Chapter 638
The Direction of the Future
Chapter 638 The Direction of the Future
Gao De knew better than anyone the revolutionary changes that the breathing furnace would bring to the world.
When machinery can continuously output stable power at a cost far lower than that of human or animal power, old production models, class structures, and economic models will melt away like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.
A new social order will rise amidst the roar of machines.
Under the power of "industrial machinery", raw materials will be continuously poured into the beginning of the machine, and then tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of standardized industrial products will be ejected from the end.
Standardized agricultural tools, sturdy and durable building materials, and standardized weapon parts.
If the North can produce goods of far superior quality to those of other countries at a cost of one-third or even one-tenth, economic dominance and a leap in national power will be inevitable.
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages; industrial machinery can also bring many expected and unexpected drawbacks.
For example, excessively high production efficiency can put pressure on resources and may attract sanctions and covetousness from other countries.
But none of that is a problem.
Just as sailors do not stay at the dock for fear of shipwrecks, pioneers do not stop for fear of risks.
If the North wants to gain a foothold in this world full of mages and dominated by extraordinary power, and even surpass those ancient nations, "magical technology" must be developed.
To unlock the power of magic technology, the fundamental element is power.
Without a powerful, stable, and inexpensive power source, any complex machinery is just for show, and any large-scale production is out of the question.
The steam technology of the previous life is simply not feasible in the mage world, as Gaode has already proven in practice.
It's not that the world lacks an understanding of the principles of steam.
However, oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, while those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges.
In fact, Gao De had long ago hoped to replicate the steam engine in the North, but he quickly abandoned the idea of steam technology.
Firstly, the power ceiling of steam technology is extremely low.
In the world of mages, many industrial production and activities require several times, tens of times, or even hundreds of times more power than in the previous life, and the power generated by steam is far from sufficient.
Secondly, and most importantly, the energy conversion rate is extremely poor.
The differences in rules between different planes made steam technology unsuitable for the mage plane.
The magic permeating the air in the mage plane will undergo a weak but continuous unknown reaction with the water molecules in the steam.
This reaction consumes a large amount of energy from the steam reaction, resulting in the steam engine's energy conversion rate being less than one-twentieth of that of Earth, or even less.
Roughly estimated, the fuel that could power a train in his previous life might only be enough to power a small steam mill for half a day in this world.
Moreover, this is an unchangeable and irreversible reaction, which should belong to the underlying laws governing the operation of the mage plane.
This results in the same steam reaction producing power that differs by tens of times between Earth and the Mage Plane.
It's very unscientific, but that's how things are.
From a certain perspective, this is actually more scientific.
In a magical, extraordinary world, the technology tree must be closely related to magic, rather than simply copying the physical rules of Earth.
But since the rules of this world have given birth to magic and extraordinary power, there must exist dynamic solutions that are compatible with its rules.
Therefore, Gaode firmly believes that something similar to a steam engine must exist in the mage plane.
A thing associated with magic that can move on its own and drive other mechanical structures simply by consuming energy.
It must be able to provide the enormous power required by the magical industry, and its manufacturing difficulty and cost must be sufficient for widespread civilian use;
Its structure must be mostly simple and crude mechanical, without relying on real-time control by mages, and can be maintained by ordinary craftsmen.
Its function should be pure: to provide stable power in the simplest and cheapest way.
Such a thing may have been invented long ago, but it has been buried in the dust of history.
After all, under the system of extraordinary power, the methods of developing many technologies do not follow the natural laws of Earth.
Just as this world clearly lacks mature energy technology, the energy contained in a tiny Origen crystal is something that even the most dedicated humans of the past could not achieve.
Just like how rune masters can directly enhance the properties of metals through runes without needing complex chemical processes.
The gas furnace invented by Jabir is the "magical age steam engine" that God has been searching for.
What surprised Gaode even more was the wisdom and efficiency that Jaber demonstrated in the iterative breathing furnace.
Compared to the first generation, the Breathing Furnace 2.0 not only solved the stability problem and greatly improved performance, but also made a significant leap from "ingenious ideas" to "reliable creations":
Compared to the first generation, it is more stable and more adaptable.
Its sealed design allows it to operate reliably in a wider range of environments, such as mines, tunnels, and the extreme north.
It is more convenient and safer to operate.
Simple wrench controls allow even non-spellcasters to operate safely, lowering the barrier to entry.
