A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 186 Invention Controversy
Although others already have radio patents, there is actually no big obstacle to making radio applications, and radio patents themselves have always been messy.

In 1893, Tesla publicly demonstrated radio communication for the first time in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and described and demonstrated the basic principles of radio communication in an academic report.The instrument he made contains all the basic elements of the radio system before the invention of the electron tube, and is relatively complete.

Then in 1897, Tesla did obtain a patent for radio technology in the United States.

But at the same time, the Italian Marconi was also independently conducting radio research. He also obtained a radio patent in Italy, and the patent number is also very interesting, patent No. 7777.

He also founded a wireless telegraph company, and in 1901 completed the first transatlantic radio communication.At that time, I chose the nearest province of Newfoundland, Canada, with a distance of more than 3300 kilometers.

For example, large consortiums such as Morgan are all interested in commercial value.Marconi happened to be a person who knew business, and tried every means to carry out commercial promotion. He also had a mature organization like a company under his hands, so he would naturally be favored by the business community.

Coupled with the involvement of Edison and others, the United States eventually withdrew the wireless patent from Tesla and awarded it to Marconi.

Marconi later also won the Nobel Prize in Physics for radio.

It was only in 1943 that the United States withdrew Marconi's patent and granted it to Tesla again...

It took 40 years to go around and around, but unfortunately, just a few months ago, Tesla had died alone in a small hotel and did not see this ruling.

In addition to Marconi and Tesla, Russia believed that the inventor of radio was their Alexander Popov, and set May 1895, 5, the day Popov discovered radio, as their Radio Day.

So in fact, it is hard to argue who made the radio. These people all completed it independently, and the time is about the same.

In fact, the theoretical basis of radio at that time was already very complete, and the foundation was naturally Maxwell's electromagnetic theory and equations, and the discovery of radio had already begun.

As for who invented it, it is a bit like discussing whether calculus was invented by Newton or Leibniz.

And even though a radio patent has been applied for, in fact, the radio technology is still very simple at this time, and there are more patents that can be applied for in the future.

Moreover, according to the current policies of various countries, it is not very supportive for a company or individual to hold so-called patents in the direction of large technologies, and it must be subdivided.

That is to say, it cannot be because of the invention of photography that everyone will have to pay you for taking pictures in the future. This is definitely not conducive to the development of technology.

It can only be said that if you improve the shutter speed or improve the imaging effect, this kind of subdivision patent is fine.

Therefore, there are still many ideas for radio, especially in the direction of application, and the prospect is as bright as the sun.

Li Yu also found that the applied physics major he studied at the beginning was really "suitable" for time travel. Although he was not proficient in a certain aspect, he could learn everything in this major!
Radio was developed to be a specialized communication major, and it has many extension directions. Even Li Yu's most advanced 5G technology in his previous life was also in the radio category.

These are very professional, but at the beginning of the twentieth century, radio was just a newborn baby, and it was still within Li Yu's ability.

Tesla was a busy man, and it didn't take long for him to say to Li Yu and Mark Twain, "I'm sorry, I have to go to Long Island today, and I'll invite a few of you to dinner some other day."

Li Yu naturally knew that he was going to continue the experiment of wireless power transmission, so he asked, "Could it be that sir is going to do the artificial lightning experiment again?"

"Yes," Tesla said, "and this time I'm going to create an artificial lightning with a radius of more than three hundred miles, and light up the night sky in New York!"

Well, Mark Twain gasped, "That will be such a spectacular scene. Compared with yours, I suddenly feel that my button design is a bit weak."

"It's two different things," Tesla said with a smile.

Sierra also knew about Tesla's experiments, "I heard that four years ago, you made artificial lightning in Colorado and caused a blackout in Springs."

"That's him!" said Mark Twain. "Either you think why he built Wardenclyffe Tower in New York, or got kicked out of Colorado."

Tesla spread his hands: "That was an accident."

He really completed the first artificial lightning effect of mankind, and he has always regarded it as a matter of pride.

