Su Song looked at Du Zhongxiao, who was holding a few Fan Wen books on the side, and couldn't help it, and asked, "Brother Du, you read these books every day, are they really useful?" The imperial court took the imperial examination, and it was the people who governed the country and the country, and they did not do this kind of tricks. ”

Du Zhongxiao put the book down, sighed and said, "Brother Su is right. But although he has the ability to govern the country, he can't enter the court as an official, and eventually dies in a lonely village, isn't that even more sad? The court uses this to judge people, so I read such an article and do what the court says, and there will be no big mistake. ”

Su Song shook his head, and Du Zhongxiao sighed again.

The Du family is a small family, so naturally it cannot be compared with Su Song, who was born in a big family and his father is a high-ranking official. Su Song has laid a solid foundation since he was a child, of course, he doesn't have to be like Du Zhongxiao, who is about to take the exam. Those like them learn only when they really learn, how can Du Zhongxiao compare.

At this moment, the steward of the palace, Director Du, came over and saluted: "Little official, the pot you ordered me to make has been made, I don't know where to put it?" This pot is awkwardly made, and it doesn't look like steamed wine. ”

"Of course it's not steamed wine, it's for fans. In such a hot weather, steaming wine in the shed is almost hot to death. ”

As Du Zhongxiao spoke, he stood up and said to Su Song, "Let's go, let's take a look." Didn't you ask the other day if the water was sealed and heated in a pot, would it blow up? There has been nothing to do in the past few days, let's take a look. ”

Su Song was curious, and followed Du Zhongxiao to the side of the steaming shed.

Seeing that it was a big iron pot and a round bucket next to it, Su Song asked, "Brother Du, what is this for?" ”

Du Zhongxiao pointed to the iron can: "Fill it with water, let's boil it and see what happens." It's fun to put the water vapor into the bucket over there, and there's a plug in it. ”

As he spoke, Du Zhongxiao bent down to check the tin cans and cylinders.

The primitive steam engine was as simple as that, heating to produce steam, which was passed into the cylinder to push the piston back and forth. The piston can be connected to various working mechanisms, the reciprocating type can be used to pump or lift, and the rotary type has become general power. The real complexity is precision and efficiency, and the power that comes with it. Du Zhongxiao is just doing a demonstration of the principle now, and it is difficult to say where he will go in the future.

The steam is drawn out with copper pipes, which are rolled up with copper plates for brazing, which is relatively rough and too coarse. The cylinders are also made of copper, and they are polished and smooth. Inside, there was a cast-iron piston, which was ground very smooth.

Du Zhongxiao put a few things together, set them up, and called a small servant to come over and light the fire. Su Song was curious and stood aside to watch.

After a while, the water in the tin pot boiled, and water vapor came out of the cracks, and Du Zhongxiao smiled: "This thing is still a little rougher." ”

The water vapor was drawn from the copper pipe to the copper cylinder on the other side, and the piston was slowly pushed aside.

Du Zhongxiao pointed to the piston and said to Su Song: "See, there is water vapor coming in, this can be moved." ”

Su Song shook his head: "What's the use of this?" I can push it with my hands. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled, pulled a valve with his hand, blocked the previous copper pipe, opened the copper pipe on the other side, and Huo Han was pushed to the other side.

While repeatedly changing the two copper pipes, Du Zhongxiao said: "The water is too boiled, if it is not released, one will blow up if it is not good." But this is how useful it is to draw out the water vapor. The plug in the copper pipe over there, it can go back and forth. ”

Su Song looked at it for a while and shook his head: "This thing is interesting at first glance, but it is useless to think about it. It's so troublesome, it's better to find someone to pull the stopper, it's better like this. ”

"Brother Du is wrong. It's poorly made now, and of course it's not very useful. But if it's big and subtle, it's infinitely useful. You think, as long as there is charcoal to boil water, the plug can move on its own, and it can be used in many places. ”

Su Song shook his head again and again: "This still has to be watched by someone, how can the plug move by itself?" Besides, I can't think of anywhere else I can get such a thing. ”

Du Zhongxiao straightened up and was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he felt that Su Song was right, this kind of thing was quite boring, from this simple steam engine principle to the real steam engine, I don't know how far away. My story in this world has not yet begun, and it is not worth spending effort on this kind of thing. What I should do now is to study hard-

Shaking his head vigorously, Du Zhongxiao swept away these thoughts and said to Su Song: "There are many kinds of places that can use this kind of thing, in my mind. For example, by the river, you can use this kind of thing to carry water; For example, on the road, you can use this thing to pull a cart; The list goes on and on. It's just that it's too rudimentary now, and if we make it smart, it's a different story. Brother Su, there is nothing to do left and right, these days after studying, let's do this one thing and see what we can do. ”

"What's the use?"

"Set a small goal first, and then use it to fan it. It's hot summer, and the steam wine is very stuffy, so we use this to make a fan so that the people in this shed don't have to be so sad. This thing is done, and a lot of use comes out. ”

Su Song was naturally interested in technology, and after listening to Du Zhongxiao's words, he bent down to look at the iron cans and copper cylinders. After watching it for a long time, I suddenly felt that what Du Zhongxiao said made sense. It looks simple, but if you can really keep going back and forth, it has many uses.

Du Zhongxiao said: "This thing is now poorly made, and there are still many things to be done if it wants to be really usable." For example, you can't use people to replace this copper pipe, and the plug over there has to be connected to the thing, and it is better to let the fan turn up than to play the fan back and forth. Brother Su thought about it, let's think about what to do together. ”

Su Song looked at the plug in the copper cylinder, thought for a while, and said, "If this plug comes with a replacement copper pipe, this thing will be somewhat interesting." ”

"I thought the same thing. In this way, it is necessary to add some mechanisms to connect the plug and the valve. ”

This kind of thing is difficult to say, and simple to say. Du Zhongxiao studied engineering in his previous life, and it was difficult for him to make a linkage mechanism, and the difficulty was the opening and sealing of the valve. The person can simply block it inside, and the linkage switch requires a practical valve. In this era, it is not easy to make a suitable valve, and it is necessary to be sensitive, to seal, to withstand high humidity and high pressure, and to overcome many technical problems.

The principle of the steam engine is not difficult for Du Zhongxiao, but the difficult thing is the various technical details. Some of the parts that were very simple in the previous life had to be made from scratch, and the workload was too great. According to Du Zhongxiao's thoughts, reading books every day these days is too boring, and doing such a thing to change his mind. In the end, it is enough to be able to make a principle machine, and a truly practical machine is still left to Su Song to slowly improve. When you have the energy and opportunities in the future, it's not too late to improve. The steam engine can be done in this era, but it consumes too much time and energy.

Historically, Su Song could make sophisticated astronomical machinery, and the technology used in the steam engine should not be difficult for him. Du Zhongxiao explained the principle clearly, and he didn't know where he would go. (Carvin, today is still a change, apologize.) ）