Chapter 643 Technology

In the late 19th century, the second industrial revolution began to exert its full force, and technological innovation emerged one after another.

As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Austria was the first to enjoy the dividends of scientific and technological progress, and the domestic economic development train went directly to the fast lane.

By the end of 1877, 80 percent of Austrian cities had universal access to electricity, and the rest were in the process of doing so.

This speed is beyond everyone's imagination, and the fundamental reason for all this to happen is the advancement of science and technology.

No one expected that the power generation technology would make another breakthrough in a short period of time. The power of the generator has been increased, and the coal consumption has been reduced to 450 grams to 630 grams kWh.

The disparity is so big, mainly because of the quality of coal. Austria's power plants are all private enterprises, and naturally do not need the government to unify coal use standards.

Second, is the gap in power generation technology. Different power plants and power generation technologies have also begun to widen the gap, and a new round of survival is about to start.

The Austrian metallurgical industry has also made breakthroughs at the same time as the cost of electricity generation has fallen. The price of copper in the market has fallen sharply, resulting in a drop in the cost of wire production.

The sharp drop in cost has made the establishment of a power supply network no longer a dream, and laid a decisive foundation for the popularization of electricity.

The popularization of electricity brings not only a revolution in lighting technology, but also an industrial revolution. Mechanical equipment using electricity as energy has sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

In addition to electric power technology, there is also the great development of internal combustion engine technology. This cross-generational invention directly swept the steam engine into the garbage heap.

Of course, it will take time, and now the steam engine is still the mainstream of the times. Even Austria, at the forefront of the industrial revolution, is just beginning to experiment with internal combustion engines.

But the potential of the internal combustion engine has been seen by everyone. Capital is profit-seeking. After realizing the huge potential of internal combustion engines, the number of companies developing internal combustion engines has increased rapidly.

Especially for enterprises engaged in machinery and equipment manufacturing, if they do not launch new power research and development projects, they will not be able to keep up with the times.

Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes, and if more people participate, there will always be results. For example: the internal combustion engine car was born in advance.

Of course, limited by power technology, the internal combustion engine vehicles of this era have no practical value. A car that needs to be maintained once after running 30 to 40 kilometers is obviously not of economic value.

All cars in use on the market are steam engine powered cars. However, because the noise is too loud, the brakes are inflexible, and accidents are prone to occur in emergencies, so it is forbidden to use in the city.

Although steam engine cars are bulky, inconvenient to use, and run relatively slowly, their carrying capacity is good. This kind of black technology equipment is usually active in mines.

Occasionally there are local tyrants who are not afraid of death, using this steam engine version of the large car. This is not a big idea. If the size of the car is small, where should the steam engine be placed?

Franz has always admired these warriors. Without their mortal spirit, the Austrian auto industry would not have developed so quickly.

As the so-called market, there is production. After realizing the needs of local tyrants, automobile companies began to develop internal combustion engine vehicles.

Of course, there are also deviations. As far as Franz knew, there were also electric cars.

Instead of installing batteries, there is no such technology in this era, but a small generator is directly installed, and then a motor is installed as the power system.

Whether it can be done, Franz doesn't know. Anyway, this kind of car, the final volume is definitely not small.

The bigger the size, the more self-weight. If you want to run, you can only increase the power of the motor, and by the way, increase the power of the generator.

This is a vicious circle. The more powerful the mechanical equipment these days, the larger the volume and the increased self-weight, and the problem is fed back again.

In this respect, this super-era car has lost its market competitiveness during the research and development process.

Technological innovation is worth encouraging, and even if it fails in the end, it can draw lessons from experience.

After seeing the news on the news, Franz just smiled and didn't mean to interfere.

If an enterprise wants to survive for a long time, it will not work without taking a few detours and learning from experience.

If the operator of the enterprise has poor vision, or lacks his own judgment, it will be finished sooner or later. Such a company has absolutely no value to save.

Half a step ahead is genius, one step ahead is lunatic. A few steps ahead, Franz doesn't know what it is, he will probably become a martyr!

Who knows? Many scientific and technological innovations are unintentional, and if the company is lucky, it can also make a lot of money by producing other valuable by-products on the road to death.

For example, making the motor smaller and the power larger; or making the generator smaller, these are all achievable under existing industrial conditions.

There are many similar advanced projects, such as: electric trains.

In the end, the development of electric trains failed, but a tram was accidentally created.

This is also fortunate that the Austrian Railway Company, which has spent a lot of money on research and development, directly changed its line of business to start intra-city transportation.

Trams are clearly competitive with horse-drawn buses and steam buses, and several cities in Austria already use this advanced mode of transportation.

Unlike later generations, a project needs several years or even more than ten years to promote from its birth to its use.

Today's capitalists are undoubtedly much more active. Usually, after a new product comes out, it only takes a few months, and the longest is one or two years.

will be promoted to the market.

The most important factor is interest. Now many industries have just started, and there are not so many interest groups hindering them.

Horse-drawn buses and steam-engine buses are mostly infrastructure projects funded and subsidized by the government. There are more advanced and lower-cost trams available, and the Austrian government will naturally not refuse.

There are successes and naturally there are failures. For example: a big local tyrant came up with a "moon landing plan", and Franz could only sigh that he was rich and self-willed.

In this era, if you want to go to the moon, you should go to bed earlier, and it will come true in your dreams.

This project has only just begun and has not yet achieved results. However, the momentum is quite big. It is said that dozens of rich people in China have already invested in it, preparing to open the interstellar era of mankind.

If this project can last for 180 years, there is a chance of success. If you want to generate economic value, this time may be doubled.

In any case, this scientific research spirit is worth encouraging.

If nothing else, the moon landing program should win the Austrian Award for Best Scientific and Technological Innovation in 1878, while the Interstellar Program will win the Most Promising Project Award.

These awards are specially set up by Franz to encourage technological innovation.

There are only two application conditions, any one of them can be satisfied: first, the project has achieved phased results; second, the project investment exceeds one million Aegis.

Of course, there is also a premise that scientific research projects must be beneficial to human beings.

All award-winning projects can apply for the use of free scientific research sites, and the water and electricity costs will be halved. The local government will also vigorously cooperate with the project team.

Not to mention tax-free, all scientific research projects in Austria can receive tax-free government support. The premise is to accept government supervision of scientific research funds, and prevent people from using scientific research to launder money.

In theory, it doesn't matter whether the project can be successful in the end, as long as you draw a big pie, get social recognition, and are willing to invest money in it, you may win the prize.

The moon landing plan and even the interstellar plan behind it are all money-spending projects and have been widely recognized by the society.

This is just an honorary award, and it is not too difficult to win. The real scientific research award is the scientific and technological contribution award issued by the royal family. In addition to cash awards, there are also knighthood awards.

However, the award must have outstanding scientific research results, and if it is theoretical research, it must also be collectively recognized by the scientific community.

The "Science and Technology Contribution Award" is not held every year.

Overseas scientists can also sign up, and Franz is open to all.

Of course, this is theoretical. Austrian scientists in the field of military industry can also win awards, and scientists in the field of overseas military industry will not have the chance.

No way, the award is to test the success of technology. Military technology is strictly confidential, and you can't just show the results to the Austrians in order to win awards!

Can everyone really believe that the integrity of the Austrian judges will not use these technologies for their own use?

If someone does this, Franz will not be stingy with this reward. Including the follow-up impact, he is willing to take it.