Chapter 529: Look, Those Hearts are on Fire!
“Hiss….”
‘Goodness, the iron boiler and high-efficiency boiler are still understandable, but the alchemy furnace…
‘It’s outrageous.’
Su Mo was tempted when he saw the upgrade routes for the boiler room.
After all, iron seemed much safer in terms of thermal conductivity and maintenance compared to rammed earth.
This was especially true for the later high-efficiency boilers, which could significantly improve the original properties to ensure that the boilers had higher heat conversion efficiency and post-maintenance.
However, Su Mo changed his mind merely five seconds after seeing the words “alchemy furnace”.
An alchemy furnace was an indispensable and essential part of the long history of Huaxia!
In the biography of every emperor, there was the shadow of its existence. Even in fairy tales and myths of cultivating immortals, the existence of an alchemy furnace was always included!
It was included in everyone’s lives, including the emperor, down to the medical alchemy furnace of ordinary doctors.
There was a myth that the Great Sage Monkey King was trapped in it for 49 days, and that his piercing red eyes came from it.
Countless miracle elixirs were also created through it.
To put it simply, the words “alchemy furnace” had completely exceeded his literal meaning.
Seeing it, a descendant of the Huaxia would instinctively think of extraordinary powers and possible magical uses from it.
However, for Su Mo, the reason he was so interested was not only because of the name but also…
The 60,000 survival points that were required to upgrade!
‘More than 60,000 survival points. We would not just be able to upgrade the boiler room, but we’d push our technological advancement at least 30 to 50 years forward.
‘That many points could even increase the ability of a particular tool to an immeasurable level!
‘Even the chance to crack the mark perfectly can be exchanged three times!
‘Now there’s the chance to use heatstones to offset such a terrifyingly high amount, so we cannot miss this chance. Even if the upgraded alchemy furnace loses the heating effect of the previous boiler and can’t be used for the time being, we can’t let this chance go.’
Building a new boiler and laying pipes took only five days.
Therefore, after thinking about the possible benefits and the risks to be taken, Su Mo immediately decided on a goal.
They needed to upgrade the alchemy furnace!
Moreover, the heatstone used to upgrade the alchemy furnace could not be the current ordinary heatstone but an upgraded heatstone ore.
‘I now have 7.3 survival points, and I can guarantee a minimum income of 2.4 points every day. I can save enough to upgrade the heatstone mine the following day, but considering that there are only nine days left before winter, I can’t wait for two days since that’s when the temperature will drop.
‘I need to find a way to ask them to make some detector first and study the methods for large-scale mining, and I’ll upgrade it as soon as I come back!”
‘This will not only save a lot of time, but it’ll also save me some survival points to deal with the dangers that may be encountered in Freedom City!’
According to the changes before the last blizzard, in seven days, it was very likely that an early blizzard would announce the arrival of the disaster.
If he were to travel to Freedom City, although he wouldn’t necessarily encounter trouble along the way…
It would still be best to reduce any potential trouble. Su Mo quickly planned the schedule for the next few days.
He would take Hao Qiang to Freedom City by tonight or tomorrow.
No one would pay too much attention to them now because of the heavy snow coming soon.
And when the heavy snow came, it could also become a natural barrier to s.h.i.+eld them, providing convenience for Su Mo to acquire marks and bring them back to the basin.
During the process, it was possible to even upgrade the marks with the permission of the security guards, using the excuse that it was dangerous to travel during snowy days, and buy templates that could only be used during winter to stock up on them.
It was totally worth it!
Su Mo recollected himself after he saw that the fluctuation of the meter had decreased and walked out of the boiling room.
The current pipeline was not completely sealed up as they would need to go through several tests that required them to recheck the pipes.
Su Mo could see the confused Ai Jianfeng and Chen Shen walking around with puzzled expressions from a distance.
He held back his laughter and started to estimate the location of the heatstone.
The pipelines were marked every five meters.
“It’s weird, it’s really weird, no matter how much I examine the pipeline, there’s nothing wrong with it. Could it be that the barometer is broken?”
“That’s impossible! I’m sure this thing is new, someone in our village received it from a lucky draw, and I exchanged it for four packs of instant noodles!” Chen Shen’s face darkened immediately.
“On top of that, I hadn’t even unwrapped it when I pa.s.sed it to you. It doesn’t make sense to be faulty, right?”
It was Ai Jianfeng’s turn to be confused. “If it’s not the barometer, we haven’t even started the boiler, the water is also from the freshwater lake, and the pipes are fine…”
“No, it’s a problem in the pipelines!”
