Future generations will definitely have no feeling when they see such a short gliding distance. Of course, not only future generations, but also the few people who saw it at the scene were not excited enough.
Because it is really too short, just over two hundred meters.
The only ones dancing were the two Wright brothers, who flew once or twice in the sky.
The photographer they invited took the photo, and the Wright brothers were quite excited: "Maybe our success will become sensational news!"
But it is a pity that at least a few years later, their invention did not receive much attention.
Cars have developed by leaps and bounds for more than 20 years, but they are still not the mainstream, let alone airplanes.
Li Yu is the only one who truly understands the value of airplanes, but he can't help much at the moment. When he was observing just now, he was just wondering if he could own a small airplane and fly it in a few years.
Anyway, it was a dream that was basically impossible for him to realize in his previous life, but now he does have a good chance.
After all, the difficulty of driving an early aircraft is completely different from that of later aircraft. The most important thing to consider is safety.
It is precisely because of safety issues that this matter must be pushed back. It will take at least ten years for aircraft technology to be basically mature.
It can be seen from some of Li Yu's patent applications that Li Yu attaches great importance to safety and quality, because this is the most common thinking mode of later generations.
After more than a century of development and competition, sufficient humanistic care has been reflected in the industrial design of later generations, and product managers have spent their time studying ergonomics and user convenience.
At the beginning of the 20th century, more considerations were still about profits, which was a bit like barbaric growth.
This is also a hidden advantage of Li Yu's thinking of later generations.
Even if you don’t understand design, the subtle impact of modern society on every modern person is beyond what people can imagine at this time.
After the test flight, Li Yu and others came to the Wright Brothers' company and laboratory.
——That's Wright Bicycle Company.
They did not receive any financial assistance and were able to afford the expensive flight tests by relying on the money they earned from selling bicycles.
It’s very similar to the joke I mentioned about Mazda in the later automotive world: “When you have money, you build rotary engines. When you don’t have money, you sell cars. When you make money, you continue to build rotary engines.”
The same goes for the Wright brothers. Their bicycles didn't sell much, but it was their hobby that really made them successful.
Li Yu looked around and soon learned that the Wright brothers had initially solved the problem of lift and power to propel the aircraft forward.
"I think you can continue to increase the power, which will also help improve the lift." Li Yu said.
One sentence hit the point. Brother Wilbur said: "Mr. Li Yu, you are indeed a member of the Royal Society. We have had this idea many times, but now we can't find a better engine."
Li Yu nodded and said: "There is indeed no special engine for aircraft now. Although I can provide an engine with a higher horsepower, the weight will inevitably increase, which will inevitably affect your weight layout in the aircraft design."
"These are all problems that must be faced. More horsepower is always needed," said his brother Orwell, "We are confident that we can increase the distance and altitude of flight."
Of course, he understands how much weight affects the design of an airplane. Even the two brothers have been strictly controlling their weight in order to fly the airplane. Nowadays, the take-off weight of airplanes is only so small. If a person weighs one or two kilograms more, there will be a lot of pressure.
His brother Wilbur Wright asked: "Is it possible to build an engine that is both powerful and lightweight?"
Li Yu said: "There will be in the future, but the development of new engines will take some time. After success, I will still give you one for free."
Li Yu had studied fluid mechanics, which was a professional course that year, but he had not studied aerodynamics specifically, so he was powerless about the design details of the aircraft.
But he is better at engines.
Wilbur Wright said excitedly: "It's such an honor. You are the first person I have ever seen who supports our flight tests so much!"
Li Yu said with a smile: "It's just an engine. By the way, you also need to test how to balance the control of the aircraft and land smoothly after it takes off."
Orville Wright said: "What you mentioned are all key points, and our future experiments will focus on these."
However, relying solely on the two brothers, there will not be any major breakthroughs in the development of aircraft, and it will have to wait until all sectors of society pay enough attention.
Just like cars, although they have not yet defeated horse-drawn carriages and become mainstream, they have received a lot of attention. There are companies in almost all countries in Europe and the United States conducting continuous research and development. It is a thriving sunrise industry.
In the early years of aviation, the treatment was much worse.
Even after the successful test flight, there were very few newspaper reports, because most newspapers once doubted its authenticity.
