Chapter 588 Phlogiston
Tennyson Fadeev stared closely at the burning iron.
In order to study the properties of steel and iron, Tennyson built a small furnace with a blower in his experimental site, and applied for the deployment of several craftsmen from the Ironmaking Plant of the Government Administration to assist him. For a week , he has been here repeating this step countless times, hoping that he can gain some kind of insight by constantly repeating the steps of melting metal. The objects Tennyson observed were various iron-related metals, including pig iron, wrought iron, and what the lord called steel.
Now, the piece of iron he was paying attention to gradually turned red and soft under the constant burning, and then slowly melted into a pool of fiery red liquid and flowed out.
Tennyson once tested that if the molten iron is continuously stirred, after it re-solidifies, its weight will be a little less than before melting, and the re-solidified iron will also become what the blacksmith calls cooked. Iron, it becomes softer. Tennyson deduced that the weight loss indicated that something must have been separated during the stirring process, and it was most likely dissipated into the air. This thing was most likely to make the iron change from hard to soft. key substances.
In fact, Tennyson knew from his interactions with blacksmiths that the way in which the properties of molten iron were changed by stirring it and allowing it to re-solidify was known in their lingo as "steel frying," but was not the same as mixing pig and wrought iron. Compared with the method of forging together to make steel, "steel frying" is a job that depends on luck. In most cases, the molten iron formed by melting pig iron will be directly turned into mature iron after being fried to the end. of steel. So this method is not commonly used.
The words of the blacksmiths inspired Tennyson. Is this series of changes caused by changes in the content of that key substance in iron? When the molten iron is stirred, the mass becomes lighter and the pig iron becomes wrought iron. This means that this substance is more abundant in pig iron and less in wrought iron. However, after mixing pig iron and wrought iron, it becomes steel again, and It is this substance that is equally divided between pig and wrought iron, so that its content in the new iron form is lower than in pig iron and higher than in wrought iron.
Of course, it is also possible that the properties of iron have changed due to the action of more than one substance, or in other words, more than one element.
"The 35th time..." Tennyson took a long breath and picked up a pen and paper to record the observation process. Although most of them were repeated records, he still took notes.
After taking notes, Tennyson's stomach growled. He walked out of the experimental site and planned to go to the canteen of Weiss College to fill his stomach. Members of various laboratories and disciplines in Weiss College have their own agreed-upon "territory" in the cafeteria. The territory of the group of people who study and study chemistry is located in the southeast corner of the lobby. Whenever meals are served, from here you can Some of their inside terminology is constantly being passed around. After Tennyson finished his meal, he came to the small circle of teachers and students of the Chemistry Department in the southeast corner. A large number of people had gathered here, stuffing things into their mouths and talking loudly.
"Hey! Tennyson, this way!"
Hoffman, another director of the chemistry laboratory, waved his hand to greet him, and Tennyson came to sit on a table near him, " Why, isn’t Mr. Wells here yet?”
“Oh, you know he will forget all about eating and sleeping once he starts doing experiments,” Hoffman said with a smile, “I guess it’s lunch. He won’t eat the food.”
Alas, Tennyson shook his head. Teacher Wells and several other students were also conducting experiments on steel. They met every day to exchange their experiences, sometimes. We will also gather together to repeat some experiments that may lead to new discoveries.
Everyone is working hard to help themselves. Thinking of this, Tennyson felt moved in his heart.
"How is your research going?" Hoffman asked with great concern. He knew that Tennyson's research was related to the value and life of the Fadeev family and was very important.
Hoffman himself is leading a chemistry team to carry out another important task assigned to the laboratory by Count Paul Graiman - research on the preparation of pesticides using sulfuric acid. He is also very busy on weekdays, so I am not involved in the research on steel this time, but I will check in on the progress in my spare time.
Tennyson is forking a piece of tofu and stuffing it into his mouth. It is said that this is a food invented by the lord Earl Grayman. He is really an inventor with a wide range of interests.
Hearing the teacher's question, he replied: "Mr. Hoffman, I think the increase or decrease of a certain substance contained in steel leads to changes in its properties."
" Do you have any ideas? ”
"My current idea is to try to separate the various elements in steel, and then increase or decrease them one by one to see what effects each will have." Hoffman nodded: "This is a safe method, but if there are multiple If the single substances work together, it is still very difficult to find the final answer."
"Then there is no other way but to arrange and combine various single substances to exhaust all possibilities."< br>
"Well, I wish you good luck with your experiment."
A red-haired young man next to him who had just been engrossed in eating suddenly interrupted, "Tennyson, Mr. Hoffman, I have some speculations."
Hoffman looked at him and said, "Oh, Webster, what do you think?" This Webster was Tennyson's classmate and was conducting research on steel like him.
Webster replied: "The thing that Tennyson guessed caused the change in the properties of iron should be phlogiston."
"Phlogiston?" "Yes, phlogiston."
Webster talked eloquently: "In recent times, I have been collecting various methods of steel smelting and forging, and have visited various large and small blacksmith shops in Huxin Town and the surrounding areas."
< br>"Oh, did you find anything?"
"Yes, just before I came back for dinner, I actually found some clues. Did you know? Some blacksmiths use charcoal powder, soot and wood ashes when making steel from iron. When the mixture of things wraps the iron rod and keeps the iron rod in a red-hot state, the iron rod can be transformed into steel. "
Tennyson asked in surprise: "Is this... really like this? "
"It's absolutely true, haha, this is a secret that some blacksmiths don't tell. It took me a lot of trouble to find out." Webster raised his head proudly, "Go on. , As you all know, the charcoal powder and soot in the mixture are composed of phlogiston, so I said that phlogiston may be the key factor that causes the properties of iron to change."
Tennyson suddenly rushed to hug him. Lived Webster and kissed him hard. "I thank you, dear Webster."
"Haha, easy to say, this is what I should do, uh... let me go first." Webster was frightened by his enthusiasm , and wiped the saliva from his face with a napkin.
Tennyson couldn't wait to say: "After dinner, let's conduct experiments on this new clue together."
Webster nodded desperately, "Okay, Tennyson, let me go first."
(End of this chapter)