In order to absorb shock and reduce wheel wear, ancient carriages often wrapped straw and other materials on the wheels.
Today's carriages and wealthy cars, so-called tires have the same function. Straw is too durable, and cloth and leather are too expensive, so sisal is woven into tires and a layer is put on the surface of steel wheels to absorb shocks.
The effect is negligible, the main purpose is to prevent the steel rim from directly rubbing with the ground.
The first one used was ramie, which had poor wear resistance. It took several replacements before it became sisal.
Of course, there are also a few vehicles that have a wooden wheel wrapped outside the steel wheel, but the production cost is much higher than that of using sisal. It is also very easy to fall off, and it is troublesome to repair it if it falls off. It is not as easy to replace the sisal outer layer.
The sisal tire is very thick, otherwise it would not be nearly 100 yuan each.
The bicycle that Zhao Han asked the craftsmen to make has been built a long time ago. In the circle of rich children, it became popular for a while, but then no one cared about it because it had no merit at all and was just a new and fashionable toy.
In China today, the center of private invention is not in Nanjing, but in Suzhou and Guangzhou.
The center of counterfeit products is in Hangzhou. Whenever new products appear in Suzhou, as long as they are profitable, Hangzhou merchants and craftsmen will copy them in minutes.
More than 60% of patent lawsuits in the country are either filed in Suzhou or Hangzhou. The commercial lawyers in the two places are not only numerous, but also more and more professional. They have long understood the "Datong Commercial Law" and "Datong Patent Law"
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In Suzhou at this time, there were a group of wealthy young men who had graduated from middle school or college and were too lazy to become officials.
The inventions of Suzhou craftsmen basically have practical value. But the inventions of these wealthy Suzhou people are all kinds of weird, and most of them are useless.
While Li Quan was riding a rickshaw, an outrageous invention was being tested in a private garden somewhere in Suzhou.
A Javanese slave bought from Southeast Asia was sitting on the bench tremblingly. Opposite him were more than ten wealthy people from Suzhou, surrounding a huge wooden box.
There is a small hole in the front end of the wooden box, and the slave is projected in through the small hole, and is reflected to the frosted glass above through a 45-degree upward-inclined mirror. The inventor of this thing, a young man named Gu Huansheng, covered the translucent white paper with
He used a black cloth to cover his head with frosted glass, and used charcoal to trace the image of the frosted glass.
It took about half an hour before the slave's portrait appeared on the page.
"This thing is done," Gu Huansheng said, holding the portrait he had just created and pointing at the wooden box. "I will call this invention the portrait machine!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The other young masters laughed loudly when they heard this, and then began to mock him.
"Brother Gu is a great talent, but he also invented a useless thing."
"This machine is really good. The portraits it can draw seem to be no worse than Western sketches. It's just that I don't need a big machine like yours to do Western sketches, and it doesn't take so long."
"Yes, yes, brother Gu is really like me. None of his inventions are of use."
"..."
Although these gentlemen ridiculed him in various ways, they were very interested in this thing.
Poor the Javanese slave, he couldn't move while sitting on the bench. The young men took turns to try out the portrait machine, especially those who didn't know how to draw, and they were even more excited after drawing the portrait.
Such an obscure invention already has the basic principles of a camera.
In the evening, slaves with sore backs were put back to eat and rest. These young men invited them to eat, drink and play. Finally, they even moved the camera to Taihu Lake and hired famous prostitutes to be motionless models.
In the painting boat, cups are pushed and cups are changed.
The famous prostitute Cui Yan is a rare Han girl today. Her own mother was a prostitute. She was indolent and indolent, so she asked her daughter to take over her job. Over time, she became a famous prostitute and was highly sought after by the gentry and merchants.
"Young master Gu invented this thing, it's really amazing. He doesn't have any painting skills, but he can still draw with charcoal." Cui Yan said flattering words while pouring wine.
The rich man named Li Minzhong laughed loudly: "Miss Cui is scolding, we people only invent useless things. Those so-called useful things can be left to craftsmen to invent. What do you think, Brother Gu?"
If an invention is useful, then he is regarded as a craftsman."
"Yes, yes, three drinks as a penalty!" Everyone immediately started shouting.
"Young lady said something wrong, you should be punished with a drink," Cui Yan drank three drinks in a row, and then said, "You gentlemen's invention may be useless today, but it is not known that it will be famous in the world in a hundred years."
"Hahaha, I'm afraid it will make the whole world laugh." Everyone laughed again.
They are all the sons of wealthy businessmen and are used to being extravagant and licentious. They don't even work as officials because officials these days are very tired and they will get involved in some case if they don't pay attention.
At the same time, they came from a new education, and the lowest academic qualifications were middle school graduates or dropouts. They knew some traditional poetry and some mathematics and physics. They all thought they had learned both Chinese and Western knowledge, and they always wanted to do something earth-shattering.
A group of... products of social changes and educational changes, somewhat confused about history, present and future!
During the dinner, Gu Huansheng murmured while drinking: "Can you use some kind of medicine and apply it on the glass so that it dries on its own to form a portrait?"
"Invent a potion and let it paint by itself." A rich man named Cheng Jingming joked.
But Gu Huansheng was still saying: "This kind of medicine needs to react to light, but where can I find it?"
"Brother Gu, there is a beautiful woman in front of you, and the house is full of friends. Don't think about these ridiculous things. Drink, drink!" Another young master interrupted.
