Chapter 661 The Laboratory on the Lake Island (Seeking Tickets and Subscriptions)
After successfully developing the formula for three colors of glass, Luo Chong began to plan the types of glassware that needed to be made.
Strictly speaking, the Han tribe does not have a great demand for glass now. It is the kind of situation where it is better to have it, but it will not delay anything if it is not available. The reason why Luo Chong made it now is first for the consideration of building materials for his future palace. Even if there is no palace, he also wants to install glass windows for his home. It is not because the paper-pasted windows are not good, but purely because he wants to improve his quality of life.
The second purpose is to have better lamps. Since You Fu discovered the coal mine, Luo Chong has planned to develop gas lamps that use calcium carbide as energy, but ordinary paper-pasted lanterns obviously cannot be combined with gas lamps, so glass lampshades have become a product that must be made.
The third is to take into account the needs of navigation. Now the so-called navigation of the Han tribe is only offshore navigation along the coastline. In the future, if they want to go deep into the ocean for long-distance voyages, then all kinds of optical instruments needed for navigation must be developed from now on. The first and most basic one is the telescope, which is absolutely indispensable. The second is the quadrant used for positioning, which even requires an astronomical telescope, and the last is the giant convex lens.
The two seaports near Zhudao and Tang tribe must build lighthouses. This is a key building for guiding ships and must not be delayed. The most scarce thing on the lighthouse is not the lamp, but the giant lens that is taller than a person, which is used to refract the light of the lighthouse farther, or focus it into a strong light beam.
These are things that the Han tribe urgently needs to master. As for glass containers, they are not so important now. The people of the Han tribe can eat with porcelain. In addition to getting a set of chemical experimental equipment, other glass containers are dispensable.
But then again, ordinary glass like the one currently developed cannot be used to make chemical experimental equipment. Experimental equipment requires special glass with high temperature resistance, pressure resistance, high light transmittance and other conditions. With the current technological level of the Han tribe, it can only try to use pure crystal as raw material to make it. This is not much different even in modern times.
After figuring this out, Luo Chong immediately made several targeted production plans. The first is the manufacture of large-scale single-body special-shaped glass for giant lenses. According to Luo Chong's idea, this thing can be made directly by casting with metal molds. The specifics still need to be calculated by yourself, and then let the craftsmen try it. It can be expected that a lot of raw materials will definitely be wasted.
The second item is flat glass, which is mainly used in building materials. The technical difficulty is not great. The main problem is that the process and output need to be controlled.
The third is the production of containers and lampshades. The reason why these two are put together is mainly because the process flow between the two is similar. Anyway, they all need to be blown.
As for industrial model production, forget it. If the problem of industrial motive power cannot be solved, then there is no way to try to make an air compressor. Without an air compressor, the process of blowing glass can only be achieved by human mouth. There is nothing to be done about it.
After explaining all these things, Luo Chong left the island where the glass factory was located. However, he did not run far, but took a boat directly to a slightly larger island nearby. There is also a large-scale factory under construction here. The equipment inside is of various types. It is obviously not a place to produce specific products, but a comprehensive multifunctional chemical factory planned by Luo Chong.
The reason why it is called this is because this is a chemical factory that can make a little bit of everything. Many chemical products in the Han tribe do not require much quantity, but the types are very complicated. It is not cost-effective to set up separate workshops, so it is better to put them all together for centralized management, and this is also conducive to sewage discharge and environmental governance.
Because it has been determined that a large amount of arsenic is needed to make glass, Luo Chong also directly handed over the task of long-term production of arsenic, and set up a team to be responsible for it. In addition, sulfate, sulfuric acid, soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, these basic chemical products are also within the production scope of this factory. In addition to these basic chemical products, the most noteworthy thing on the island is the chemical laboratory specially set up by Luo Chong.
This laboratory is directly under the leader of the Han tribe, and can also be called Luo Chong's private laboratory. It only needs to be responsible to Luo Chong. Although it is located in the chemical plant, its level is the same as that of the chemical plant, or even higher, because the laboratory has the right to mobilize all the raw materials in the factory.
