"Oh?" Lilith glanced at Sun Yuanqi coquettishly, "What's that?" If you don't say it, how do I know if I have that much courage? Isn't it as big and insignificant as the previous plane? ”

Since the establishment of China Airlines, Sun Yuanqi has rarely paid attention to it, at most he has seen a few news reports in the newspaper, and he said strangely: "Why is the plane so big that it is inappropriate?" ”

Lilith complained, "Tell me more! The airline has been established for more than half a year, and it has been sticking money into it almost every day, and the money earned now is not enough to maintain the normal operation of planes and airports every day! ”

Sun Yuanqi found that Lilith was a little wrong, so he pretended to be surprised and said, "It turns out that the airline is losing money so much? I didn't know that before! When Mr. Carlson Jialeheng, the US Minister to China, met with me not long ago, he mentioned that an American consortium wanted to buy China Airlines for $6 million, but I did not agree at that time. Now it seems that we have to contact them to see if we can transfer this hot potato as soon as possible. Jingshi University is short of money to build three branches! ”

"......" Lilith was stunned for a moment, and then said with some resentment: "They want to be beautiful!" The market value of our airline aircraft alone is more than $6 million, not to mention airports, pilots, and ancillary facilities? $6 million to buy the company, wishful thinking! ”

Sun Yuanqi echoed: "What you said also makes sense, then we will ask for $10 million, see how much they can pay, less than $8 million don't talk!" ”

"Uh......" Lilith was a little depressed, and said after a long time, "The airline has only been formed for half a year. The business has not yet fully expanded, and it is reasonable to lose money at the moment, not to mention that we can afford to lose money now. Why don't you wait another year and a half to see? By the way, Yank, what exactly is the very promising and very profitable method that you just mentioned? ”

Sun Yuanqi didn't continue to tease Lilith, and replied seriously: "Do you know about thermal power generation? ”

Lilith said, "Thermal power? The one that uses fuel to boil water, and then pushes the resulting high-pressure water vapor into a generator to generate electricity? I've heard that I've heard, why, you're going to use coal to generate electricity? ”

Sun Yuan nodded: "That's right." ”

Lilith rolled her eyes: "Sure enough, it's as big as an airplane!" It's not even as good as an airplane. After all, the aviation industry is still very promising; As for the thermal power generation you mentioned, it is not as good as the honeycomb coal and briquette furnace you designed! ”

Lilith's words are not unreasonable.

Although the electric revolution that began in the 70s of the 19th century is called the second technological revolution after the industrial revolution, it has brought great progress to human society. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, the general public did not feel the huge role of electricity, and the use of electricity was not so widespread, and the main use was street lighting and domestic use. Therefore, Sun Yuanqi's patent for a double-coil tungsten bulb will be sold at a high price. There are few industrial electrodes. A small number of electrified railways and trams usually generate their own electricity. As later textbooks said, "electricity has greatly promoted the development of social productive forces, changed human life, and brought about profound changes in the industrial structure", which seemed to be a fantasy at that time.

As for thermal power generation, which became popular in later generations, it was even more desperate at that time.

The first thermal power generation was achieved in 1875 at the Gare du Nord in Paris. Because of the technical limitations at that time, the prime mover of thermal power generation could only use the mature steam engine, but the shortcomings of the steam engine are also obvious, that is, the steam parameters can not be too high, the temperature can not exceed the flash point of the lubricating oil, and the speed is limited. hindering further increases in power and efficiency. After much deliberation, the focus was turned to hydropower.

Although the investment in hydropower projects is large and the construction period is long. However, with high power generation efficiency, low power generation cost, fast start-up and easy adjustment, it soon became the new favorite of power companies and the mainstream of the power generation industry, and thermal power generation was put into the cold palace. Until the middle of the 20th century, hydropower continued to play an important role. According to statistics, in 1949, hydropower accounted for 96% of Canada's total installed capacity, Switzerland 94%, Italy 90%, and Sweden 80%.

Sun Yuanqi said: "In my opinion, not only the future of the power industry is bright, but thermal power generation is a vast world with great achievements. In the next 100 years, it may not be as good as Rockefeller's Mobil oil, but it will not be a problem to surpass Carnegie's Carnegie steel. As the main fuel for thermal power generation, the demand for coal will also grow rapidly. Over the years, it has been proven that my judgment has never been missed, especially in the direction of industrial and commercial development! ”

Sun Yuanqi's self-confidence comes from what he has seen and heard in later generations. According to statistics in 2012, although with the continuous development of new forms of power generation of wind power, nuclear power and solar lamps, the proportion of thermal power in China's total installed capacity has declined, but it still remains above 70%, occupying a dominant position. The coal used for thermal power generation accounts for about 50% of the country's total coal production.