Mark Twain said: "I advise you to be careful. If the power goes out in New York, the financial giants on Wall Street may eat you."

Tesla laughed and said, "You shouldn't be buying stocks, right?"

Mark Twain immediately said: "I have sworn that I will never touch anything related to investment, including stocks. Even if I really buy it, the power outage will not cause me much loss, but Morgan and Rockefeller will not spare you. .”

Mark Twain was a genius of reverse investment. At that time, he bought the stock of Mexico-Oriental Railway Company for $19, which was a big deal.But soon, the commercial and financial crisis at the end of the [-]th century came, the stock price plummeted, and most of his huge investment was in vain.

On the contrary, Kang Youwei made a fortune investing in trams in Mexico...

Tesla said to himself: "Don't worry, I already have experience, and it will definitely be the most gorgeous show in New York."

Mark Twain rubbed his forehead: "I hope so, I don't want to see you in church when you are buried."

Tesla laughed and said, "You've already joked."

Tesla packed up his things and said goodbye to them temporarily.The Wardenclyffe Tower was built on Long Island, New York—that large island to the east of New York.

Long Island is bounded by the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn to the west and two counties to the east.The famous Montauk Point Lighthouse was built on Long Island. At the beginning, it was a beacon that guided European immigrants to America. Seeing this lighthouse indicated that they were about to land on the American continent.

Long Island is warm in winter and cool in summer, and has a good climate. It has always been a place where rich Americans gather. Many foreign rich people also like to buy real estate here.

Morgan and Tesla chose to build the Wardenclyffe Tower here because they also wanted to attract the attention of the rich. The artificial lightning is really too cool.

After Tesla left, Mark Twain said to Li Yu: "Tesla was very young when he first came to the United States, but it seems that he has not yet realized his dream."

Li Yu said: "Success is hard to define, and it's hard to say."

Mark Twain said suddenly: "I always feel that you speak with many strange feelings."

Li Yu asked, "What strange feeling?"

"It's hard to say," Mark Twain said, "but there is always a kind of maturity and stability that is not commensurate with your age, as if you can see through the world."

Li Yu said with a smile: "Mr. Mark Twain, you are really overrated."

He dared not admit that he was a time traveler.

"I mean it," Mark Twain said again, "I'm a well-informed person, and I'm as good a judge of people as I am inventing and investing."

Li Yu knew that Mark Twain was very good at making jokes and spoke humorously, so he also said: "If your patent for underwear buttons can be adopted, I will believe what you say."

Mark Twain laughed and said: "You also know humor! I remember you, kid, you must remember to write the sequel of "Star Wars" as soon as possible, otherwise I will not feel at ease when I die."

"Then I'll burn it into paper and pass it on to you," Li Yu said.

"That's okay too?"

"That's right," Li Yu said, "In China, paper money is burned for ancestor worship."

Mark Twain suddenly realized: "You Chinese still respect your ancestors and know what they need most."

It was fun chatting with Mark Twain, but he had to go back and perfect his great design, so the two of them said goodbye.

Li Yu and Sierra went out and searched for a while, and selected a three-storey house as the laboratory base. There is a lot of space inside and it can be fully utilized.The rent on Fifth Avenue is not cheap now, but he already has a fund, so he doesn't care about the money.

The power behind Sierra is really strong. The laboratory was set up in a few days, the facilities are very complete, and there is everything you want.

Sierra proudly said: "You can use it with confidence, we can build the laboratory to be as good as the Edison laboratory next to it, including his laboratory in Menlo Park."

Now the big American chaebols are also competing in private. Everyone has seen the huge commercial benefits brought about by the realization of technology, so many chaebols are supporting some experimental institutions.

The chaebol behind Edison was originally the financial giant Morgan.

It is said that ten years ago, Edison's electric light company was bought by Morgan and merged with several other companies to form the famous General Electric in later generations.

The laboratory rented by Sierra is not too far away from Edison and Tesla, and it is located in the economic center of the United States, so the conditions are very good.

