Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 91 Generators and Motors (Subscribe!)

It turns out that good things always come in pairs.

Not long after the signing of the Treaty of Ceuta, Carlo received another piece of good news. After several months of hard work, Gramm's electrical laboratory produced an AC generator and a DC generator.

Carlo was not at all surprised at the speed with which the Electrical Power Laboratory was producing the generators.

When he was in France before, Gramm had manufactured two types of generators and was already quite familiar with the principles and specific manufacturing processes of generators.

Although we came to Spain, we received great help from Carlo and some colleagues who had worked in France before. The speed of manufacturing generators will not slow down but will be accelerated.

After all, the earliest generators were not very sophisticated, not to mention that they were small generators used for experiments. It was not difficult for Gramm to make such a generator.

Carlo was very excited when he learned that the generator had been successfully manufactured.

Although today's generators may seem rather crude in later times, this was Spain's first step in exploring electrification.

As the saying goes, all things are difficult at the beginning. Only after the development of the generator did Spain's electrification journey truly begin.

With a generator, there is electricity. For Carlo, it is not difficult to use this new energy source.

To a certain extent, the principles of generators and motors are similar, except that one converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, while the other converts electrical energy into kinetic energy.

In addition to generators, another tool that widely uses electrical energy is the light bulb, which Carlo is more familiar with.

Carlo remembered deeply from the education he received in later generations that the material ultimately used in light bulbs was tungsten filament.

Although current technology may not be able to produce qualified tungsten filaments for use in light bulbs, what does this have to do with Carlo?

Carlo's task was to propose the tungsten filament light bulb as a concept to the experts involved in the research and development of light bulbs.

As for how to make tungsten filament and experiment with tungsten filament light bulbs, that is something scientists should consider and has nothing to do with King Carlo.

Considering the importance of electricity to the future, Carlo, who had nothing to do, decided to go to the electric power laboratory in person to see how the research in the laboratory was going.

Fortunately, the power laboratory was not far from the Royal Palace of Madrid. Sitting in the luxurious carriage exclusive to the royal family and enjoying the attentive service of the maid, Carlo soon arrived at the power laboratory in the suburbs.

"It is indeed much more spectacular than before." Carlo could see the entire newly built experimental area while sitting in the carriage. It was much more complete than the last time he visited.

Whether it is the power laboratory's power experiment building or the engine research laboratory of the engine company, they are all built in a very professional manner.

Because it is a new building, it looks quite impressive. The V-shaped complex located in the center of the entire experimental area looks quite impressive, and it stands out in this experimental area where most floors are less than three stories high.

Leaving the two maids to stay in the carriage, Carlo took some guards and headed towards the power laboratory.

In order not to disturb Gram and others' electrical experiments, Carlo deliberately did not inform the electrical laboratory of his arrival, which also resulted in no one greeting him from the direction of the electrical laboratory.

But Carlo didn't mind such empty formalities. If the power laboratory had research results, that would be something Carlo should be happy about, and that was also the reason why Carlo founded the power laboratory.

Because he had visited the experimental area before, Carlo was familiar with the location of the power laboratory.

After instructing the troops stationed outside the experimental area to continue patrolling without making any noise, Carlo went to the electrical laboratory.

The electrical laboratory was quite lively at this time. After the two generators were manufactured, Gram and many of his colleagues began to discuss the use of electrical energy.

It is indeed possible to generate electricity using a generator, but the question is how to use the electricity?
Or in other words, how can we prove that electricity is a more efficient and cheaper energy source?
Currently, there are two explorations into the role of electricity: one is lighting, and the other is power energy.

However, both explorations are in their initial stages, and it is difficult for electricity to prove its effectiveness, which is why electricity practitioners have not received much attention so far.

Even if we can make a generator and generate electricity, the problem is that the current electricity is completely useless.

It is possible to store the generated electricity using lead-acid batteries, but what is the use of that?
Electricity is useless if it is not used well.

He asked several guards to wait outside the laboratory door. As soon as Carlo opened the door, he heard a heated discussion inside the laboratory.

"It looks quite lively." Carlo said with a smile.

Gram and others in the lab also heard the door opening and Carlo's voice. They looked up and found that Carlo had entered the lab.

"His Majesty!"

Everyone stopped discussing and saluted Carlo.

There was no other way. Carlo was now the big moneymaker of the Electric Power Laboratory. All the research funds of the Electric Power Laboratory depended on Carlo, which made everyone respect Carlo from the bottom of their hearts. They wanted to use various means to help Carlo increase the research funds.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Gram also stood up appropriately and expressed his apology to Carlo: "I did not receive any notification from the palace, so I did not go to greet you."

"It's okay, Mr. Gram. I gave the order, and your experiment is more important." Carlo smiled and nodded, not caring about the empty formalities.

"I heard that both generators have been successfully manufactured?" Carlo looked into the laboratory with some curiosity, looking for the generators.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gram explained quickly: "We have already manufactured DC generators and AC generators, and are currently exploring the use of electricity.

Your Majesty, please look, these are the two generators we used for the experiment, and they have been tested and can generate electricity. "

Carlo looked at the two small leak detection devices, not with disdain, but with curiosity and satisfaction: "Is there any device that can store electricity now?"

"There are lead-acid batteries, Your Majesty." Gram continued to introduce: "Currently, we store electrical energy with this type of battery. It can ensure that when the generator is not working, we still have a certain amount of electricity to use for experiments."