Only Li Yu narrated it in the latest issue of his own "Science", and conducted science popularization on the principles of aircraft lift, control, etc., and then made a certain future outlook.
Thanks to his reputation in the scientific community, readers finally have some understanding, but more readers think this is a "sci-fi sequel". Li Yu's Star Wars series has been circulated even more, and one of them was once mentioned.
The concept of a "spaceship".
Everyone looks at airplanes just like how they looked at Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" decades ago, the mother of science fiction.
Or the "robot" in Li Yu's Star Wars series.
Anyway, they are all “fantasies” that feel impossible to come true.
However, Li Yu was not in a hurry, it was a normal reaction of the public.
——
When they returned to New York, Xie Yuxi had already applied for two automobile patents: seat belts and rearview mirrors.
Li Yu then telegraphed the status of the patent to Ford and Henry Leland in Detroit, as well as Maybach and Karl Benz in Germany.
Unexpectedly, several big names in the automotive industry have shown considerable importance to rearview mirrors, but consider seat belts to be dispensable.
Maybach even responded directly: "Rearview mirror technology is an unparalleled invention for improving the driver's field of vision!"
Karl Benz also sent a request, hoping to purchase the right to use this patent.
Ford in Detroit is currently developing automobiles and immediately stated that it would add rearview mirrors to future production.
Anyway, they all think that rearview mirrors are of great benefit.
Li Yu has written several technology licensing contracts. In the future, major car companies will only need to pay corresponding patent royalties to use this technology.
Major car companies will definitely be happy to adopt it, because Li Yu's design is already very complete and there is not much room for improvement.
Li Yu lamented that it was still satisfying to rely on technology to make money, which can be said to be once and for all.
No wonder Qualcomm can make huge profits from 5G usage fees in later generations.
For example, for a mobile phone that costs about 4,000 yuan, Qualcomm can earn nearly 100 yuan from patent fees alone, not counting chip and baseband costs.
This is the huge profit that comes from mastering patents.
That’s why Li Yucai wants to follow Bosch’s route and first become a core technology supplier in the upstream of the automotive industry.
As for seat belts, since the speed of today's cars is not high anyway, Ford and others believe that there will be no serious casualties.
The only one who showed some interest was Porsche. He was a racing enthusiast and had heard about a previous racing driver who saved his life by using a belt to secure himself.
So Porsche sent a telegram requesting the purchase of some seat belts.
Li Yu knew that the advancement of this technology would take some time, so he didn't ask Porsche for a penny and mailed a few messages to him for free.
Just treat it as product promotion fee.
It won't be long before the speed of the car increases and everyone will know how important the seat belt is.
——
After traveling across the ocean, the article published in the Journal of the Physical Society was finally seen by the European academic community.
Originally, European academic circles disdained to read American scientific magazines, but because it was written by Li Yu, I had to read it.
As Lord Kelvin who raised the two dark clouds, it was also the first time I saw someone say that "the constant speed of light is a basic principle and does not need to be proved."
Li Yu's quotation of the story about Newton and Apple is not difficult to understand for those with physical literacy.
After all, no one really thought about proving why apples don't fly into the sky.
It’s all as it should be!
But even Lord Kelvin still felt that the problem of constant speed of light violated Galileo's classic transformation. In the eyes of most people, two people walking in the same direction must be faster.
The key is that this is also consistent with daily observations.
What a contradiction! What a contradiction!
Lord Kelvin said to the President of the Royal Society: "You know astronomy. He once mentioned that it takes eight minutes for the sun's rays to reach the earth. What do you think?"
President Huggins said: "Although I know it is unrealistic, I would rather believe what Newton said that there is action at a distance. In an instant, no, it does not take time to reach the earth, because this can avoid many problems."
Lord Kelvin said: "I'm afraid the problem is unavoidable. Light does have speed and it is not an action at a distance. But if this is true, it is really chilling to think about his previous articles about extragalactic galaxies."
After all, Huggins specializes in astronomy. After thinking about it, he said: "You mean it takes tens of thousands of years for light to reach us?"
Lord Kelvin said: "Yeah, if that's the case, light is too slow, so I don't think the speed of light is just this."
