Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 297: Four Types of Aircraft, Ming Dynasty Aviation Bureau! [Subscription Request]

"Your humble servant greets the director." When Tao Chengdao heard that Liu Kuan had arrived, he also came out to greet him with several minor officials.

Liu Kuan quickly helped Tao Chengdao up and said, "Dong Ning Earl, you are really embarrassing me. Based on your qualifications, Dong Ning Earl could even be appointed as the director of the institute. It is a great underestimation of your talent to serve in this institute. How can you treat me as a subordinate?"

Tao Chengdao is not too old, in his early fifties, and because he takes good care of himself, there is very little white in his hair and beard.

He smiled and said, "In our Ming Dynasty, titles and official positions are two different things and cannot be compared. Since I have come to work in this institute, I am naturally an official under the institute, and it is only right that I perform the ceremony."

Liu Kuan didn't really like to dwell on these etiquette issues, so he said, "It's quite sunny outside, shall we go inside and talk?"

"The dean is here."

The Hot Air Balloon Research Institute was established longer than the Electrical Research Institute, and the compound covers a larger area. In addition to the various research laboratories, it also has a tea room, archives room, and other facilities in the official area.

After they sat down in the official hall, a clerk served them two bowls of iced sour plum soup, and the two began to chat about the hot air balloon research institute.

Tao Chengdao said, "Since I took over this research institute, I have made many improvements to the hot air balloon. It can now soar over 300 feet into the air, but its airborne time is still difficult to exceed one hour."

"As the Dean said before, if we want to significantly extend the time a hot air balloon can stay aloft, we must make a major breakthrough in fuel."

Liu Kuan said, "The various fuels currently available to the Ming Dynasty are indeed difficult to keep a hot air balloon aloft for a long time, unless there is a breakthrough in a series of processes using natural gas."

"Natural gas?" It was the first time that Tao Chengdao heard this term, and he was curious.

Liu Kuan explained, "Dong Ningbo should have heard of the Fire Well, right?"

Tao Chengdao's eyes lit up, and he said, "I heard there are fire wells in some places in Sichuan. Locals use the fire wells to boil salt, and even use the fire from the fire wells to cook and boil water. Could it be that the fire in those fire wells is caused by natural gas?"

"That's right." Liu Kuan nodded with a smile. "Natural gas is actually the same as the oil and coal I mentioned before. They are all treasures formed by the earth's geological movements, and they can both be burned."

"Naturally, natural gas is the lightest of all, and after being subjected to ultra-low temperatures, it liquefies to a volume of only one percent of its gaseous form."

"This means that only a small amount of liquefied natural gas can be burned for a long time and the calorific value is quite high."

Since Tao Chengdao took over the Hot Air Balloon Research Institute, Liu Kuan has visited many times and had many exchanges with him on science, technology, and especially chemistry (alchemy). Therefore, Tao Chengdao now understands new terms such as petroleum, geological movement, and liquefaction.

After listening to Liu Kuan's words, his eyes brightened even more. He immediately grasped the key point and asked urgently, "How low a temperature is needed to liquefy natural gas?"

Liu Kuan said, "I don't know exactly how low the temperature needs to be, but since it's ultra-low temperature, it must not be an ordinary low temperature."

"Besides the challenge of ultra-low temperatures, liquefied natural gas also requires solutions to issues like purification and storage. Given Daming's current technological level, it's quite difficult to resolve all of these issues."

Tao Chengdao was not afraid of difficulties.

He said, "Those of us who engage in research are most afraid of having no direction, or perhaps even going in the wrong direction. Since the Director has pointed out the right direction of liquefied natural gas, no matter how difficult it is, I am willing to try."

Tao Chengdao became fascinated with gunpowder through alchemy, so studying natural gas was a suitable professional fit for him.

But Liu Kuan remembered that Tao Chengdao lost his life in history while trying to fly, so he decided to focus on helping him realize his dream.

