I want to be emperor

Chapter 580 The Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine
The Royal Institute of Technology's campus is located on the south bank of Xuanwu Lake. To the southeast of the campus is Guozijian 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 concentrated campus in Jinling City, there are no common folk buildings, and there are even no official administrative buildings, all school buildings.

Even in the north, near the Lion Mountain, there is a campus, but it is not an ordinary school, but the Military Academy of the Great Chu Empire.

Near the northwest side of the Military Academy, that is, around the Lion Mountain, is a barracks. The main force of the Guards stationed in Jinling City is stationed here, and is also responsible for the defense of the Lion Mountain Fort and guarding the Yangtze River.

Luo Zhixue arrived at the Royal Institute of Technology around ten o'clock in the morning. Before that, he had a morning meeting. Summoned the new governor who is about to go to Chubei to take office, and had a brief chat with him about the follow-up local economic development in Chubei.

After preliminarily finishing these things, Luo Zhixue, accompanied by more than ten courtiers and under the protection of many guards, went to the Royal Institute of Technology.

Because Luo Zhixue has a lot of things to do on weekdays, and the purpose of today's inspection is very clear, so he didn't 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 who participated in the research and development work were already waiting in the courtyard where the project team was located.

After Luo Zhixue arrived, because there was not much time, the people in the project team did not talk nonsense, but directly started to introduce the research and development of the steam engine.

"At present, we have basically figured out the principle of the steam engine, and have successively trial-produced different steam engines."

"The current steam engine is our latest trial-produced steam engine. It has realized the reciprocating motion in the cylinder according to your majesty's instructions!"

A man in his thirties stepped forward, pointed to a rough, tall, dark machine on the open space and said: "This is a boiler for heating water, and the one with a blower is used in the test now." Coal, but charcoal and even wood can also be used."

"After the water in the boiler is boiled, a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure water vapor will be generated, and the water vapor will be connected to the cylinder through the pipeline."

"There is a piston in the cylinder, and 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 realize its own reciprocating motion."

"Because we also use a blower to burn coal, the power of this blower is also directly derived from the power brought by the piston."

Luo Zhixue looked at such a big guy in front of him. To be honest, just looking at the appearance, there are some iron pipes, a few large iron cylinders, iron frames and so on, and nothing can be seen... But at least, this time, he saw the A cylinder with a piston on it.

He remembered that when he visited the year before last, they hadn't used pistons yet, and they didn't even have the concept of reciprocating motion. They only started doing it after Luo Zhixue reminded them. Before Luo Zhixue didn't pay attention, these people let themselves go and set up steam windmills. up.

What does this steam windmill mean?
It is to use the power of the high-pressure steam after boiling water to directly blow the fan to rotate...

Well, the principle is very simple, you take a small windmill played by children, and then blow it to know...

The research and development personnel of the Royal Institute of Technology imitated the principle of the windmill, and wanted to replace the wind with the high-pressure steam engine generated after boiling water...and then drive the windmill to rotate to generate mechanical energy.

I have to say... this idea is epoch-making, even advanced, because this thing has a more professional and sounding name: 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 industrial flower in the industrial system of later generations: the turbofan engine.

So... many things seem to be 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 is to make the blades rotate...

Even if it is the so-called nuclear fusion that is particularly tall, even if people in later generations come up with it, if they want to build a nuclear fusion power station, it can only be used to boil water... For the time being, human beings have not found anything more efficient than boiling water energy conversion approach.

Therefore, many people expect that after nuclear fusion is developed, human beings will be able to soar directly into the sky, which is pure nonsense.

After it is done, it is nothing more than a nuclear fission power station becoming a nuclear fusion power station... The cost of electricity is just lower.

But... the cost of electricity itself is not expensive... At a certain time, the current price of electricity in a certain area was traded, and the daily average ex-factory price was about [-] cents. If it was a low-peak period at night, it only cost [-] cents...

Your nuclear fusion power plant generates a lot of electricity and the cost is low, okay, let’s refine the raw materials as your own, and the power plant will run without any money... It will be calculated according to the free delivery of electricity...

Well, students, take your fingers and do the math. Now our electricity price for residents is [-] cents. After deducting [-] cents for electricity, how much is left?

Forty cents left...

It can't be lower... because the transmission of electricity costs, 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, 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 that it cannot offset the transportation and storage costs, the farmer They would rather dump the milk than sell it, because if it is poured, it will lose money, but if it is sold, it will lose even more...

Electricity, too!
So even if nuclear fusion comes out, it will not change much for modern society... Or, this change will be far lower than people's expectations for nuclear fusion!
The development of modern science in the past 300 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... Don’t even mention it, this is extremely important to the development of human civilization. At least in the 21st century, human civilization has not been able to find a more efficient energy conversion method than boiling water.