It has the potential for maintenance and replication.
The clear interfaces and structure pave the way for future maintenance, repairs, and even mass production.
"So, what's missing before the gas furnace can leave the workshop and enter mass production? How long will it take?" Gao De's gaze shifted from the furnace to Jabil, his question hitting the nail on the head.
The Gas Surge Furnace 2.0 has already proven its reliable operation; the challenge now is to integrate it into various aspects of work in a better and more economical way.
Jaber was prepared for Gao De's question and answered immediately without hesitation: "Your Highness, the current Breathing Furnace 2.0 has three main defects."
"First, overheating is inevitable under long-term high-load operation."
The current simple operation is under low load, which is sufficient for the demonstration, but for continuous operation day and night, more effective cooling methods are needed.
"Secondly, the automatic addition and removal of fuel and ash is required. To achieve unattended operation for several days or even longer, a matching automatic feeder and ash removal device are needed."
"Thirdly, cost control. For reliability and durability, I used a lot of good materials for this Gas Furnace 2.0. I also asked Master Dulin Fire to help with the quenching and forging of key components. The initial cost of forging it was quite high."
"How to find a better balance between spending and production costs that are more suitable for large-scale development and promotion while ensuring core effectiveness is the next step we need to carefully consider."
“Each step is not simple, involving a combination of material improvement, structural optimization and magical enhancement. However, with Master Dulinhuo’s help, his wisdom can save me a lot of trial and error time.”
"Based on the current progress, I might be able to release the 3.0 version of the Breathing Furnace within a year." Jabil pondered for a moment and gave a relatively conservative timeframe.
Gao De nodded slightly.
Jaber's thinking is very practical.
Heat dissipation, automated material feeding, and cost control. These are the hurdles that almost any primitive and powerful creation must overcome to become practical and integrated into production.
However, Gaode looked down at the sluggishly running Gas Furnace 2.0.
The cast iron furnace body gleamed with a dull metallic luster, and the piston moved back and forth like a tired yet stubborn beast.
He spoke slowly, with a hint of excitement:
"In addition to the three points you mentioned, I would like to add two more requirements."
He picked up a blank sheet of paper and a charcoal pencil from the table beside him and quickly sketched two drafts under the curious gazes of Sunefa, Jabil, and Dulinhuo.
The first sketch was quickly completed:
It was a scaled-down outline of a gas stove, with simple lines.
However, on each side of the furnace body, there is an eye-catching circular protrusion and groove structure.
The raised edge was also meticulously marked with several evenly distributed ridge lines, which were clearly not for decoration.
"The first point is miniaturization and serializable design."
"I hope you can reduce the size of the gas furnace to one-third of its current size, or even smaller, while designing standardized serial interfaces at both ends of the furnace body."
He paused, then drew a connecting line at the interface of the two miniature gas furnaces with a charcoal pencil: "In this way, if the power of a single furnace is not enough, multiple small furnaces like these can be put together, like the interlocking links of chainmail. Their interfaces can be aligned and locked together to form a multi-furnace linkage, which can increase the power many times over."
"For example, driving a horse-drawn carriage only requires a small machine, while driving mining machinery can involve connecting four, eight, or even sixteen gas furnaces."
Before Jaber could even voice his questions, Dulin blinked and instinctively pointed to the pieced-together sketches, asking, "Your Highness, this method of combining multiple furnaces to work together sounds reasonable, but can it really be feasible?"
"After their interfaces are aligned, won't the power systems interfere with each other? If the takeoff and landing rhythms are not consistent, won't the power systems clash at the interfaces and be wasted?"
Gao De smiled and followed up on his words, explaining: "So this design is called serial connection, rather than simple bundling. The core is to ensure that the power of multiple devices can be smoothly connected."
"The issues you're worried about are precisely the key to solving them."
"I can offer an idea: the synchronization during series connection might be achieved by using a main drive shaft that runs through all the series furnace cores, and a carefully calculated set of linkage gears to control the rhythm."
"The meshing of the gears ensures that all pistons rise and fall in unison, with all force directed from a single point."
“Transmission gears…” Du Linhuo seemed to be deep in thought.
After Gao De finished speaking, he quickly sketched out a second graphic in the blank space of the original sketch:
It was a square box with several interlocking gear teeth of different sizes drawn inside.
One side is connected to a long strip similar to a gas furnace piston, and the other side is a round shaft extending outward.
