I want to be emperor

The new generator launched by Songjiang Electric Company immediately aroused great response from the market.

After all, many people in the industrial circles of the contemporary Dachu Empire have already seen the great potential of electrification. After all, generators and motors are not new things. Related generators and motors used in scientific research and experiments have been around for many years.

The convenience, stability and other applications of electricity brought by power equipment are enough to make elite groups in the industry fully aware of its importance.

For the contemporary Da Chu Empire, power equipment is even more important than so-called black technologies such as nuclear fusion that have not yet appeared in the 21st century.

Nuclear fusion is just a kind of energy source when it is exhausted. Although it is said to be inexhaustible, you can't expect that your electricity bill will drop after nuclear fusion is released...

Hydropower is actually very cheap, not much more expensive than the so-called nuclear fusion... After most hydropower plants are built, without considering the construction costs, the cost of one kilowatt hour of electricity is generally only a few cents, which is very cheap.

When you talk about construction costs, you make it sound like there are no construction costs for nuclear fusion power plants...

During the off-season for electricity consumption in remote areas, the ex-factory price of electricity from hydroelectric power stations can be as low as you imagine. One or two cents or even a few cents is possible. This is why many mines used to The reason for choosing to be near a remote hydropower station.

Without him, the electricity bill is cheap!
But why is the electricity price for daily use less than one or two cents per unit?
Because power transmission requires costs, as well as taxes and fees... You never think that when electricity is generated, it can be delivered directly to your home at the cost of power generation!
Therefore, even if all power generation costs are put aside, assuming that the cost of electricity of any nature is zero, the price of electricity will not be zero. No matter how much it costs, it will still cost one or two cents per kilowatt-hour... because you still need the cost of power transmission. , you still have to pay taxes, right?

The total cost of transmission and taxes... Even if you develop nuclear fusion, the price of electricity will go up by several cents. At most, the supply will increase.

Of course, when the price of industrial electricity is compared with one yuan and one or two cents, the cost difference for enterprises is huge.

But just like that, it doesn’t actually make a big change to the entire production system, because you use nuclear fission electricity and nuclear fusion electricity, or even water power, thermal power, wind power... In industrial production, it actually doesn’t matter. Used the same.

It is impossible to say that because your electricity is nuclear fusion electricity and the electricity used in other people's homes is hydropower, your production models are different... They are all driven by electric motors, so there is no difference.

Just like an industrial steam engine burning coal or oil...the cost is different, but the other differences are not big.

The improvement of production efficiency refers to the improvement caused by the change of production model!

For example, the manual workshop production model has evolved to the mechanical production model; from the traditional mechanical production model to the electronic control production model; and then to the intelligent manufacturing model.

The focus of these changes is the change in production model.

After some factories in the contemporary Dachu Empire use electric motors instead of steam engines as power, the production model may change, which will lead to a substantial improvement in production efficiency.

At the same time, electricity is not only a power source, but also has many different industrial application modes.

Such as electroplating!

Prior to this, the Chu Empire had small-scale, experimental, small-scale manual workshop models for electroplating copper, electroplating silver, and electroplating nickel. However, it has been unable to be widely used on a large scale. This is due to the limitation of power supply.

Then there is electric heating... The reason why the Chu people were able to create light bulbs was because they first discovered that electric energy can heat things, and they can heat objects to a certain level and then emit light.

There is also electrolysis... There is an important basic material production method that relies on electrolysis, that is aluminum. In addition, there are many kinds of materials that can be produced on a large scale through electrolysis.

Therefore, the application of electric energy is comprehensive and extensive, and serving as a power source for factories is only one of its most important applications. In addition, it is also used for lighting, electroplating, electrolysis, communications, and heating.

And if used as a power source, it can also indirectly lead to more applications.

The above-mentioned application directions of electric energy have been discovered by many scientists in the past ten years and have been confirmed in the laboratory as small experiments.

The only problem is the supply and cost of large-scale electric energy.

The new generator launched by Songjiang Electric Company can meet the needs of the market very well. Although the first new generator product introduced by Songjiang Electric Company to the market, strictly speaking, its power is not very large, with a power of only four kilowatts. That's it, it is unlikely to be used as a generator in a large power station with centralized energy supply.

However, because of its small power, small size and weight, companies can purchase this kind of generator and generate electricity themselves.

This is indeed what the industry did, and soon a large number of companies placed orders with Songjiang Electric Company to purchase this new generator.

It is prepared to replace steam engine power in some areas and be used in industrial production.

In addition to customers in the industrial production field, Matsue Electric Company has also welcomed an extremely important customer, the Industrial Affairs Division of the Imperial Household Agency.

The Imperial Household Agency is an organization that was finally merged with many royal service organizations in the Great Chu Empire and industrial organizations. It is a pure internal affairs organization of the royal family and has no relationship with the ordinary administrative organizations of the outside world.

The three core organizations within the Imperial Household Agency are the Imperial Household Agency Guard Office, which is responsible for the close security of all royal members and the internal security of the palace.