Gu Huansheng drank a glass of wine, pointed to the top of the boat and said: "Thunder and lightning often set fire to houses. Why are there so few skyfires with lightning rods? This lightning can glow and ignite things. What exactly is it?
?”
The lightning rod was made by Zhao Hanrang. It was first installed in the Imperial Palace and government offices in Nanjing, and gradually spread to major cities over the past ten years.
People didn't understand its principle. They only knew that it could avoid thunder and fire, and thought that the emperor's dragon energy was controlling the thunder. Therefore, the lightning rod had folk names, such as Long Live Iron, True Dragon Beard, and Emperor's Thunder Ruler.
Even when installing lightning rods, Taoist priests were asked to do the work, kneeling towards Nanjing to pray for the emperor's dragon spirit.
In fact, as early as the Han Dynasty, ancient Chinese discovered static electricity, but they confused static electricity for attracting objects with magnets for attracting iron. Half a century ago, the British also invented a machine that generates static electricity through friction. But both in the East and the West, both
I don’t know what it is, and it has nothing to do with the lightning in the sky.
Gu Huansheng continued to murmur: "If I draw lightning down and connect it to my camera, can I leave a portrait on the glass surface?"
This is purely based on imagination, and it has a certain mystical color.
Cheng Jingming said: "Even if you can paint with lightning, what's the use? Do you have to wait for lightning to come every time you paint?"
Gu Huansheng shook his head: "Lightning can ignite houses and chop down trees. It must be the creation of Qi (matter) mentioned by Qintianyuan. The lightning rod is made of iron and is connected to the ground, which means that this kind of electricity can be generated through iron.
Conduct. It is transmitted to the ground and absorbed by the earth, so the house can be safe and sound."
"That's very true." All the rich men nodded. Those who can join their circle cannot be fools.
Gu Huansheng continued: "The house is made of wood. Electricity cannot be introduced into the earth. Instead, it burns itself, which means that wood is not conductive."
Li Minzhong said: "But if a person stands under a tree to take shelter from the rain, he will also be struck by lightning. How to explain this?"
"Rain conducts electricity!" said a young man named Tan Tingguang.
Gu Huansheng said: "Steam engines can be used to burn coal to spin textiles. Can electricity also be used to turn machines?"
Cheng Jingming said: "Electricity and water are both natural creations. Water can push waterwheels, but at least it flows in rivers. Even if electricity can run machines, you can't summon lightning at any time, right?"
"Then Brother Gu will become Thunder Lord? Hahahaha!"
Everyone laughed again. These guys were heartless and always liked to make fun of each other.
They all know about static electricity and subscribe to Qintianyuan’s Journal of Physics every issue. Someone at Qintianyuan is already studying static electricity. However, the name is not called static electricity, but called magnetism. They think it is a kind of magnetism.
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The reason why it is called "tortoiseshell magnet" is because static electricity was discovered in the Han Dynasty and was generated by rubbing objects with tortoise shells.
The earliest record of this thing is "Chun Qiu Wei" of the Western Han Dynasty. Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty probably also conducted detailed experiments and elaborated on it in "Lunheng".
Wang Chong's point of view is that the tortoise shell attracts grass and mustards, and the magnet attracts iron needles because they have the same aura. If the auras are completely different, they cannot induce each other.
Li Minzhong suddenly said: "Acta Physica Sinica once said that His Majesty intended to change the name of electromagnetism to electrostatics, but the scholars at Qintianyuan were unwilling to change it. Could it be that Your Majesty is right? Then electromagnetism is a kind of
electricity!"
Suddenly a young man named Dai Chengyan said: "Actually, I am also studying porcelain. Two months ago, I went to the Yang family's library to borrow some books and borrowed a copy of "Natural History" from the Jin Dynasty. It records:
, Nowadays, when people comb their hair and take off their clothes, there is a light and a clicking sound when untying the knots. Isn't this the magnet? Since it is magnet, why is there light? And there is a clicking sound? "
"Of course," Li Minzhong said, patting the table, "I took off my clothes at night, and I noticed a faint light and heard a squeaking sound."
Gu Huansheng clapped his hands and said: "This magnet is what Your Majesty called static electricity. Lightning and static electricity both have electric light. The crackling sound of static electricity is like the thunder of lightning in the sky."
The understanding seemed correct, but also seemed a bit outrageous. They regarded thunder as the sound of lightning.
Cheng Jingming praised: "Your Majesty is the only one who knows everything in the world. It's a pity that your Majesty has clearly pointed out the gang of wine bags and rice bags in Qintianyuan. They are still insisting on what kind of magnetism they are. What the hell, it's obviously static electricity."
!”
Gu Huansheng said: "From now on, I will study static electricity and lightning, and I will definitely make my own electricity. Then the electricity will drive the machine, and the electricity will be used to make the camera paint!"
"Count me in!" Li Minzhong smiled.
Cheng Jingming shook his head and said: "It's not very interesting to stay in Suzhou. I want to go to sea and see. I heard from people who have returned from overseas that there are all kinds of strange things outside the world, which makes me feel itchy. Who is willing to go to sea together?"
"I won't go." Everyone refused.
Cheng Jingming said: "If you don't go, I will go by myself." "Datong Monthly" said that His Majesty funded a scholar to establish the Sihai Trading Company. He returned safely from America last year and discovered the Tanzhou Islands on the way. I will go
What is the name of that scholar who took refuge?"
A group of technical geeks shook their heads. They were not interested in this, and of course they couldn't remember Li Quan's name.