixue was not careful, and these people let themselves go and built steam windmills. .
What does this steam windmill mean?
It uses the power of high-pressure water vapor after boiling water to directly blow the fan to rotate...
Well, the principle is very simple. Just take a small windmill that children play with and blow it and you will know...
Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology imitated the windmill principle and wanted to use the high-pressure steam engine generated by boiling water to replace the wind... and then drive the windmill to rotate, thereby generating mechanical energy.
I have to say... this idea is epoch-making, even advanced, because this thing has a more professional and noble-sounding name, called: steam turbine...
Then you replace the high-pressure steam with the high-temperature and high-pressure gas produced by the combustion of aviation kerosene, which is the flower of industry in the industrial system of later generations: the turbofan engine.
So... many things seem very complicated, but the underlying principle is actually very simple. Regardless of whether it is a windmill, a steam turbine, or a turbofan engine, to put it bluntly, it just makes the blades rotate...
Even if it is a very high-end so-called nuclear fusion, even if people in later generations develop it, if they want to build a nuclear fusion power station, it can only be used to boil water... For the time being, humans have not been able to find anything more efficient than boiling water. Energy conversion methods.
Therefore, many people expect that after nuclear fusion is developed, mankind will soar into the sky. This is pure nonsense.
Once completed, it will be nothing more than a nuclear fission power station turning into a nuclear fusion power station...the cost of electricity will just be lower.
But... the cost of electricity itself is not expensive... At a certain time, the current price of electricity in a certain area is traded, and the average daily ex-factory price is about 26 cents. If it is the nighttime low peak period, it only costs 8 cents...
Your nuclear fusion power station generates a lot of electricity and the cost is low, okay, we will treat you as refining raw materials, and the power plant will run for free... It will be calculated as if the electricity is delivered for free...
Okay, students, pick up your fingers and do the math. Now our residential electricity price is 68 cents. After deducting the 26 cents electricity cost, how much is left?
There are still forty-two cents left...
It can't be any lower... because the transmission of electricity costs money, which is much more expensive than the cost of electricity itself.
During the economic crisis, farmers would rather dump the milk than sell it at a lower price. That is because in addition to the cost of the milk itself, there are also transportation and storage costs... When the price of milk drops to the point where it cannot offset the transportation and storage costs, farmers You would rather pour the milk than sell it, because you will lose money if you pour it, but you will lose more if you sell it...
Electricity, too!
Therefore, even if nuclear fusion comes out, it will not change much in modern society... In other words, this change will be far lower than people's expectations for nuclear fusion!
The modern scientific development of mankind in the past three hundred years, from coal to fuel oil to electricity to nuclear energy, etc., to put it bluntly, is to figure out how to boil water better... Let alone you say, this is extremely important to the development of human civilization. Importantly, at least as of now in the 21st century, human civilization has not been able to find a more efficient way to convert energy than boiling water.
The steam engines developed by the Royal Institute of Technology, whether it is the current cylinder reciprocating machine or the previous steam windmill, well, that is, a steam turbine... are also exploring how to better boil water and use the water produced after boiling water. Use the steam.
It's just that the original steam turbine built by the Royal Institute of Technology has only one stage of blades, and they are still the blades of a traditional windmill... In fact, it is just a toy... without any use value.
But if the blades are improved to withstand better stress, and the blades are made into several more stages, then it will be a proper steam turbine... Of course, with the current industrial level of the Dachu Empire, so-called multi-stage blades are forcibly produced The steam turbine was useless. It either couldn't move or fell apart when it moved.
This damn thing has too high requirements for material performance and processing accuracy, and is not something that the current Dachu Empire can handle.
In fact, even the current piston-type steam engines are quite difficult for the Chu Empire to play with.
Because the processing of the cylinder is also very troublesome!
The cylinder and the piston are a pair of good brothers who love each other. On one side, they must fit tightly together to prevent gas leakage, and on the other side, friction must be reduced as much as possible.
This is very contradictory. It must be tightly fitted while reducing friction, which requires very high machining accuracy for the cylinder and piston.
Then there are also requirements for materials, so that the gap between the cylinder and piston will not increase due to friction after a long period of reciprocating motion.
