Chapter 574 Franz's Recreation (Part 2)

Nitrogen is almost an inexhaustible resource on this earth. It can be mixed with hydrogen to make nitrogen fertilizer. At that time, the Austrian Empire will be able to feed a much larger population than it is now.

As for Dr. Natler, since he has a talent in engineering machinery, Franz suggested that the former change his career to become an engineer. The other party naturally accepted it with pleasure, so there was another big man in the field of engineering machinery in Austria.

Franz did not want to limit the other party's research direction. If he wanted to continue to improve the compressor, he could do so. If he did not want to, he would make the research results public and let others continue to study.

Mr. Babbage, who converted to the church, also encountered a bottleneck, that is, the speed of the steam engine, the upper limit was too low, and even with a perfect design, it could not achieve true perfection.

So the pioneer of computers began to study Archduke Franz's new power - electricity. Babbage collected a lot of research materials on electricity, and then began another hurricane in a new field.

Babbage skipped all the previous steps and prepared to develop an AC generator. Of course, this was just Franz's own feeling. After all, his understanding of electricity was very limited, otherwise he would have gone out to tinker with the generator himself.

Franz tried to let other electrical experts interpret Babbage's ideas, but everyone thought he was crazy.

On the other hand, Ada (Babbage's assistant, Lord Byron's daughter) was still perfecting the previous Trinity Analyzer.

This Analyzer can already achieve many leapfrog calculations, but the problem is also obvious, that is, it is too large and runs slowly, and there is a certain probability of self-explosion.

After Babbage went to study the generator, Babbage took over the mantle of the former and continued to preside over the research of the "Trinity" Analyzer.

However, the latter prefers small and delicate things compared to the former. He thinks that as long as he can solve the problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, it is enough. After all, it is better to let those mathematicians and calculators do too complicated problems.

In fact, after Franz developed the profession of calculator, a large number of laboratories and institutions began to hire calculators, which made this profession in short supply for a while.

In fact, the most ironic thing is that Babbage's analytical engine could never beat those top mathematicians when performing complex calculations.

In addition, the development of steelmaking technology was smooth sailing. The basic converter steelmaking method used by the Austrian Empire at this time could well avoid the problem of high phosphorus content in the Austrian Empire's iron ore.

As for the top and bottom blowing method, it was actually invented by the Austrians, so Franz's use of it now is not considered plagiarism.

Plattner and Bacher showed great interest in the gas liquefaction experiment, but they did not want nitrogen, but oxygen, because in this way they could realize the pure oxygen blowing method mentioned by Franz.

In fact, although the top and bottom blowing method used at this time is advanced, 79% of the air contains useless impurities, which is undoubtedly a huge waste. If it can be replaced with pure oxygen, then the output, quality, and speed can be improved.

In fact, their estimate is correct. The top and bottom blowing oxygen converter method is one of the most advanced steelmaking methods even today, and it does not have as many restrictions as the electric arc furnace steelmaking method.

Once this method is realized, the quality of its steel will completely beat this era, and the speed is more than ten times that of the open-hearth method.

Visiting new inventions and discussing new technologies should be Franz's biggest pastime at this time.

Someone has developed a new technology for refining mercury, which is of no use to the Austrian Empire itself, but fortunately the Grand Duchy of Tuscany has the largest mercury mine in Central Europe.

Franz can sell this technology to the Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany, who gladly accepted the deal, after all, they all belong to the same family.

Grand Duke Leopold II has little interest in ruling the country and rarely interferes in state affairs. This time he accepted the deal because of family relations.

However, this is also his advantage. Because he cares more about family affairs, Grand Duke Leopold II is also one of the people who invested in Franz earlier.

In return, the Austrian Empire became the largest customer of Tuscan mercury at this time.

Mercury has a wide range of uses, including but not limited to the production of chlorine and caustic soda, acetic acid, acetone, etc.

Mercury compounds can be used to make leather and plant mildew inhibitors, wood preservatives and anti-corrosion paints (painting of the underwater part of ships). Mercury is also needed in military fulminate.

Produce pigments for painting, cosmetics, printing and other aspects. At the same time, it is also a traditional medicine. It is not a legend that European doctors use bloodletting and mercury injection to "cure" all diseases.

Bloodletting therapy and mercury therapy were once two major disciplines in the European medical community. Patients either died of blood loss and infection, or their blood was replaced by mercury due to mercury poisoning.

However, mercury is not completely useless in medicine. It has certain effects in treating disinfection, diuresis, stomach diseases, skin diseases, and sexually transmitted diseases.

In addition to these, mercury can also be used to make various dosimeters, such as barometers, thermometers, sphygmomanometers, etc.

At this time, its two main functions are actually to produce chlorine and extract gold.

Although modern industry has almost stopped using mercury to produce chlorine, electricity was extremely scarce at the time. When electrolysis could not be used, the traditional mercury method was the best way.

Historically, the California Gold Rush was extremely wasteful. The gold diggers took away only large pieces of gold sand, while the gold particles and pyrite dispersed in the quartz were thrown away as garbage. There were even more gold particles remaining in the waste from the alchemy.

If Franz had not mastered the mining rights of the mineral, he would have opened a recycling plant to purchase the waste residue left after the gold diggers' alchemy, as well as the ores that were considered unrefinable.

Don't underestimate this inconspicuous recycling work. Turning waste into treasure is no joke. Judging from the degree of waste at the time, the gold diggers might not have dug as much gold as Franz recovered.

In fact, Americans can still find the waste residue abandoned by the gold diggers back then, which shows how heavy the waste was at the time.

However, the method of using mercury to extract gold from pyrite was not proposed until 1851, but this did not prevent Franz from using it at all.

The process is to first react mercury with pyrite, remove the arsenide after roasting, then add chlorine gas through the ore, then add hydrochloric acid, and pass hydrogen sulfide to precipitate gold, while the iron molecules remain in the solution.

With the emergence of new discoveries and new laws, the iteration speed of physics and chemistry books used for teaching is also accelerating.

Franz had to hire someone to keep up with the times and edit new chemistry/physics application manuals. After all, this high-intensity and fast-paced work is neither decent nor realistic for people to generate electricity with love.

However, this is for experts and scholars. For students of basic education and secondary education, those basic common sense will not change, so there is no need to worry.