Chapter 662: Build a Lighthouse Wonder (Seeking Tickets and Subscriptions)
"Yes, otherwise the high temperature during vulcanization may cause the rubber parts to deform. In order to have better plasticity, they can only be vulcanized in the mold." The leader of the Eucommia ulmoides gum experimental team reported.
Luo Chong immediately put his hand on his forehead. It is correct to use molds to limit the deformation of rubber parts, but this also limits the exposed area of the rubber parts, which undoubtedly adds obstacles to vulcanization.
After learning the news, Luo Chong did not hesitate and immediately tackled the problem of finalization. Eucommia ulmoides gum is a special rubber. Its characteristics when it is not vulcanized are that the rubber parts will be as hard as plastic at temperatures below 60 degrees. Therefore, the most critical difficulty is to lower the temperature during vulcanization, so that the shape can be kept stable by the characteristics of the rubber parts themselves.
So at Luo Chong's suggestion, the research team changed the original vulcanization method to vulcanization gas fumigation. By setting the heating chamber and the vulcanization chamber separately, the problem of too high temperature in the vulcanization chamber was solved. The two chambers were connected with pipes, and then a wooden hollow insulation board was added in the middle.
After this process adjustment, coupled with repeated experiments, the research team finally produced qualified sealing rubber parts two days later, and also solved the last difficulty of the acetylene gas lamp.
A week later, the lamp parts sent from various factories were gathered in the laboratory for assembly.
First of all, the lamp shell that holds the calcium carbide, that is, the base of the lamp, is made of a one-millimeter thick iron sheet stamping, and the seams are welded with gas welding and bronze welding rods. The feeding port also used the threaded bottle cap technology for the first time, and the pre-processed bottle cap was directly welded to the preset opening of the shell.
Above the base is a ring-shaped iron water tank, which is made in the same way as the calcium carbide hopper below. It looks like a donut on a flat can. The two parts are welded together by four columns in the middle. One of the columns is a hollow iron pipe, and a valve is installed to control the speed of water delivery downward.
The wick nozzle is in the middle of the doughnut-shaped water tank, and a flint ignition device similar to a flintlock is installed next to it. The long oval glass lampshade can sit in this depression, and is fixed with two wire rings on the outside. The top of the glass lampshade is a vent made of iron sheet, which guides the upward hot air to the side, mainly used to prevent rain and wind.
After all these are done, the entire lamp is immersed in a basin of water to check for leaks. After all are qualified, it can be dried and painted. After two coats of surface painting, a dark green calcium carbide lamp with a transparent glass lampshade appears in front of Luo Chong.
The shape of this lamp is very similar to the portable kerosene lamp that Luo Chong saw in his previous life, except that the fuel has been replaced with cheaper calcium carbide.
Unscrew the lid of the base, fill it with calcium carbide particles the size of soybeans, then fill the water tank above with clean water, and finally turn on the water supply valve. As the clean water flows into the bottom tank for a longer and longer time, the contact reaction between calcium carbide and water becomes more and more intense, and the wick nozzle in the middle quickly sprays out flammable acetylene gas.
At this time, lift the glass lampshade through a lever wire, and then turn the flint ignition device inside. The acetylene gas erupting from the wick will be ignited with a snap, emitting a cluster of stable dazzling white light, and then restore the glass lampshade to its original position, and the size of the wick flame can be adjusted through the water supply valve.
When the calcium carbide lamp was ignited, everyone in the laboratory couldn't help but open their mouths wide. Although they had heard the principle explained by the leader countless times, they couldn't help but be shocked by the dazzling light when they really saw the finished product.
"This lamp is so bright."
"Yes, it's much brighter than oil lamps and candles. No, I can't keep staring at it, otherwise my eyes will be blinded."
"The leader is amazing. He can actually come up with such a lamp. And those who make glass are also amazing. Sand can actually be made into such practical and beautiful things."
"I just don't know if this calcium carbide is expensive. If I use this thing in the future, I don't know how much it will cost every month."
"Don't worry, others may not know how calcium carbide is made, but you do. It is made from coal and limestone. It's at most a little more expensive than coal. Besides, you don't use this thing to cook. I have already calculated it clearly. Even if a family buys five such lamps, they can't burn three pounds of calcium carbide in a month. Don't forget, the lamp is only on for two hours a day and turned off at bedtime. It's not for you to burn all night."
