Tang Ning wanted to do two things within a month of his stay in Xu Rong Village, the first was to teach Xu Rong Village to install and use a high-power wireless telegraph system, including the installation of antennas. The second was to invent a wind-powered system, so that the telegraph system that Xu Rongcun brought back to China would not need to be supplied with batteries. This is still relatively new to the Far East.

Downing uses the most inconspicuous of the vertical-axis windmills, the Q-shape, which has a very simple structure, like a Q, with only a thin loop, and you don't know it can turn if it doesn't turn up. Such a design can play a certain role in confidentiality, and it is easy to make, easy to carry, easy to install, and easy to maintain. A key component is a rectifier that converts the alternating current generated by the windmill into direct current. If you look carefully, you will remember that the biggest characteristic of the vacuum tube is that it only passes one kind of current, which can play a rectification role.

Tang Ning wanted to teach Lao Xu the basic knowledge of electricity, and in the end, it took Lao Xu two months to learn this complete set of cross-era spy equipment, with this good thing, Tang Ning would cross the ocean in advance to understand what was happening in China, especially the war between the Qing army and the Taiping army.

After preparing a lot of spare replacement parts for the telegram, Tang Ning sent Lao Xu on the road. In fact, Lao Xu is not old, only 30 years old.

In the process of developing wind power, Tangning feels that wind power generation is a good thing. Why not focus on the development of this power generation technology? Because it's clean, unlike thermal power generation, no matter how you control it, there will always be a small amount of sulphur dioxide and dust escaping, and once it is used on a large scale around the world, air pollution will always be a problem.

According to the normal sequence of human power development, coal-fired thermal power generation must have been developed first, because the steam engine has been invented, and turning the coil of the steam engine to generate electricity is a fairly intuitive solution. （http：／／)。 And there is a big problem with wind power generation, which requires the use of lightweight, rigid materials, and in this era where everything is iron, it is difficult to imagine that it can produce efficient windmills. There is no such high-tech material as carbon fiber, but I have acetate! This material can also be used to make a strong tool handle, and it will also work well to make windmill blades.

Wind power is less intuitive than hydropower, because the magnitude and direction of the wind fluctuate at any time, and no scientist would have considered wind power as the main power generation solution in the early days of electrical energy without rectifiers, even though wind power is ubiquitous and has fewer limitations than hydropower. If multiple wind power plants are to be connected to the grid, they have to invent "inverters" to turn direct current into alternating current, which is another painful limitation. Downing thought that the battery could be used as a central control switch, and the direct current switch could be reversed into alternating current.

Wind power is more expensive than thermal power due to its many limitations, but this is not the biggest cost, in fact, the first-mover advantage of thermal power generation is the biggest cost advantage. The initial form of an industry will make that form have a cost advantage, such as the qwert keyboard, and the advantage of human learning cost makes this unscientific keyboard layout go beyond the limitations of time and space and continue to dominate the typewriter and the computer in the future.

Downing did not intend to develop technology step by step, how good wind power is, maybe because of the first-mover advantage to gain a cost advantage, the world's first power plant was born to establish its dominance, at least the dominance of urban electricity and residential electricity. Once Tangning's power grid is established, hmph, thermal power generation, I won't let you enter the grid at all, see how you compete with me!

It's interesting to challenge the laws of technological development.