152: Chapter 152 Kerosene Lamp

This flywheel has a large moment of inertia, allowing it to store excess energy generated during the Steam Engine's power stroke.

During the non-power strokes, it provides the momentum to keep the Steam Engine running, making the crankshaft's rotation smoother.

A clutch connects the flywheel, making it easy to control whether the energy stored in the flywheel and the crankshaft's power are transmitted to subsequent transmission devices or working components.

After boiling water for so long, the water in the boiler had been depleted significantly. Elder Mo controlled the steam valves to pump water from the water tank into the boiler.

This water pump was driven by steam power.

It was controlled via valves.

Three hours had passed, and the pressure gauge had reached 80.

By the fourth hour, the pressure finally reached 125.

After adding one last burst of fuel to the fire, Elder Mo pulled the whistle.

"Whoo, whoo, whoo..."

Driven by the steam, it let out a booming sound.

A pressure of 125 was sufficient to drive the steam tractor.

"His Majesty the Head of State."

Elder Mo looked toward Zhao Fusu.

"Good."

Among these people, only he possessed a driver's license.

A driver's license was mandatory to be on the road, so he would be the one driving.

One must wear a seatbelt when boarding the vehicle.

Zhao Fusu had specifically instructed Elder Mo to add seatbelts.

After buckling his seatbelt, Zhao Fusu disengaged the clutch, shifted into first gear to start, and slightly pulled the throttle lever to increase speed.

Amidst the reciprocating mechanical motion, the steam tractor began to move forward.

Zhao Fusu turned the steering wheel, using a winch to pull the iron chains attached to the left and right front wheels to steer.

Because hydraulic power steering was used, the steering wheel was a bit heavy, but not excessively so.

To test its towing capacity, Zhao Fusu stopped the steam tractor and had people attach a four-wheeled trailer to the back.

He had them load five tons of heavy weights into the trailer.

Zhao Fusu was testing the cargo-hauling capability of this steam tractor.

Whether it could pull five tons of weight was crucial to whether he could use this steam tractor to transport five tons of mortar shells to Shangjun.

Elder Mo, along with Li Si and Feng Quji who had rushed over upon hearing the news, watched with anticipation.

Even General Wang Jian, Wang Xia, and Wang Li had run over to watch the excitement.

Could this steam tractor really pull five tons of weight?

After the trailer was loaded with five tons, Zhao Fusu pulled the clutch lever, shifted into first gear, and gave it some throttle.

The steam tractor moved.

It easily towed the five-ton trailer, slowly driving forward.

Although the speed wasn't fast, the power was immense.

The reason for this was inseparable from its gearbox.

Its gearbox used a thirty-centimeter diameter gear to drive a one-and-a-half-meter diameter gear, resulting in massive torque; the maximum torque could reach 3690 Newton-meters!

Under such immense torque, the five-ton trailer was easily towed by it.

"My, what incredible strength!"

Wang Xia couldn't help but cover her mouth as she spoke.

"This strength is indeed immense!"

Li Si and General Wang Jian nodded in agreement.

Zhao Fusu drove the steam tractor, towing the five-ton trailer behind him, and began circling within the Great Qin Empire Academy of Sciences.

After driving all afternoon until the sky was turning dark, the steam tractor did not suffer a cylinder blowout.

In terms of safety, this steam tractor was quite well-made.

Zhao Fusu spoke to Elder Mo about his plans.

"Elder Mo, I want people to drive this steam tractor to transport forty-one thousand dan of supplies to Shangjun."

"At that time, you will accompany them and monitor the steam tractor's operation at all times. This will serve as a performance test for the steam tractor."

"As you command!"

Elder Mo agreed.

Zhao Fusu then thought of another issue: for night driving, vehicle lights were very important!

If the road couldn't be seen clearly, what if it overturned!

How to create vehicle lights made Zhao Fusu frown slightly.

He didn't have electric lights!

His mind entered the check-in inventory, looking through the pile of items he had obtained from checking in over the past month, searching for anything useful.

He actually found an item that could be used as a vehicle light—a kerosene pressure lamp.

It was a type of lighting fixture that used vaporized kerosene combustion to produce light; it could emit a white light even more dazzling than a light bulb, illuminating the surroundings for over a dozen meters.

Among the items he had obtained from checking in, there was a detailed introduction to the structure of the kerosene pressure lamp and how to manufacture it.

Zhao Fusu looked at the structural diagram of the kerosene pressure lamp.

It consisted of a fuel pressure vessel, a vaporizing copper delivery tube, a burner head, and a mantle.

The fuel pressure vessel was used to store kerosene, and by pumping air to pressurize it, the kerosene could be sprayed from the nozzle above the oil pot.

The vaporizing copper delivery tube connected the fuel pressure vessel to the combustion zone, heating and vaporizing the pressurized kerosene before delivering it to the burner head.

The burner head was usually curved, and the mantle was made of castor fiber or asbestos soaked in a thorium nitrate solution, which emitted a dazzling white light under the high heat of the burning kerosene vapor.

Auxiliary components included an air pump with a red handle for pressurizing the fuel vessel, a spirit cup for holding alcohol to heat the kerosene upon ignition, a chimney for wind and fire protection, and a reflector to enhance light concentration for brighter illumination.

"Kerosene?"

"thorium nitrate solution?"

Zhao Fusu frowned.

He had the other materials, but he had no kerosene and no thorium nitrate solution.

Fortunately, the items from his check-ins included an introduction on how to produce kerosene.

Although the word 'kerosene' in Chinese contained the character for coal, it had nothing to do with coal; it was actually refined from petroleum!

There was petroleum in Guanzhong, primarily used as fuel or for lighting.

The Great Qin's names for petroleum were not 'petroleum,' but rather stone lacquer, grease oil, fat, stone fat, fatty water, or combustible water.

Kerosene is obtained from petroleum through fractional distillation; when petroleum is heated to between two hundred and three hundred degrees, kerosene can be distilled out.

In the absence of a thermometer, mastering the appropriate temperature to distill kerosene could only be done by guesswork.

Kerosene was relatively hopeful to produce, but what truly gave Zhao Fusu a headache was the thorium nitrate solution.

He had nitric acid, but he didn't have thorium ore.

"thorium ore Distribution Map."

When Zhao Fusu saw this map, the corners of his mouth curled up.

With thorium ore, there was hope for producing thorium nitrate solution.

According to the production method for thorium nitrate solution:

After thorium ore is crushed and ground, concentrated sulfuric acid or nitric acid is used to dissolve the ore at high temperatures, allowing thorium, uranium, and rare earths to form soluble salts, such as sulfates or nitrates, separating them from the gangue.

The ore is reacted with a 50% sodium hydroxide solution at a temperature of one hundred thirty to one hundred fifty degrees to produce a hydroxide precipitate containing thorium, uranium, and rare earths, which is then filtered to separate impurities.

Zhao Fusu immediately arranged for people to search for petroleum and thorium ore.