The gunpowder that Liu Minghua wanted to make was the most advanced gunpowder, which was much more powerful than that of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and once it appeared in the Tang Dynasty, it would inevitably trigger a revolution.

When he came to the factory, Cheng Yanjin came over and said that some gunpowder materials were here, and asked Liu Minghua to see how the condition was?

Liu Minghua nodded, lifted the lid of a crockpot, and looked inside, it was sulfur. Sulfur is available in the market and is not a sught-after commodity.

Liu Minghua closed the lid and opened a clay jar, which was filled with white powder, and a pungent smell rushed into his nose. This spicy smell in Liu Minghua is ten times more fragrant than smelling perfume, this is saltpeter, which is saltpeter after boiling.

Pure saltpeter is non-toxic, saltpeter in nature contains less than ten percent of nitrate, and there are too many impurities, which must be removed.

The purity of the saltpeter in the jar is at least seventy or eighty percent, this kind of purity can only be regarded as rough in the future world, and it will definitely be considered good in the Tang Dynasty!

As for charcoal, this one is simple. For Liu Minghua, the main thing is that it is more troublesome to boil nitrate.

Opening a jar, Liu Minghua found that it was miscanthus nitrate, which was sodium sulfate decahydrate, which was a multi-purpose raw material and a must-have for the glass industry. It is also a good laxative, which is used to treat constipation. In the minds of the Tang people, miscanthus has no use except for curing diseases. So Liu Minghua wanted this thing, and Cheng Yanjin and the others felt it was strange.

Miscanthus salts are mainly stored in salt lakes, salt springs, and dry salt lakes, and coexist with stone salt and gypsum. Miscanthus crystals are generally short columnar or needle-shaped, and these crystals come together to form lumps, or fibrous clumps. Transparent, very beautiful, nice to look at.

Cheng Biting Jin said: "Minghua, how is it?" What are you doing today? ”

Liu Minghua said with a smile: "I want to boil nitrate today, and I will first bring the first batch of saltpeter to come." ”

He has no concept of boiling nitrate and biting gold, and he still directs people to move saltpeter.

Liu Minghua asked people to bring water, poured it into the pot, and began to raise the fire. When the fire rose, Liu Minghua put the saltpeter in the pot. Cheng Yanjin didn't know what was going on, and said in surprise: "Minghua." What are you doing here? Boiled stones? What is good for this stone to boil? ”

Boiled stones? Liu Minghua thought this statement was too funny. Explained: "It's not boiling stones. This is saltpeter, which melts easily in hot water. ”

Cheng Yanjin didn't believe it: "No, right?" It's okay in cold water, but it's different in hot water? The eyes of the boss widened, staring at the saltpeter in the pot: "Minghua." Nothing has changed? ”

Saltpeter is actually potassium nitrate. Gunpowder is prepared by potassium nitrate. The solubility of potassium nitrate varies greatly with temperature. It is by using the principle that the solubility of potassium nitrate varies greatly that potassium nitrate can be obtained.

Cheng Yanjin didn't understand the meaning of solubility and didn't believe that it was normal. Liu Minghua couldn't explain it to him. You can only say that you just wait and see.

As the temperature rose, Liu Minghua couldn't stop stirring, and the saltpeter in the pot slowly dissolved. Cheng Yanjin was very surprised and said: "That's the case, the hotter it is, the faster it melts." ”

Put the saltpeter in the pot constantly, and after a while of stirring, there was a peculiar smell in the room, and Liu Minghua asked someone to retire the fire. The solubility of potassium nitrate in hot water is large, but the temperature is too high, and the harm to people is not small. This has the advantage of doing less harm to people, but reduces efficiency. For the sake of health, this is the price that has to be paid.

kept putting saltpeter into the pot until there was not much change, and Liu Minghua stopped putting saltpeter. At the same time, it is no longer stirring and shaking, as long as Cheng Biting Jin keeps the temperature on a simmer and maintains the temperature.

After a while, the pot was clarified, and Liu Minghua carefully scooped the supernatant into another clean pot. The rest of the sediment, Liu Minghua and Cheng Biting Jin worked together, poured it into a bucket and filled it.

The potassium nitrate content in saltpeter ore varies according to the quality of the ore level, and it is very good to have a content of 10%. Of course, saltpeter ore also contains other substances that can be soluble in water, but not in large amounts. All that's left is dirt, which should be disposed of. If you want to deal with it, you have to wait for the temperature to drop, and Liu Minghua poured it into the bucket first.

"Minghua, that's okay?" Cheng Biting Jin couldn't be sure.

Liu Minghua smiled: "It's early, this is just the beginning." Now the step is to transfer the saltpeter from the mine to the water, and then it will be thickened, cooled, and crystallized. ”

Cheng bit Jin and asked, "Minghua, do you want to do it next?" ”

"yes." Liu Minghua affirmed a word, Cheng Biting Jin poured water into the pot, Liu Minghua added some firewood, and the flames in the stove rose again. This time, without waiting for Liu Minghua to speak, Cheng Yanjin put the saltpeter mine into the water.

This is top secret, Liu Minghua and Cheng Yanjin personally came to make zuò. In order to improve efficiency, all three pots are started at the same time. It was only after noon that the saltpeter mines were disposed of. The next thing is to thicken, Liu Minghua and Cheng Yanjin put the pot together, scooped the clarifier over, and then raised the fire.

