Konoe Akiyuki went for a run and bought talcum powder.
She was curious about why Li Yu bought this thing, because from daily observation, Li Yu was a very clean person, bathed frequently, and his skin was pretty good. So much so that Konoe Akiyuki once wanted to use her spy status to check him out.
How is it done.
But this is a bit difficult. She must not know that Li Yu is a modern person.
Anyway, after thinking for a long time, he couldn't figure out what it was for, so he had to find Li Yu and give it to him: "This is what you want."
Li Yu took it and said, "Thank you very much."
Konoe Akiyuki blinked and said seriously: "I can wipe it for you if necessary."
Li Yu smiled and said, "This bottle of talcum powder is not for wiping your body."
Konoe Akiyuki wondered: "What is that for?"
Li Yu said: "Of course it is an experiment."
Konoe Akiyuki was greatly surprised: "Tacum powder? Do an experiment!"
Li Yu laughed and said: "It's very simple. You can finish it in one afternoon and send it to the Royal Society."
After saying this, Konoe Akiyuki couldn't believe it even more: "You mean, in just one afternoon, you can produce an experiment and article that even the most powerful British Royal Society in the world is rushing to publish?"
Li Yu said lightly: "That's right."
Konoe Aki almost gasped, "You are too scary."
Li Yu weighed the talcum powder in his hand and said, "You only need to use a little, and you can keep the rest."
"Should I keep it for use? How about I..." Before Konoe Akiyuki could ask, Li Yu had already gone to the laboratory.
——
The experiment Li Yu wanted to do was really simple, which was to measure the diameter of molecules using the oil film method that is a must-test in middle school chemistry.
The idea of the test itself is to form a single molecule oil film on the water surface, and then calculate the size of the molecule through the area.
However, it seems very simple, but at this time, no one has proposed this idea.
First of all, many people still cannot accept molecular theory and atomic theory, and many people do not believe whether such small microscopic particles exist.
It wasn't until next year that Einstein's first paper was released, which proved to a certain extent that molecules exist.
Then it would be a few more years before Jean Perrin ended doubts about molecular theory through experiments. But that was around 1908.
Two years later, in 1910, the oil film method was proposed for the first time.
Even a middle school student may know the oil film method, but its idea is actually very creative.
The core idea of the oil film method is to measure microscopic data through macroscopic states, so it is a very advanced experimental thinking.
The test process was of course very simple. Li Yu completed it quickly and estimated the size of the molecule to be at the 10-10th power meter dimension level.
This is a very small number, and is more consistent with actual size. Most molecules are at this level, except for some organic macromolecules.
Li Yu described the experimental process in detail in the article so that other laboratories and universities could repeat it, and then handed it to Konoe Akiyuki to send to London, England.
"Is this good?" Konoe Akiyuki asked.
"Okay," Li Yu paused and said, "I almost forgot, I'll give you back this bottle of talcum powder."
Konoe Akiyuki was full of doubts. The progress was so fast! But it was difficult to ask professional questions, so he took the letter to the post office.
Li Yu clapped his hands, although he felt a little bit like "I can't handle such a simple thing" in my heart, but this is the current situation.
Don't think that it's just a middle school experiment, so you don't like it.
The development of science and technology in the past one or two hundred years has been like an explosion, so fast that it is unimaginable. It is really like watching a building rise from the ground like a magic trick.
And it is the fastest slip form method for building buildings. You should have heard of Shenzhen’s development speed. Many buildings in those years used the slip form method. After pouring a layer of concrete with a formwork, the formwork was then slid up and continued.
Pour the next layer. Too fast!
Later generations of high school chemistry taught about atomic structure, which took decades to understand in the first half of the 20th century. Many of the topics, such as hierarchical orbitals and electron spins, won Nobel Prizes.
I also learned the theory of relativity in high school physics, which is also the most advanced theory in mankind.
Terrible, really terrible.
Therefore, the oil film method seems very inconspicuous, but at the beginning of the 20th century, it was still published in top journals such as "Science".
So when Li Yu just traveled through time, he suddenly realized that he could create a column in "Science".
It took at least a week for the letter to cross the Atlantic and reach England. During this time, Li Yu was busy with the expansion of the radio factory.
Morgan kept his word and obtained government approvals from multiple regions, especially key nodes such as the central region, the east and west coasts, and Hawaii.
Although it is unlikely to capture the global radio market in the future, it is still difficult to find rivals in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Americas.
Anyway, things are booming and the future is promising.
Tesla came to Li Yu that day and told him the news he had just heard: "Marconi bought a cruise ship specifically to test radios."