The Internal Affairs Office of the Imperial Household Agency is responsible for the daily life of the royal family members.

Next is the Industrial Affairs Division of the Imperial Household Agency, which is responsible for operating some royal properties, mainly royal palaces, manors, real estate, and a small amount of royal properties.

This organization is completely different from the royal family assets handled by the Imperial Family Assets Section affiliated with the Hanlin Academy.

The royal assets that the Royal Assets Section is responsible for are said to be royal assets, but in fact they are somewhat similar to the "internal treasury" of the former Ming Dynasty. Although they are named royal assets, they can also be regarded as official assets. The core role is to serve as a supplement to the Ministry of Industry for industrial regulation and industry guidance.

In addition, funds are raised to subsidize the expenses of some special institutions, such as the Guards and the Internal Affairs Section of the Hanlin Academy; or other special expenses. For example, Luo Zhixue awards several scientific awards every year, and the bonuses are all funded by the Royal Assets Section. Responsible.

To put it bluntly, this thing is a combination of the national treasury and the Ministry of Industry that are directly controlled by Luo Zhixue personally and can be used at will.

The royal estates managed by the Imperial Household Agency's Industrial Division are the royal estates in the true sense... but they are basically real estate such as palaces, palaces, royal estates, royal resorts, and astronomical numbers of various treasures. There are only a few small factories for the daily necessities of the royal family, such as the Royal Textile Factory. This factory specializes in producing various textiles such as clothes, bedding, shoes, and hats used by the royal members daily. Luo Zhixue's dragon robes are produced in this factory. .

In order to increase revenue and make up for the shortfall, the royal textile factory has also established several luxury jewelry and clothing brands to sell high-end luxury jewelry and textiles. The prices are extremely expensive, but they are very popular among the upper class of the empire.

In addition, many members of the royal family also have their own private properties, but these have nothing to do with the Royal Family Assets Section and the Estates Division of the Imperial Household Agency, so let’s not talk about them.

The Industrial Affairs Division of the Imperial Household Agency, as the agency responsible for the daily maintenance of many royal real estates, including the huge palace, placed an order for multiple generators with Matsue Electric Company because they are working on a big project: the palace lighting project. .

Contemporary light bulbs are still expensive and cannot be reduced temporarily due to technical limitations. As a result, market acceptance is very low, and the usage is also very small. Currently, only a very small amount of light bulbs are used by the Navy as the light source for searchlights.

However, a very small number of them are produced and used, which also makes it difficult for light bulbs to dilute the R&D and production costs through large-scale mass production.

After all, the investment in the production line is often fixed, and the R&D costs are already there... If the output is small, then the R&D costs and equipment depreciation costs will be very exaggerated... More than 20 Chu Yuan This is how most of the price of a light bulb comes about.

And the high price further prevents the popularization of light bulbs... Sales volume cannot increase, production capacity cannot increase, and costs cannot be diluted.

Coupled with factors such as the inconvenience and high cost of power supply in the past, light bulbs have been unable to enter large-scale applications as a lighting tool.Luo Zhixue didn't know much about it before... It was only after he figured out the new generator technology this time that he paid more attention to the development in the electrical field. He found that although the current light bulbs are high in cost and short in life, they are barely enough. used.

However, industrialization has been delayed, which has also made it difficult for the industry to obtain more funds for further research and development... The investment in research and development is small, and it is more difficult to produce better light bulbs.

Under such circumstances, Luo Zhixue personally ordered a light bulb lighting plan to be established in the palace. This was partly to facilitate himself... After using candles for decades, Luo Zhixue also wanted to use light bulbs for lighting, even if it was just the most primitive way. Ancient light bulb.

At the same time, it is also to promote the development of light bulbs... give the corresponding light bulb manufacturers a large order, let them spread the cost, bring down the cost of the light bulb, and then obtain income to continue research and development, and promote the rapid development of the light bulb industry.

Finally, it is to set an example for light bulb lighting to the outside world.

With the current high prices of generators, power transmission, and light bulbs, it is impossible for ordinary people, even ordinary factories and enterprises, to afford light bulbs. However, some rich people who are not short of money and some high-end places, such as high-end hotels, can afford light bulbs. Might be used on a trial basis.

No one used it before, that's because no one has ever used it, and there is no such trend.

Now Luo Zhixue must lead by example and bring this trend forward. First, let light bulbs enter the wealthy class, and then promote the development of the entire electric lighting market.

Only then did the Industrial Affairs Division of the Imperial Household Agency purchase new generators.

While the Industry Department purchased new generators, it also purchased a large number of light bulbs, which made Yingtian Mechanical and Electrical Company, the only light bulb manufacturer in the country, very excited.

They have been producing light bulbs on a small scale for several years, but before that only scientific research institutions and the navy made purchases... So for a long time, this stuff was produced on a small scale as scientific research equipment and cutting-edge military products.

Therefore, the output is very small and the cost is very high.