In the authoritative list of the Fortune 500 companies in 2013, Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Sinopec and PetroChina ranked 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively, and China's State Grid only ranked 7th. However, there are no steel companies in the top 20, so he has the confidence to surpass Carnegie Steel.

Lilith was a little incredulous. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan stood side by side, known as the three giants of the American economic circle. Rockefeller monopolized 90% of the oil market in the United States in its heyday, was the first billionaire in American history, and is generally regarded as the richest man in modern human history, with a total wealth of about $400 billion now. Carnegie's steel company is the world's largest steel company, producing more steel than the whole of Britain a year, with an average annual income of $40 million, which is almost the total value of all of Sun Yuanqi's family assets. She smiled and asked, "Then where does your faith come from?" ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "My confidence comes from the observation of today's scientific and technological development and the prediction of future new technologies. There are three main reasons why electricity applications are not widely available at present: the first is because of the confusion of standards. At the beginning of the power revolution, countries around the world did not have a good understanding and planning for the development of electric power, resulting in no national standards to follow; Many power supply companies are also in a hurry, and there is no deliberate unification for DC conversion, power supply voltage, alternating current frequency, etc., and some even deliberately set different voltages and frequencies in order to compete with competitors.

"In the beginning, the power supply companies were very small and the power supply range was limited, so naturally there was not much problem. With the growth of electricity demand and the continuous expansion of power supply enterprises in various places, this contradiction will intensify, resulting in a conflict between the current standard and a reasonable development plan. Because all major cities in China have foreign concessions, and the concessions of various countries generate their own electricity, the power standards are more chaotic, and the power supply voltage is 240 volts, 230 volts, 220 volts, 120 volts, 110 volts, and the alternating current frequency is also 50 or 60 Hz. ”

"That's a good point!" Lilith has lived in the Shanghai Concession for a long time and feels this deeply.

Sun Yuanqi continued: "The second is the single application. In addition to the confusion of local standards, which leads to the inability to use electrical appliances here and there, it is also because there are very good inventions that have not been popularized and promoted, such as the electric propulsion air conditioning system (i.e., air conditioner) invented by the American Carrier in 1902, the electric washing machine invented by the American Fisher in 1910, as well as refrigerators, televisions, rice cookers, electric ovens, and so on. Nowadays, everyone only understands that electricity is used for lighting, which undoubtedly hinders the application of electricity.

"The third is backward technology, whether it is a generator set or a power transmission and transformation system, and even the equipment that applies electricity is very backward, which is particularly obvious in thermal power generation. Of course, I do not list these shortcomings to criticize the current power supply, but rather to feel that they are all guarantees of our success. ”

Lilith's eyes lit up: "What new inventions do you have?" ”

"It's not that I have any new inventions, but that our professor Tesla at Jingshi University has new inventions!" Sun Yuanqi corrected: "Professor Tesla has achieved fruitful results in the early years of multiphase power distribution systems and alternating current generators, after coming to Jingshi University, in addition to the research of computers, in his spare time also improved the previous power transmission and transformation technology, and together with teachers and students of other research institutes, he has developed a new multi-stage chongdong steam turbine, with a maximum capacity of 50 megawatts per unit, and the steam parameters have been improved accordingly, laying a solid foundation for the rapid development of thermal power generation."

"In addition, we have some advanced concepts based on the lessons of the previous Jingyàn, such as setting national standards for voltage and frequency in advance, and setting up thermal power stations around major cities in order to realize regional power interconnection in the future; Thermal power generation can be close to our own fuel base, and at the same time generate electricity, it can heat the attached factories and residential areas, so as to improve the comprehensive economic benefits; Buy patents for some electrical appliances in advance, let the research department or enterprise transform them, promote electricity consumption, and so on.

"After about five to ten years of development, we can initially form a complete industrial chain from coal to electricity, from electricity to electrical appliances. With the introduction of electricity into thousands of households, the scale of the entire industrial chain will be no less than that of Carnegie's steel company! ”

The reason why Sun Yuanqi strongly encouraged Lilith to invest in coal and then in thermal power generation was to respond to Gu Ruyong's call to solve the livelihood of the people in Shanxi; The second reason is that now is indeed the time for the development of electricity, and electricity is of decisive importance for modern industry. In addition, there is another reason, that is, after the various laboratories of Jingshi University move westward next year, they will face a huge power shortage, especially the elemental laboratory that studies how to refine uranium-235. (To be continued......)