Although Tao Chengdao has personally boarded a hot air balloon to conduct a flight experiment after taking over the hot air balloon research institute, he is now obviously not satisfied with the short-term flight of the hot air balloon.

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "Actually, if you want to fly, besides the hot air balloon and the rocket method you mentioned earlier, there are other methods that may be easier to achieve."

"For example, if we take a kite as an example, we can create a flying machine that can glide through the air, which we can call a glider."

"Also, you can seal the sphere of a hot air balloon and fill it with a gas that's lighter than air. Using the property of 'clear air rises,' you can lift it off into the air, or even float in the sky—we could call it an airship."

After becoming familiar with Liu Kuan, Tao Chengdao asked Zhu Yuanzhang to borrow all the "Natural Science" textbooks written by Liu Kuan for study. He also collected and studied every issue of the "Natural Science" magazine edited by Liu Kuan himself.

Because he does have talent in this area, Tao Chengdao is definitely one of the best in natural science among the people of the Ming Dynasty.

After listening to Liu Kuan talk about the concept of gliders and airships, he understood the general principles after a little thought and immediately became excited.

"Director, this kite-like glider is easy to understand. The key is how to get it to take off, and how to fly more steadily and for longer periods of time after taking off, right?"

"As expected of the first person to fly, he truly possesses a strong talent for technology."

Liu Kuan secretly praised it in his heart, then nodded and said, "Not bad - we can try to use multiple horses to pull the glider for takeoff, and take off at a high speed on a special runway."

"As for how to make the glider glide stably, glide for a longer time, and even control the glide direction and finally land safely, it all depends on the specific design."

Tao Chengdao couldn't help but stand up and pace around excitedly. After walking a few laps, he calmed down and asked again, "As for the theory of the rising of pure air, I have already learned about it from the journal Natural Science. However, there are many kinds of air in the world. Which one is most suitable for filling the airship?"

Speaking of which, Tao Chengdao also had some guesses about Liu Kuan's origins - either he was a great sage who inherited the Mohist tradition of the pre-Qin period, or he was really a banished immortal, otherwise how could he understand so many wonderful principles and have so many wonderful ideas?
That's why he asked Liu Kuan directly about the best gas to fill the airship's balloon.

Liu Kuan didn't intend to hide it and said, "The most suitable gas is helium - this gas is not only much lighter than air, but also has stable properties and is very safe to use."

As he spoke, Liu Kuan dipped his finger in the sour plum juice at the bottom of the bowl and wrote the word "helium" on the table.

"But helium is difficult to produce. From what I know, one way is to obtain it through the purification process after liquefying natural gas; the other is to obtain it through the synthesis of a gas called ammonia." "However, no matter which method, it is difficult to achieve with the current level of technology in the Ming Dynasty."

Liu Kuan wrote the word "ammonia" on the table, and then wrote the word "hydrogen".

"In addition to helium, hydrogen is also much lighter than air, and it is relatively simple to produce, and there are more ways to produce it."

"For example, water electrolysis, the water gas method, and the production of hydrogen using fuels like natural gas and oil and water vapor..."

Liu Kuan introduced several methods of producing hydrogen to Tao Chengdao in succession. Some of them were explained in great detail, while others Liu Kuan himself did not understand so he simply mentioned them briefly.

Although Tao Chengdao's knowledge of natural sciences was not as good as that of Liu Kuan, a later generation, he could also hear that the production of hydrogen was indeed much easier than that of helium.

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, he took the initiative to ask, "Hydrogen is easier to produce, but the director ranked it after helium. It must be less safe than helium, right?"

Liu Kuan nodded. "Yes, hydrogen is very reactive and can easily ignite or even explode. So, if there is a choice for building an airship, helium is the best, followed by hydrogen."

Tao Chengdao smiled and said, "As long as it can be manufactured and can really allow people to fly in the airship, a few dangers will be nothing."

After hearing this, Liu Kuan was speechless.

