Chapter 331 The Key to "Art"

"The church just popped up out of nowhere.【】"

Until returning to the office, Roland still echoed these words in his heart.

He closed his eyes and searched the fourth prince's memory carefully, but he still couldn't find any more relevant content. His understanding of the church was similar to that of ordinary nobles - when he was in the palace, the fourth prince didn't spend much time on learning knowledge, and mysticism was almost blank. But if what Tilly said is true, then the church's propaganda strategy is too strange.

Taking the religious legends of the original world as an example, the origin of the gods at the beginning of the world is simply pediatrics, and the world is created by the gods is the routine that everyone unanimously chooses. For example, seven-day creation, karma reincarnation, etc... A set of legends that fully describe the power of gods is standard for every religion.

The churches of this world seem rather... immature by comparison.

However, Roland didn't have any more clues to continue his research. He shook his head and decided to put these thoughts behind him.

Maybe after exploring the ancient ruins of the Hidden Forest, everything will be answered.

He walked to the window and looked at the huge coating spread on the ground in the garden-its emerald green appearance stood out against the white snow.

Now that Soraya is gluing larger airbags, the new hot air balloon will be larger and can carry more people. This is because when exploring the ruins, if they can't find a way to rescue the trapped woman, they simply ask Anna to chop up the entire "ice coffin" and bring her back to Border Town along with a part of the transparent spar. 【】

Departure was scheduled for two days later.

The staff has already made arrangements, and the Sleeping Island witches have Tilly, Sylvie, Shavi, Ashes and Andrea. The Witch Union will send Anna, Wendy, Nightingale, Nana, Lightning, and Maisie. This time the lineup is unprecedentedly strong, with the highest level of attack, defense, and battlefield awareness. As long as the God's Stone of Retaliation is not used, it is difficult for the devil to have a chance to get close to them.

"Your Highness, the chief alchemist, Master Kyle Strire, wants to see you," the guard said outside the door.

"Let him in."

Kaimo did not come alone this time, he also brought his colleague Chames, "Your Highness, the large-scale nitric acid production method you requested has already been figured out."

"Really?" Roland was slightly taken aback, and then a burst of joy welled up in his heart. This was probably the best news he had heard in recent days. He stood up excitedly and poured a cup of tea for the two chemists himself. "Tell me, how is it made?"

"It's thanks to Chames," he stroked his beard and smiled, "Let him explain it to you."

"Your Majesty," the young Chames seemed a bit cautious, and he said after bowing and saluting, "Your alchemy workshop... No, the nitric acid produced in the chemical laboratory is distilled with saltpeter to obtain dilute nitric acid. , and then purified with concentrated sulfuric acid. I tried to combine the two together, and directly heated the saltpeter in concentrated sulfuric acid. As a result, I successfully obtained the nitric acid solution, and the purity was very high. I could even observe that smoke phenomenon."

"Co-heating? But the two are not the same thing," Roland said strangely, "The temperature of dry distillation is much higher than that of co-heating, and the gas from dry distillation should be nitrogen oxides, which will form dilute nitric acid when introduced into water. Concentrated sulfuric acid Purification is nothing more than using the principle of its high boiling point and strong water absorption to reduce the water content in nitric acid, and does not involve chemical reactions."

"I don't really understand why, but Mr. Strull did a few experiments afterwards and thinks my discovery is a coincidence."

"Coincidence?" Roland looked at the chief alchemist.

"That's true," Kaimo affirmed, "the two are not equivalent, but they have the same effect. I deduced it according to the chemical formula, and guessed that it should be a certain component in the saltpeter reacted with sulfuric acid to produce nitric acid, and evaporated on heating. Reversing the formula, it looks like some kind of...well, nitrate."

Roland suddenly remembered that it was indeed mentioned in chemistry textbooks that before the invention of synthetic ammonia, people used sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate to react with concentrated sulfuric acid to produce nitric acid. This is also the oldest industrial method. Because the main components of saltpeter are two kinds of nitrates, it is convenient and easy to obtain, and the extraction is relatively easy, as long as the temperature is controlled and the evaporated nitric acid is continuously collected.

Of course, because this production method consumes a large amount of sulfuric acid and is extremely easy to corrode equipment, it was quickly eliminated by more advanced technologies.

However, these two points are not too big a problem for Roland. There is no supporting chemical fertilizer and pesticide industry in the territory. The sulfuric acid produced is only used to purify nitric acid. As for the strong corrosiveness of nitric acid steam, it can be handed over to Soraya's coating solution.

"Good job," Roland patted Chames on the shoulder happily, "You were able to try out this method by chance."

"You don't know, he already showed extraordinary luck when he was in the alchemy workshop in Chishui City," Kaimo Strire said with raised eyebrows, "Before learning chemistry, alchemy itself is a kind of exploration that requires luck." , and this kid was able to figure out the method of making double acid in his early twenties, and became the youngest alchemist in the workshop, making a group of apprentices in their thirties and forties so envious that their eyes turned red. You must know that they have spent their entire lives, Probably just an apprentice."

"In any case, this is good news for the town," Roland praised. "You guys try to produce a batch of equipment first, and I will ask the witch to cooperate with you. If feasible, expand the scale of production."

"As you wish."

"By the way, I have another task for you." Then he put away his joy and said in a solemn tone, "Now that I have a reliable source of nitric acid, next I need you to try out a very dangerous Item - nitroglycerin."

"How dangerous is it?" Kyle asked.

"The raw material it uses is very simple, that is, concentrated nitric acid reacts with glycerin, supplemented by concentrated sulfuric acid as a catalyzer, but the temperature must be strictly controlled during the reaction, and ventilation must be maintained. Since a lot of heat is generated during nitration, you can put the container in the Experiment in ice water. Remember, hot and cold, vibration, impact, and friction may cause it to explode." Roland didn't know whether this amateur knowledge was reliable, but the ingredients were undoubtedly correct, even if there was danger , must also be tried. "It's good to use a small amount of acid during the test, so that even if an accident occurs, Miss Nana can rescue you."

"This..." Chames opened his mouth, and before he could answer, Kaimo agreed, "I understand. How is its power compared to snow powder?"

"It's a world away."

"It looks like it will be an interesting experiment." The chief alchemist laughed.

It is true that nine out of ten chemists are potential explosion art lovers... Roland thought to himself.

Nitroglycerin is extremely unstable. In Nobel's safe explosive, diatomaceous earth is added to passivate the ester. Although the safety is improved, the explosive power is reduced. Naturally, Roland would not choose this classical method. He planned to add nitrocellulose or nitrostarch to the nitroglycerin, both of which could have a stabilizing effect and further enhance the explosive effect. The former is an excellent smokeless propellant, while the latter is a powerful high explosive. As can be seen from their names, a large amount of nitric acid is the key to the evolution from black powder to chemical gunpowder.

And he now has the key.

.(To be continued.)