Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 422 Internal Combustion Engine

Although the European powers talk big, none of them actually take any action.

The current situation in Europe is very complicated. A huge crisis is brewing in the Balkan powder keg. Tsarist Russia has deployed 74 infantry divisions in the border area, and a war is about to break out.

at this time

The powerful countries that have the ability to colonize Africa are all constrained by the current situation in Europe and have no time to create unnecessary trouble.

The powerful countries that did not have the strength to colonize Africa, like Belgium, had to wait for Britain to free up its hands and find a large and fertile colony for Belgium in Africa.

In a laboratory deep within the Royal Manila University campus
King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who is inspecting here, is surrounded by Prime Minister Li Hezhang and other senior officials, and is checking the results of the transformation of the latest scientific and technological achievements from the West.

At this stage

It was the period when the steam industrial revolution was developing in depth, and various new technologies and inventions emerged like mushrooms after rain. Technological progress was changing with each passing day and development was very rapid.

The ironclad ships built more than a decade ago are now clearly outdated.

The Chu State was building the "Zhenhai" ironclad giant ship. Its two composite horizontal steam engines had been upgraded to the third generation, with a total power of 9200 horsepower, pushing the giant ship to run at an average speed of 15.5 knots.

The ship's four Manila 4mm caliber cannons are installed two by two in two open-air gun platforms in the middle of the warship.

Each gun weighs 32 tons and has 50 rounds of ammunition.

Available ammunition includes shrapnel (grenades, explosive bombs) and solid bullets (solid iron bullets, training bullets), all of which are split-pack ammunition with an effective range of up to 7800 meters.

There is a transmission device at the bottom of the twin-mounted gun mount, which rotates the gun through human and steam assistance.

The layout of the open-air artillery platform is based on the "Inverness White" warship, adopting a diagonal layout with the right front and left rear. The four guns in the artillery platform can be turned towards the bow of the ship and fired at the same time.

From the technical level
Compared with the earlier "Zhendong" class ironclad ships, the "Zhenhai" class ironclad ships had a significantly higher technical level.

Not only is it larger in tonnage, more powerful in firepower, stronger in defense, and with a longer range, but it is also faster. It is an all-round crushing defeat for the "Zhendong" class ironclads, and is roughly at the same technical level as the German-made Sachsen class ironclads.

Based on the weakness of the Chu State in science and engineering, King Zheng Guohui of Chu issued an order to the scientific and technological community to implement a "follow-up strategy" and closely follow the latest development direction of steam industrialization technology.

Whenever any new technological achievements or inventions appeared in Europe, the Chu State's overseas personnel would try every means to obtain the design drawings, either by purchasing them at a high price or simply getting them for free.

At this stage

Patent awareness is not strong in some countries, including European countries, and many new inventions can be seen through at a glance.

For example, using carbon filament as a wick in an electric lamp is not difficult.

For example, automatic steam water pumps, automatic sprinkler systems, vacuum pumps, new high-efficiency fuel boilers, mining steam excavators, steam machinery, etc., these new inventions have all been applied in the latest way in the Chu State.

To this end, the State of Chu established a highly efficient government department to track the latest steam industry technology trends overseas and transmit them back to the country as quickly as possible.

After arriving in China, they were reviewed by an evaluation group headed by experts. Some new inventions with little use were eliminated, and some new inventions with great application potential were replicated and promoted for application.

As long as you have the direction, it is not difficult to copy.

For example, an automatic steam water pump coupled with an automatic sprinkler system is a great boon to the most heavily polluted steel mills and copper smelters.

By installing pipes of an automatic sprinkler system in the chimney, when the black smoke is discharged, the mist water curtain formed by the automatic sprinkler system will fill the chimney and filter the fly ash scattered in the air.

The black smoke emitted turned into white smoke, greatly reducing pollution.

Of course, such an automatic sprinkler system is very expensive and not every factory or enterprise can afford it.

"This carbon filament bulb is very good and much more durable. We no longer need to change bulbs every month. It saves money for electric light users and should be promoted vigorously." King Zheng Guohui of Chu stopped by the technology booth and commented in a pertinent tone.

Father Weghorst, the president of the Royal Manila University, looked quite pleased with himself and quickly stepped forward to explain:
"Your Majesty, this carbon filament light bulb is the latest invention of our own professor, Hiram Stevens Maxim, who has invented over 100 new things himself."

"Oh... we should reward such talents generously and create a good environment for them." King Zheng Guohui of Chu was moved and expressed his approval with a gentle expression.

China's traditional culture is most profound in Chinese literature and history. In the fields of science and engineering, it is far behind and it is difficult to produce decent inventions.

Adopting the strategy of "following technology" is more in line with the current actual situation of the Chu State.

It doesn’t matter whether this Maxim is the famous Marcoqin in history.

What is important is to let more people see that the Chu State attaches importance to the treatment of scientific and technological personnel, respects science, and perseveres in doing so until the backbone of Chinese science and technology grows up.

Build a nest to attract the phoenix, are you still afraid that no one will come to join you?

