In the laboratory of the Royal Society, Chancellor of the Exchequer Henry Goulburn leaned over the ammeter with the hand turning, and pushed his glasses to himself.

He frowned and slowly straightened his back, and then embarrassedly asked Faraday on the side, "So...... Mr. Faraday, what is the significance of this electromagnetic induction phenomenon? ”

Faraday looked at Gulburn and half-jokingly replied, "Your Excellency, of course it makes sense. It's so significant that it may not be long before your treasury can rely on it to collect taxes. Have you forgotten the steam engine? ”

"My God!"

Goulburn laughed at himself: "Thanks to science, and even more so to the steam engine, because it is because of it that we have just lost a brilliant leader of the House of Commons, Mr. William Huskison." But this electromagnetic induction phenomenon may be a little safer than that of a steam locomotive, right?

Mr. Faraday, I beg you, don't make anything like artificial lightning. The locomotive crashing into Mr. Huskison had already thrown the cabinet into a mess. If you come up with a man-made lightning bolt or something, and go back and hack Buckingham Palace again, then the Duke of Wellington will not be enough to explain the problem to the public, even if he plays two more Waterloos, or screws Napoleon's head off. ”

When Faraday heard this, he couldn't help but smile and responded, "Of course, electricity is a dangerous thing, but I think that as long as you deal with it carefully, nothing will go wrong." If you don't believe me, I can prove to you the safety of the current right now. ”

"Really?"

Gulburn reached out and pinched the wire in front of him, only to hear a snap, and a small white dot was suddenly electrocuted on his thumb.

He hurriedly bit his finger in pain and complained to Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, this is the safety of electricity?" ”

Faraday smiled and shook his head, "Sir, you're in too much of a hurry. When I talk about current safety, I have to use another experiment to present and interpret it. ”

Faraday had just said this when he saw Arthur walk in from the open space outside the laboratory.

Before Arthur could react to what had happened, he was captured by Faraday.

"Arthur, you're just in time, take the trouble to help me drag that spherical iron cage in the corner of the lab, and help me power it up for a while."

"Huh?" Arthur looked at the iron cage made of fine wire in the corner, and asked, "What kind of new invention is this?" ”

Faraday smiled and shook his head: "No, Arthur, the new invention is here, remember the disc generator I mentioned to you earlier?" I just made it a while ago, but the first version is hand-cranked, and in a moment I'll get into that big iron cage while you're out there turning the handle of the disc generator and discharging at me with the tip of the wire. ”

Arthur looked at the disc generator in front of Faraday, and then at the spherical iron cage beside him, and he frowned, as if he remembered something.

He remembered as if he had seen a similar magic show on television.

He asked tentatively, "Mr. Faraday, you don't want to perform that, do you?" Absolute realm? Mastering the thunder and lightning? ”

Faraday couldn't help but be amazed: "Arthur, I feel more and more that you should devote yourself to science. You may be able to benefit the public just as well at Scotland Yard, but your talent for scientific research is unmatched by others. You probably noticed that phenomenon too, right? ”

Arthur replied vaguely, "It's not a discovery, it's just a wonderful experience." You know, if a person survives a lightning strike, if you can't explain it in terms of God's apparitions, you have to think about it in other ways. ”

Gulburn listened to the conversation between the two, only to feel that the more he listened, the more confused he became.

He turned to Faraday and asked, "Mr. Faraday, may I ask which of the new scientists in the Royal Society this young gentleman is?" ”

Faraday smiled and explained to him, "Your Excellency, this is Mr. Arthur Hastings. He was indeed a cutting-edge electromagnet researcher in Great Britain, but sadly, he was not currently working for the Royal Society, but rather an honest and selfless Scottish Yard police officer under Sir Peel. ”

When Goulburn heard the name, he always felt a little familiar, he thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "Arthur Hastings, Scotland Yard, it turned out to be you. ”

Goulburn affectionately extended his hand to Arthur: "Young man, Robert and I mentioned you. It's just that I thought you were just a police talent who was good at solving crimes, but I didn't expect that your achievements in scientific research could be recognized by Mr. Faraday. You know, after the death of Sir David, Mr. Faraday can be regarded as the brightest star in British science at present. I'll be honest, young man, maybe I underestimated you a little before. ”

With such a high evaluation, Arthur naturally had to respond modestly.

He shook the other man's hand and complimented him tactfully, "Maybe you have underestimated me, but I have never underestimated you." When I was a child, I heard that you played a huge role in Britain's war with the United States in 1812, and that you had drafted the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

When I was studying history at the University of London, I read about your written notes during the negotiations—it wasn't until I came here that I realized that every American was deeply determined to exterminate the Indians and occupy their territory.

