Li Zhi looked at the generator for a long time, and asked with a smile, "How many kilowatts is this generator?" “

Cai Huaishui, the general manager of the state-owned factory, changed his face and said: "I heard Chen Yiming say that it seems to be 3,000 kilowatts. “

Seeing that Cai Huaishui didn't know the specific numbers, Li Zhi frowned and asked, "What about Chen Yiming?" “

Cai Huaishui said in a panic: "I notified him twice yesterday and asked him to come here on time to wait for you to ask, I don't know why he didn't come today." I just sent someone to the power lab and didn't find him. I went to look for it at home, but there was no one. “

The head of the power company stood up and said, "Lord Wang, I know this parameter. There are two hydroelectric generators underneath the reservoir. We have one here, and another one to the west. Each unit is 3,000 kilowatts, and the two hydroelectric motors are a total of 4,000 kilowatts. “

"Oh?"

It turned out to be only 6,000 kilowatts, a figure that made Li Zhi a little disappointed.

When Li Zhi designed the dam, the installed capacity was at least 10,000 kilowatts.

Li Zhi calculated in his heart that if each household uses three incandescent lamps at peak times, the hydropower station can only meet the electricity needs of 150,000 people.

This is still the premise that all households only use electric lights and no other electrical appliances. In the future, with the invention and popularization of various electrical appliances, electricity consumption will rise sharply. If only such a small generator is used, it is not known how many power stations will be built.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "In the end, it's just the first hydroelectric generator." After a pause, he added: "However, this kind of power cannot meet the increasingly huge electricity demand of our one town and nine provinces." Now many rural people are eager to use electricity! ”

"Let Chen Yiming and the people in the power laboratory work hard to make a more powerful generator!"

The manager of the power company looked at Cai Huaishui, who was standing on the side.

Cai Huaishui hurriedly said: "What the prince taught is that I will send more manpower and funds to the power laboratory, so that they can double the power of the generator as soon as possible." ”

Li Zhi no longer dwelled on the problem of installed capacity, turned his head to look at the wires, and asked, "Has the transformer been built too?" ”

Gao Ligong hurriedly replied: "The transformer has been built, I'll take the prince to see it." ”

In another machine room outside the generator set, Li Zhi saw a huge transformer.

Transformers are necessary for the transmission of electricity over long distances.

Any conductive material is resistive, and when an electric current is passed, it generates heat and consumes electrical energy. Even if you use a finger-thick steel cable as a transmission wire, a huge resistance will form over a long distance. If the output voltage of the generator is used for transmission, most of the current will probably be consumed on the transmission path.

According to the principle of electricity, the higher the voltage through which the current passes, the less heat will be generated by the wire through the wire. Therefore, for long-distance power transmission, high-voltage transmission must be used.

To turn low-voltage electricity into high-voltage electricity, transformers are needed.

The transformer is a device that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to change the alternating current voltage, and the main components are the primary coil, the secondary coil and the iron core. To put it simply, two sets of insulated electric rings are wound around the ends of an iron ring, and when the current enters the primary coil end, the wire surrounding the iron core will generate variable magnetic flux in the iron core. This electrical phenomenon causes electromagnetic induction, which causes an electric current to be generated in the secondary coil that surrounds the core.

The output voltage at the end of the secondary coil is positively correlated with the number of turns of the secondary coil. The higher the number of turns, the higher the output voltage.

Taking advantage of this electromagnetic phenomenon, later generations of scientists invented the transformer at the end of the 19th century.

Of course, to produce a transformer that can actually be used, the construction is a bit more complex than that. As long as it is a large transformer, there will inevitably be copper loss, iron loss and magnetic flux leakage, which will lead to the consumption and leakage of electrical energy. In order to reduce these leaks, a set of specific measures is needed.

For example, the core of the transformer cannot be made of simple iron wires, but is made of E-shaped iron sheets stacked according to Li Zhi's design. This greatly reduces magnetic flux leakage.

Li Zhi looked at the exterior of the generator and suddenly said, "It doesn't seem to have reached the voltage I designed." “

Cai Huaishui's face was cold, and he arched his hand and said: "The prince is sharp-eyed, this really does not reach the voltage designed by the prince." In the actual construction, we found that the core heating was very serious, and in any case it could only reach a voltage of 5,000 volts. Further up, the core is a little untenable. “

Li Zhi nodded, looked at the silent but infinite energy transformer, and said, "It's already very good that the first transformer can achieve 5,000 volts, you have worked hard." “

"So the transformer in the Tianjin Acropolis has also been prepared?"

The manager of the power company hurriedly replied: "That's right, Lord Wang, we have built twenty-three miles of telephone poles along both sides of the official road, and transmitted the 5,000-volt high-voltage electricity to the Tianjin Acropolis, which is in dire need of electric energy. Now the transformer in the northwest corner of the Tianjin Acropolis has been built, and after our current reaches the Acropolis, it will be reduced from the transformer to 200 volts of civil electricity. “

"The power grid inside the Tianjin Acropolis has been built for a long time. Because the prince only charges very low installation and usage fees for light bulbs, many families have installed light bulbs and waited for the power station to be electric. So five days ago, as soon as the circuit of the hydropower station was opened, half of the Tianjin Acropolis was lit up. “

"Lord Wang, if you go to the snack street now, you will find that it has been lit up by the electric lights of various shops. In the evening, many people went there to buy supper. “

When Li Zhi heard this, he was very happy and smiled.

With electricity, Tianjin will naturally become more and more prosperous.

Li Zhi was asking questions there, but he heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the window. Chen Yiming, an expert from the electric power laboratory, rushed over on horseback in a panic. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the hydropower station, he rolled off his horse, and the horse rushed into the hydropower station without being tethered.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "The expert is here!" “

Chen Yiming sweated finely, and said in a panic: "The prince forgives the sin, I did the experiment of magnetic flux leakage in the university, and I accidentally missed the time, so the prince waited for a long time." “

Li Zhi asked: "Chen Yiming, you are now the No. 1 power expert in our Fanjiazhuang, tell me, how many years will it take for the generator unit capacity of this hydropower station to double?" How many years will it take to double the transformer voltage? “

Chen Yiming stood up straight and said loudly: "Back to the prince, as long as it takes one year, the key projects required by the prince can be completed." “

Li Zhi smiled when he heard this, was very satisfied, and decided not to punish Chen Yiming, who was late.

"Chen Yiming, you have to talk about it. If the task is not completed by then, I will have to give you the title of chief engineer to someone else. “

"Don't worry, you will definitely complete the research!"