The new technologies introduced by the Chu State from Europe were basically summarized at the Royal University of Manila, and then copied by various companies according to different categories.

For example, a new high-efficiency oil-fired boiler would be copied by a boiler factory, and an imported composite horizontal steam engine would be manufactured by a steam engine factory.

The new steam-gas torpedoes were then transferred to the Manila Arsenal for imitation, and so on.

For each project to be replicated, the Royal Fund will allocate a special R&D fund based on the difficulty of the project to start the replication of new technologies.

Experts and professors from various universities will also join different R&D project teams to enhance the technological capabilities of replication, and this tactic is almost always effective.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu and Prime Minister Li Hezhang commented along the way and were shocked by the new developments in steam technology that had been summarized over the past year, totaling hundreds of projects.

For example, the University of Manila has a prototype of an internal combustion engine that uses kerosene. Although it is not very mature, the working principle of the four-stroke engine has been demonstrated.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu suddenly had an idea. He stood still and said to Father Weghorst with a serious expression, "This internal combustion engine plays an important role. It is a new direction of scientific and technological development. It is very likely to replace the bulky steam engine in the future. It is worth focusing on its research.

Another point

my country is one of the few crude oil producing countries in the world, and most of the gasoline and diesel produced are wasted. What we need now is not to manufacture kerosene internal combustion engines, but to explore a new way to utilize gasoline and diesel?

Turning waste into treasure is a great achievement."

"I understand your advice. In the future, I will organize relevant experts to study the feasibility of gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines, and I hope to gain something." Father Wehorst promised solemnly.

"Well, this project requires the establishment of a dedicated laboratory and the mobilization of elite personnel. The Royal Fund will allocate 20 yuan to vigorously support the scientific and technological inventions and creations of the internal combustion engine laboratory."

"Your Majesty, then we are more confident." Father Wehorst said with joy on his face.

To be honest, the kerosene internal combustion engines of this era are useless.

The price of kerosene is high. Although it has dropped by more than 138% from the peak of 95 silver dollars per barrel, the current price is still silver dollars per barrel.

Consuming kerosene as power is equivalent to burning money. This is obviously the pedantic thinking of those who stay at home to do research.

Gasoline and diesel are different. As a by-product of kerosene production, Chu's gasoline was used on a large scale for burning wasteland and colonization on Shangri-La Island, while diesel was dumped in vain.

Lubricating oil extracted from crude oil is an essential lubricant for the operation of steam machinery today and is exported on a large scale to the UK, France and Germany every year.

The remaining heavy oil can be burned in marine boilers and is one of the main fuels for large ocean-going ships today. It has high calorific value and low price, making it very popular.

The remaining asphalt residue can be used to pave roads. Almost all components extracted from crude oil can be widely used in all aspects of social life. Only gasoline and diesel are of little use.

If there is too much, it will be wasted.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu has opened up a technology tree. He himself is not a technical guy, so he can only point out a research direction for the experts and professors of the University of Manila to avoid taking detours.

To what extent can the research be carried out?
Everything is unknown now. Anyway, the Chu royal family has ample funds and has allocated 20 silver dollars to invest in new research directions, which is considered a big deal.

In the past, the amounts were usually 5, 20, or , and projects that could reach silver dollars were considered big projects. This time, were invested at once, which shows how much importance the King of Chu attached to it.

If the research and development is successful, the steam excavator can be converted into an internal combustion engine excavator, the steam spray system can be converted into an internal combustion engine spray system, and the steam mine water suction pump can be converted into an internal combustion engine water suction pump.

Steam cars can be converted into internal combustion cars, steam motorcycles can be converted into internal combustion motorcycles, and steam tractors can be converted into internal combustion tractors.

This will be a new technological field that no one has ever entered. For the first time, the State of Chu will lead the European powers and achieve transcendence in a major technological field, which is of great significance.

If extended, hundreds of thousands of new high-paying jobs will be created.

Giving a strong boost to the now thriving industrial development of the Chu State will have immeasurable significance for the current deepening industrialization process and prosperous economic development.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang was a famous official in the political arena. He stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty has great foresight and vision, and we are ashamed to be inferior to you.

Since this kerosene internal combustion engine was designed, not many people have been interested in it, and its usage scenarios are even fewer.

No one was willing to use expensive kerosene as power. Even factory owners with high incomes could not afford such a large machine.

If it were to be replaced with gasoline or diesel, other countries wouldn't dare to say, but Chu would definitely be the first to promote it on a large scale, after all, we have inherent advantages."

As the Prime Minister, Li Hezhang is well aware that the hundreds of thousands of barrels of gasoline and diesel dumped every year seriously pollute the ocean, but there is no effective way to solve the problem.

Not much gasoline is needed for burning wasteland on Shangri-La Island. In order to develop the use of gasoline, the government once encouraged people to use gasoline stoves for cooking. However, after dozens of explosions occurred, the policy was abandoned.

We would be thankful if we could turn waste into treasure and consume this excess gasoline and diesel.

(End of this chapter)