Shadow of great britain

In the laboratory of the Royal Society, Chancellor of the Exchequer Henry Goulburn leaned on his cane, leaned over and looked at the ammeter with a rotating needle, and pushed up his glasses to himself.

He frowned and slowly straightened his back, and then asked embarrassedly to Faraday: "So...Mr. Faraday, what is the significance of this electromagnetic induction phenomenon?"

Faraday looked at Goulburn and responded half-jokingly: "Your Excellency, of course it is meaningful. It is so significant that maybe not long after, your Treasury can rely on it to collect taxes. Have you forgotten the steam engine? ?”

"my God!"

Goulburn mocked himself: "Thanks to science, and even more grateful to the steam engine. It is because of it that we just lost an outstanding leader of the House of Commons - Mr. William Huskisson. But this electromagnetic induction phenomenon may Is it safer than a steam locomotive?

Mr. Faraday, I beg you, please don't create anything like artificial lightning. The killing of Mr. Huskisson by the locomotive had already thrown the Cabinet into chaos. If you come up with an artificial lightning or something and then chop down Buckingham Palace, then even if the Duke of Wellington fights two more Waterloos or twists off Napoleon's head, it won't be enough to explain this problem to the public. "

When Faraday heard this, he couldn't help but smiled and responded: "Electricity is certainly a dangerous thing, but I think as long as you deal with it carefully, there will be no problems. If you don't believe it, I can personally prove it to you now. security.”

"Yeah?"

Goulburn stretched out his hand and pinched the wire in front of him. He heard a snap and a small white dot appeared on his thumb.

He bit his finger in pain and complained to Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, is this the safety of electric current?"

Faraday smiled and shook his head: "Sir, you are too anxious. The safety of the current I am talking about must be presented and explained using another experiment."

Just as Faraday said this, he happened to see Arthur walking in from the open space outside the laboratory.

Before Arthur could react what had happened, he was captured by Faraday.

"Arthur, you're here just in time. Could you please help me drag the spherical iron cage in the corner of the laboratory over and help me connect it to electricity later."

"Huh?" Arthur glanced at the iron cage woven with fine wire in the corner and asked, "Is this a new invention?"

Faraday smiled and shook his head: "No, Arthur, the new invention is here. Do you remember the disc generator I mentioned to you before? I just made it not long ago, but the current first version is hand-operated. Style, after a while I will get into the big iron cage, and you will turn the handle of the disc generator outside and use the tip of the wire to discharge electricity to me."

Arthur looked at the disc generator placed in front of Faraday, and then at the spherical iron cage beside him. He frowned, as if he remembered something.

He remembered that he had seen a similar magic show on TV.

He asked tentatively: "Mr. Faraday, you don't want to perform that, right? Absolute realm? Control thunder and lightning?"

Faraday was surprised when he heard this: "Arthur, I feel more and more that you should devote yourself to the field of science. Maybe you can also benefit the public at Scotland Yard, but your talent in the field of scientific research is indeed something that few others can match. You You probably discovered that phenomenon too, right?”

Arthur replied vaguely: "It's not a discovery, it's just a wonderful experience. You know, if a person survives after being struck by lightning, if it cannot be explained by the appearance of God, it can only be explained by the appearance of God. Think about the problem from other aspects.”

Goulburn listened to the conversation between the two and felt more and more confused.

He asked Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, which young gentleman is this young gentleman among the emerging scientists of the Royal Society?"

Faraday smiled and explained for him: "Your Excellency, this is Mr. Arthur Hastings. He is indeed a cutting-edge electromagnetic researcher in Great Britain, but unfortunately, he is not currently working for the Royal Society. But an upright and selfless Scotland Yard officer under Sir Peel."

When Goulburn heard this name, he always felt familiar. He thought for a while and suddenly realized: "Arthur Hastings, Scotland Yard, it turns out to be you."

Goulburn extended his hand to Arthur affectionately: "Young man, Robert told me about you. But I thought you were just a police genius who was good at solving crimes, but I didn't expect that your achievements in scientific research could actually be Get the affirmation of Mr. Faraday. You know, after the death of Sir David, Mr. Faraday can almost be regarded as the most shining star in the British scientific community. Young man, I have to be honest, maybe I underestimated you before. "

Goulburn made such a high evaluation, and Arthur naturally had to respond humbly.

He held the other person's hand and complimented tactfully: "Maybe you have underestimated me, but I have never underestimated you. When I was a child, I heard about your victory in the 1812 War between Britain and the United States. You played a huge role in the peace talks between the two countries in 1814 and the "Treaty of Ghent" signed by the two countries was personally drafted by you.