"That's a good deal, much cheaper than burning oil lamps, and the saved oil can be used to feed the children at home. No, I'll buy two lamps with my salary this month."
Luo Chong listened to the praises of the crowd, looked at the calcium carbide lamp in front of him, and couldn't help squinting his eyes, and then hurriedly turned down the flame. He knew that the flame of acetylene would be much brighter than oil lamps and candles, but he didn't expect it to be dazzling, especially when the flame of acetylene is still pure white, it's really uncomfortable to stare at it with the naked eye for a while. It seems that this thing is not suitable for ordinary lighting, but it is very suitable to be used as a light source for a lighthouse.
However, the civilian version must be improved. Since the color of the flame cannot be changed, the color of the glass lampshade should be changed.
Having made up his mind, Luo Chong immediately sent someone to send a letter to the glass factory, asking them to change all the lampshades they will produce next to a color between yellow and light brown. This formula is easy to adjust, just lower the proportion of iron oxide crystals.
After developing the lamps for civil lighting, Luo Chong immediately developed large lamps for lighthouses. The sea route has been opened by Youfu, and this guy is on his way back to the tribe, but when Youfu goes out to sea next time, the construction of the lighthouse will be on the agenda. He is in charge of logistics at home. If someone is fighting for him outside, he must not drag them down.
Luo Chong has never seen a real lighthouse, but he has seen a lot of videos and photos, and he knows the purpose of this thing, which is to guide ships. Lighting is nonsense. Its function is more like a signal transmitter, which is to tell you from a distance where I am, and that's enough. If you have to say something is closer to the function of a lighthouse, then Luo Chong's first thought is a beacon tower, because the beacon tower is also used to transmit signals, but it transmits alarm signals.
In simple terms, a lighthouse must at least meet two functions. The first is to emit light, and the second is to make sounds. When the weather is good, it is enough to use light as a signal. However, when the weather is foggy, the lighthouse must not only emit light, but also be able to keep blowing the whistle to provide sound guidance to ships lost in the fog.
With the current technological level of the Han tribe, there is no problem in meeting these two conditions. The difficulty lies in the lack of actual construction experience. Therefore, before the construction of a real coastal lighthouse, Luo Chong plans to build a trial lighthouse at the Han tribe headquarters to practice and gain experience. As for the location of the lighthouse, Luo Chong chose Weishan County.
Weishan County is the county city planned by Yun Zhi. It is located by the big lake and is currently the largest inland dock of the Han tribe headquarters. Although it is a lighthouse used to gain experience, it cannot be useless. It can at least be placed next to the dock of Weishan County. It can't be wasted at all.
In addition, since this inland lighthouse is not very useful, it is a good choice to give it some civilizational significance. The Han tribe has been developing for several years and has built countless buildings of various types, but there is not a single building that can be called a wonder. The lighthouse is a rare thing, so it is a good choice to build it as a wonder.
Having made up his mind, Luo Chong immediately began to design it. First of all, the tower body should not be less than 20 meters, otherwise the lighthouse would be meaningless. As for the real coastal lighthouse, Luo Chong planned to build it at least 40 meters high, and up to 60 meters is not impossible. You must know that the tidal drop near Zhudao is very large. If the lighthouse is only 20 meters high, it is estimated that when the tide rises, only the top of the tower will be flooded.
After determining the height of the tower, the diameter of the tower is easy to determine. At least the bottom plate must be stable, and such a high building cannot collapse easily. Therefore, Luo Chong designed a circular lighthouse with a diameter of six meters for Weishan County. The aspect ratio is just over three times, which is very stable. You should know that many lighthouses look thin and tall. Luo Chong's lighthouse with a diameter of six meters and a height of only twenty meters looks like a short and fat man.
It is not difficult to build a cylindrical tower. The Han tribe already has many experienced construction workers. As long as Luo Chong gives the drawings, he basically does not need to personally direct them. The foremen below can complete the work according to the drawings.
The material of the lighthouse is large blue bricks. There are many of these in stock. They are all building materials used to build factories. It is nothing to take out a part of them to build a lighthouse. Luo Chong personally went to Weishan County to select the address, and the person in charge began to take the lead in laying the foundation.
