"The shortcomings of the paddle wheel are too obvious, bulky and inefficient, easy to damage, and what's worse is that as a warship, the weakness of the paddle wheel is too easy to be caught by opponents." Franz said.

"Inefficiency? Isn't it much faster than paddling? Such a continuous and steady dynamic, which is exactly what people have been pursuing for thousands of years, how can it become a bulky and inefficient waste in your mouth? Friedrich retorted.

"Talia" Franz shouted, Franz knew that it would not be so easy to convince the other party, and prepared a large fish tank in advance.

The two maids cleared a spot on the tabletop, and then Talia placed the glass fish tank on it, filled it with clean water, and took out two models of the ship with paddlewheels and placed them on it.

"The first is a fixed paddle wheel, which has paddle wheels on both sides and is characterized by simple construction and easy maintenance. The disadvantage is that the efficiency is too poor: the paddle board is pressurized when it enters the water, and it lifts the water before it comes out of the water, so most of the energy is wasted, so its diameter is often made very large, and the depth of entry into the water is generally not more than 1/2 of the radius. ”

After that, Talia filled the model with the rules on the boat, lowered the boat into the lake in front of the Arc de Triomphe, and the boat came to a halt after 15 meters.

Friedrich, as a glue guy, was very excited to see a clockwork boat moving through the lake, and he had never seen such a delicate toy, and he couldn't help but be a little envious.

Can it not be exquisite? Franz hired a dozen experts and it took a month to build it.

In fact, the craftsmanship was not so complicated, but these experts felt that it should be perfect, and they even sent the ship to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts for polishing.

Franz did not continue to take care of the first boat, but let the servants row to fetch it.

Talia took out the second boat and lowered it into the water, the paddlewheel of the small boat was at the stern of the boat, which belonged to the movable paddle wheel.

"Movable paddle wheel: its paddle board is hinged to the wheel body, and the compound movement is carried out by eccentricity, because its paddle board can enter and exit the water at a suitable angle, which improves efficiency. The thrust generated by the movable paddle wheel is slightly inferior to that of the fixed paddle wheel, but it is better to consume less power and be more durable. ”

Talia lowered the second boat into the water with a full clockwork, and although the boat was not as fast as the previous one, it sailed a total of 25 meters before stopping.

Friedrich still showed great disdain, after all, he had systematically studied shipbuilding, and the shortcomings of this movable paddle wheel were too obvious, that is, it was too exposed and difficult to repair, and it did not need to be bombarded by the other side at all, and only a few unfortunate crew members could be stuck in the water.

And he really doesn't think that this ship without paddle steamer can be better than a ship with paddle steamer, and now the mainstream direction of the development of steam ships in the world is paddle steamer, is the whole world wrong?

Franz picked up the third ship and pointed to an object in the shape of a fan blade at the tail.

Just now Friedrich also noticed this small device, but did not think of the use, it should be some kind of auxiliary power device, but the direction is wrong, if it is to provide forward power, its fan blades should not be separated to the left and right, it should be one front and one behind, or a round paddle wheel, so as to provide forward power.

Franz handed the boat model to Talia, who screwed the clockwork and lowered it into the lake, where the boat sailed forty meters before stopping.

Friedrich stood up in surprise and wanted to jump into the lake to see what was going on.

Fortunately, Talia grabbed the belt and escaped the fate of untimely death.

To say that the Habsburg family and the Ming Zhu family are really a bit similar, Archduke Karl father and son both fell into the water and died, Archduke Friedrich drowned, and Archduke Karl died of pneumonia after falling into the water.

Returning to his seat, Friedrich carefully studied the design of the third ship, and finally asked with some reluctance.

"What's this spiral?"

"Propellers." Franz replied lightly.

"Good name, it's amazing, can you tell me why?" Friedrich put away his previous arrogance and asked.

In fact, Friedrich also disliked the design of the paddle wheel very much, and the reason why there are no giant paddle wheel warships in the world at present is not that the technology is not up to par, but that there are too many problems and too obvious weaknesses.

The dominant tactics of this era were to grab the T, occupy an advantageous position, and then open fire on the side of the side.

And the huge paddle wheel is undoubtedly the easiest target to destroy, and once the paddle wheel battleship loses the paddle wheel, it will be no different from an ordinary warship, and even a burden.

"Miss Talia, please explain to Archduke Friedrich." Franz was a little kid in Friedrich's eyes, and Franz also felt that Friedrich was a little kid in his eyes, and the little kid should find someone he could easily accept.

Talia's IQ is okay, and after consulting Doppler about physics, she learned how propellers work.

"Grand Duke Friedrich, many processes in physics are reversible, and windmills can be moved by water, so the wind can be blown out in reverse. Where the flow velocity is large, the pressure is small, and when the propeller rotates, a flow velocity difference is formed, resulting in a pressure difference and a power force. ”

Talia explained as she fiddled with the propellers on the ship's model.

The slender fingers and his favorite ship model were a perfect match, and Friedrich was going to get drunk.

Friedrich immediately recognized that this design would change the Austrian Empire, and even the laws of naval warfare.

Perhaps a new era is coming, an era dominated by 10,000-ton ships, an era capable of speeds of more than 20 knots.

In fact, this was Friedrich's fantasy, and it was not until 1858 that the first 10,000-ton ship was launched.

"This is a genius design, we in the Austrian Empire have this technology, we will definitely be able to surpass Spain and Sardinia, and if the French can't follow up in time, they will also be defeated by our men. Franz, you have to keep this technology a secret. ”

"Actually, this technology was invented by a British engineer, but he hasn't applied for a patent yet, so you can grab his patent if you want to." Franz replied lightly.

"Damn the British! Where birds don't, how can there be so many geniuses, when will we catch up with the British Navy. Friedrich accidentally said what he was really saying.

A soldier who does not want to be a general, who is not a good soldier, and an admiral who also does not want to compete with the British, cannot build a truly powerful fleet.

"Don't worry, they don't have a good commander like you, and they don't have the courage to embrace new things." Franz said.

In fact, the British Navy debated the propeller internally for almost 20 years before the final conclusion was reached. As long as Austria does not use propellers on a large scale in civilian industry, the British will not be too careful.

"Thank you for the compliment." At this time, Archduke Friedrich really identified with Franz, and this was the first time he saw someone younger than him, and who was smarter and more far-sighted than him, and more open-minded, and it seemed that he had really lost.

"I hope my little toy will help you in your naval reform, I would like to remind you that the Egyptians are expanding their armaments, they are not satisfied with the Treaty of Kütahya, and your navy is necessary for the Austrian Empire in order to maintain the dignity of a great power."

Friedrich knew the strength of the Egyptian navy and understood that the current situation of the Austrian navy was not enough to deal with the crisis, so he hesitated and said.

"Franz, you are a true Habsburg descendant, and I am too small compared to you. I have a reluctant request. ”

Friedrich was suddenly so formal that Franz couldn't get used to it, but he still spoke.

"If I can, I'll help."

Friedrich plucked up his courage and said.

"I'd like to hire Miss Talia as our Navy's Special Advisor."

(End of chapter)