From Chief to Ball

"This is not a big problem at first, especially after those people in the academy gave the formula of the pendulum, the problem is much simpler. Although we don't understand it, the young people who came out of your school understand it. It is the same as our usual experience. In contrast, although everyone still doesn't understand what gravity is, they roughly know it in their hearts."

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, even if you sell pendulum clocks, you can get back the investment soon. Although the technology here is shared by everyone, after leaving in the future, you can use these technologies to go back and open a better watch shop than before— —Having worked in this room for so long is the greatest reputation. But everyone has discussed it, and at that time, a batch of pendulum clocks will definitely be made to replace Mr. Chen's investment."

Chen Jian said with a smile: "That's not necessary, one yard is worth one yard, the money I promised and those shares will definitely not be less. I can still afford the usual expenses for these brass parts, honor It's yours, I just want stuff. How long do you think it might take?"

When I asked this, several craftsmen next to me frowned, and a young man with a small book said, "It's hard to say. We studied the story of the simple pendulum carefully, and asked the craftsmen how to make the pendulum clock. There are a lot of problems, and they can only be solved bit by bit.”

Hearing this, Chen Jian also became interested, and quickly said: "If you can summarize the problem, it will be much easier to solve it. Tell me, what problem needs to be solved?"

The young man sighed, closed the book and said, "There are fourteen items in total, nine of which have been resolved, and five items are left."

"Fourteen has become five, isn't this just around the corner?"

The young man smiled wryly and said: "A person who travels a hundred miles is half as good as ninety. The first nine together may not be as difficult as one of the last five. The friction between the spring and the escapement in the pendulum clock should be as difficult as possible. Reduce; because the length of the pendulum clock must be fixed, the problem of thermal expansion and contraction of the pendulum must be solved; because the pendulum will lose balance due to the bumping and shaking of the ship, the imbalance caused by the shaking of the ship must be solved; because the ship will have centrifugal force when turning , so it is necessary to solve the problem caused by the centrifugal force of the ship's turning on the pendulum clock; because the friction during the rotation can not be reduced by grease for a long time, so the problem of the rotation friction must be solved. If you want to solve any of these five items, it will make people twist Do your best."

Chen Jian thought about these five items, and just by hearing the name, he knew that it would not be a one-time problem to solve the problem.

It seems that some problems are a bit of a big deal, but if you think about it carefully, since you want to measure accurately, you have to consider issues such as thermal expansion and cold contraction.

Especially when the first cement square in Min County was built, everyone was puzzled by the gaps cut out, and Chen Jian explained it in terms of thermal expansion and contraction; after the glass tube and mercury were turned into thermometers and the principle was announced ; Expansion with heat and contraction with cold has changed from the common sense of craftsmen to a truth that can be passed down in textbooks.

The pursuit of precise timing also makes these craftsmen have to consider—the impact is too great, 24 hours a day is 440 minutes, and 4 minutes is a longitude after removing 1.At this time, sailing usually takes a month. If there is a difference of [-] minute in a day, a month is seven longitudes, which is exactly half a time zone difference... Look at your watch and you think you are in Shanghai, but in fact the ship is in Nagasaki.

Therefore, if this pendulum clock wants to obtain rounded integer longitudes, even if it is calculated according to the shortest sailing period of one month, the daily error must be within ten seconds.Assuming it is a second pendulum, the [-] swings in one day will divide the ten-second error evenly—without considering thermal expansion and contraction, it can be declared that this is a daydream.

As for friction, the centripetal force of turning, and the swing imbalance caused by bumps... Not to mention these, any of these items can make the clock a difference of three or two minutes in a day.

"Don't you have any clue about these things?"

"That's not to say that there is no clue at all. Some craftsmen have proposed some solutions, and some masters from the academy that Mr. Chen is familiar with have also given some suggestions, but they still need to keep trying. So everyone thinks that the solution is not impossible. , but we really cannot guarantee the specific time.”

"That's good. Time is not a problem. I will guarantee the expenses of the craftsmen as much as possible. I know that watchmakers are craftsmen with high incomes at this time, so I will give a compensation of [-]% of their annual income. That's it." I can still afford money for the time being. Just remember, money is not a problem, and the matter of earning money is left to me. Fame and glory are not a problem, I don’t want it. As long as the problem of materials is raised by craftsmen, it is Buy it, try it, and collect it. If this is done, any craftsman who participates in this matter can use it for a lifetime, from Min County to Asia to Europe, and can travel without hindrance. Where do you want to open a watchmaker's shop? It can be opened anywhere!"

Chapter No.16 Science is making progress secretly ([-])

After boosting morale, the young man took out a piece of paper and said, "It's like the problem of thermal expansion and cold contraction. A craftsman came up with a solution and is trying it now. Everyone thought about it and found it feasible."