This time Luo Chong came here to check the progress of the research and development of the gas lamp he designed.
"How is it, is there any progress?" Luo Chong asked immediately when he arrived at the laboratory.
"Chief."
"Hello, chief."
When everyone in the laboratory saw that it was Luo Chong who came, they immediately bowed to Luo Chong.
"Don't worry about these things in the laboratory. Experiments are the most important thing. The work you do is extremely dangerous. You must be careful at all times. Okay, report the progress." Luo Chong waved his hand nonchalantly, and then asked everyone.
"Chief, we have mastered the metal welding process you mentioned. The gas welding is indeed easy to use. The gas torch made of calcium carbide has a very high temperature. Even steel will melt instantly after being blown. The rosin and borax are also very useful as flux. It is very convenient to use them to clean the welds.
By the way, there is also hydrochloric acid. Even if it is covered with rust, it can be instantly restored to a dazzling level by washing with hydrochloric acid."
Listening to the report of the experimenter, Luo Chong did not have any special reaction. It can be said that all this was within his expectations.
It is not difficult to develop gas welding technology with the current technology of the Han tribe. Copper and iron with a melting point of about 1,600 degrees are not worth mentioning in front of the acetylene spray gun with a temperature of more than 3,000 degrees. There are also rosin and borax, two deoxidizers, which are natural materials for treating metal oxide surfaces. They only need to be collected and not even processed.
As for hydrochloric acid, with sulfuric acid as the basis, it is not difficult to react hydrochloric acid with sulfuric acid and salt. At present, the production of sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid in the Han tribe has entered the normal stage. The reason for doing so is that after the increase in steel production in the future, the demand for hydrochloric acid in metal processing will definitely increase, so it is not bad to start accumulating some from now on.
The reason why Luo Chong asked people to develop the metal gas welding process is actually to make gas lamps. Unlike the stupid, big, black and thick acetylene gas lamps that he had seen in his previous life, Luo Chong's design is obviously more refined.
The rabbit in the previous life used kerosene lamps and acetylene lamps for a long time after the founding of the People's Republic of China, so this is not a rare thing, especially the acetylene lamp. The principle it uses is to use calcium carbide, that is, calcium carbide, which releases flammable acetylene gas when it comes into contact with water, and then ignites the gas for lighting.
However, the acetylene lamps that Luo Chong had come into contact with in his previous life all used the design of water at the bottom and calcium carbide at the top. That is, the calcium carbide was placed in a metal box with a gap, and then the entire metal box containing the calcium carbide was soaked in a basin of water below, so that the two were in contact through the gap in the metal box, generating acetylene gas, which was then discharged through the pipe above and ignited.
However, the disadvantages of such a design are obvious. First, the intensity of the reaction cannot be controlled. Sometimes the gas output is intermittent, or it cannot be ignited due to insufficient gas output, or it explodes because the instantaneous reaction is too intense. Therefore, explosions of acetylene lamps were common in previous lives.
Another disadvantage is that the gas supply cannot be stopped in time, that is, this thing is easy to open but difficult to close. To put it bluntly, there is still a problem with the control, and effective control has not been achieved.
So in order to solve this series of problems, Luo Chong directly changed the original design, changing it to calcium carbide at the bottom and water at the top, connecting the two with pipes and valves, and adjusting the valve to limit the dripping speed of water, so as to effectively control the generation of acetylene gas. In this way, not only can the light be controlled by tightening the valve, but also the safety is effectively guaranteed, solving all problems in one fell swoop.
However, if you want to achieve this exquisite design, the sealing of each component of the lamp becomes a problem, and if you want to achieve absolute sealing, gas welding is obviously a good choice, which is what the experimenter just reported.
Luo Chong just nodded, and then continued to wait for others' reports. It stands to reason that since the gas welding process has been solved, there should be no problem with the lamp. In Luo Chong's expectant eyes, someone else came up to report.
"Chief, we have some prototypes of gas lamps now, but their safety is not guaranteed, so they cannot be put into mass production yet."
"Safety is not guaranteed? Why?" Luo Chong asked puzzled.