When I was studying in the History Department of the University of London, I also read the written records you left during the negotiations. It wasn't until I came here that I realized the deep-rooted determination in every American's heart to eliminate the Indians and occupy the country. their territory.

Although your determination to prevent Americans from invading Indian Territory was ultimately not implemented in the treaty, we can still see your efforts in historical data. "

Goulburn was happy to hear that Arthur actually knew his past experiences very well, but he was also a little surprised.

He praised: "It seems that there is indeed a problem with the prejudices of some members of Parliament against the University of London. Mr. Hastings, from your words and deeds, I deeply feel the strong academic style and good education that exist at the University of London." . To tell you the truth, I also like Mr. Jeremy Bentham’s thoughts very much, and his discussions have had a profound influence on the formation of my life concepts and political views.”

At this point, Arthur smiled and asked in a subtle way: "Perhaps you should consider persuading the congressmen to at least issue our school's teaching charter for the sake of Mr. Bentham?"

Goulburn is also an old fox who has become a spirit. He responded with the same smile: "If the cabinet can last until the opening season of your school next year, I will definitely consider your proposal carefully."

After speaking, Goulburn naturally changed the subject. He looked at the round iron cage that Arthur had moved to his side, bent down and looked at it carefully: "So, Mr. Faraday, what are you planning to demonstrate to me today?" A what?"

Faraday didn't say anything. He just smiled and nodded at Arthur, then opened the door of the iron cage and got in.

Seeing this, Arthur briefly recalled the magic video he had watched before, so he held the handle of the disc generator with one hand and picked up the discharge rod with the tip in the other hand.

Then, he nodded politely towards Goulburn and said.

"Your Excellency, please stay away from me. This experiment may be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Goulburn asked in confusion: "Didn't Mr. Faraday say this experiment is safe?"

Arthur pursed his lips and smiled: "Yes, this experiment is very safe for Mr. Faraday in the cage. But if you insist on standing between the discharge pole and Mr. Faraday, then you will become very dangerous. I should How to describe this?

Well... to use an analogy, you are now like Mr. William Huskisson, the former Secretary of State standing on the railway tracks. If you don't want to be knocked several meters away, it's best to follow the advice of professionals.

Of course, what I say may be a bit alarmist. After all, I still don’t know how powerful the disc generator made by Mr. Faraday is.

However, it is also for my own sake that you should be removed from that position, after all we at Scotland Yard have just had a superintendent removed from office due to the death of a prominent politician. "

"Oh! My God!" When Goulburn heard this, he hurriedly stepped away seven or eight steps. He held up his hat that was tilted and said, "There will always be so many weird things in the Royal Society." s things."

Seeing that he had taken cover, Arthur took a deep breath.

While turning the handle of the disc generator, he moved the discharge rod to the iron cage.

It was only seen that before the two were in complete contact, slender, winding bright lightning had already been generated between the tip of the discharge rod and the surface of the iron cage.

The sound of electric current exploding in the air made Goulburn's eyelids twitch. However, before he could recover, he saw Faraday smiling and placing his white-gloved hands on the inner surface of the iron cage. .

"Mr. Faraday, danger!" Goulburn shouted, but the expected electric shock to Faraday did not occur.

"This?" Goulburn held his chin and pondered for a moment, then glanced at his finger that had just been electrocuted with white spots. He asked Arthur: "Is it possible that your generator is generating fake electricity? "

Arthur glanced at the experimental table behind him and said, "Whether it's fake electricity or not, we can't decide. So, I suggest you pick up the mop next to the experimental table and poke the outer surface of the iron cage."

When the gray-haired Goulburn heard this, he seemed to be struggling a little in his heart, but after hesitating for a short time, curiosity finally defeated his fear.

The dignified Minister of Finance of Great Britain actually raised the mop and pointed it at the iron cage like an eighty-nine-year-old naughty boy: "Am I really going to poke it?"

Arthur exhaled. His arms were already a little sore: "You'd better hurry up. It's quite tiring to shake this disc generator. Maybe next time the Ministry of Finance plans to allocate funds to the Royal Society, they can consider sending a few A squirrel comes over, those little guys are born to run laps.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Goulburn gritted his teeth and pushed the mop hard against the iron cage.

There was only a bang, and a raging ball of fire exploded from the cloth of the mop. Mr. Goulburn was so shocked that he quickly threw the stick away and collapsed on the ground.

After a while, Goulburn, who was running six, stood up again, holding on to the experimental table and holding on to his pounding heart.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, swallowed and asked, "This... what on earth is this?"

Arthur smiled and shrugged: "If I remember correctly, this should be called the 'Faraday Cage Effect'."