Chen Jian took a look at the notebook, and the young man explained: "The thermal expansion and contraction must exist, and the craftsmen knew it before. Since the two materials have different ratios of thermal expansion and cold contraction, it is completely possible to try to use the two materials to interact with each other." Traction, so as to achieve a balance."

There was an exquisite structural diagram drawn on the notebook, and the entire pendulum completely overturned Chen Jian's cognition.On the whole, this is indeed a pendulum, but when it is subdivided, it uses a structure similar to a fence to change from a one-weft thread pendulum to a two-dimensional plane pendulum.

The shortcoming of the single material of the one-dimensional line pendulum is solved by the two-dimensional plane pendulum.The entire pendulum is no longer a line, but a length-specific surface composed of multiple lines.

The shape of the entire pendulum is like an upside-down concave character, and there is a strip hanging down in the middle of the inverted concave character.The two sides of the inverted concave are made of the same material; the middle two of the concave characters are made of another material; the drooping one in the middle of the inverted concave is made of the same material as the outermost one.

When the sagging one in the middle becomes longer due to heat, the two adjacent dissimilar materials will turn this length into "excess" length.

No matter which individual side becomes longer in the concept of one latitude, the total length of the two-dimensional plane pendulum as a whole remains unchanged, and still performs the meaning of the length in the simple pendulum period formula as a whole.

The young man said again: "The idea is basically correct. After explaining it, everyone understands it. The problem now is to try various materials, calculate the ratio of lengthening after expansion, and then use the division method to calculate the length of the two materials. The length ratio between them is fine. It’s just a little troublesome in terms of materials, preferably not easy to rust, but not as soft as gold. Another thing, the measurement of this also requires more accurate measuring tools, and We have to wait for news from the balance and scale. It is said that a naturalist has discovered a new metal that looks like silver, and it is not easy to rust, but the quantity is scarce, and it may cost a lot of money.”

Chen Jian looked at this exquisite one-dimensional to two-dimensional structure again, and praised: "As long as it can be made, this can really be called an exquisite design. The ore metal you mentioned is up to me." Find someone to do it, after all, I still have some acquaintances in the capital or in the academy. The craftsman who made this suggestion should make a note of it, knowledge is money, and when the time comes to judge the merits, it is inevitable to judge the merits."

"Well, as long as one of the five problems mentioned before can be solved, they will all be remembered. Mr. Chen, it seems that the pendulum problem is expected to be resolved within a few months, but when will such a clock be made? , Mr. Chen, please don’t be too hopeful. Maybe three years, maybe five years, or even ten or twenty years.”

Chen Jian nodded and said: "I'll save this. For the time being, I can afford to wait. Now I will be thirty. Even if it is 20 years, I will only be fifty by then. I can still ride a horse and get a boat. At that time, a pair of clothes will be the most beautiful." An accurate world map can still be drawn. I can afford to wait."

It is said that I can afford to wait, but in fact it is very urgent.

The nautical clock is the one thing that Chen Jian is most anxious about subjectively, and before he heard the craftsmen talk about the difficulty of manufacturing, he thought it was the easiest of the five things, and it was easier than the steam engine. How simple.

However, after he left the manufacturing workshop of the nautical clock and went elsewhere, he realized how big a mistake he had made in his subjective guesswork.

Compared with the nautical clock, which seems to have made little progress for the time being, and the gap is thousands of miles away, the research speed of the steam engine is much faster.

Regardless of practicality or efficiency, the craftsmen here have researched many... models, and a clumsy, extremely inefficient primitive steam engine that has been put into use has replaced horse-drawn ones in mining areas Waterwheels and animal hammers for smashing ore can only be used in mining areas because the energy consumption is too high and the efficiency is too low.

This most primitive steam engine that has been tried to use reveals the most rough and primitive clumsiness. After the steam pushes up the piston, cold water is sprayed into the steam to condense the steam into water, artificially create a vacuum, and then use the atmospheric pressure Press the piston back.

Because the principle is so, the efficiency is extremely low, and it is very large. Except for coal mines, no one can afford to use it elsewhere.

The little bit of heat in the steam will be lost when a pot of cold water is poured down, and the next time it is lifted up, it will be generated by the heat of new coal combustion. The condensation chamber and the cylinder are in one place, and each time is equivalent to reheating. This efficiency It would be a ghost if it could be higher.

But even so, it is still a huge improvement. Although the practicality is really not very high, it declares that the big cake that Chen Jian drew at the beginning is really not a delusion.

Nan'an Coal Mining Group has already used this terrible black-smoky primitive machine in its own mining area-about the power of a horse, the advantage is that it can be used 24 hours a day, and coal can be used for local materials.