This is a great embarrassment to the members of the steam engine research and development project team of Da Chu Imperial Institute of Technology... The design is there, but they can't come up with it... No, it can actually be done, but the steam engine is not very good. land.
Just like when Luo Zhixue saw this steam engine now, as the staff began to ignite the coal in the boiler and boil the water, the steam engine started to move, but the power was only so small.
Not to mention the small power, and the extremely large size... This thing is impossible to use as a power source for transportation, or even for conventional power in factories, because the cost is too high, the power is too small, and the size is too large.
The most important thing is that only about half a quarter of an hour after the thing was started, a kacha sound was suddenly heard. Several staff members looked panicked and stepped forward to quickly close the steam valve and extinguish the boiler.
The person in charge of the Royal Institute of Technology on the side looked panicked when he saw this scene. He glanced at Luo Zhixue from time to time, fearing that Luo Zhixue would go crazy.
But when Luo Zhixue looked at the stopped steam engine, there was no depressed or even angry expression on his face. Instead, his smile remained the same.
Then he looked at the dozen or so researchers around him who had frightened expressions, and immediately laughed and said: "Okay, dear friends, you are worthy of my humerus. Although this steam engine still has many problems, it has already made a difference." The future industrial development of the Empire points the way.”
"It is not easy to build this steam engine prototype in just a few years, from theory to mechanical design, to solving material and processing problems. Thank you for your hard work, dear friends!"
Luo Zhixue's words made more than a dozen researchers on the side breathe a sigh of relief. Song Fufang, the leader of the steam engine project team, immediately stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty is exaggerating. I am just following your Majesty's instructions." It is a trivial work, and there are still huge flaws in the work. We have been unable to solve the material and processing problems of the cylinder and piston, so that we have been unable to come up with a practical steam engine. We really do not live up to your majesty's high expectations. !”
"But your Majesty, please rest assured that we have joined forces with the Materials Research Institute, the Turning Tool Research Institute and other institutions to conduct more than 30 studies on materials and processing, striving to solve the cylinder and piston problems as soon as possible."
"In addition, we are also optimizing the design of the steam engine in order to reduce the requirements for materials and processing in the design."
“With so many materials and processing projects and new designs, we can always find a way to a solution!”
Luo Zhixue's smile did not change: "In scientific research, it is normal to have difficulties. If there are no difficulties, you can just use it and we will study it for other purposes!"
“The key is to identify the problem and fix it!”
"Although there are still some problems with today's steam engine, in my opinion, you are going in the right direction. This right direction does not mean that the development direction of the steam engine you are studying is right or wrong. This It’s not the key, the key is how you deal with the problem!”
"When we encounter a problem, on the one hand, we must continue to research and find ways to solve it, but at the same time, we can also circumvent the problem in other ways and use other ways to achieve the goal!"
"Scientific research also needs to pay attention to methods!"
"When I was young, I heard an old man say in my hometown: It doesn't matter whether the cat is white or black, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat!"
"I am sending this sentence to you today. I hope it will be helpful to you and your research!"
When Luo Zhixue was in the steam engine project team, he did not ask too many detailed technical questions about the steam engine. He mostly asked them about their problems, gave them some encouragement, and solved some of their life difficulties on the spot.
As for technical things, there is actually nothing to say, except that the materials and processing are not good. In the final analysis, it is a problem of industrial foundation.
It is difficult to build an industrial base. It not only requires spending money, but also a certain amount of time, and it also depends on luck...
And when the industrial base is reached, it will be easy to create it. If the industrial base is not good, there is no point in rushing. If it can't be built, it won't be built.
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Luo Zhixue has always paid attention to the situation of the steam engine project team, and naturally he is very clear about the problems encountered by steam engines today.
It’s not a design problem. In fact, with the help of Luo Zhixue, the design of the steam engine project team is already relatively mature. If it is really developed, it can not only be used for water extraction in mines, but can also be used directly in factories as mechanical power. Of course, it is not good as a means of transportation.
The simple design problem is not big. Anyway, Luo Zhixue's limited knowledge of physics cannot find any big faults.
The problem is manufacturing!
Having a design does not mean that it can be built, and being able to build it does not necessarily mean that it will be easy to use.
Designing something like this is all about using your imagination.
But it’s not easy to turn your imagination into reality.
