As an important part of the second industrial revolution, the internal combustion engine appeared in the past few years.

But the first one to appear was the gasoline engine, and the mature application of diesel engines came much later.

In later generations, we seem to be surrounded by more gasoline engines, but in fact the diesel engine was invented nearly thirty years later than the gasoline engine.

Because the two have different principles.

Diesel engines compress diesel and air to a certain extent to reach the ignition point. Gasoline engines ignite through spark plugs.

The noise and speed of the diesel engine are not as good as those of the gasoline engine.

But the diesel engine has greater power, higher ignition point, and less volatility.

Due to these characteristics, the fuel economy of diesel engines is 30% higher than that of gasoline engines. In other words, for the same vehicle, under the same driving conditions, assuming that the fuel consumption of gasoline vehicles is 10L, the fuel consumption of diesel vehicles is about 7L.

And diesel engines can get more power. So you see that ships, trains, and trucks use diesel engines instead of gasoline engines.

The Chinese can now make diesel engines, and naturally they can also make gasoline engines.

Next, Dong Liang followed everyone to the lake.

This is a lake connected to the Min River. It was dug manually and is considered an inner lake of the shipyard.

There are several boat docks and piers by the lake.

The shipyard's management and engineers would even go boating on the lake during their breaks.

Ordinary workers do not have that leisurely mood. They are more free. During their breaks, they usually go to the surrounding countryside to buy some daily necessities.

People who work in the shipyard area are now the envy of people around them because they have good wages and enviable benefits.

The shipyard often holds skill competitions, and most of the participants can receive rewards.

Dong Liang and his party arrived at the lakeside dock.

There are two brand new small gunboats parked here.

In appearance, it is similar to the small inland river gunboats of tens of tons built by the Chinese.

But it can be seen at a glance that the thick chimney in the middle of the gunboat is missing.

Because the diesel engine burns more fully, just leave an exhaust hole at the stern of the ship, and there is no need to carry a large chimney.

You must know that in the era of steam battleships, the large chimney on the battleship has always been the weak spot of the battleship.

After the chimney is hit, if the smoke exhaust effect is affected, it may really paralyze the battleship.

"Start it up and try it for a few laps." Dong Liang firmly believes that practice brings true knowledge.

Dong Liang invited everyone to board the boat for a ride.

Soon the diesel engine was started.

The sound of "clang...clang..." is very rhythmic, but it is much more coherent than the single-cylinder engine on a walking tractor.

As the captain shifted into gear, the gunboat moved forward instantly, and everyone almost stumbled.

This starting speed is indeed much faster than that of a steam engine.

Coupled with the smaller size of the diesel engine, there is more free space on the ship than before.

"Mr. Stevens, we will need a larger diesel engine in the future. Your next step is to make a diesel engine that can be used as a locomotive." The wind on the lake blew in my face, making a whining sound in my ears.

Dong Liang had to speak loudly so that the people around him could hear him.

"Führer, are you planning to replace all steam engines with diesel engines in the future? Has the era of steam engines really passed?" As a steam engine engineer, Stevens still has certain feelings for steam engines.

However, he understands that with the advancement of technology, some old things will eventually be eliminated.

"No, there is still a lot of room for improvement in steam engines. Aren't we making steam turbines? In the future, steam engines will continue to play important roles in certain fields."

Dong Liang knew that even a hundred years later, coal-fired steam turbines would still be the mainstay of thermal power generation.

"Führer, I have another question. As we have more and more diesel engines, where does the diesel come from? Where does our Chinese diesel come from?"

At this time Stevens raised a more realistic question.

The crude oil currently used by the Chinese is purchased from Chinese merchants in Borneo.

At this time, oil extraction technology was not yet complete.

All that can be exploited are shallow oil fields.

In East Asia, the most famous ones are Borneo and Myanmar.

Both of these places allow open-pit oil extraction.

There is a small refinery in the shipyard area, and its main products are diesel, gasoline, kerosene and asphalt.

At first, many people were confused as to why Dong Liang wanted to build this refinery.