However, Edison's current main laboratory is in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The laboratory on Fifth Avenue in New York is smaller, mainly doing research on direct current, and it is also where Edison's office is located.

In fact, most of Edison's inventions and patents are team achievements.Edison is more like a product manager and organizer, responsible for coming up with ideas, and then he has many scientists under him to carry out specific experimental operations.

So most of the experiments were not done by Edison, but the results belonged to him.

Edison's biggest driving force for making inventions is for commercial value. His main job is to communicate with the media and upper-level people to promote his own inventions and creations.

People in later generations only know Edison, but few people know the "invention factory" of Menlo Park Laboratory.The main reason is that since ancient times, people prefer lonely heroes, down-and-out talented artists, and wise men who turn the tide in adversity.

Even when watching movies in later generations, heroes rely on their own strength to defeat criminals, and the police will be late to clean up the mess at the last moment.

If the story is changed: the police rely on teamwork to crack the criminal gang, the plot will be dull.

In the same way, what everyone likes is that under the dim candlelight, the disheveled Edison conducted the 1023rd filament experiment alone in a simple room, and then excitedly showed the lights that light up human civilization.Such a picture is obviously more attractive than a large group of elites in the Menlo Park Laboratory conducting filament experiments with different materials, and then handing over the experimental report to Edison, who will choose a material with the best data.

The story of the lone hero spread more widely.

There are many similar reasons. Even the legendary Jobs of Apple, in fact, has a very limited understanding of technology. Of course, his talent is not here.But Apple's original first- and second-generation computers were indeed developed by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Gary Wozniak.

Including Jack Ma in our country, although he is the big boss of an Internet company, he doesn't know programming.

It can only be said that the Edison in everyone's impression is more like a story, which is different from the actual Edison.

After Sierra finished the laboratory, Li Yu was going to work out the four-wheel drive system and the electromagnetic ignition system that had been agreed upon for Ford and Mr. Leland.

The principle of the electromagnetic ignition system is not complicated, mainly because there is a clear gap between the current design concept and the later generations.

Considering that the design of the current engine is still a bit primitive, Li Yu is going to use the electric starter to make the transition. Of course, this is a huge innovation in itself, and it will not appear until almost 10 years later in history.

After the later application is mature, it is natural to continue to design the key to start directly. This is a more complete set of electronic starting solutions.

As for the four-wheel drive system, Li Yu fully utilized his mechanical design expertise to design the key component, the universal joint.

He is very familiar with design schemes, and even used software for 3D modeling when he was in school, which was just a small homework back then.

But it was a waste of effort to make it by hand. Fortunately, I also made a differential before myself.

In short, hands-on ability still needs to be strengthened.

After a few tests, it was possible to test-fit a prototype as a first-generation product.

But Li Yu still needs to apply for a patent and register a company before that.

That's where Sierra comes in.

"Patents are easy to handle. After all, the samples have been made, and it is not difficult to pass the application," Sierra said. "As for the company, you need to think of a name."

Li Yu thought for a while: "Everyone seems to like to use their own names now, why not just use their initials, LY Company."

Sierra laughed and said, "You really know how to be lazy."

It's not considered lazy, but fortunately Li Yu's name is simple, otherwise the pinyin scheme has not yet come out at this time, so I have to explain it again.

Li Yu said: "This is considered a parent company. For convenience in the future, we can continue to register some subsidiaries for specific implementation."

"It turns out that you know how to run a business," Sierra said. "This method is indeed feasible."

Li Yu said, "That's all I know."

Sierra said: "You seem to be quite ambitious, and it sounds like the prototype of a large conglomerate."

Li Yu said with a smile: "The horoscope has not been written yet."

Li Yu looked at the blueprints and calculation papers in his hand, and suddenly thought of Einstein from the Swiss Patent Office. He said that if he applied for a patent in Switzerland in the future, would it be easier to find him...

This picture is really shocking.

(End of this chapter)