The steam engine developed by the Royal Institute of Technology, whether it is the current cylinder reciprocating machine, or the previous steam windmill, um, that is, the steam turbine...is also trying to figure out how to boil water better, and the water produced after boiling water Use the steam.

It's just that the original steam turbine they built at the Royal Institute of Technology had only one stage of blade, and it was the blade of a traditional windmill...in fact, it was just a toy...without any use value.

But if the blades are improved to make the force better, and at the same time make the blades a few more stages, then it will be a proper steam turbine... Of course, with the current industrial level of the Great Chu Empire, the so-called multi-stage blades are forcibly produced The steam turbines are useless, either they can't move, or they fall apart when they move.

This ghost thing has too high requirements on material performance and processing precision, and it is not something that the current Great Chu Empire can handle.

In fact, even the current piston-type steam engine, the Great Chu Empire is not enough to play.

Because the processing of the cylinder is also very troublesome!
Between the cylinder and the piston is a pair of good brothers who love and kill each other. On the one hand, they must fit together tightly to prevent gas leakage, and on the other hand, they must reduce friction as much as possible.

This is very contradictory. It is necessary to closely fit and reduce friction, so the machining accuracy of the cylinder and piston is required to be very high.

Then there are requirements for the material, so that the gap between the cylinder and the piston will not increase due to friction after a long period of reciprocating motion.

This is a great embarrassment for the members of the steam engine research and development project team of the Royal Institute of Technology of the Great Chu Empire...the design is there, but they can't make it out...no, in fact, it can be done, but the steam engine they make is not good land.

Just like when Luo Zhixue saw this steam engine now, as the staff began to light the coal in the boiler and boil the water to make the steam engine start, the power was only so small.

Not to mention the small power, and the size is extremely large... It is impossible for this thing to be used for the power of vehicles, and it is even difficult to be used for conventional power in factories, because the cost is too high, the power is too small, and the volume is too large.

The most important thing is that it was only about half a quarter of an hour after this thing started to move, and suddenly there was a click, and several staff members stepped forward to close the steam valve in a panic, and extinguished the boiler.

The person in charge of the Royal Institute of Technology on the side saw this scene, his face was very panicked, and he would look at Luo Zhixue from time to time, for fear that Luo Zhixue would lose his temper.

But Luo Zhixue looked at the steam engine that stopped on the steam engine, but there was no depressed or even angry expression on his face, but the smile remained the same.

He looked at the dozen or so researchers around him who were showing panic expressions, and immediately laughed, and said, "Okay, dear friends, you are worthy of being my humerus. Although there are still many problems with this steam engine, it has been done for you. The future industrial development of the Empire shows the way."

"In just a few years, from theory to mechanical design, and then to solving materials and processing problems, it is not easy to make this steam engine prototype, dear dears, you have worked hard!"

Luo Zhixue's words made the dozen or so researchers on the side heave a sigh of relief, and Song Fufang, the person in charge of the steam engine project team, immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's reputation is too high, and I'm just following His Majesty's instructions to carry out this project." It's a trivial job, and there are huge mistakes in the job. We have not been able to solve the material and processing problems of the cylinder and piston, so that we have not been able to come up with a practical steam engine. We are really ashamed of your high expectations. !"

"But rest assured, Your Majesty, we have cooperated with the Material Institute, Turning Tool Institute and other institutions to carry out more than 30 researches on materials and processing, and strive to solve the problem of cylinders and pistons as soon as possible."

"In addition, we are still optimizing the design of the steam engine in order to reduce the requirements for materials and processing in design."

"With so many material and process items and new designs, we can always find a way to a solution!"
Luo Zhixue's smile remained the same: "Scientific research, it's normal to have difficulties, if there are no difficulties, you can use them directly for what we are still studying it for!"

"The point is to identify the problem and fix it!"

"There are still some problems with the steam engine today, but in my opinion, you are walking in the right direction. The right direction does not mean that the steam engine you are studying is right or wrong. It's not the key, the key is the way you deal with the problem!"

"When encountering 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 bypass this problem in other ways and use other methods to achieve the goal!"

"Scientific research also needs to pay attention to methods!"

"When I was young, I heard a saying from an old man in my hometown: It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat!"

"Today I also send this sentence to you, hoping to help you and your research!"

In the steam engine project team, Luo Zhixue didn't ask too many detailed technical questions about the steam engine. He asked them more about their health, gave them some encouragement, and solved some difficulties in life for them on the spot.

As for the technical things, there is actually nothing to say, that is, the materials and processing are not good enough, and in the final analysis, it is the problem of industrial foundation.

It is very difficult to build an industrial base. It not only requires spending money, but also requires a certain amount of time, and then it depends on luck...

