"What is scientific spirit?" The young county lady asked without understanding. She had always been very curious about where Zhao Hao got all his knowledge from. Naturally, she would not miss this opportunity to understand the whole story.

Wu Yang and Yi Zhao observed the burning honeycomb coals and answered off the cuff:

“It’s curiosity. Be good at asking questions.”

When the county lady heard this, she thought to herself, I am very good at this.

“It’s about using your imagination to find the answers.”

The county princess thought to herself, I can do this too.

"It is about respecting evidence. Imagination must be based on objective evidence, not random guesses."

The county princess nodded silently. My imagination is all based on facts... right?

“It is dialectical thinking. We must think and evaluate the facts we see holistically and essentially.”

"Don't be stubborn. Take the initiative to accept the conclusions that have been verified and actively adjust your cognition..."

“Be tolerant of failure and believe that truth comes from continuous trial and error!”

After hearing the last three things, Li Mingyue could only stare blankly.

Although she didn't understand, she clapped her hands and said, "That's very well said, very knowledgeable!"

But she didn't even dare to ask what the scientific method was... She was afraid that she would fall asleep on the spot after listening.

~~

After a cup of tea.

Zhao Hao then asked the disciples with a smile: "Tell us what you have observed."

"The color of this fire is different!" Yu Shensi immediately answered: "It's blue! And the fire from loose coal is red!"

"This is the color when charcoal burns!" Li Mingyue quickly added, then looked at Zhao Hao with anticipation.

"Good, you observe very carefully." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile to show encouragement.

Yu Shensi pursed his lips, thinking that Master still doesn't like me. It was clearly me who said that, and the county lady added that...

"The flames from the burning coal lotus are small and soft, not as fierce as those in the two charcoal basins." Zhao Shizhen added.

"What else?" Zhao Hao asked again.

"It's been burning for so long, but the shape hasn't changed." Wang Dingjue poked it with the fire tongs and saw a piece of red honeycomb coal. "It's still quite solid. No wonder there's not much ash."

"Now use your imagination and guess the reason." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded, indicating to move on to the next step.

Zhao Shizhen answered immediately, "The secret of the blue flame is probably in those little chimney-like lotus roots. The mild fire, unchanged shape, and small amount of coal ash are probably all due to the yellow mud. As for why there is no taste, I guess it's because of the slaked lime since I've seen the ingredients my uncle prepared."

"Am I right, uncle?" Zhao Shizhen asked confidently after he finished speaking.

Wu Yang also looked as if he let you answer first, and obviously had no objection to his guess.

Zhao Hao nodded with satisfaction, but the corners of his mouth twitched twice without being noticed.

Damn it, I can’t show off again…

For an ordinary person to teach a group of geniuses is time-saving and labor-saving but boring.

Fortunately, besides him, there are two ordinary people here.

Li Chengen and Li Mingyue, brother and sister, blinked their eyes after listening to Zhao Shizhen's words, with question marks, exclamation marks and ellipsis written all over their faces.

"What is all this talking about?" Li Chengen said he didn't understand a word.

"When the stove is burning, just pull the bellows hard and the fire in the stove will burn brightly and turn the same blue color... Don't ask me how I know this. This comes from an experience that my fellow apprentices can't even envy." Wang Wuyang explained.

"Charcoal that burns with a blue flame is the most thorough type of charcoal... Don't ask me how I know this. This comes from a long experience that my fellow apprentices can't even envy." Then Hua Shuyang added, "So we can indirectly infer that good ventilation can make the combustion complete, and the flame of a complete combustion is blue."

“So those little chimney-like lotus root holes serve the purpose of ventilation!” Li Mingyue suddenly realized.

"Smart..." Zhao Hao praised her again, but did not praise his own student.

Eryang, however, would not be as pessimistic as his fifth junior brother... They believed that this was precisely a sign that their master thought highly of them.

