"Very well, it seems that you have fully grasped the principle of movement of the steam engine. You're basically right about it, and then it's a matter of how to improve. Have you come up with a way to improve it? He Zhiyuan asked Wang Zhixue.

"I haven't thought about it yet." Wang Zhixue replied honestly.

In eighteenth-century England, Watt discovered that the Nexman steam engine was inefficient, and came up with the idea of improving it. He used more than ten years to carry out a series of inventions, such as a separate condenser, an insulation layer outside the cylinder, oil lubrication pistons, planetary gears, parallel motion connecting rod mechanism, centrifugal governor, throttle valve, pressure gauge, etc., so that the efficiency of the steam engine was increased to more than three times that of the original Newcomen machine, and finally invented the steam engine in the modern sense. Thus began the first industrial revolution.

Invention and innovation has always been a gradual process, not overnight, even if He Zhiyuan is from the later generations and knows the operating principle of the steam engine, it is impossible to develop by leaps and bounds. It can only give inspiration, hints, and guidance to researchers, so as to avoid some detours.

What's more, in this era, the Ming Dynasty had almost no basic theories in industrial manufacturing, and it all relied on the experience of craftsmen. All kinds of materials are very scarce, and some materials need to be manufactured in-house, and the difficulties faced in the improvement of the steam engine in this situation can be imagined.

Therefore, He Zhiyuan plans to tell him the idea of improvement, and it is difficult to determine how long they will be able to achieve it. Thinking of this, He Zhiyuan said to Wang Zhixue: "I'll give you an idea for improvement." ”

When Wang Zhixue heard that the master could give him an idea, he immediately became excited, and Liu's father and son also came over to listen carefully. He Zhiyuan continued:

"In fact, the disadvantage of this steam engine is that the expansion and condensation of steam are both completed in one cylinder. When the steam enters, the piston moves upwards to drive the cold water valve to open, and the water enters the cylinder to cool down both the water vapor and the cylinder, and the steam condenses. The piston is moved downward under the action of atmospheric pressure, and then the steam valve is opened, and the steam enters. By this time, the cylinder temperature has been reduced, and for the steam to expand, the cylinder must first be heated, and then the piston will start to move upwards. The cylinder is cold and hot, resulting in heat loss, which leads to inefficiency. ”

Wang Zhixue and Liu's father and son were shocked when they heard He Zhiyuan's analysis. This analysis is much more accurate than what they discussed. Wang Zhixue exclaimed: "The master is the master, it is really extraordinary, why didn't we think of it." ”

"Actually, your analysis is also correct, but you don't think about it from the perspective of heat loss." He Zhiyuan accepted Wang Zhixue's compliments and praised them by the way. Then he continued: "To solve this problem, we need to find a way to separate the two processes of steam expansion and cooling. If another cylinder block is added next to the cylinder to connect with the cylinder, when the piston moves to the top, let the steam enter the cylinder next to it for cooling, so that the cylinder has been maintained at the original temperature, when the steam enters again, the steam does not need to heat the cylinder, directly expands and pushes the piston to move, so that the steam engine can be improved

efficiency too. ”

After listening to He Zhiyuan's story, Wang Zhixue thought about it and immediately understood what He Zhiyuan meant. Then he said: "What the master said makes sense, and we will improve it immediately." ”

He Zhiyuan shook his head and said negatively: "No, I'm not in a hurry to improve this time." I decided to set up a steam engine workshop and start producing steam engines in earnest. ”

Hearing this, the three of them were very surprised, and now they have to start production without improvement, which is not in line with his previous style. Wang Zhixue immediately asked: "The master is in such a hurry to start production, is it in a hurry to use it in the coal mine?" ”

He Zhiyuan replied: "Rushing to use it is one aspect, on the other hand, this kind of steam engine must have a market, it is important to make money first, we must use the money earned by the steam engine to support the next step of research, and form a virtuous circle before the research can continue." ”

He Zhiyuan said this, Liu & father and son were a little embarrassed, they felt that they had been doing research for so long in Hejia Town, and they had spent a lot of money instead of doing research. He Zhiyuan proposed to produce a steam engine, and they all agreed. And Wang Zhi didn't have this kind of consciousness after learning, and still asked: "Master, will this kind of inefficient steam engine be sold to ruin its reputation?" ”

He Zhiyuan almost laughed out loud, how did he, a big apprentice, have a long brain? Selling a product that has never been seen before in this world, others will only feel novelty and surprise, and there is no comparison, how can it ruin the reputation? He may think that it is wrong not to sell the best things to users, and others will think that you are a profiteer. From this aspect, it can be seen that he is real.