Su Mo found the heatstone at the 63.26-meter mark of the pipeline, which the system had shown, and gently moved it with a water planer a few times.
Su Mo raised his head and interrupted their conversation when he found an obviously shallower area than the rest.
“A problem in the pipelines?”
“Yeah, come here. The problem is right here.
“Chen Shen, bring a torch and let Jiangfeng a.n.a.lyze the nature of this stone!”
Ai Jianfeng noticed the abnormality with the stone as soon as Su Mo had pointed at it.
The moment he touched it with his hand, he could feel the temperature of the heatstone was higher than their steel pipes. It had evidently absorbed and stored a lot of heat.
After a long while, Chen Shen brought back a grease torch and lit it.
After bringing the torch close to the heatstone, in just five minutes the heatstone, which had become a pale color, quickly turned white.
The barometer inside the boiler room showed that the air pressure gradually became more stable and balanced.
“Jianfeng, do you know what’s causing this phenomena?”
“It’s hard to say. It doesn’t look like something that has to do with radiation. It absorbs and releases heat at a very stable speed, and there’s no significant change!”
“This does remind me of an idea we had in the research lab before.”
“A superconductor?” Su Mo questioned.
“Yes, but not entirely. Superconductors can store and transport electrons almost perfectly, but they can’t achieve perfect conversion and release of energy!” Ai Jianfeng replied.
“Should we… call Lu Kuan over? He’s a research expert in this field, and he has dabbled in this field before, so he mightbe able to explain it more clearly!”
“Okay, I’ll go get him. You guys wait for me here!” Chen Shen got up.
It was related to the heating system in the basin. As the village chief, Chen Shen had been accompanying the process every day for a while recently, except during the rest time.
Ai Jianfeng watched him leave and then turned toward the few “disciples” who had just been accepted and stood with puzzled expressions beside him.
He began to stand up and give a lecture.
“As for the superconductor mentioned by the shelter leader just now, and why I questioned the possibility, you may be a little confused, but this matter isn’t difficult to understand.
“We can build the largest thermal power plant anywhere on Earth, as long as it doesn’t affect the surrounding residents. Even if you build it in the city’s center, it doesn’t get in the way at all.
“But on the other hand, the new energy we advocate and the power plants that use renewable energy must be carefully selected.
“For strong winds, we have to go to a vast plain, and for uninterrupted solar energy, we have to go to the desert.
“So, to completely abandon thermal power plants and embrace green energy, we need to consider how to transmit electricity from remote places to cities across hundreds of kilometers.
“Ordinary cables can transport hundreds of kilometers with high losses, while superconducting cables can transport electricity for thousands of kilometers with only a small percentage of losses!
“This is also the strategic significance of superconductors!”
Unlike Lu Kuan, who could study alone in his major, as a mechanical major, if you had no helpers to a.s.sist you, you would have to work yourself to the bone for extended periods.
Therefore, on the first day of the official formation of the mechanical department, Ai Jianfeng pa.s.sed out several questionnaires around the basin and selected several “students” to join his team.
There were bold and careful older men in their forties who were good at handicraft.
There were also young people in their early twenties who graduated from technical school with only a little knowledge of physics and machinery.
There were eight people in total, and only two of them had graduated college.
These two people were also B+ level talents with higher ratings, and the other six were ordinary B-level and B–level talents.
“Teacher, the development of room-temperature superconductors was progressing very slowly on our Earth. It was still basically a conceptual thing until the transmigration, let alone ready for ma.s.s production!”
“Yes, not only is it still a conceptual idea on your Earth, but it is also not yet understood on our Earth.”
Ai Jianfeng did not speak. The voice came from Lu Kuan, who hurried over not far away.
Wearing slightly wrinkled work clothes, Lu Kuan looked hurried and sloppy, but there was dazzling light in his eyes.
Eye enhancement was the ability attached to his template.
It had the effect of zooming in and out of the objects in front of the user and ensured that they would never be short-sighted. Additionally, it could also be used at night as well as during the day, and it could collect information for a.n.a.lysis!
Through the a.n.a.lysis of Ai Jianfeng’s lip language, Lu Kuan had already understood what was said, then he formed his speech and began to speak without stopping when he was close.
“At low temperatures, the resistance of metals disappears completely, and current can flow between them without loss. This phenomenon is called superconductivity, which is a macroscopic quantum effect.
“The BCS theory based on the near-free electron model can explain the principle of low-temperature superconductors, but only high-temperature superconductors, that is, room-temperature superconductivity you just mentioned, cannot explain it.
“This is uncharted territory. Someone on our planet put forward this theory about two hundred years ago and researched a series of alternative realizations.