"Don't worry, as much diesel engine as you can make, I can refine as much diesel oil as you can."

…

After all, oil is still a fossil energy, which not only causes serious pollution, but is also non-renewable.

So what Dong Liang is really passionate about is electricity.

The next place he went to was the Chinese Electric Power Research Institute. The research here mainly has two aspects.

One aspect is the manufacturing of electric motors and generators.

Another aspect is the transmission and application of electricity.

Why Tesla is so awesome is not because of the sci-fi Tesla coil, but because of the invention of alternating current and high-voltage transmission.

Nowadays, electricity can be used by thousands of households, but in the beginning, the transmission distance of electricity was very short.

To put it simply, there are losses in the transmission of electricity, which may be gone before it reaches your home.

Why is it said that the current invention of room temperature superconductivity will cause a new technological revolution? That is because this kind of thing can achieve extremely low resistance under normal circumstances.

Anyone who has studied junior high school physics knows that the conductive materials we use now all have resistance.

The higher the resistance, the greater the power transmission losses.

You can imagine that electricity is transmitted along a long heating wire, heating the wire as it travels, and then disperses into the air.

Therefore, when the charge is high, some wires will be burned, and this is the reason.

To overcome this problem, either use wires with smaller resistance or increase the transmitted voltage.

The metals we are familiar with, in order of resistance from low to high, are gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and iron.

You can't use gold to make wires. It's good to use copper to make wires.

Even if copper wires are used, the Chinese have to make stealing and cutting telegraph wires a death penalty and set up line protection teams in various places.

Therefore, the Chinese have to study the transmission of electricity. This is precisely Dong Liang's shortcoming.

Dong Liang knew the principles of electric motors and generators, and he didn't know how many electric motors he had dismantled.

But he is not a major in electricity, so he doesn't know how to build a transformer or how to control electricity.

Therefore, the current Chinese still have a long way to go in terms of electricity.

This time Shangtai and his classmates from the junior class went on a study tour in Europe. Dong Liang specifically told him to learn more theoretical knowledge about electric power research. This is what Shangtai is most interested in.

Shang Tai's hands-on ability is very strong. He can make many things with just a little help from Dong Liang.

And this guy is very talented in physics.

Among the Western books collected by the Chinese, there are also some physics books, and he can basically understand them after reading them once.

At this time, conceptual science was not very sound, and many theories described in books were obscure and difficult to understand.

Even Dong Liang was confused when he saw it, but Shang Tai felt it was simple.

Maybe Sang Tai is not a good king, but he can become a good physicist.

The first industrial revolution began in Britain in the 1860s, represented by the steam engine, and made Britain the world's largest power.

The second industrial revolution began in the 1860s, and included the electrification revolution represented by internal combustion engines and generators, as well as the chemical revolution represented by fertilizers and smokeless gunpowder. It gave rise to the emergence of Virtue Day.

If history develops normally, the third industrial revolution will begin in the 1960s.

The cycle of each industrial revolution is basically about one hundred years.

The Chinese now started ten years ahead of schedule and directly entered the second industrial revolution.

Dong Liang wondered whether the Chinese, who lacked the foundation of the first industrial revolution, could really come from behind and successfully overtake in corners.

During the industrial revolution, the work done by human economic development was basically "quantitative change", just like a mobile phone going from cross 1 to cross 10, it doesn't matter whether there is a generation left in the middle.

The new industrial revolution is a "qualitative change". For example, coal, petroleum, uranium ore, quartz sand, etc., which seemed of little use yesterday, suddenly become golden fingers that can unlock a new life for mankind.

The resulting new industries, a new economy, were unimaginable during the Industrial Revolution.

When the Chinese power technology matures, small household appliances such as electric fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators emerge at the historic moment, which will create a huge market out of thin air.

Air conditioning alone can change the way of life in tropical areas. Southeast Asia, which was previously regarded by the Chinese as having a harsh climate, will become more suitable for human survival.

So when Dong Liang told the Chinese people that the Nanyang region would be able to support a population of 100,000,000 people in the future, he was definitely not bragging.
To be continued...