Although your determination to stop the Americans from encroaching on Indian territory did not materialize in the treaty, we can still see your efforts in historical sources. ”

Goulburn was a little surprised to hear that Arthur had learned all about his past experience.

He praised: "It seems that there is a problem with the stereotypes of some members of Parliament about the University of London. Mr. Hastings, from your words and deeds, I have a deep sense of the strong academic style and good education that exist in the University of London. To tell you the truth, I was also very fond of the ideas of Jeremy Bentham, whose writings had a profound influence on the formation of my ideas of life and political views. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur smiled and asked, "Perhaps you should consider persuading the councillors to at least issue our school's teaching charter for Mr. Benthham's sake?" ”

Gulben is also an old fox who has become a spirit, and he also responded with a smile: "If the cabinet can last until the beginning of your school season next year, I will definitely consider your proposal carefully." ”

After that, Goulburn naturally diverted the topic, he looked at the round iron cage that Arthur had moved to his side, and bent down to look carefully: "So, Mr. Faraday, what are you going to show me today?" ”

Faraday didn't say anything, he just smiled and nodded at Arthur, and then opened the door of the iron cage and got inside.

Seeing this, Arthur roughly recalled the magic video he had watched, so he grabbed the handle of the disc generator with one hand, and picked up the discharge rod with the tip in the other.

Then, he nodded politely at Gulburn and spoke.

"Your Excellency, please stay out of the way, this experiment may be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Gulburn was stunned: "Didn't Mr. Faraday say that this experiment is safe?" ”

Arthur pursed his lips and smiled: "That's right, this experiment is safe for Mr. Faraday in the cage. But if you insist on standing between the discharge pole and Mr. Faraday, you become dangerous. How should I describe this?

Well...... To use an analogy, you are now like Mr. William Heskison, the former Secretary of State, standing on the railroad tracks. If you don't want to be knocked a few meters away, it's best to follow the advice of a professional.

Of course, I may be alarmist when I say this. After all, I don't yet know how powerful the disc generator Mr. Faraday was.

However, it is for my own sake that you leave that position, after all, we have just had a superintendent in Scotland Yard who has been removed from his post because of the death of a prominent statesman. ”

"Oh! O my God! When Gulburn heard this, he hurriedly gave up a distance of seven or eight paces, and he lifted his crooked hat and said, "There are always so many strange things in the Royal Society. ”

Arthur saw that he had taken a good position, so he took a deep breath.

He turned the handle of the disc generator and brought the discharge rod to the cage.

Before the two were in full contact, a slender and sinuous flash of lightning had already been generated between the tip of the discharge rod and the surface of the iron cage.

Gulben's eyelids fluttered as he heard the sound of the air exploding, but before he could come to his senses, he saw Faraday already smiling and pressing his white-gloved hands to the inner surface of the cage.

"Mr. Faraday, danger!" Goulburn shouted, but Faraday's electric shock did not materialize.

"This?" Gulben pinched his chin and pondered for a moment, then looked at his finger that had just been electrocuted, and he asked Arthur, "Could it be that this generator of yours is generating fake electricity?" ”

Arthur glanced at the laboratory table behind him and said, "Whether it's fake electricity or not, we don't count." So, I suggest you pick up the mop next to the bench and poke the outer surface of the cage. ”

The gray-haired Gulburn seemed to struggle a little in his heart when he heard this, but after hesitating for a long time, curiosity finally prevailed over fear.

The dignified British Chancellor of the Exchequer actually raised a mop like an eight- or nine-year-old naughty boy and aimed it at the iron cage: "I'm really going to poke?" ”

Arthur exhaled, his arm was already a little sore: "You better hurry, this disc generator is still quite tired to shake." Maybe the next time the Treasury plans to allocate funds to the Royal Society, consider sending a few squirrels over, those little ones are naturally good for running laps. ”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Goulburn gritted his teeth and forcefully pushed the mop against the iron cage.

There was a thud, and a surging fireball exploded on the head of the mop's cloth, which startled Mr. Goulburn to throw his stick and sit down on the ground.

After a long time, Gulben, who was running six, got up again with his pounding heart on the test table.

He wiped the sweat from his head, swallowed and spat, and asked, "Is this...... What the hell is this thing? ”

Arthur smiled and shrugged, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be called the 'Faraday Cage Effect'." ”

(End of chapter)