"The handwriting is not small." Li Yu said, touching his chin.
Marconi was a rich second generation, and he was indeed handsome and had always been more romantic in style.
His wife's family is also very wealthy, and it is said that they have 70,000 acres of land in Ireland.
This guy has modified the cruise ship very well. Not only can he do experiments, but he can also hold parties on the ship to pass the time.
Even in later generations, cruise ships are something that the richest people like. In the early 20th century, there were no private jets like the Gulfstream, and cruise ships were almost the most eye-catching products to show off their wealth.
This guy is very dishonest. There are often beautiful girls from Southern Europe at cruise ship parties.
Later, he and his wife divorced, and the person he remarried seemed to have met through a cruise party.
But really speaking, in the early days of radio development, it was indeed very meaningful to use cruise ships for radio experiments.
Nowadays, the United States is rising rapidly, and the situation in Japan and China is also attracting much attention, so Europe is also interested in strengthening ties with various places.
Li Yu said: "It sounds a bit global. It seems we need to buy one."
Tesla said: "We want to buy it too?"
Li Yu said: "Most importantly, I want to test radio communications from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou to Japan, San Francisco and New York."
Li Yu then found Xie Yuxi and mentioned the matter.
She was very well-informed and immediately said: "I know about Marconi's cruise ship. He is now preparing to publicize it everywhere to prove that his company has the strongest scientific research capabilities and is willing to invest money."
Well, the R&D competition has already begun.
Li Yu asked: "Is there any channel for us to buy one and convert it into a radio test cruise ship?"
Xie Yuxi thought for a while and said: "There should be some, but for such a large amount, I have to ask about it."
The industrial strength of the United States is now very strong, and the Xie Yuxi family has very good eyes and ears. It didn't take long to find a person who wanted to sell the ship, and the person in hand was a passenger ship converted into a cruise ship, which was more suitable.
Xie Yuxi gave Li Yu some information: "The other party was a financial tycoon before. Unfortunately, he almost lost his fortune in the stock market crash that just ended last year. In desperation, he had no choice but to sell the cruise ship in his hand."
The last stock market crash in the United States lasted from June 1901 to November 1903, which was a very long time.
Many people lost their underwear as a result of the compensation.
The regulation of the stock market at this time was like child's play compared to later.
Not only that, the transmission of news was also extremely slow. In later generations, the market update speed was very fast, but at this time, the stock price had to be determined by teletype, and there was no time to make decisions.
So it's almost like gambling.
It is said that in the early days of the Wall Street stock exchange, there were indeed betting shops.
Even Livermore, the famous American stock market god in the first half of the 20th century, suffered losses in the stock market many times and went bankrupt.
This kind of thing is commonplace anyway.
Li Yu asked: "Did you earn 100,000 US dollars from the US$30,000 you invested in the stock market last time?"
Xie Yuxi nodded: "Absolutely."
Last year, she followed Li Yu's advice, tripled the leverage and invested US$30,000. As Li Yu said, she made a fortune.
Li Yu then asked: "How much does the other party offer?"
Xie Yuxi said: "The new ship costs about 400,000 US dollars. After evaluation, it can be obtained for less than 200,000 US dollars."
Li Yu did the math in his mind and found that the price was quite reasonable.
Of course, it cannot be compared with a luxury cruise ship. The cost of Titanic is 1.5 million pounds, which is 7.5 million US dollars.
As an analogy, we can only compare it with cruisers of smaller tonnage.
For example, the Beiyang Navy bought two British-made unprotected cruisers, Chaoyong and Yangwei, with a displacement of about 1,350 tons. The price of the two ships was 650,000 taels of silver, which together amounted to more than 600,000 US dollars each.
Ordinary cruise ships are definitely not that expensive.
The price of the ship sold by the other party reached 200,000, which shows that it is already a very high-end cruise ship, that is, it has ocean-going capabilities.
Li Yu agreed to the expenditure, since he would be able to earn back the money soon.
I really don’t know if I don’t do business. Now Li Yu can better understand why some wealthy people in his previous life would buy Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley worth millions.
If used properly, even if you spend $200,000, you can actually earn back far more than $200,000.
Li Yu doesn't want to be a pure professional businessman, but since he wants to make some money, he still needs to invest a lot.
After all, apart from the wireless companies themselves, the government is now unlikely to invest in any large-scale transnational wireless business.
Even an island country like the United Kingdom only supported radio companies, and its target was Marconi's company.
Fortunately, the United States currently does not interfere too much in the development of enterprises, and there is a lot that can be done.
