In the misty and rainy month of March, everything was in order. Wan Lei had breakfast and came to the newly built No. 2 laboratory and classroom early. At this time, except for the lazy Zhao Xueer, the six little Taoist priests came and pointed.
There was a lot of discussion over the bottles and jars on the table, but Wei'er sat quietly aside, preparing paper and polishing ink to take notes.
"Ahem!" Wan Lei coughed. When the six little Taoist priests saw him coming, they immediately raised their hands and saluted: "Hello, sir."
"Everyone, sit down." Wan Lei waved his hand, and after they were all seated, he stood next to the experimental table and said: "Mencius said, the trouble with people is that they like to be teachers. Wan is not talented and dare not call himself a teacher.
.Now we are all gathered together to sharpen our knowledge together, not as masters and disciples, but as teachers and friends, so if you don’t understand anything, just ask, if you have different opinions, just ask. Don’t worry, there are no old masters here, no palm-beating people.
Ruler."
Seeing that Wan Lei did not act like an old scholar, the tension in the hearts of the Six Little Taoist Priests was somewhat relieved, and they all nodded to express their acceptance.
"Everyone, the eight eyes of Confucianism are to study things, to know, to be sincere, to be righteous, to cultivate oneself, to regulate the family, to govern the country and to bring peace to the world. However, the truth is universally applicable, and the principle of studying things to know can also be used by Taoism. Today, we
Let’s talk about studying things and achieving the Tao.”
"Sir, I'm a little confused. Tao can be Tao, but Tao is not Tao. The so-called Tao is the system of nothingness, the root of creation, the foundation of gods, formless and imageless, mysterious and mysterious, and it can be known without studying things." Wan Yu immediately retorted.
"The Great Way is invisible, born in heaven and earth, the Great Way is ruthless, running the sun and the moon, the Great Way is nameless, and it nourishes all things. The Great Way can only be understood with the heart, and can be known without studying things." Miao Yi also refuted.
"What is Tao? As far as I am concerned, Tao is principle, the principle by which all things operate. Tao is big and has no outside, and is small and has no inside. It is all-encompassing and everywhere, and everything contains the nature of Tao. And Tao
The gain lies not in understanding, but in practice. Only through practice can you gain true knowledge. Without practice and study, you will not know how the heaven and earth came into being, how the sun and the moon move, and how all things grow. "Wan Lei Dao.
"Sir, if you say this, you must know how the heaven and the earth came into being, how the sun and the moon move, and why all things grow." The witticism goes like this, which is obviously intentional.
"Wan is not talented, but he also has some knowledge on how the heaven and earth come into being, how the sun and the moon move, and how all things grow and grow. However, we cannot discuss these great ways now. Instead, we should start from the small to see the big, and gather the small ways to study the great way.
"
"Trail? What is a trail?"
"There are many kinds of paths, including physics, which studies the movement of all things, chemistry, which studies the generation and transformation of all things, biology, which studies the growth and maintenance of all things, and mathematics, which studies mathematical changes. Today, we will talk about it first
The chemistry of all things arising and changing.
"Chemical?"
"Chemistry studies the properties of matter and the ways of transformation. You have more or less heard of alchemy. In fact, alchemy is chemistry. However, alchemy is too superficial, and most of the elixirs obtained are deceptive.
The fake elixirs are of no use. But what we are learning now is real chemistry, which is to thoroughly understand the properties of matter and transform them into things that benefit the world and the people."
Seeing that their alchemy skills had been dismissed as worthless, all the Taoists were unconvinced and were about to refute, but Miao Yi stopped them and said: "Listen to Mr.'s explanation first, and it's not too late to analyze it in detail after doing the homework."
"Chemistry is a profound knowledge. However, no matter how advanced it is, it has its rules. Today I will only talk about one rule, which is oxidation and reduction." Wan Lei said this, picked up a piece of rusty iron and said: "
Everyone, this is rusty iron, do you want to know why it rusts?"
"If iron is placed in a moist place, it will rust in a short time. Everyone knows it, so there is no need to delve into it further." Wan Yu said nonchalantly. In her eyes, Wan Lei was making a fuss.
"You are right, iron will rust when placed in a humid place, but you only know the surface, not the inside. Let me ask you, why does iron rust when placed in a humid place?"
"It's okay if you know it will rust. Why do you need to study so much?" Wan Yu said a little impatiently.
"You're wrong to say that. You haven't even understood the principle of physical transformation, so how can you talk about getting the great road? Could it be that the great road is just a flash of inspiration?" Wan Lei shook his head and said: "Iron
As a kind of metal, its element is iron. However, truly pure iron does not exist in nature. Even the molten iron produced in the furnace contains the element carbon. Iron containing carbon is in the moist air.
It easily reacts with moisture and oxygen to form rust, which is why iron rusts."
"Oxygen? What is oxygen?" Miaoyi asked, and her senior sisters and brothers also frowned, not understanding.
"Air cannot be seen or touched, but there are roughly three components: nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. As for the research on the components and causes of air, we will talk about it later. Now I will do a set of experiments to let you know
See the magic of chemistry."
Wan Lei said, scraped off some rust, smashed it into pieces, poured it into several small bottles, one for each person, then poured sulfuric acid into the bottle, and then said: "This water bottle is not filled with ordinary water. Take a closer look.
, what changes are there in it.”
"Hey, the rust is slowly disappearing, and the water is also changing color, turning yellow."
"Where did all this rust go?"