Come to think of it, Tao Chengdao was a ruthless man who later blew himself to pieces in a rocket in order to fly into space. How could he be afraid of the dangers of hydrogen?

After coming back to his senses, Liu Kuan paused for a moment before saying, "In fact, flying is one of the important means of transportation for mankind in the future, just like sailing on the water."

Hearing this, Tao Chengdao stared at Liu Kuan and asked, "Is what the Dean said true?"

Liu Kuan nodded, "Of course."

Tao Chengdao was excited again after receiving a positive answer.

Liu Kuan continued, "I plan to submit a petition to His Majesty to establish a 'Space Bureau' under the Tiangong Academy. It will temporarily oversee four research institutes: hot air balloons, gliders, airships, and parachutes. I hope that Earl Dongning can serve as the director of the bureau when the time comes."

Tao Chengdao was delighted at first, then he asked with great interest, "What does this parachute mean? Is it related to the parachute that the dean mentioned earlier?"

Liu Kuan said, "The Parachute Research Institute is tentatively planning to research parachutes and paragliders. Paragliders are a simplified version of gliders, more dependent on terrain and requiring more stringent application conditions, but they are still a promising research direction for flight."

"Good! Good!" Tao Chengdao's face was flushed, his excitement and excitement overflowing from his words. "As long as Your Majesty allows, I will devote myself to the affairs of the Space Agency until my death! I will strive to complete the development of these four types of aircraft in my lifetime!"

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The next day, Liu Kuan took the initiative to go to the palace and meet Zhu Yuanzhang in Fengxian Hall.

He first recounted his impressions of yesterday's inspection of the Electrical Research Institute and the Hot Air Balloon Research Institute, then said, "Your Majesty, I request the establishment of a Wireless Telegraph Research Institute."

Old Zhu nodded without hesitation, "Of course it must be established - wireless telegraphy is a powerful weapon for the country. Now that our Ming Dynasty has initially mastered electricity, we should develop this wireless telegraphy as soon as possible."

"We agree to this matter and will prioritize its handling. Any funds, provisions, and personnel required, as long as they are reasonable, will be approved!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liu Kuan flattered him generously. Taking advantage of Zhu's good mood, he added, "I also request the establishment of three research institutes for gliders, airships, and parachutes, which will join the existing hot air balloon research institute to form a 'Space Administration'."

When Old Zhu heard the word "Space Administration", his eyes lit up - he was reminded of the videos played by Liu Kuan, which showed the exploration of space and the moon by later countries.

With Old Zhu's current Qi cultivation skills, he was actually quite excited and said, "Could it be that our Ming Dynasty already has the technology to explore outer space?"

Liu Kuan was stunned, and only then did he realize that Lao Zhu had misunderstood the role of the "Space Administration".

He said, "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty hasn't even developed a decent aircraft yet. We can't even achieve aviation, let alone explore outer space."

"I chose the name 'Space Administration' simply to express my aspirations for space exploration. If we want space exploration, we must first start with aviation."

"I see." Old Zhu was a little disappointed, but after a moment's thought, he said, "It's time for our Ming Dynasty to explore aviation and aerospace sooner. I agree to your request, but a more pragmatic name would be 'Aviation Bureau'."

After Zhu Yuanzhang's misunderstanding, Liu Kuan also felt that calling it "Space Administration" was a bit exaggerated and unworthy of the name, so he nodded and replied, "Yes."

Old Zhu added, "Although I agree, you still have to write a relevant memorial and send it to the cabinet to go through the process."

Liu Kuan was now quite skilled in writing memorials, and with the help of two female secretaries, Chunlan and Qiuyue, he rarely had to worry about writing memorials, so he agreed immediately.

After finishing his report, Liu Kuan was about to withdraw, but he heard Lao Zhu say, "The exploratory fleet has returned."

Back again?

One trip a year is quite efficient.

Liu Kuan knew that since Lao Zhu mentioned this matter, there must be follow-up, so he waited patiently.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)