It will cost nearly ten thousand US dollars to buy the cruise ship and make some modifications, but I'm not in a hurry to use it anyway.
As the boss, Li Yu also needs to go to Detroit to see the automobile factory.
In fact, the automobile was led by Zou Zhou and David Buick, and it was running very well, and the new factory was quickly put into production.
Detroit is very dynamic and efficient right now.
Li Yu showed David Buick the experimental parameters of the Wright brothers, and then they designed and manufactured the engine together.
Of course, it's not really about developing a new engine, it's just about modifying existing engines. So it's not too difficult.
Because Li Yu has a relatively advanced cognition, he has a good vision for many designs. Even David Buick praised Li Yu as a "terrible genius"!
When it came to the subsequent specific manufacturing, Li Yu entrusted it to David Buick.
At this time, Yang Xiaolou was invited to go on a tour in Chicago, and Mr. Carnegie was also in Chicago recently. Li Yu should go and meet him and tell him about the use of the education fund.
Among the top five richest people in the United States, Carnegie lives the most prosperous life. He travels around all day long and is very happy.
After Li Yu saw him, he smiled and said: "Mr. Carnegie, you look better than before!"
Carnegie said: "If you don't have an official position, you will be light-hearted. What you say makes sense."
Xie Yuxi also smiled and said: "Grandpa, you know more Chinese proverbs now."
Carnegie laughed loudly: "I have been studying!" Then he said to Li Yu: "It's really unbelievable. It's been so long since we last met, and now you are not what you used to be. It's good to be young."
Li Yu said: "Thank you Mr. for your compliment!"
Xie Yuxi and Li Yu told him about the recent development of schools in China. Carnegie said happily: "It sounds relatively smooth, that's good! By the way, I heard that a prince from your Qing Dynasty took a delegation to the St. Louis World's Fair.
Very sensational.”
Li Yu said: "And this time we also brought the Peking Opera Troupe. If you are interested, sir, why not go and listen together? They have already arrived in Chicago."
"Oh?" Carnegie immediately became interested, "What are you waiting for? Of course you have to go and enjoy it!"
Chicago has a high status in the United States. Because it is close to the Great Lakes and has good living conditions, retired people like Carnegie like it very much.
When Li Yu and Carnegie arrived at the theater, they found that some Chinese had already arrived.
Not long after, Li Yu actually bumped into an acquaintance: Kang Youwei.
After he heard that an authentic Beijing opera troupe was coming to Chicago, he couldn't help but want to come and listen.
Kang Youwei swaggered into the theater and met Li Yu face to face.
Their eyes met, Kang Youwei blew his beard and said: "Master."
Li Yu also immediately raised his hands and replied: "Mr. Nanhai."
The two of them had already formed a quarrel, and both of them had a bad tone.
Kang Youwei said: "If the emperor doesn't continue to do business like a fly or a dog, why are you here?"
Li Yu said angrily: "I make fair and honest money in business, unlike Mr. Nanhai, who always cheats Chinese people out of their hard-earned money. As for what to do with the money raised, I'm afraid it's only God's way."
"You!" Kang Youwei was so angry that his beard stood up, "You are a young boy with yellow hair, what do you know about the great cause of the family and the country? What I have done is to reshape the world, and I will be famous for generations to come. What qualifications do you have to treat me?
Pointing fingers?"
Li Yu almost laughed. This old guy has no self-awareness at all. "Mr. Nanhai, I don't know how you want to reshape the world. Let me tell you."
Kang Youwei was speechless for a moment, and then said: "The current situation is that the officials under the old witch are oppressing the people, causing the people to suffer miserably. Emperor Guangxu is diligent in his work, loves the people, and is determined to reform. In the future, Emperor Guangxu will be in charge, and he will be able to clear away the haze. Emperor Guangxu
He will also welcome me to the imperial court, and when that time comes, I will naturally show my strength."
Li Yu asked: "Has Mr. Nanhai met the emperor?"
Kang Youwei said: "Of course I have seen it! I was once the emperor's master!"
Li Yu smiled and said: "Then we are still traveling together. Tell me, what are the emperor's hobbies, what books have he read, and what classes have he taken?"
Kang Youwei had no answer, he could only quibble: "Of course it is the hobby that an emperor should have, the books he should read, and the lessons he should take."
Li Yu had a black hair and everything he said was nonsense.
Li Yu said: "Do you really think that even if the emperor is in charge, he will let you become the prime minister?"
Kang Youwei was full of confidence: "Who else in the world is qualified except me?"
Li Yu held back his laughter and said, "Let's go back to our seats and listen to the show."