He Zhiyuan decided to enlighten him: "Your idea is not right, the steam engine is a new thing, no one else can produce it, only our family is selling it." Even if our products have shortcomings, they can still be used and work efficiently improved a lot, which is beneficial to people, right? How could such a good thing have a bad reputation? If you feel that the current steam engine has shortcomings, you want to improve it and then produce it. But then you noticed his shortcomings and wanted to improve them? Such endless improvements will never reach the most perfect state, will you never produce? ”

He Zhiyuan thought in his heart, if he really wanted that, he would have to bankrupt me. In order to improve the steam engine, Watt almost bankrupted three companies. I don't want to spend a lot of money on the steam engine, and now I have to make it back through the market.

Wang Zhixue heard about He Zhiyuan's discussion, nodded as if he didn't understand, and said, "Then I'll listen to the master." ”

He Zhiyuan then said to Wang Zhixue: "You will withdraw after you teach the workers in the workshop." Then he looked at Liu Xing and said: "In the future, this steam engine workshop will be in charge of Master Liu, and Wang Zhixue and Liu Honglin will continue to improve the steam engine." ”

When Liu Xing heard that he was in charge of this workshop, he immediately said: "Don't worry, Gongzi He, I must take care of this steam engine workshop." ”

He Zhiyuan instructed: "Not only must we manage it well, but we must also pay attention to confidentiality, and we must keep it as strict as here!" ”

Liu Xing patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I promise that it won't leak out, Gongzi treats us so well, how can we do things without conscience." ”

After a moment's hesitation, he asked again

"Now this steam engine has a simple structure, what should I do if it is copied by someone?" ”

This is really a very difficult problem, because people in China have not been aware of the protection of intellectual property rights since ancient times, especially in ancient times. People who engage in innovation and invention almost do not make a fortune, as if it were natural to imitate other people's things. As early as the 16th century, European countries did much better than China in this regard, and Britain had patent protection laws at that time to protect the interests of inventions and innovators at the legal level. For example, Watt applied for many patents to improve the steam engine, and it was with these patents that he was able to bring back the two companies that had nearly gone bankrupt that funded him.

Not to mention ancient China, even in modern times, the awareness of intellectual property protection of Chinese people is still insufficient. In the eyes of many people, intellectual property is something that cannot be seen or touched, and it is all virtual, far less real than the machine factory. For example, pirated software, almost all Chinese people have used pirated software, as if these software should be used for free.

Another example is the piracy stations of various languages, it is estimated that there are hundreds of them in the country. Some stations are blatantly pirated, and they are updated almost synchronously with genuine stations. is also in the station Tian shameless statement "reprinted to this site just to promote this book so that more readers can enjoy", packaging himself very tall, as if he is doing a good deed.

It is precisely because of the rampant imitation and piracy that those talented people lose their passion and motivation for innovation and invention, and also make them lose the economic basis for innovating and inventing again. Who wants to watch their inventions being stolen, and their research results with huge amounts of money have not given them much benefit, but let the thieves make a lot of ill-gotten gains, and in such a social background, who wants to engage in innovative inventions?

In this era, He Zhiyuan can't stop others from copying his own products now, and can only rely on his own ability to continuously improve the technical level, so that imitators can't imitate. When he has the strength, he will suggest that the imperial court legislate to protect intellectual property rights and protect the interests of inventors. Only in this way can talented people be inspired to invent and innovate.

To Liu Xing's question, he thought for a while and replied: "The processing level of our research institute far exceeds that of other workshops, even if they want to imitate it, they can't make it." As long as our people don't leak secrets, they don't have to worry about being copied. ”

Liu Xing thought for a while, nodded and said: "What Childe said makes sense, just the inner wall of a cylinder is processed, even the best craftsmen can't process it so finely." It is impossible to process without our machine tool, even if there is a machine tool, it cannot be processed without our special steel tool. ”

Liu Xing's words are not an exaggeration at all, and now the technical level of these workshops in Hejiazhen is already the top level of the Ming Dynasty. Besides, the steam engine produced now is not the best, and by the time they can figure it out and imitate it, the Institute of Physics may have already developed a second-generation steam engine. When the second-generation steam engine goes on sale, the first-generation steam engine will immediately face obsolescence, and even if it is imitated, it will be meaningless.

So now He Zhiyuan is not afraid of being imitated at all. In the words of an advertising slogan, it is "always imitated, never surpassed." ”

(End of chapter)

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

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