While the craftsmen were building the tower, Luo Chong led a group of craftsmen to develop special lamps.
First of all, the light source of the wick. Although the acetylene gas produced by calcium carbide is still used as fuel, the nozzle wick like the portable lantern is definitely not enough. The bean-sized flame can not illuminate very far. The old-fashioned kerosene lighthouse that Luo Chong knows, with the help of a focusing lens, can reach a range of 50 kilometers, so the first thing to solve is the wick problem.
There is no other way to increase the brightness, but to find a way to increase the volume of the flame. And because the calcium carbide lamp is a gas fuel, it is different from the wicks used in various oil lamps. Therefore, Luo Chong first thought of the torch used on the hot air balloon and the porous fire plate on the gas stove.
These two designs have their own characteristics. Needless to say, the torch, a flame more than one meter high, can definitely meet the needs of the wick. However, because the gas output is too strong, if the quality is not up to standard, Luo Chong is worried about explosion, so he directly chose the second one, similar to the fire plate of the gas stove. He has been in contact with this thing a lot, so he is more confident in making it.
Because we need to create a higher flame as much as possible, we can't just copy the flat plate design on the gas stove. That is for heating the pot evenly, which is different from Luo Chong's needs, so Luo Chong chose an upward tilted air outlet pipe.
Not to mention the calcium carbide tank and water tank, there are 300 wick nozzles on it alone. Each nozzle is as thick as a chopstick. There are six circles from the inside to the outside. The nozzles in each circle will tilt in a circular direction. When a circle of nozzles is lit, all the flames will be connected together to form a uniform fire circle. And because the gas eruption borrows the force from each other, the height of the flame will be higher than the vertical injection. These are all copied from the design on the gas stove.
In addition, in addition to tilting in the direction of the circle, the nozzles in each circle will also tilt a certain angle towards the center of the circle. The outermost circle will tilt inward at a greater angle. When these more than 300 nozzles are lit at the same time, a huge white fire column with a diameter of 30 centimeters and a height of more than half a meter will be formed. This is the wick that Luo Chong prepared for the lighthouse.
The glass cover outside the wick is easy to make. Just cast a large one with transparent glass. The difficult part is not the lampshade, but the lens for focusing light. Not only do you need a lens, but you also need to let the lens circle around the wick, eventually forming a huge long-range beam of light that constantly sweeps the surrounding sea surface.
This is not difficult either. Just make a frame that can rotate around the wick, and then install the lens on it. As for the power to drive the frame to rotate, human power is definitely not enough, and using a spring is not suitable because it is too big.
Considering that the future lighthouse will eventually be used at sea, Luo Chong finally decided to use wind as the power to drive the lens to rotate. He directly built a windmill connected to the lens bracket on the top of the tower, and the rotation of the windmill drives the bracket to rotate. Since the Han tribe already has many wind-powered sawmills, the Han tribe also has mature experience in this regard.
As for the lens, there is nothing to study. Just calculate the angle of light refraction, then pre-set a metal mold, and then cast it with glass. Considering that the lens bracket needs to be balanced and counterweighted, two elliptical lenses are placed on a lighthouse, and light beams are shot in opposite directions to sweep the sea surface.
With these, there is basically no problem with the lamp. Of course, if the Han tribe can make glass mirrors, then two concave condensers can be installed on the lens bracket, and the concentration effect of the light beam will be better. It's a pity that Luo Chong really doesn't know how to silver the glass, so it will take a lot of time to explore. Don't think about mirrors in the short term, you can only use convex lenses to deal with it.
The remaining whistle, the characteristics to consider are the continuity of the sound, and the sound of the whistle must be loud enough, or it must spread far enough. Luo Chong has no special insights on this aspect. The only similar equipment he knows is the whistle on the steam train or the whistle on the ship. He has never heard of anything else, so Luo Chong directly copied a steam whistle.
Although the Han tribe cannot make a steam engine now, it is still easy to make a steam whistle, especially after the Han tribe has calcium carbide and mastered the metal welding process of acetylene gas welding, many things that could not be made by hand before can now be completed by welding.
It took a month and a half from the beginning of the project research, and these two large-scale light-emitting and sound-emitting devices were successively produced and passed the actual test. Now they are just waiting for the tower to be completed, so that they can move the things up and assemble them.
(End of this chapter)
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