The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 132 So-called Scientific Thought
For a long time, the barrels of muskets were made of rolled iron plates.

The rolled barrel wall is made flat inside and out, and then the inside is bored out with a boring machine, and a smoothbore gun barrel is made.

The appearance of the gun barrel at this time was not necessarily the typical round shape of later generations. It could be a hexagonal prism, an octagonal prism, or even a square.

Although it may not be visible on the finished product, there is actually a longitudinal seam that affects the strength of the barrel.

The cannon is cast as a whole and then the inside is bored out using a boring machine.

The material of the cast gun barrel is not very uniform and dense, and may even contain bubbles, which will of course affect the structural strength.

After the 19th century, in order to improve the strength of gun barrels, people began to try to use the method of drilling holes in steel columns.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the Armstrong cannon appeared in Britain, using a multi-layer barrel technology with an inner wrought iron tube with wire wrapping and an outer steel tube.

The typical feature is that there is a significantly thickened gun hoop at the middle and rear part of the cannon, and the larger the caliber of the cannon, the more obvious the gun hoop is.

By the end of the 19th century, seamless steel pipes came on the scene.

Through the combined forces of internal and external forces, it is possible to directly forge gun barrels and cannon barrels that are completely identical.

The tube wall is more uniform and dense, and the overall strength is naturally higher.

But this technology has certain difficulties.

In the original history, the idea of ​​seamless steel pipe first appeared in the early nineteenth century, but it was still in the exploratory stage until the end of the nineteenth century.

Many engineers have tried to use the technology previously used to make copper pipes to make steel pipes, but most of them have ended in failure.

Many related theoretical patent applications have been filed, but none of them have been truly successful.

It wasn't until 1885 that the Mannesmann brothers in Germany made a real breakthrough.

There were many unexpected elements in their success.

When they were forging the steel column, they found that as the steel column blank rotated, the steel column was squeezed inward from both sides at the same time, and a hole would appear inside the steel column.

The Mannesmann brothers were unable to properly explain the reason for their success.

Although it is being squeezed inward, the steel column does not become tighter, but instead becomes a tube.

Their patent application was almost rejected.

At that time, patent applications did not require the creation of physical objects, only a clear description of one's ideas was required.

However, the description of this hypothesis itself must also conform to basic logic.

Patent examiners also had basic scientific literacy and believed that the Mannesmann brothers' description violated the laws of physics.

The German patent administration department sent people to the Mannesmann brothers' factory for on-site verification, and only after confirming that they were able to produce seamless steel pipes using the peculiar method they described did they grant them this patent that most people could not explain.

Decades after the Mannesmann brothers' solution was developed and promoted, no one has yet given a convincing explanation of the technical principles.

Later, we had to create a special word, which was simply called the "Mannesmann effect."

The manufacturing process of modern seamless steel pipes looks like heating a steel column red hot, inserting a thinner steel column into it, and then punching a hole in the thick steel column.

In fact, this is not the case at all.

The hole appeared automatically due to compression, and the thinner steel column was inserted into it just to expand and shape the hole.

You won't be able to make a hole by forcing it, it will just flatten the entire steel column.

Zhu Jianxuan looked at the seamless steel pipe proposal put forward by Song Wendao and confirmed that it was not the historically feasible Mannesmann proposal.

It is still a deduction based on copper tube manufacturing technology.

The properties of copper and steel are very different, so a solution that works for copper pipes may not be feasible for steel pipes.

Or the cost is extremely high and not feasible for mass production.

Zhu Jianxuan thought for a while, and tried to guide Song Wendao and other craftsmen to the right path:

“Everyone… have you ever noticed a phenomenon when forging cylindrical steel billets yourself?

"While continuing to forge and rotate the steel column, will a tear appear in the center of the steel column?"

When Zhu Jianxuan asked this question, several craftsmen immediately said that they had noticed this situation before.

"It seems to be true."

"I've noticed that, too."

“It turns out I’m not the only one who discovered this.”

“Actually, something similar happens when you knock on wood, but why?”

"Does repeatedly hammering on the outside make the inside hollow?"

In fact, in the original history, many engineers have discovered this phenomenon.

But the Mannesmann brothers first applied this phenomenon to steel pipe manufacturing.
Zhu Jianxuan smiled and said:
“Since everyone has seen it, can we try to use this phenomenon to produce a complete steel pipe?

"At the same time, we also discussed and analyzed why this phenomenon occurred."