Lead-acid batteries were invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Plante. They were originally related to electricity, and Gramm and others had worked for the French power company, so it was natural that they had come into contact with lead-acid batteries. After all, this is the only rechargeable battery in the world, which is more advanced than the earlier Voltaic pile and Daniel battery, and is more suitable for various research in power laboratories.

"What stage have we reached now? Are there any difficulties at the moment?" Carlo asked immediately.

Although Carlo's knowledge of electricity was not extensive, the little knowledge he had was still quite useful in 1870, more than years ago.

A tungsten filament light bulb alone is enough to save Spain several years of detours in lighting. After all, current research on light bulbs basically tends to be carbon filament light bulbs.

Electricity slowly began to develop, and later there was a war between Edison and Tesla over direct current and alternating current.

In fact, direct current and alternating current have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the two are used in different scenarios. Even in later times, although people mostly use alternating current in their daily lives, direct current is also widely used in industry.

It’s a pity that Tesla is still too young, otherwise Carlo really plans to bring Tesla to Spain to work in the power industry.

Just give Tesla a few years to grow up without interfering too much in his development. When Tesla becomes an adult and starts looking for a job in the future, it won't be too late for Carlo to send someone to bring Tesla to Spain.

Tesla's abilities were quite impressive. He obtained about 1000 invention patents in his lifetime, and his research fields included alternating current, radio, wireless power transmission, ball lightning, turbines, amplified transmitters, particle beam weapons, solar engines, X-ray equipment, power meters, missile science and remote sensing technology, aircraft, cosmic rays, radar systems, and robots, which seemed to be diverse.

For ordinary scientists, specializing in one of them requires most of their energy, and it also requires a bit of luck to discover some famous research results.

As for Tesla, he has made contributions in almost all of these fields, and in some areas he has made quite outstanding contributions, which is commendable.

However, he was a bit too obsessed with scientific research and was eventually labeled a mad scientist. He also gave up the patent for alternating current, which led to him becoming poor and destitute, becoming one of the famous representatives of outstanding scientific research contributions but poor and miserable.

If Tesla does not give up its AC patent, on average, the company will have to pay Tesla about $2.5 in patent fees for every horsepower of AC electricity generated.

This is an extremely exaggerated income, but for an ordinary person like Tesla, whether he can get this patent fee is also a question.

"We have already conducted experiments on power generation and storage, but there are still many problems with the application of electrical energy," Gram reported truthfully.

When reporting, Gram's expression was a little awkward, and he was obviously a little annoyed that he strongly supported Carlo but did not achieve much in his research.

"Speaking of which, I also have some ideas about the use of electrical energy." Carlo smiled and said, "Mr. Gram, have you ever thought about using the principle of the generator in reverse?"

Gram was stunned for a moment, his mind was obviously stunned, but he continued to speak: "Your Majesty, what are you saying?"

Carlo nodded and explained with a smile: "Since electrical energy can be generated from kinetic energy, why not try to generate kinetic energy from electrical energy?
Generators can generate electricity, so why can't they use electricity in reverse? I think this is a good idea, Mr. Graham, why don't you give it a try? "

Gram nodded slowly, then suddenly came to his senses, with an excited smile on his face, looking at Carlo with gratitude: "Oh my God! What a wonderful idea, why didn't I think of it?
Your Majesty, you are a genius! If you were also engaged in electrical work, I am afraid those electrical scientists would have no food to eat long ago. "

Carlo smiled and shook his head: "This is just an idea that came to my mind. Whether it will work depends on the specific experiments."

It is quite simple to conduct relevant experiments.

Gramm had two DC generators brought in and began testing the generators and motors.

The principle of the test is also very simple. Generators are supposed to generate electricity. What wonderful things would happen if the electricity generated by the first generator was transmitted to the second generator?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Gram began to connect the two generators.

After connecting all the wires and checking them carefully, Gram ordered his men: "Start the first generator!"

As the countdown continued, the first generator officially started.

"Electricity is generated!" The current passed through the test circuit, and the experimenters successfully detected the generation of electricity.

Hearing that electricity had been generated, everyone quickly turned their eyes to the second generator.

When the current entered the armature coil of the second generator, it started running at an extremely fast speed.

"God, this is true, this is unbelievable!" Ram looked at the two generators running at the same time with a crazy face, and tears were even brewing in the corners of his eyes.

The other experimenters were not much better. They did not expect that the use of electrical energy could be realized by Carlo's magical idea.

"Your Majesty, I have a good idea. Please wait a few minutes." Gram, who discovered the electric motor, could no longer contain his excitement and asked Carlo.

Carlo nodded and waited quietly for Gram to realize his idea.

The device that Gram wanted to make was actually very simple, at least Carlo could understand the principle.

A small waterfall device with a reservoir above and below the waterfall. When the water in the upper reservoir is released, the water engine generates electricity.

The electricity is then transmitted to the electric motor below, and the operation of the motor can pump water from the reservoir below and return it to the reservoir above.

Of course, this is just a demonstration of the use of electrical energy, not a perfect circulation device. Such a device is not a perpetual motion machine, and there will be additional consumption of electricity during the generation and use stages. Gram's purpose in making such a device is just to show the role of the generator and motor more clearly.

This novel device immediately attracted the admiration of everyone in the laboratory, and even Carlo was quite surprised.

This also shows the brains and hands-on ability of scientists of this era. As soon as the electric motor was discovered, it was possible to create a corresponding simulated usage scenario. Carlo is even more curious about what kind of rapid progress the power industry will have in the future.

The second update of 4,000 words, please support!
It’s the fourth day of daily update, 6000/10000 has been updated, please support!

The remaining 4,000 words may be completed after 12 o'clock and before 2:30.



(End of this chapter)