“But unfortunately, room-temperature superconductivity remained in the theoretical stage until we crossed over.
“We don’t know the essence of superconductivity at all, and we can’t find the corresponding research objects, so we don’t know in which direction to research is the right direction.
“And those low-temperature superconductors can work because they only need liquid nitrogen, so you know that capital won’t invest money in a black hole project. With this effort, they would rather arrange liquid nitrogen for all places that needed superconductivity. It will be much more reliable than investing in a project with no direction!”
Kneeling down, using the light of the torch, he stroked the heatstone to observe the changes in it. Lu Kuan’s whole body was filled with the radiance of belief in science.
Like the archbishop of the church, people who believed in science would also have a unique aura when they concentrated without any disturbance.
As if there was a particular hidden magnetic field, their movements would naturally attract the attention of others. Even Su Mo’s eyes fluttered up and down, following Lu Kuan’s hand.
“The greatest characteristic of superconductivity is that it does not dissipate energy. Unfortunately, the heatstone is not a natural superconducting material, nor can many electrons be stored in it!
“At the same time, its texture is relatively soft, and its pressure resistance is not good. It’s not suitable for working in extreme environments. We can also exclude the idea of using it outdoors.
“The only research direction is how exactly this thing stores energy and how to release it. We don’t see the controller inside it. How does it judge that the heat absorption is enough, and how the existing heat is stored without damage before it has completed the absorption of heat!”
Summarizing a theory, looking at the face of the person beside him listening to the scriptures, and then looking at Ai Jianfeng’s helpless expression on his forehead, Lu Kuan suddenly realized something and then added two sentences:
“In short, this thing is helpful for our research on superconductivity, but how much it can help depends on the subsequent research.
“Shelter Leader, I don’t recommend prioritizing this thing in our research goals, but when encountering hot weather, it’s pretty good to use it to dissipate heat for the villagers!”
Seeing Lu Kuan winking quietly, his expression still a little serious, Su Mo understood what Lu Kuan wanted to express in seconds.
The importance of this thing was not as simple as what Lu Kuan said, but because there were so many people, it was necessary to avoid suspicion.
“Okay, since everyone doesn’t need to be around now, go ahead and do what you need to do. We will still have a test run at night as planned!
“Continue with the previous testings. We have to go through it at least three times before we eat, and make sure that the heating system is able to run before everyone rests tonight!”
He stood up and sent Lu Kuan away, and the rest of the people watching began to disperse.
Some continued to bury the pipes, some released water, and multiple testings were carried out.
This time, after ignoring the slight changes on the barometer, the whole process went a lot smoother.
Before eating, the water flowed back and forth 15 times along the more than 300-meter pipeline, but no other problems were found.
Around mealtime, coal was also put into the boiler for heating.
When everyone came back, compared to the cold air outside, the boiler room was as warm as summer!
“It’s very successful. As long as the pipe is buried and the temperature comes up, we can try the heating system for the first time.”
After studying all the parameters and writing them down in a notebook for a.n.a.lysis, Ai Jianfeng raised his head and reported the first milestone good news in the basin for many days.
However, when he saw the numbers calculated below, his face became bitter again.
“Shelter Leader, it’s not very good. It may be because the quality of the ore dug from Iron Rock Mountain is very good, and the thermal conductivity of the entire pipeline is much higher than we expected, but in this way, although the upper-temperature limit is higher, the consumption has also increased synchronously.
“If we turn on the fire at full power, the full load will probably push the temperature to 36 degrees, but this consumes 300 kilograms of coal in one hour. If we continue to run at full load for six hours, then…
“We’ll run out!
“If the temperature is maintained at about 20 degrees in the low gear, it will consume 130 kilograms in one hour, and our coal will only be opened for fifteen hours!”
Compared with the hot temperature, behind the numbers was the time that was counting down.
The long winter would last for more than a month. Even with diesel, gasoline, and wood, it would be difficult for the basin to survive the cold, and it was very likely that they would “run out of food” in the later stages.
However, unlike Ai Jianfeng’s anxiety, Su Mo, who had already made up his mind to acquire Black Stone Base Camp, was not anxious.
Glancing at all the workers around the boiler, looking here, trying that, with excitement written on their faces.
Su Mo watched them scream happily because the temperature had risen by one degree.
He gradually laughed along laughed in relief.
“Jianfeng, calm down. It’s not the boiler’s fault that it needs a lot of resources. It’s our fault! It’s because we’re too poor to afford this big guy!
“However, compared to the resources… Look! These, these burning hearts are our most precious harvest!”
“Do you think our resources won’t be enough with them?”