"The reason why the fire is mild is that yellow mud is added to the coal powder to reduce the coal content... I can tell you how I know this, because I once pulled the bellows for a cook and saw him use this method to control the burning of charcoal." Wang Dingjue went on to explain.

"When the yellow mud is heated, it will become more solid instead of more loose, so the shape will not change, and not so much coal ash will be scattered." The fourth brother added.

"As for why slaked lime can eliminate the smell of coal smoke, this..." When it was the turn of the fifth junior brother, Yu Shensi was stuck.

He couldn't help but complain in his heart that it was so unlucky to be the youngest. The seniors had answered all the simple questions and only left the most difficult ones.

Yu Shensi could only say weakly: "I will ask Master..."

Fortunately, the brothers didn't know how to do it either, so they all looked at Zhao Hao. "Master, please teach me."

Zhao Hao then smiled faintly and replied:

"Slaked lime is made of calcium hydroxide, and the pungent smell of coal smoke comes from sulfur dioxide. When the two react with heat, they turn into white, odorless calcium sulfate and water."

"..." Now, not to mention the county lord's brother and sister, even Wuyang and Zhao were confused.

"Master, what are those things?"

"This is chemistry." This made Zhao Hao finally find his self-worth, and he showed off more mysteriously:

"Why does coal burn? Why does gunpowder explode? Why does food turn into wine? Why does iron rust? And so on and so forth... These secrets are all contained in chemistry. If you master chemistry, you will see another world and even become a god in the eyes of the world."

After a pause, he looked at the students with a smile and asked, "Do you want to learn?"

"We want to learn!" The six people answered in unison, especially Zhao Shizhen. When he heard that he could study explosions, his eyes lit up.

"Wait until you pass the exam and become the top scorer." As expected, Zhao Hao closed his mouth. Because I didn't write a single word of the "Elementary Chemistry" textbook...

"Yes, Master!" The three brothers responded with high morale. They thought that the master was indeed a treasure chest, and they heard a profound knowledge from him.

"Disciple will try his best..." Yu Shenxing, who had always been calm, also became excited. He thought that this knowledge could be put into practice as soon as he heard it. I want to learn this!

Even Zhao Shizhen ignited his fighting spirit and secretly vowed that in order to have a chance to explode, he would strive to become the top scholar as soon as possible... although he was not even a student at the moment.

Only the Fifth Junior Brother's mouth corners twitched.

Who made him so angry and swear never to take the imperial examination again?

You must be regretting it now...

~~

The "Science Teaching Records*Chemistry*Prologue*Coal Fire" records:

In the first month of the second year of the Longqing reign, more than 100,000 refugees were trapped outside the capital, with a hard time in food and clothing, and widespread misery. It happened that my teacher was supervising his disciples to take the spring examination, and he felt pity for them. So he mixed four parts of coal, one part of soil, a little slaked lime, and water to make some coal lotus roots. When he tried burning it, there was no smoke or pungent smell, which was much better than white coal. It could burn day and night without extinguishing, and was more durable than charcoal.

The disciples were amazed. My teacher smiled and said, "The secret is all in chemistry. This is the origin of chemistry under the science. Chemistry has saved thousands of lives. It is the best science. My teacher's knowledge of heaven and man has benefited all living beings. He should be remembered for thousands of years."

The disciple carefully recorded it.'

According to the "Science Transmission Records * Mechanical Engineering * Chapter 1 * Master Yan Yang":

'The original mold of the coal lotus root was made by Yan Yangzi. When my teacher saw it, he was very happy and said, "My son is a great craftsman. When the king's teacher becomes famous overseas in the future, it is all thanks to you!"

Yan Yangzi is my teacher's disciple. He was not yet a hair-bearer and dropped out of school at a young age. My teacher's skill in judging people is miraculous, but it is a pity that it has been lost.'

ps. The fifth update... 7,000 votes to add more updates, it's not easy. This month, on the basis of three updates a day, a total of 86 updates have been added... Although I owe more and more, it's not a problem of attitude, so I can still shamelessly ask for monthly tickets~~