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Chapter 1079 I have an idea...

"I am the emperor and I should have supreme authority. But based on the principle of fair trade, I can meet your request. However, I need to do a small experiment and wait for a few minutes.

I will use this time to talk about why I have this idea, what it can be used for if it can be realized, and how it can help the empire and even all of humanity.

You have all visited the textile factories in Tongzhou and have certainly seen how the looms work: driven by water wheels or animal power, and then adjusted to the appropriate speed and torque through a gear transmission system.

However, both of these driving methods have great disadvantages. Water flow is not available everywhere, and water that is too large or too small is not suitable for driving the water wheel to rotate.

Animal power is available everywhere, but its power is too small and it cannot work for a long time. If you want to ensure that machinery and equipment can run for a long time, you have to prepare a lot of livestock to take turns to pull, which is not only troublesome but also increases the cost.

Over the years, I have been thinking about whether it is possible to create a device that can drive a machine without water or livestock, such as the spring in a clock, which can run for several days after being wound a few times.

But after testing, they found that the spring was not suitable. If it was too small, it would not have enough power. If it was too large, it would still require animal power to turn, and the endurance was insufficient. It would be better to use livestock directly to drive it.

Until one day when I was sitting here reviewing memorials, I discovered a small thing, and then it suddenly dawned on me that there was a way to replace water power and animal power to drive the machine. Please look over here, do you have any flash of inspiration? "

Hong Tao was disgusted by Kepler's cunning attitude. He said, "I just cheated you a few times. Why do you hold a grudge like that?" A great man does not bear grudges against a small man. I won't bother with you.

But before you give the answer, you have to be ready and make up a lie that sounds more reliable to further demonstrate your smart brain! I picked up two sweet potatoes and put them on the stove, and then put the kettle on. After I finished speaking, the water was hot, just right for making a cup of tea.

So the following thoughts on finding a way to replace water and animal power were all made up, even the punctuation marks were fake. But one thing was true: the kettle was boiling, bubbling and pushing up the lid. At this time, Hong Tao pointed at the stove with a look of surprise.

"...Based on my experience, these sweet potatoes need to be baked for a while longer. If you want them to be sweeter, it's best to lower the heat and leave them for a few hours until the juice comes out of them."

Descartes looked in the direction pointed by the emperor, licked his lips, and generously disclosed the details of the roasted sweet potato techniques he had summarized during this period. He had been in Ming Dynasty for several months, and had not learned any local dishes, but he had mastered the barbecue technique.

There are large cast iron stoves in observatories and laboratories. Sweet potatoes or potatoes can be baked on the stovetop with residual heat for several hours or a day or two without being burnt. They can eat whenever they want, and they taste great and can fill them up. It is the best choice for people like them who don't eat on time.

"Sugar, it tastes better with some sugar, honey and butter... But your majesty, we are not hungry yet." Kepler was also led astray by Descartes and started talking about his own secret recipe. But he suddenly came to his senses and immediately brought the topic back.

"I didn't ask you to look at the sweet potatoes and potatoes. It's this pot! Did you see it? The lid is propped up. Come and feel it. It's made of pure copper. It weighs at least half a pound!"

The longer Hong Tao interacted with scholars, the more he lost his original awe of them. It’s not that they shouldn’t be respected, in terms of academics, they were not despised at all, but in other aspects, they had to be devalued, and very much.

Because no matter how smart and wise they are, they still have all kinds of weaknesses and bad habits that humans have. For example, Kepler was greedy. He would eat anything he liked, but would not touch anything he didn't like. Another example is Galileo. He was very proud. He would smile immediately when he was praised, but would look unhappy when he was criticized. He would never admit his mistakes unless you could prove all the arguments.

And Descartes, he is the most troublesome. This great philosopher can summarize philosophy, but he can't figure out personal hygiene. His long hair is always messy, and he often doesn't wash his hair for a week. It's almost felted. If you get close to it, you can smell a strange smell.

"…The workmanship is good, but not as good as the coppersmith in my hometown. He can carve a person's portrait on the copper pot, and the expression will be different when viewed from different directions."

Descartes was really obedient. He reached out and picked up the kettle lid, weighed it, took a look at the craftsmanship, and then gave a very professional evaluation. But he was not stupid, he did not forget to pad it with cloth.

"That's caused by light, not craftsmanship. Most coppersmiths can do it as long as they find the right angle in advance." Then Kepler made a rebuttal with a more noble reason, and he started playing with optics.

"Hi...hi, I have so many things to do every day and no time to chat. What is my question?" Seeing that Descartes was about to refute again, Hong Tao quickly took the lid of the pot and knocked on the pot, reminding them not to go off topic.

"The lid of the pot is lifted up by the hot steam. That's normal, isn't it?" It's not that Kepler didn't hear clearly or forgot. He just didn't answer on purpose because it was too simple and not worth answering.

"..." Descartes didn't say anything. He stared at the copper pot, then at the emperor. His brain was probably spinning 7000 times.

"It's very common, but what if we use hot air to propel something else, such as a machine?"

In fact, Hong Tao wanted to just take out the steam engine blueprint and throw it to them, but he couldn't do that because it would cause trouble for himself. If he was asked about the source, he would have to make up a lie. The safest way is to use heuristic guidance and describe himself as having a sudden idea, and then there won't be so many problems.

"Machine! What kind of machine can be driven by such a small force?" Kepler was stunned for two seconds, took the lid of the pot and pressed it on the mouth of the pot, tried the force of pushing it up, and still shook his head.

"No, there is a problem here! If the pot is made bigger and the lid is also made bigger, maybe the thrust can be increased. Your Majesty, this is indeed a question worth thinking about, but it is still far from the actual object and is not worth 200 points."

Descartes had been silent until he suddenly spoke. He seemed to have figured out something, but he didn't think that the principle of using steam to push the lid of the pot could generate enough driving force.

"Words are not enough. We should see the real thing first to know whether it is valuable or not. Wang Chengen, take the two gentlemen to the west hall to see the objects that were blown up and explain the situation clearly."

Facing Descartes's doubts, Hong Tao remained calm. If he was not 90% sure, he would not dare to speak nonsense to these smart people. Since he had said it, he had to make people believe it.

(End of this chapter)