Now, the Industry Department has received an order for thousands of light bulbs at once, saying that light bulbs will be installed in the palace, and they are also planning to put on some kind of night light show in the public areas outside the palace.

This makes them very excited... It's not just how much money they can make from this batch of orders, but with the Royal taking the lead, the entire electric lighting market may be truly opened up.

To this end, they did not hesitate to supply this batch of light bulbs at cost prices, and dispatched many senior engineers to assist the industrial office in the installation and maintenance of electric lighting.

They treated the palace lighting as a large-scale advertisement.

If the main advertising is done well and the market is opened, as the only manufacturer that can mass-produce light bulbs, they will gain huge profits.

After generators, light bulbs and other corresponding electrical equipment were gradually purchased, the Industrial Affairs Office of the Imperial Household Agency also began to install light bulbs in the palace.

Multiple new generators use steam engines as power to generate thermal power, which is then transmitted to every corner of the palace through the power grid, ultimately realizing the power lighting supply for the entire palace.

This time, the installation and debugging of the light bulbs lasted for more than a month... After everything was installed properly, Luo Zhixue was specially consulted for instructions, and then the official use of light bulbs for lighting began.

So, in the winter of December of the 45th year of Chengshun, the imperial palace of Jinling City of the Chu Empire became brightly lit at night.

The brightness of light bulbs is much stronger than candles and the like. A small light bulb can illuminate a large area, and it is not the dim light of candles, kerosene lamps, or gas lamps.

But as bright as day!

Luo Zhixue stood on the balcony on the second floor of the palace, looking at the bright road outside, and his mood suddenly became very good.

After many years of hard work and struggle, he finally allowed electric lights to appear in his life... How difficult it is.

For Niang Xipi, even if he can't travel back to the future, he still has to change the environment and return to modern life.

He had already come up with a steam engine-powered refrigeration machine to act as an air conditioner...

He had also tried using a steam engine-powered fan before, but although this thing is widely used in industry as a ventilation device, it is not very suitable for use in daily life...

Now that electricity is available, this steam machine refrigeration machine can also be turned into an electric air conditioner. With today's light bulbs, I will work harder to come up with other electric equipment later, such as telephones, radios, gramophones, movies, etc.

After all this trouble, it is certainly impossible to get the kind of lifestyle in modern society, but can we get to some extent the living standards of the early [-]th century?
Although the cost of doing this would be very high, Luo Zhixue doesn't have to consider the cost. As long as the technology comes out, he can use it regardless of the price.

Just like current electric lighting.

So what if the light bulb only had a service life of [-] hours and was extremely expensive? He still used it...

The palace was brightly lit that night. Luo Zhixue was very satisfied, but others were surprised or even shocked!
Many members of the royal family and royal service staff who were present... When the light bulbs in the palace started to light up one after another, many people were stunned.

The outside world was even more shocked by the palace, which was as bright as day at night.

Because the electric lighting inside the palace is lit up, the light show in the public open areas outside the overseas palace is also lit up.

Not only are there a lot of colorful lights here, but there are also a lot of searchlights and other lamp posts that are set up to shine into the sky.

That night, countless people in the inner city of Jinling City saw several large lampposts shooting towards the sky in the direction of the palace!

People were excited and shocked about it.

The subsequent court papers also officially published the news about the palace light show, conveying a key message to the world: the era of electric lighting has arrived!
Soon, many rich people and companies who were not short of money began to inquire about matters related to electric lighting, and some even went directly to Yingtian Mechanical and Electrical Company to purchase light bulbs directly.

In less than half a month, Yingtian Mechanical and Electrical Company sold more light bulbs than the total number of light bulbs sold in the past many years, and it was several times more... Facts have proved that the pursuit of technology in the Dachu Empire There are really many rich people who are following the trend or chasing the royal trend, and for this reason, they have also exploded with strong purchasing power.

As for the high price of electric lighting, that doesn't matter to them... After all, the high-quality candles used by these wealthy people every day are not cheap either.

Although Yingtian Mechanical and Electrical Company has prepared for the market outbreak and prepared factories and even production equipment in advance, it is still unable to meet the strong demand that the market has exploded in a short period of time.

For this reason, a new production expansion plan had to be quickly launched to supply the market with a large number of light bulbs and corresponding supporting equipment, such as lamp holders, switches, etc.

Soon, a second electric lighting building appeared in Jinling City, but it was not the manor of the top dignitaries and rich people, but a super large department store in Jinling City.

They completed the installation of electric lighting in just ten days. Not only did they provide internal lighting, they also set up a large number of colorful lights on the outside of the building. After the electricity was turned on, the entire outer layer of the building was brightly lit, extremely dazzling and attracting attention. Countless people came over to visit...and buy something on the way.

This made the owner of this department store smile crookedly... Compared with the money earned from a large number of customers coming in and buying things, the cost of electricity and lighting is nothing to mention.

The application of electric lighting in this department store has achieved good results, and it has truly announced the arrival of the electric lighting era!
(End of this chapter)