Chapter 785: Time-Freezing Mage Qubing (Part 2)

Looking at the fancy semi-finished silver-plated glass mirror in front of them, the two of them didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but they didn't lose heart. They had already experimented with the correct way to keep the image, and now they were just a little bit away from completely keeping the image. They also unexpectedly obtained the method of silver-plating glass

, which made them feel very happy. Next, the two simply opened the windows and doors and concentrated on trying to make a glass mirror. Ao Feixin brought a piece of smooth glass, and Qubing began to prepare the silver-plating potion. However, during the pre-cleaning of the glass, no matter how Qubing wiped it, there would always be some dust and fine fluff left on the glass, so even if the silver plating was successful, there would be flaws on the glass.

However, Ao Fei had been studying lenses for some time, and he had a special way to clean the lenses. He first sprayed a mouthful of clean water in his mouth into the surrounding air to reduce the dust floating in the air, and then asked Qubing to wipe the glass with alcohol. After doing this once, he really got a clean glass surface.

After the alcohol evaporated naturally, Qubing poured the two mixed potions directly onto the glass, and then evenly spread the potions on the glass by tilting the glass. After a while, a thin layer of silver coating was formed on the glass. Then, the excess potion was washed off with clean water, and the two of them got a complete silver-coated glass mirror.

"This mirror reflects people very clearly. I don't know how much better it is than a bronze mirror. If it is sold, there will be many people vying for it." Qubing said with emotion.

"A mirror with such strong reflective ability can definitely be used when we do optical experiments. Seeing the reflective effect of this thing, I have come up with several ways to improve the lighthouse lamps." Ao Fei also started thinking about the role of the glass mirror.

When he took the glass mirror from Qubing, he accidentally scratched the silver coating on the back with his nails, and a pattern appeared on the front of the mirror.

Ao Fei immediately complained, "It's good, but it's too fragile. The silver coating will fall off if it's rubbed. It seems that we need to take some protective measures. How about painting it?" He turned to look at Qu Bing and asked.

"I think it's okay. Anyway, we have nothing to do. Let's try it a little more. Maybe we can sell it in the Han tribe after it's done."

The two then made a few more glass mirrors and painted a layer of iron red paint on the silver coating on the back. The protective effect is indeed much better. At least it won't be scratched by touching it. However, such a thin piece of glass is still not suitable for use. Qu Bing suggested that a carpenter make a frame and a bottom plate to frame the mirror directly.

After two days of tossing and turning, the two finally made a few useful mirrors, but they were limited to reflecting people. As for other uses, they have not yet figured it out.

Putting the mirror aside, the two repeated the previous image-retaining experiment, but the result was the same. Although the image could be left on the glass plate, it could only appear for a few dozen breaths at most, and the image would blur again. Although the outline of the image could still be vaguely seen, such a thing had no practical value at all.

However, these experiments did not waste materials in vain. The two still found out many rules in the experiment through constant mistakes. For example, the glass plate coated with silver nitrate solution can only show the image in the potion when it is wet. If it is completely dry, it can only get a fancy silver-plated mirror.

In addition, the glass plate coated with silver nitrate solution can only see the light in the image-retaining box. It cannot be exposed to light at other times. If it is exposed in the middle, it can be directly declared scrapped.

In addition, the length of exposure behind the lens is also particular. If the exposure time is too long, the image that appears in the potion will be particularly white, or even blurred. If the exposure time is too short, the image will be too dark and things will not be clear. The exposure time is basically determined by their repeated experiments. It is best to control it within four to five breaths.

They also discovered that even if this method of taking pictures was successful, they could only obtain black and white images. However, having an image is better than having no image, so the two decided to continue.

"Brother, our current photography technology still has problems." Qubing said, holding his face with his hands while lying on the table.

"There must be a problem, the key is where the problem is and how to improve it?" Ao Fei also sat there with a headache, seeing success in front of him, but he couldn't catch the last bit of inspiration.

Qubing thought for a while and began to analyze, "Brother, let's not talk about anything else, I think there is a problem with your photography box."

"What's the problem?" Ao Fei asked puzzled.

"Look, you used the principle of pinhole reflection to make the box, right? However, the image size can only be adjusted by moving the photo board back and forth. I don't think this is reasonable.

Think about it, our exposure time is short, so we don't have the time to move it back and forth to adjust the size. So what you should move is not the photo board, but the lens in front. It would be best to make it retractable like a telescope, and focus by retracting the lens. The photo board at the back should be fixed, so that it is convenient for our quick operation.

It would be best to make a card slot, insert the photo board in and open it, expose it for a few breaths, close it and pull it out, and then take it to the darkroom to develop it with chemicals." Qubing said imaginatively.

Ao Fei also thought about Qubing's plan in his mind, and immediately clapped his hands, "What you said makes sense, it is indeed much more convenient, but the development aspect is still not good. Even if the camera is improved, the images cannot be preserved in the end."

"Then it must be that our method is wrong. I have thought about it. Glass plates are not suitable for preserving images, but they can be used when looking for the picture at the beginning. Also, since silver nitrate can react with light, wouldn't it be better for us to use silver plates as photo boards?

The last problem is that we obviously already have a way to make the image remain on the board, but it will disappear quickly. This should be the chemical reaction of silver nitrate when it is exposed to light, and then the part of silver that is changed by light is analyzed when it is soaked in sodium sulfite solution, but this reaction process is irreversible. Once the reaction starts, it will not stop.

So the image we see will change from blurry to clear, and then disappear again soon. This shows that the reaction is over-reacted. We have to find a way to terminate the reaction when it is halfway through the reaction, so that the image can be preserved forever." Qubing analyzed the problem and said.

Ao Fei was confused. He was very interested in studying optics and lenses, but he was overwhelmed when asked to study chemistry. So he quickly slammed the table and made a decision.

"You come up with a way to do the chemical treatment of the photo board, and I will improve the photo box. We will divide the work and cooperate. That's it."

(End of this chapter)