In the following time, Zhang Yuan was completely bankrupt, without any nobles, who could afford to eat two failed ocean voyages, and became a down-and-out nobleman in people's after-dinner conversations. However, he soon regained his strength and began to slowly develop technology and make small inventions.

My sister is really my own sister, and she is willing to fund Zhang Yuan's daily life, and the original division of property is really wise. For Anna, as long as her brother settles down, nothing else matters.

For Zhang Yuan's intellect, a little invention can make life better. For example, the invention principle of air conditioning is not complicated, the low-pressure steam of the refrigerant in the refrigeration system is sucked in by the compressor and compressed into high-pressure steam and then discharged to the condenser.

This is followed by electricity, which is a secondary energy source that is far more applicable than steam.

The people of this era are too poor, and it is almost impossible to popularize electricity on a large scale. However, among the wealthy aristocracy, it is possible to use electricity.

And the most consumption-driven, of course, are these aristocrats. Doing a commoner business is far less than doing a noble business, the key is that they have to look at it!

Soon, air conditioning became popular again, and a large group of business-talkers came to the door.

Capitalists are like this, when you are down, they fall into the well, they want to bite an extra piece of meat, and when you show great value, they can't wait to hold on to this thick leg.

Zhang Yuan has long been surprised by this......

In addition to technology, his attention is still focused on the New World. Yes, without the New World, human beings will still be doomed, and such a palm-sized place of existence, no matter how it jumps, it is impossible to turn the sky upside down.

A new continent must be a new continent.

Now that the North and South Poles have been explored, there is an even greater unknown region waiting for him.

That's – the back of the planet!

A more distant trip.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan breathed a deep sigh of relief and began to sort out the data collected during the first two voyages.

In this era, satellites are impossible to launch, no computers, no rare earths, no chips, even if it takes a lifetime, it is impossible to launch satellites. So he had to do it another way......

On the one hand, it is necessary to improve technology and build ships with higher speeds, and on the other hand, it is necessary to use a more scientific way to predict whether there is a continent on the far side of the planet.

The first two ultra-long-distance voyages exhausted him. Zhang Yuan is flesh and blood after all, and the ship is just a ship after all, and he will feel tired if he stays on it for a long time. You have to rest for a while, keep your spirits up, and be prepared.

In this way, twelve years passed in a hurry......

A number of small thermal power stations have appeared in this world.

Due to the absence of oil, the internal combustion engine has not appeared for a long time, and the change in society as a whole is not too big. The emergence of power stations provides a good guarantee for new types of electrical furniture.

A series of electric furniture inventions, such as air conditioners, kettles, and electric lights, have become the first choice for the wealthy, especially in some hot cities, air conditioners are completely miraculous from the sky!

Of course, ordinary people can't afford to use this thing, they can't even eat enough, so air conditioning can only be regarded as improving the lives of the rich at best, rather than making a qualitative change in the world.

The emergence of power stations involves more things, including electrical operation procedures, transformers, and power control, and Zhang Yuan has guided the whole world hand-in-hand to enter the electrical era, which has greatly exceeded the "golden finger" category he got at the beginning.

But without an internal combustion engine, it's a headache. Without oil, there would be no internal combustion engine, and he once wanted to replace gasoline with animal and vegetable oils, but the biggest problem was that food in this world was quite scarce, and it was simply impossible to have the luxury of using food to make fuel.

Even if such an internal combustion engine is made, it is impossible to promote it on a large scale due to cost problems.

Without the internal combustion engine, ships and trains could only be powered by steam.

The entire tech tree inevitably leans in the direction of steampunk. Such a tech tree obviously has a relatively low upper boundary, and it is difficult to solve the current dilemma.

"We still have to expand our territory, we must expand our territory!"

Over the course of 12 years, Zhang Yuan has perfected some theories about plate tectonics and ocean currents.

The first two voyages were not without results, and the sailors measured the depth changes in the ocean along the way, accumulating a large amount of data. In addition, in recent years, the navigators of the new era have been exploring one after another, and the measurement of nautical charts has become more and more perfect.

“…… Ladies and gentlemen, a large part of the reason for the formation of large contiguous continents is the collision between tectonic plates...... Oh, by the way, in my hypothesis, the plate, like the shell on top of the egg, has only a thin layer. ”

"Land is formed by the extrusion and collision between plates. It's like two slices of bread, squeezed against each other, with a bulge in the middle. ”

Zhang Yuan was speaking on stage, and many professionals and university students were sitting below.

"According to the measured data, the zone where the tectonic plates collide with each other is mostly shallow seas, and even if there are no continents, there are more frequent volcanoes. EruptionsVolcanic eruptions may form smaller islands. ”

"Such islands are not useless for us, and there may be more abundant mineral resources. The island of Pará, for example, is famous for its variety of sulphur and precious stones. ”

"If we follow this idea of plate science, it will undoubtedly be much easier to predict the existence of continents. You see, some of the islands that we have discovered in the past are actually the result of tectonic plate collisions...... I have made the line of these islands a plate ......."

Zhang Yuan's paper on "Plate Theory" soon caused a sensation among many geologists!

This earl is a very controversial figure in Boulder City, many down-and-out nobles, seeing Zhang Yuan constantly losing his family and making money easily, always feel as sour as eating lemons in his heart, and there are many people chewing their tongues behind their backs.

However, Zhang Yuan's reputation in academic circles is quite good. After all, the academic circle is dominated by "result worship", as long as you are good enough, and others can't catch up at all, they will worship you. Zhang Yuan is also a funder of many scientists, and without his patronage, many projects simply do not have enough funds for research.

This paper is not a copy of the doctrine of the previous life, but a reality, combined with a series of geographical data of the world, to infer the direction of the plate.

Finally, Zhang Yuan loudly announced: "According to the final conclusion of the paper, it is likely that there will be a new continent, hidden on the back side of the planet. A continent full of light! ”

Yes, the back!

Many at Newteton exclaimed. Although Zhang Yuan has two failed voyages, he can be regarded as the farthest person on the entire planet.

In addition to the cynicism at the beginning, the voice behind is actually mostly praise.

"Lord Earl, are you about to embark on a new journey?" A young journalist shouted with a flushed face.

Many people cheered for this.

"Yes! I'm going to do this! ”

Of course, the biggest point is because he has status and money. The two profligacies and losers did not go bankrupt, but became even richer, even enough for him to squander the third and fourth times. If he had fallen because of this, there would have been more criticism.

One of the professors questioned a little incredulously: "Your Excellency, you speculate that there is a continent on the far side of the planet, and the truth or falsity will not be said for the time being...... If the climate is too hot, or too cold, it won't be of much use. In particular, the lightbelt, if not the North and South poles, tends to be very hot, like our lightbelt cities. ”