And when the industrial base is established, it will be easy to manufacture it. If the industrial base is not good, it is useless to rush. If it cannot be manufactured, it will not be manufactured.

----

Luo Zhixue has always paid attention to the situation of the steam engine project team, so he is naturally very clear about the problems encountered by the steam engine today.

It's not a design problem. In fact, the design of the steam engine project team has been considered relatively mature thanks to the help of Luo Zhixue. If it is really made, it can not only be used for mine water extraction, but it may be directly used in factories as mechanical power Yes, of course, as a vehicle power is not enough.

The simple design is not a big problem, anyway, Luo Zhixue's limited knowledge of physics can't find too many faults.

The problem is manufacturing!
Having a design does not mean that it can be manufactured, and being able to make it does not necessarily mean that it is easy to use.

Designing this kind of thing is just playing with the brain.

But it is not easy to turn the imagination into reality.

This involves materials and processing, and to a larger extent it is the basic industrial capabilities.

Just like the previous flintlock gun, the principle and other things are known to everyone without Luo Zhi theory, but it is extremely difficult to make it.

In order to produce flintlock guns, the Great Chu Empire has put in a lot of effort in materials and processing. Just for the mass production of a small spring, it took an unknown number of people and days and nights of hard work.

It took several years for the Great Chu Empire to mass-produce flintlock guns, and the price was very expensive.

It is only now that the annual output has been barely increased. At the same time, because of the improvement of the yield rate and the continuous improvement of the process, the price has also been reduced to about eight taels of silver.

In this process, the benefits are not limited to flintlock guns... because the production of flintlock guns was huge, and the Chu Empire invested a lot in research and development of various messy materials or machine tools, and these things can be applied in other directions. .

The industrial foundation has always been a chain of circles. Once the bottom-level things are produced, the mid-upstream industry can immediately go a step further.

But even though the Great Chu Empire has already invested a lot in the industrial foundation, it is still not doing well... just look at the price of the flintlock gun.

At present, the price of flintlock guns in the Great Chu Empire is still more than double that of matchlock guns.

A two-year Type A Type III flintlock gun, when the ex-factory price of the Hantian Factory was eight taels of silver, but the matchlock gun produced by the Hantian Armory was also purchased by the military to equip the second-class division. silver!
In fact, the matchlock gun production lines in the Great Chu Empire are still there. At present, 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 matchlock guns. It was equipped with second-class divisions and patrol police and other law enforcement forces. Later, as the production of flintlock guns increased, flintlock guns also began to be equipped with second-class divisions.

A large number of arquebus guns have begun to be decommissioned and equipped with militiamen, and at the same time assigned to law enforcement agencies, um, tax patrols are not included. The equipment of the armed tax police is directly compared with that of the first-class division...they all use flintlocks, field artillery or something of.

If they really gather together and fight on a small scale, the armed tax police will not be much worse than the first-class division.

The tax police don't know how to use matchlock guns!

Now in the Great Chu Empire, there are mainly a large number of second-class divisions and law enforcement agencies that have not had time to change their outfits, mainly the patrolmen under the Patrol Department are equipped with matchlock guns, and in addition they are used for military aid and export.

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 they were fighting for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in order to mess up the situation, the chieftains who had been brought over from the local area also provided a lot of money. Less arquebus.

Since last year, it has started to provide matchlock guns to Mobei No. [-] Department.

In addition, the arquebus guns of the Great Chu Empire began to be used for real export, and they sold well on Fusang Island. The local daimyos found that the matchlock guns of the Great 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 Great Chu Empire.

Not only the Fusang people, but even the Spaniards and even the Dutch who were active in East Asia, they all ordered a lot of matchlock guns and even artillery from the Great Chu Empire.

This is not to say that they do not have guns in their hands, nor did they manufacture them. It is simply that it is too expensive to transport them locally, and the quality of the guns made by the natives in the colonies is too poor. At this time, the guns of the Great Chu Empire appeared in the market. , They also directly purchased and used as colonial troops.

Not only matchlock guns, artillery, but also plate armor, cold weapons, swords and spears, etc. These weapons and equipment, together with other steel products, have become the product category with the highest export growth rate of the Great Chu Empire in the past two years, almost sold Throughout East Asia, whether it is Fusang, the Southeast Asian Peninsula, or the islands, or even in India, you can see all kinds of steel products produced by the Great Chu Empire.

Following the new machine-made cloth, it is another commodity that is mass-produced and exported on the basis of a new industry.

Moreover, the proportion of exports of various new industrial products has slightly exceeded that of traditional export commodities such as silk, tea, and porcelain.

From the point of view of the export, it can already be seen that after the accumulation of the past few years, the Great Chu Empire has completed the most basic initial stage of the industrial revolution, and has begun to stride forward.

(End of this chapter)