This involves materials and processing, which is basically industrial basic capabilities.
Just like the previous flintlock gun, everyone knows the principle without Luo Zhixue, but it is extremely difficult to make it.
In order to produce flintlock muskets, the Dachu Empire put in huge efforts in materials and processing. Just to mass-produce a small bullet, countless people worked hard day and night.
It took the Chu Empire several years to mass-produce flintlock muskets, and the price was very expensive.
It is only now that the annual output has been barely increased. At the same time, due to the improvement of the yield rate and the continuous improvement of the process, the price has also been reduced to about eighty taels of silver.
In this process, the benefits were far more than just flintlock guns... Because the Chu Empire invested heavily in the production of flintlock guns, developing all kinds of messy materials or machine tools, and these things can be used in other directions. .
The industrial foundation has always been linked to each other. Once the underlying things are developed, the mid-stream and upstream industries can immediately move forward.
However, even though the Da Chu Empire has invested a lot in its industrial foundation, it is still not doing well...just look at the price of flintlock guns.
At present, the price of flintlock guns in the Da Chu Empire is still more than twice as expensive as matchlock guns.
The ex-factory price of a 2-year-old Type A-3 flintlock gun at the Hantian Factory was eight taels of silver. However, the same matchlock gun produced by the Hantian Arsenal was purchased by the military some time ago to equip the second-class division. silver!
The matchlock production lines in the Dachu Empire actually still exist. Currently, they are mainly Xiangyang Arsenal and Hantian Arsenal. In the early years, due to insufficient production of flintlock guns and the continuous expansion of the army, these two arsenals continued to produce matchlocks. It was first equipped with second-class divisions and patrol police and other law enforcement forces. Later, as the production of flintlock muskets increased, flintlock muskets also began to be equipped with second-class divisions.
A large number of matchlocks began to be retired and equipped with militiamen, and were assigned to law enforcement agencies. Well, excluding tax patrols, the equipment of the armed tax police was directly compared to that of the First Class Division... They all used flintlock muskets, field artillery and the like. of.
If truly assembled and engaged in small-scale fighting, the armed tax police would not be much worse than a first-class division.
The tax police don't know how to use matchlock guns!
Nowadays, in the Dachu Empire, there are mainly a large number of second-class divisions and law enforcement agencies that have not had time to change their equipment. Mainly the patrol officers under the patrol department are equipped with matchlock guns. In addition, they are used for military assistance and exports.
In terms of military assistance, in recent years, the Great Chu Empire first provided a batch of matchlock guns to the Yarkand Khanate, and then when fighting for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in order to mess up the situation, the chieftains who attracted locals also provided various supplies. Few matchlocks.
Since last year, matchlock guns have been provided to the Mobei Tribunal.
In addition, the matchlock guns of the Da Chu Empire also began to be used for real export, and they sold well on Fuso Island. The local lords found that the matchlock guns of the Da Chu Empire were better and cheaper than their iron cannons. , the most important thing is that as long as you have money, you can have it.
Therefore, they ordered matchlock guns from the maritime trading companies of the Da Chu Empire.
Not only the Fuso people, but also the Spanish and even the Dutch who were active in East Asia, they all ordered a lot of matchlock guns and even artillery from the Dachu Empire.
This is not to say that they don’t have guns in their hands, nor that they make them. It is simply that it is too expensive to transport them from the mainland, and the quality of the guns made by the indigenous people in the colonies is too poor. At this time, the guns of the Da Chu Empire appeared on the market. , they directly purchased them and used them as colonial troops.
Not only matchlocks and artillery, but also plate armor, cold weapons, swords, spears, etc., these weapons and equipment, together with other steel products, have become the product categories with the highest export growth rate in the Chu Empire in the past two years, almost selling All over East Asia, whether it is Fuso, the Southeast Asian peninsula, the islands, or even India, you can see various steel products produced by the Chu Empire.
Following the new machine-made cloth, it is another mass-produced and exported product based on the new industrial basis.
Moreover, the proportion of export value of various new industrial products has slightly exceeded that of traditional export commodities such as silk, tea, and porcelain.
From the exit, we can already see that after several years of accumulation, the Great Chu Empire has completed the most basic initial stage of the industrial revolution and begun to stride forward.