"The rust has been dissolved and reacted. The water is not ordinary water, but sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid can react with the rust to produce iron sulfate particles and water. When these particles exist in water, they appear light yellow. In primary chemistry, there are
There are four basic types of reactions: combination reactions, where many change into one; decomposition reactions, where one changes into many; substitution reactions, where one changes to one; and metathesis reactions like what you see now. So, don’t think that chemistry is simple, it’s one
It's a profound knowledge, but it's not as mysterious as alchemy, it's very disciplined."
"What's the use of having these reactions?"
"What is it used for? Of course it is. For example, iron sulfate can be used as a dye, a pesticide, a fertilizer, a hemostatic agent, etc. It can especially be used as a water purifier. Sulfuric acid is regularly added to water wells.
Iron can improve the quality of water and make people healthier after drinking it. This is not comparable to the fake water sold by scammers under the guise of Taoism."
"Oh, there are so many benefits, are they easy to obtain?"
"It's not easy to say it's easy, it's not difficult to say it's difficult either. The key is that we lack large-scale equipment, so we can't mass-produce it. The amount produced in the laboratory is enough to be used as an additive for Jinchuang Medicine. So now,
The top priority is not to produce iron sulfate, but to make iron and steel to cast various urgently needed equipment."
"Iron-making and steel-making? Doesn't Shuntian Mansion have an iron smelting institute? Just ask them to step up iron-making," said the witticism.
"There is an iron foundry, but what they smelt is pig iron, which is of little use. And now steelmaking relies on people hammering. With such low productivity, they can only produce some knives, but they can't produce what we need at all.
Steel tanks and steel pipes. Therefore, we need to build a new steel-making plant to directly produce a large amount of steel."
"Then let's build it. Now you have the final say in Shuntian Mansion." At some point, Zhao Xueer also entered the classroom.
"It's not just built. Steelmaking is countless times more difficult than ironmaking. The reaction principle it uses is reduction reaction, using carbon to remove other elements contained in iron. However, when ironmaking is made using local methods, carbon elements will be involved.
When it comes to molten iron, if the carbon content of the molten iron is high, it is pig iron. How to reduce the carbon content of the molten iron is the top priority."
"It's so absurd to say, but it just can't be done." Zhao Xue'er began to hold it up.
"Nothing is impossible. As long as you understand the direction of the research and go through many experiments, you can find the method. Now, let me first talk about the reduction reaction of iron to let everyone understand how molten iron is produced in local production.
It’s refined.”
"Master, I know this." Wei'er, who was sitting aside, suddenly spoke.
"Then you tell me." If someone is proactive, Wan Lei will certainly not dampen her enthusiasm.
"Most of the iron ore used for ironmaking now is rusty iron, that is, iron oxide. There are oxygen elements in these iron ores, which undergo oxidation-reduction reactions with carbon elements at high temperatures. The iron elements are replaced by carbon elements to form molten iron.
Carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide."
"Yes, there is progress, but do you know why carbon elements are mixed into molten iron?" Wan Lei asked with a smile.
"Well, molten iron can flow like water, so it's not impossible that some carbon powder is mixed in."
"This is one reason, but it is not the whole story. Carbon, like elements such as sulfur and phosphorus, can react with iron to form iron carbide. Therefore, the carbon content is often higher than 2%, which is brittle and useless pig iron. If you want to
To produce steel, we not only need to find ways to remove carbon, but also remove harmful impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus. Of course, if some other beneficial elements can be added, the performance of the steel can also be improved. This is special steel, which can be used to make steel.
When you cast a gun into a cannon, you don’t have to worry about the barrel being broken or deformed.”
"Don't talk about so many useless theories, can steel be made?" Zhao Xueer, who is naturally impatient, asked.
"Yes, of course it can, but we need to redesign a set of steel-making equipment. I say all this to tell you that chemistry is not just alchemy. It is a profound knowledge. If you study it thoroughly, you can not only understand the changes in physical properties, but also understand the changes in physical properties.
It can also turn decay into magic and waste into treasures. This is the knowledge that can truly benefit all sentient beings. And if you want to carry forward Taoism, you cannot blindly practice mysticism, but you must study the real knowledge and apply it in a practical way.
The knowledge you have learned is here to help all sentient beings, and the people believe in it and obey it. Are you still afraid that they will not respect it?"
"But, sir, what you are talking about is obviously contrary to the principle of mutual restraint and mutual development of the five elements, and it is definitely not the true way." Chi Xin, who had been frowning, said.
"The five elements are not the true Tao if they are mutually reinforcing and restraining each other. There are more than a hundred elements in the world, not just metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, but there are countless combinations of things that cannot be included by metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. If you want to revive Taoism, you should abandon these mistakes.
Theories, such as the Five Elements Theory, are as childish and ridiculous as Lao Tzu transforming his beard into a beard."
When it comes to Laozi transforming into a beard, all the Taoists below can't help but start to blush, because Taoism once produced a set of "Laozi Transformed into a Beard", insisting that the Lord Buddha is Lao Tzu who traveled to Tianzhu in the West. Taoism originally wanted to use this kind of nonsense
The Eight Paths came to enhance the status of the religion, but in the end they shot themselves in the foot. They were ultimately refuted as worthless in the debate between Buddhism and Taoism. From then on, Taoism was labeled as a group of liars and never recovered.
Now if you want to revive, you have to get rid of the false and preserve the true. Wan Lei promised the sloppy Taoist priest to help reform the new Taoism. The first reform was to change the metaphysics and enlightenment to the study of things and the Tao. However, Taoism has been formed for many years, and various theories have penetrated into the hearts of Taoist priests.
We are still clinging to our old laurels, and reform efforts have a long way to go.