The mine blasting method and the railway track have greatly reduced the cost of coal before transportation. The coal in the eyes of coal bosses is different from the coal in the eyes of other workshop owners in Mincheng.In Nan'an, coal is cheaper than horses, but it is not necessarily the case when it is transported to Fujian.

Compared with this extremely inefficient and clumsy original water-cooled vacuum steam engine, the steam engine models made of various copper and iron hand-made files derived from the glass steam engine model displayed by Chen Jian in the academy can be said to be in full bloom.

Once the idea is developed, the brain hole can't stop. Anyway, each model has a bonus to get, and the theoretical basis already exists.

A sealed thermal expansion and contraction machine model that does not communicate with the outside world, a brass reciprocating steam engine model, a brass low-pressure machine model that can drive connecting rods... Weird things are placed in front of Chen Jian, which makes Chen Jian I realized that I was really wrong-compared with the seemingly simple nautical clock, this seemingly complex steam engine is not more difficult than the nautical clock, but there is still a long way to go in terms of practicality.

After a group of craftsmen showed Chen Jian the clumsy coal-burning steam engine used to lift water, forge iron, and forge, Chen Jian asked, "Don't you think that this thing can't be used anywhere except coal mines?"

The craftsmen laughed and said: "I must know, but the problem is not with us. We have ideas, we have ideas, and we have even figured out how to drive the connecting rod of the spinning machine after the steam engine appeared. The problem is the rest. It's not up to us."

"Who cares then?"

"Mr. Chen, we have come to this point now, we are really helpless. Look at the models made by these hand-made files, any of them is better than the one shown to you now, but you can't do it. Even if It’s the most simplified way, and it’s not that we haven’t thought about it, but we can’t dig out the cylinder, what can we do?”

"Yes, look at these models, we can dig them out with the skills we have practiced for many years, we can make them out of brass with the lost wax method, we can use a file to repair them bit by bit by eye, my hands are the measuring stick... But if you really want to make it practical, something the size of two or three people, you won’t need your hands.”

"After you told us about this thing, we felt that the reasoning was really simple and that it would have many uses in the future, but the problem is that it is easier said than done. There is no problem with the piece of iron, there is no problem with the connecting rod, there is no problem with water injection, and there is no problem with reciprocating ventilation. No problem, but the cylinder won't come out...it's too easy to blow up like a cannon."

Chen Jian laughed and said, "Have you reached this point?"

"Let's put it this way. Our money is not for nothing. The connecting rod structure is found in ancient books. We have been playing with it for hundreds of years. This technology is not difficult for us. It is easy to understand. Iron smelting, stirring, lumping We also have iron or steel ingots. Sealing and lubrication are not a problem. But digging cylinders, we have also tried, but it is too difficult. If you want, we can spend more than ten years by hand. You get it out, but it's useless."

Chen Jian said: "Can't the boring machine for digging the barrel of the gun be used?"

"It's not that it can't be used, but now we can only repair the barrel and not dig it. Such a long thing will definitely be deflected and disturbed when it is really dug up. The degree of accuracy is not well controlled. The other side is also trying to solve this problem. , Everyone knows that Mr. Chen spends the most money on these five places. The boring machine is still trying, and the weights and measures are also being refined. When the two sides solve their problems, our side What Mr. Chen wants will be given soon. So the problem is not with us, but with that side."

"That is to say, they have provided a new boring machine for digging the gun bore. After the accuracy is confirmed, you can give me the finished product?"

"Of course. Now we have basically made everything except the cylinder, but the most important thing is missing. Even if we have that thing, we still need to try what kind of cylinder is dug and the specific caliber. What can be tried now Those methods are similar to making a model, you must be willing to take it, so we can only wait for the news from there."

"The thing that controls the air intake of the valve is also made out?"

"It's figured out, it's made by those young people with professional background. After measuring the gravity you mentioned from the single pendulum, this group of people even wrote out the formula. When the time comes, just formulate the formula according to the needs. I can figure it out."

The craftsman looked at Chen Jian's unbelievable face and said with a smile: "Mr. Chen, we are craftsmen. As long as the things you draw on the picture can be knocked out by hand, we can knock them out for you. Many flashes of inspiration We also have things like this. Although we dare not say that we know what it is and why it is, this thing is not much different from a machine pulled by a horse. This force head is changed to the required direction with the connecting rod. We have been using this thing since mills, waterwheels, and hydraulic bellows. It is really not difficult. The difficulty is how to turn the horse into this iron bump. Do you think What is difficult may not be difficult for us craftsmen. What you think is simple may not be easy for us."

"Are you so confident?"

"It's not self-confidence. If you want to say that it will be unimproved and perfect at once, we dare not say that. But if you want to say that it will not explode, move, burn coal, and have the strength of a horse, as long as the cylinder problem is solved, we will do it. I can assure you."