Gunpowder, it's not far away, Liu Minghua couldn't help but get excited.

Gunpowder, a great invention, will soon be born from Liu Minghua's hands, and Liu Minghua's excitement can be imagined.

The temperature rises, the water vapor rises, and the smell is not very good. Liu Minghua added some firewood to the stove hole, and Cheng Yanjin withdrew. Cheng Yanjin was loyal to his duties, and asked with some worry: "Minghua, no one is watching, can you do it?" ”

Liu Minghua reminded him: "Don't worry. After a while, just go in and have a look, and you don't have to keep watching. In this way, people feel better, and their work is done. ”

After a while, the two of them went in to take a look, and there was a lot less water in the pot, and Cheng Yanjin asked, "Minghua, do you want to add water?" ”

Thickening is to evaporate the water, how can it be possible to add more water, Liu Minghua waved his hand and said: "No." Almost, we'll put it aside and put the rest on it and cook it. ”

Cheng Biting Jin Wei and Liu Minghua were looking at the horse, and the two worked together to put the remaining potassium nitrate solution in the pot and heat it. Throwing some firewood, Liu Minghua pulled Cheng Yanjin out of the house.

The two of them were busy until the evening. The temperature dropped, potassium nitrate began to precipitate, looking at the white crystals, Cheng Yanjin was surprised, pointed to the pot, and was speechless for a long time: "Minghua, look, there is something strange in the water." ”

Liu Minghua did too much, he was not surprised at all, and said with a smile: "This is normal." By tomorrow, it should be almost there, and it only needs to be dried in the sun, and it can be mixed with gunpowder. ”

Cheng bit Jin Wu couldn't calm down, stood by the pot and looked at the old man for a while, and then followed Liu Minghua. On the second day, Liu Minghua slept a lot.

When I came to the nitrate room, I saw that Cheng Yanjin was already there, clubbing like a stake, staring at the potassium nitrate crystals in the pot, and I didn't even know how to turn my eyes. Liu Minghua smiled: "Uncle Cheng, is there an ingot?" ”

This is a joke, Cheng Yanjin still feels embarrassed, and his face is red: "Minghua, this thing is amazing." Yesterday it looked like water, but today it is so white. ”

Potassium nitrate dissolves in water, and as soon as the temperature decreases, it will naturally precipitate, Liu Minghua explained to him with a smile: "Uncle Cheng, some eyes can't see, it's not that there is no zài. This thing was transferred from the saltpeter mine to the water, and as soon as we boiled it, it cooled down and appeared. "The word "boiling" means tinong, and if it is according to professional knowledge, he must have heard it in the clouds.

I don't know if Cheng Yanjin really understands or pretends to understand, there was a long list of oh sounds, and he didn't say it anymore. Liu Minghua knew that he hadn't come back to his senses, and he didn't explain anymore, so he ordered, and the two of them got the solids in the pot into a bucket, carried them outside the house, spread the linen cloth on the smooth ground, and then poured potassium nitrate on top of it and flattened it.

Looking at the sky, the sun is good, today should be a good day, and it is just right to dry potassium nitrate.

Liu Minghua and Cheng Yanjin didn't move much, but there was too much potassium nitrate, dozens of catties, spread on the ground to dry.

Niu Jinda asked, "What is this?" What's the use? ”

This is what everyone thinks, and Liu Minghua can't answer or not: "This is potassium nitrate, which is extracted from saltpeter and can be used to make gunpowder." ”

"Saltpeter can refine this thing?" Niu Jinda was a little unconvinced.

Liu Minghua smiled: "This is true. The process of making potassium nitrate from saltpeter is called boiling nitrate, which is a very simple method. It is to add saltpeter to hot water and boil, stirring while boiling, so that potassium nitrate can be dissolved in water. Almost stop stirring, wait until clarification, transfer the clarifier, and then boil the clarifier for a while and cool it to get potassium nitrate. "Knowing that he would ask to understand, Liu Minghua said it first.

Liu Minghua uses saltpeter, and if it is nitrate, it will be more troublesome, and it is necessary to use plant ash.

Niu Jinda was amazed: "What a wonderful idea! How is gunpowder made? ”

Liu Minghua smiled: "When this is done, I can do it." Gunpowder is a good thing that can be used to make weapons, and if it is put in a jar and the mouth is sealed, it will explode as soon as it is ignited. ”

As soon as the words fell, Niu Jinda asked, "Explosion?" So what is it? ”

Gunpowder was still in its infancy in the Tang Dynasty, and the word explosion was very new to the Tang people, Liu Minghua was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and said: "When I prepare the gunpowder and then demonstrate it to you, I will know what an explosion is." ”

"Alright, we'll wait for an eye-opener." Niu Jinda was excited.

There is no need to keep the potassium nitrate, Liu Minghua can also do other things. Asked Shangcheng to bite the gold, and the two of them processed the sulfur and charcoal. After some hard work, there are several catties of charcoal powder, which can be used a lot.

After finishing this work, let's look at potassium nitrate, which is almost dry. Liu Minghua grabbed a handful, far away, and configured the sulfur and charcoal in proportion. This is the recipe for military black powder, and it is not small

(To be continued......)