President Huggins said: "From Michelson's data, the speed of light in vacuum is a basically certain value."
Lord Kelvin sighed: "So it is really confusing!"
The two of them studied for a long time, but finally couldn't come up with a solution.
Michelson and Morey's experiment has been done many times in many universities and research institutions, and everyone is unanimously sure that there is no error.
Many people have expressed doubts, but really don't know why.
Not only did Lord Kelvin feel unbelievable when he saw Li Yu's words, but the performances of all walks of life in Europe were similar.
Ma He said bluntly: "I have never seen such a lazy theory! If you can't find the reason, you say it can't be proved? It's really unworthy of Li Yu's various academician titles."
Mach supporter Ostwald said: "This is completely hindering the progress of science, because he actually wants us to accept the fact that there are dark clouds in the physical sky. It is simply a great insult to physics! It is like a detective who cannot find
When it comes to the murderer, just say there is no murderer."
These two are also old opponents.
However, their voice in the academic world is not small. Mach has already become famous, and Ostwald will win the Nobel Prize in a few years.
Fortunately, Li Yu also has supporters. Mr. Boltzmann had a very bad relationship with Ostwald and immediately wrote an article in response: "Please read the article carefully. Li Yu did not simply throw away the article without any reason."
Drawing an absurd conclusion should instead be regarded as a scientific introduction."
Ostawald had been feuding with Boltzmann for more than ten years over atomic theory. Although it cannot be compared with the god-level debates between Einstein and Bohr in later generations, he was also very famous in the second half of the 19th century.
of.
Planck, another super master, commented on the debate between the two: "These two mortal enemies are equally witty and have fluent answers; each other is very talented."
Planck is really interesting. He was a witness to both debates. It feels like he has witnessed two eras.
But the difference is that Ostwald's "energeticism" is really hard to come by, and within a few years everyone will know that the atomic theory is correct. Therefore, the debate between him and Boltzmann was lackluster.
It has to be evenly matched to be interesting.
Although Einstein lost the debate with Bohr, some of the ideas put forward by him and his camp can be said to have promoted the development of quantum mechanics on a large scale.
For example, the phrase "God does not play dice" and even "Schrödinger's cat" were put forward to refute Bohr.
Well, yes, Schrödinger, as the master of quantum mechanics, sided with Einstein and opposed quantum mechanics in the peak debate...
During Planck's two debates, he was a bystander. Boltzmann's was because he was still a low-key person. But when Einstein and Bohr debated, he had become a recognized authority, the moderator, and wanted to be a judge.
.
Another reason is that Planck is more cautious in his actions. He is a late bloomer and does not like to be the vanguard and charge into battle.
But now when Max Planck, who was at the University of Berlin, saw Li Yu's article, he quickly wrote a telegram and sent it to New York:
"Little friend Li Yu, I was shocked to hear that you went to the United States to 'travel' again. May I ask if you have done your business properly? Have you written the Star Wars prequel?"
Okay, let’s go overseas again to urge the manuscript.
Sure enough, the boss's views always make people confused.
Li Yu couldn't laugh or cry when he saw the telegram, and immediately sent him a telegram back: "Professor Planck, the prequel has been published and printed. I believe it won't be long before Europe can see it."
Planck was satisfied when he saw Li Yu's reply: "This is so true!"
Because Einstein was in Switzerland, he saw the American Physical Society article later.
But after only reading a few sentences, I knew it was related to my own research, so I quickly took the newspaper to the toilet and looked at it carefully.
The leader of the Patent Office saw Einstein sneaking out of the office out of the corner of his eye, but he was used to Einstein fishing at work, so he was not surprised.
Einstein had been studying Li Yu's last reply and his article, and now he was overjoyed when he saw that "the constant speed of light is a basic axiom" mentioned by Li Yu.
"Yeah, why didn't I think of it! If you can't prove it, don't prove it. Instead, use it as a basic hypothesis. If the theoretical proof is correct, then it will make the theory complete!"
After figuring out this joint, Einstein's mind became clearer and clearer. Even though he was in the toilet, he still couldn't feel the smell.
Even after hearing the sound of someone defecating, I thought of a Chinese idiom: "It's like the toilet suddenly opened!"