A group of craftsmen suddenly fell into deep thought. This was indeed a question worth discussing, as it seemed to violate the laws of physics.

A disciple named Wang Lai at the scene said to Zhu Jianxuan thoughtfully:

“Master, could it be that when you strike an object while it’s spinning, the force it receives is actually tilted?
“Equivalent to a tangential force at a certain angle?
“At the same time, the force is mutual. When I forge the steel column, the steel column is placed on the forging table.

“The forging table also applies a force to the steel column.

“This force is opposite to the force we forge, and the angles are also offset.

“The rotating steel column is subject to a smaller force in the middle, and a larger force near the two sides, and the two forces are in opposite directions.

"So a combined force was formed to tear outwards? And a hole was slowly torn in the middle of the steel column?"

After listening to this, Zhu Jianxuan smiled and encouraged:
“It’s a good idea and seems logical, but I can’t tell you whether it’s right or wrong.

“I have only seen the existence of this phenomenon and have not had time to study the underlying principles.

“You can try to reproduce it yourself, observe and think in the process, and try to make your own inferences and calculations.

“Then use your own inference as a principle to design a logical experimental plan and observe whether the experimental results are consistent with the inference.

“If we do experiments under reasonable conditions and consistently get the same results as our predictions, then our inferences are correct.

"Organize your inferences into a universal abstract description, and that is a new law of physics.

“Physics is not some unique absolute truth, but only our abstract summary of the laws of nature.”

Zhu Jianxuan's final summary was very conservative.

After all, it is only the eighteenth century.

Now, if you can truly understand what I am saying, you should at least be a metaphysical materialist, or a mechanical materialist.

This is considered a very advanced idea in this era.

Zhu Jianxuan hopes that his disciples are at least relatively firm materialists.

If we regard physics or other concepts as an absolute truth or the essence of the world, we may regress to naive materialism or even jump into the realm of idealism.

According to Zhu Jianxuan's experience, most people in reality are idealists, and there are not many true materialists.

Even the popular education in the past that was biased towards materialism made a large number of ordinary students feel that materialism is correct, and then believe that they are also materialists.

But most of them are still idealistic in their hearts.

A very typical characteristic is that Europeans have scientific ideas, so modern science emerged in Europe.

At the same time, the Chinese did not have scientific thinking, so they did not have modern science.

This is typical idealist logic.

The logic of materialists should be the opposite. It was the scientific development in Europe that gave birth to scientific thinking, and scientific thinking in turn continued to guide scientific research.

At the same time, "scientific thought" is not some unattainable, profound and complex concept.

Science is not some unattainable concept either.

People who sincerely believe that science is great may also have idealistic tendencies.

Taking "science" and "scientific thought" as the fundamental guide for the development of the world is a typical example of objective idealism.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west every day, the moon waxes and wanes every month, and there are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. These simplest understandings are all science.

It is still science that planting seeds in the soil, watering and fertilizing them will make them germinate, and pulling out weeds will make crops grow better.

When you are being beaten and unable to fight back, knowing to find a corner and crouch down with your head in your hands to defend yourself can also be within the scope of scientific research.

Huang Zongxi calculated the time of solar and lunar eclipses and concluded that there were falsifications in the Book of Documents by ancient people, because the records of solar and lunar eclipses did not match the calculations, which is still within the scope of science.

Therefore, science existed in ancient China, and naturally there were corresponding scientific ideas.

It just didn’t give rise to the way of thinking that was formed in the modern West.

No Western country has ever produced it on its own.

Western science originated in the Middle East and Greece, and was the result of exchanges and influences between many countries and civilizations.

China also has its own independently developed "advanced" scientific thoughts, which were at least very advanced "thoughts" during the Song and Ming dynasties.

Because social reality determines social consciousness, and the level of science and technology in China during the Song and Ming dynasties was relatively high in the world.

For example, Wang Yangming’s contemporary Qi scholar Luo Qinshun believed that:
"Although the mind is intelligent, it is also a thing. The function of the mind is thinking, and it can deduce the number of things and understand the principles of things."

"If there is such a thing, then there is such a principle; if there is no such thing, then there is no such principle."

“To study things is to study all things in the world, not to study one’s own mind; to explore the principles is to explore the principles of all things in the world, not to explore the principles in one’s mind.”

“We must seek the principles of the universe and all things, and we must naturally regard human hearts, birds and beasts, plants and trees, metal and stone, and the universe as the same thing.