"Because the prototypes that were tested before all exploded."
"Exploded?!"
"Yeah."
Luo Chong was stunned. He couldn't think of what went wrong for a while, but it was obvious that this was not the time to think about this. As the leader of the Han tribe, Luo Chong had to take other aspects into consideration, such as the morale of the people in the laboratory.
"How many times did it explode? Were there any casualties?" Luo Chong asked hurriedly.
"Replying to the chief, it exploded more than ten times, and no one died, but a few were injured. Except for the two times in the early days when people were injured, everyone was very careful in the subsequent experiments." The experimenter immediately reported the casualties.
Luo Chong nodded. When he heard that no one died, he said, "It's good that there were no sacrifices. Everyone should be more careful when working in the future. You must strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the laboratory and report all injuries. In the future, such accidents will be treated as work-related injuries. The tribe will be fully responsible for the treatment costs. If you are left with a disability, you can apply for military disability benefits in the future."
After hearing this, everyone in the laboratory immediately began to discuss. These experimental personnel were either experienced craftsmen or students who liked to study hard. However, these people had one thing in common, that is, they did not understand what experiments were at first. It was not until they were selected by the leader and personally participated in it that they understood the charm of science and the dangers of science.
The probability of casualties in this broken laboratory may be the highest among all units in the Han tribe. Various dangers emerge in an endless stream. Although the salary here is several times higher than the average salary, as the saying goes, high income brings high risks. Even if you get the highest salary, you must always be prepared to sacrifice your life.
But now with the leader's pension guarantee, everyone was relieved. Since they dared to work in the laboratory, they were not afraid of being sacrificed in the experiment. However, everyone has their own family. They don't have to care about their own lives, but they can't ignore their families. Now the leader promised them that they can receive disability allowances like soldiers in the event of an accident, which is the best for their families.
"Okay, we just talked about the problem of the explosion of the experimental product. Have you found the cause? What went wrong?" Luo Chong clapped his hands to interrupt the discussion, and then asked again.
"To the leader, our preliminary analysis shows that it should still be a sealing problem. There is definitely no problem with the welding of the shell. After each welding, we will follow the leader's order to conduct liquid immersion testing. We have never found any leaks, so we think it should be caused by the poor quality of those colloid seals."
Listening to the report from the people below, Luo Chong was thoughtful. The development of Eucommia ulmoides gum has started since the laboratory was officially established, but no qualified products have been trial-produced so far. This made him realize that the actual manufacturing difficulty may be more difficult than he thought.
After sending the lighting group away, Luo Chong called the Eucommia Glue Special Team and asked about their experimental progress.
"Leader, the raw materials we are using now are the seeds and peels with the highest gum content of Eucommia trees. Although we are also collecting bark, leaves and roots, we have not started to use them yet. The process is also strictly in accordance with what the leader said. First, cut and grind, break the raw materials, then soak and extract with alkali solution, and finally stir, filter and collect. We have fully mastered this preliminary process, but there may still be problems with the later plasticity and vulcanization process, so the properties of the finished glue are not up to standard. Some are good at the beginning, but within two days after installation, the glue parts become hard and lose elasticity, which leads to gas leakage and finally explosion."
Luo Chong listened to the report carefully and thought that what the experimenter said was reasonable. After all, he did not participate in the experiment personally, so it is right to listen to other people's opinions.
"So there is still a problem with the vulcanization process?" Luo Chong sucked his teeth and said uncomfortably. The progress of this experiment was unexpectedly slow, which made him a little anxious.
"Yes, Chief."
"What about plasticity? Is there any problem with plasticity?" Luo Chong asked.
"No, the hot roller process and injection molding process designed by the chief are both very good. We put the extracted raw materials on the hot rollers and repeatedly roll and stir them, and finally make a rubber ball that can be used for processing, and then put it in a metal mold to press and shape it, and then take the rubber part and the mold together to vulcanize"
"Stop, you mean, you have always put the rubber part in the mold for vulcanization?!" Luo Chong suddenly asked in surprise.
(End of this chapter)
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