Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

"That makes sense."

Zhou Zhen used his charcoal pencil to dot the graphic representing the furnace.

"But insects need a suitable temperature to work, and our activation reaction requires high temperature."

Only at temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius can water vapor effectively react with carbon to create the micropores we need.

"But if too much water vapor enters, it will vaporize and carry away the temperature inside the furnace."

"It's like when it's very hot, we sprinkle some water on the ground and we quickly feel cool."

We were only thinking about ventilation, but we didn't precisely control the amount of water vapor that was being introduced.

Too much moisture got in at once, like watering the ground in summer, and the furnace temperature dropped instantly.

When the temperature drops, the water vapor can no longer "eat" the carbon, and the activation reaction slows down or even stops.

We've done several experiments before, and the charcoal we produced wasn't very effective. I suspect this is the reason.

This explanation, combining graphics and metaphors, gave the workers present, especially the technical staff, a new understanding of how the activation furnace operates. After listening, everyone had a look of sudden realization on their faces.

Actually, this was also due to a lack of experience. Although Zhou Zhen understood the principle, in the laboratory, he only needed to complete the activation process.

The specific effects of the activated carbon were not important, since activated carbon was readily available on the market at that time, and the experimental production was only for teaching purposes.

Therefore, even he only had a superficial understanding of the entire industrial production process of activated carbon.

"Oh! So that's what happened." Li Tantou slapped his thigh. "I knew it! The fire looked really strong, but the activated charcoal I produced just wouldn't turn out right!"

Han Shan stroked his chin, his brows furrowed in thought: "Director Zhou, now that you mention it, I understand."

We were so focused on putting steam in that we didn't know how much to put in or what the temperature was in the furnace; we were just relying on gut feeling and experience. That was practically blind luck!

"Yes, Master Han has hit the nail on the head." Zhou Zhen's spirits lifted even more, and he turned to Han Shan, "We urgently need two things now."

First, we need a valve that can precisely control the steam flow rate. We can't just judge the size by feel; we need a rough scale.

Secondly, we need to know the approximate temperature inside the furnace. We don't have the means to directly measure the temperature, but we can indirectly determine the temperature through the pressure inside the furnace. Therefore, Master Han needs to make a simple barometer.

He drew a simple pressure gauge diagram on the blackboard: "When steam goes in, it creates pressure."

When the furnace temperature is high, the steam reaction is active and the pressure is also high; when the furnace temperature is low, the pressure will also decrease.

We can roughly estimate the furnace temperature using this very simple barometer.

This idea was both novel and ingenious, and it caught the attention of the workers.

Han Shan immediately got to work, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "This barometer can be made, but the scale value needs to be adjusted multiple times to be determined."

"That's great, Master Han, I'll leave this matter to you to take the lead."

A relieved smile finally appeared on Zhou Zhen's face, but it was quickly masked by a deeper weariness.

He swayed slightly and quickly grabbed the edge of the blackboard.

"Factory Manager!" Zhao Dajiang, who had been standing at the back of the crowd listening, had also come over at some point. Upon seeing this, he hurriedly stepped forward to help.

Zhou Zhen waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, but his voice revealed extreme exhaustion and weakness.

"Comrades, now that the direction is clear, what remains are the tough challenges. This process may be tedious and may involve many failures, but I believe that everyone can overcome these difficulties."

Whether we can consistently produce qualified activated carbon in large quantities now depends on everyone's efforts.

"Factory manager, don't worry! Now that we know where the problem lies, this job will be much easier."

"Master Han, just let me know if you need any parts. You can directly contact Lao Zhao, and he will coordinate it for you."

The passion was reignited, but this time it was no longer blind passion; everyone had finally found the right direction.

In the days that followed, this area of ​​the Huangyadong Arsenal seemed to have been transformed into a giant laboratory.

Han Shan, along with several skilled workers, worked almost non-stop, repeatedly modifying the steam valves and pressure gauges.

Although the process was fraught with failures, no one complained. Everyone gathered around Master Han, brainstorming and improving together.

During this period, Zhou Zhen practically lived in the factory.

He worked alongside Han Shan to debug the equipment and recorded the steam valve opening and closing positions for each test.

And the quality of activated carbon samples produced within multiple pressure ranges.

Due to overwork, his complexion became increasingly poor. Zhao Dajiang noticed this and he and Old Chen tried various methods to get him to eat more and sleep more.

But each time he would quickly eat a few bites of food and then rush back to the factory.

The experiment was repeated seven or eight more times, and the notebooks for recording data were filled page after page.

The test results of the produced carbon samples were sometimes good and sometimes bad, but the overall trend was positive.

Today marks the ninth test.

Zhou Zhen carefully packed the newly produced activated carbon granules into a modified old Japanese filter canister.

Then, he tested it with an ammonia cylinder, and it worked very well.

He then lit a small amount of sulfur and brought the air inlet of the filter canister close to the sulfur dioxide fumes, which had a strong, pungent odor.

Everyone present held their breath, staring intently.

Zhao Dajiang clenched his fists, while Han Shan pursed his lips, sweat beading on his forehead. He didn't even notice when the pipe in his hand fell to the ground.

Zhou Zhen took a deep breath of sulfur dioxide smoke. After being filtered by the toxic canister, the smoke was almost odorless by the time it reached his nasal cavity.

After a few seconds of silence.

Zhou Zhen raised his head and looked at the tense yet expectant faces around him. The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, eventually forming a radiant smile.

"It's done."

"It...it's a success?" Li Tantou's voice trembled.

"We did it! We did it!"

"Good heavens! It's finally done!"

"Hahaha! I knew that as long as Director Zhou was there, we would definitely succeed."

A huge cheer suddenly erupted. The workers jumped, laughed, patted each other on the shoulder, and many had tears in their eyes.

Zhang Tieniu grabbed his apprentice Liu Qiusheng and shook him violently: "See that? The furnace we built."

Han Shan let out a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders finally relaxing. Looking at the simple but reliable pressure gauge and valve, a relieved smile appeared on his face.

The joy of victory, like the finest wine, intoxicated everyone present.

Everyone was immersed in a great sense of accomplishment, sharing this hard-won joy with each other.

However, at this moment of thunderous cheers, Zhou Zhen, standing in the center of the crowd, also felt a great sense of relief.

But when the tension in his heart finally subsided, physical exhaustion overwhelmed him like a flood.

He felt a sudden dizziness, his vision blurred, and the deafening cheers seemed to recede into the distance in an instant.

The last thing he saw was Zhao Dajiang's face, which suddenly changed color, and his outstretched hand.

Then, the boundless darkness swallowed him up with an irresistible force.