“Only then can one be said to know the ultimate truth of things, to know one’s nature and the heavens; otherwise, one is just guessing and guessing.”

This is already close to the category of metaphysical materialism and begins to take a clear stand against traditional idealism.

Wang Fuzhi during the Chongzhen period believed that existence is absolute, nothingness is relative, movement is absolute, and stillness is relative.

"When movement forms an image, it becomes stillness", "Stillness is still movement, not stillness", "Movement that tends to move is dynamic, movement that tends to stop is stillness".

Wang Fuzhi opposed "transcendentalism" and believed that one should rely on one's own senses to observe the world, think and analyze carefully, and then gain the "reason" of things.

"The ears are sharp, the eyes are clear, and the mind is wise. To understand the sounds of the world and study their principles is the way of man.

"Intelligence must be experienced in sound before it can be discerned, and clarity must be chosen in color before it can be clear. The mind obtains it through thinking. Without thinking, it cannot be obtained."

The tutor compared Wang Fuzhi to Hegel and used similar logic to Wang Fuzhi to describe the process of learning and forming correct ideas:
“Countless objective external phenomena are reflected in the human mind through the five senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, and begin with sensory cognition.

"When this kind of perceptual knowledge accumulates, it will make a leap and become rational knowledge, which is thought. This is a cognitive process.

“This is the first stage of the entire cognitive process, that is, the stage from objective matter to subjective spirit, from existence to thought.”

However, scholars such as Luo Qinshun and Wang Fuzhi belonged to the "Qi School" during the Ming Dynasty.

It ranks third after psychology and rationalism, which means that people who don't want to care about it basically don't understand it.

It was not the real mainstream thought at the time, nor was it particularly appreciated by the court at the time.

Because the emperor felt that he had no need for this kind of thought, he naturally would not specifically promote and guide its further development.

At that time, there was only one orthodox court, and no other court could make other choices, so the discussion stopped at the theoretical level of the first stage.

In the early and middle Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners were promoted as the basis of politics, and the idea of ​​establishing the country through riding and shooting was advocated. In terms of ideology, "philology" or textual research was popular.

China has gradually fallen behind the rest of the world in terms of scientific and technological development, and discussions on the dialectical level of thought have also stagnated.

Nature will not give rise to scientific thought on its own at the same level as that of Europe.

After Emperor Chongzhen of this world had secured his position, he established "Qi Xue" as the orthodox thought.

The theories of Luo Qinshun and Wang Fuzhi were directly included in the scope of imperial examinations.

Chongzhen needed the development of industry, commerce and science and technology, so he needed to support the idea of ​​"studying all things in the world and understanding the principles of all things in the world."

In addition, as exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Europe became more frequent, European technology and ideas could also become a reference.

Science is the foundation of philosophy, and technological development is the foundation of scientific thought.

As the development of commerce and handicrafts in the Ming Dynasty continued to accelerate, the theoretical exploration of the Ming Dynasty's "Qi Xue" also entered a new stage of development.

Where there is demand there will be scientific research; where there is scientific research there will be scientific thinking; and scientific thinking is inherently contained in scientific theories.

The Ming Dynasty craftsmen before Zhu Jianxuan already had their own set of understanding and research logic.

After hearing Zhu Jianxuan's instructions, the disciples around him nodded excitedly and agreed.

They began to plan and try to find out the rules behind the phenomenon that was being discussed.

However, the craftsmen led by Song Wendao were obviously relieved at this time.

For the first time in all these years, Zhu Jianxuan directly admitted that he had only observed the phenomenon and had not done any theoretical research.

Some even said that they were unable to evaluate whether the students' analysis was right or wrong.

Because Zhu Jianxuan in the past behaved very much like a person who was born with knowledge, which is exactly the view opposed by the Ming Dynasty's Qi theory.

Wang Fuzhi believed that "animals" are the ones who are "born with knowledge", or in other words, animals can survive by relying on instinct.

The Ming Dynasty craftsmen took it for granted that people needed to study, analyze, and research in order to acquire knowledge.

Zhu Jianxuan's previous performances had shaken their perceptions.

They tried to find evidence of Zhu Jianxuan's independent research, but there was no strong enough evidence.

All we can see is Zhu Jianxuan often thinking and writing designs behind closed doors.

Now they have finally stabilized.

(End of this chapter)