"Secondly, there's this conversion structure," Gao De said, pointing to the square box and the internal gear teeth.
“The gas furnace currently outputs reciprocating motion, while many machines require rotary motion.”
"I need a device that uses a curved rod to convert back-and-forth motion into continuous circular motion."
Furthermore, the gears inside must be interchangeable; some combinations allow the shaft to rotate quickly but with less force, while others allow it to rotate slowly but with more force.
"Yes, you can call this lever a crank-connecting rod structure, and this housing is a gearbox."
"Simply put, the reciprocating motion is converted into continuous rotational motion through the crank-connecting rod structure."
"This gearbox needs to have different transmission ratios to achieve switching between high speed and low torque and low speed and high torque." Gao De explained while introducing the terms and concepts he was familiar with to Jaber.
"Once these two improvements are realized, the application scenarios of the gas stove will undergo a qualitative leap. For example, it can be installed on horse-drawn carriages to achieve 'horseless driving', or installed on ships to become 'paddle steamers' that do not rely on sails and oarsmen. These are the initial applications."
Intermediate applications include driving textile machines, mining pumps, and large mills, forming the initial production lines.
Advanced applications will provide powerful momentum for future "magic-mechanical" composite devices, including composite devices in both civilian and military fields.
This will reshape the foundation of a society.
However, Gao De didn't say these words for the time being, but kept them to himself.
One reason is that we are still far from reaching that point, and there's no need to say it now and add unnecessary pressure.
It even influenced Jabil's judgment on the direction of the gas turbine iteration.
You have to eat your food one bite at a time.
Secondly, the topic is too grandiose, and I'm afraid it might scare the other party away.
Jaber frowned slightly, staring at the square box pattern with gears on the parchment, and asked, "Your Highness, for this gearbox to accurately achieve the conversion you mentioned, the size of the teeth and the tightness of their engagement are crucial; if they're even slightly off, it'll be useless."
“Accuracy is indeed key,” Gaode nodded in response. “We must create gears with extremely small errors to solve the accuracy problem.”
“However, this shouldn’t be too difficult for you guys.” Gao De deliberately emphasized the word “you guys”.
His gaze swept over Jabir, then fell on Dulinhu, who was still deep in thought, clearly including both of them in the mission.
Whether Du Linhuo tacitly accepted the challenge or was so engrossed in the deduction of gear transmission that he failed to grasp Gao De's implied meaning, he remained in a pensive posture, offering no objections and not even raising his head.
Jaber and Sunifa also fell silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
After a long while, Jaber finally raised his head slowly, his eyes showing a mixture of seriousness and eagerness: "Your Highness, this design is theoretically very feasible, logically sound, and extremely ingenious, but..."
He paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts, "It's not easy to actually do it. The sealing of the miniaturized furnace body, the precision of the series interface, and the precision machining of the gears are all technical hurdles that need to be overcome. I will do my best to push it forward, but to be honest, I can't guarantee when it will be successful."
"It's alright." Gao De waved his hand, his tone gentle, without any hint of urging.
"For now, you should focus on the research and development of the Gas Surge Furnace 3.0 and lay a solid foundation. Consider this series connection and conversion structure as a direction I provide for the research and development of Gas Surge Furnace 4.0. There's no need to rush."
He knew very well that the emergence of the Gas Sink 2.0 had far exceeded his expectations. Technological iterations naturally require time to mature, and there was no need to rush it.
“Okay.” Jaber nodded solemnly, his gaze returning to the sketch. The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a determined look, and he began to plan the subsequent research and development steps.
Leaving Jabil's workshop, God walked ahead and inadvertently turned back to find Sunefa a few steps behind, her brows furrowed and her expression dazed, clearly still pondering something.
He stopped and asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about? Still pondering the breathing furnace?"
“No,” Sunafa came to her senses, quickly stepped forward, glanced at God, and asked seriously, “My king, I’m wondering, where do all these ingenious ideas of yours come from?”
"?"
“You have only just seen the prototype of the Breathing Furnace 2.0, and the Breathing Furnace 3.0 is still just a preliminary idea in Jabil’s mind, yet you have already conceived the core design direction of the Breathing Furnace 4.0 in such detail.”
"It's as if... as if you've seen the complete Gas Furnace 4.0 with your own eyes, and even seen it in operation."
(End of this chapter)