Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1239 The Principle of Vulcan Core
"Your will is our command, your order is our destiny. If you want to dismantle these ships, we will fully cooperate. But before that, would you like to visit the ship? In this way, we can let you see the operation of the Vulcan megastructure up close."

"Now that you mention it, it just occurred to me that even though I've been using it for so long, I don't think I've ever seen it in operation."

Victoria was stunned for a moment: "Don't talk about you, I haven't seen it either."

"Why haven't you even seen it?"

"Because this is the first time I've seen one this big. Other Vulcan cores are usually the size of a watch or alarm clock, and the largest is no bigger than a palm. You've seen a specific one, too. My father gave me an alarm clock. When it's running, both its usage and shape are very similar to an alarm clock movement. Because it looks so ordinary, I've never taken it apart to take a look. Now that this big one has suddenly appeared, I actually want to take a look. Besides, I know the principle."

"What is the principle?"

“You’ll see once you go in and take a look. Although the scale is different, the principle is actually very simple – as simple as lighting a match.”

"Is this the kind of machine whose fundamental principles could be stumbled upon by anyone at almost any point in human history?"

There is such an assumption: the discovery process of the hyperspace engine is as simple as the above process, as simple as the windmill, so simple that all intelligent life except humans have discovered it, and only humans have "accidentally" failed to discover it. When aliens put all their energy into improving the "windmill", only humans on Earth have climbed to the peak of the universe's technology. Once humans obtain the "windmill", they will sweep the entire universe like a mad dog out of a cage.

"Yes, that's it." Victoria nodded. "It's so simple that you will understand its principle as soon as you see it."

"Then take me to see it! I can't wait for the mad dog to be out of the cage!"

Inside the engine room, a whole row of "larger-than-giant discs" were rotating. The golden discs were stacked one on top of another, arranged along the propulsion shaft of the ship. This cavity alone took up most of the interior space of the ship. The proportions were not like a real machine, but rather like the counterweights in an inertial toy car - the kind of tin toy car that would run a long way with just a push.

This set of huge discs gave Shangluo the feeling of a counterweight. It couldn't be simpler.

The disc rotated silently, without making any noise, only the chilling air was released from it. Around the disc, brass pipes were densely spread like spider webs, used to maintain a constant temperature in the space. In fact, most of the discs were running in a constant temperature envelope made of brass, and only this one end was exposed, because this end was connected to a set of gearboxes through a set of clamps, providing power output for the entire ship.

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's right," Victoria replied. "All the Vulcan Cores I know of, whether small or this massive creation known as the 'Vulcan Megastructure', use the same principle."

"What is the principle?"

"It's very simple, just three points," Victoria replied. "Do you see it's spinning all the time?"

Shangluo nodded. This was obvious. These rotating discs did not seem to have any other way of working except "spinning" itself.

"So, do you see that this ship has a propeller? Doesn't it even have a propeller?" Shangluo nodded again. In fact, it was only after Victoria reminded him that he realized that there was nothing related to a propeller at the back of the ship, neither a paddle wheel nor a propeller. It was as if there was a "hand of God" pushing it forward when it was sailing.

"Then the third one: Do you remember the original magic we talked about before? There are three ancient original magics of mankind: fire, wheel, and throwing. Then the conclusion is obvious - when it is not burning, the energy it uses to burn will be used for rotation and throwing. Simple, isn't it?"

"??????"

[Shangluo, you may think you heard it wrong. But the principle is indeed like this. ]

"No. It's really simple and clear to say. But how do we discover the 'ancient origin magic'? Is it easy to use magic?"

[That being said. But once you discover the original magic, the Vulcan Core is a technology that anyone could stumble upon at almost any point in human history. You see, when it's not burning, it spins and throws; when it's not spinning, it burns and throws; when it's not throwing, it spins and burns. And so on, when it's neither burning nor throwing, it spins like crazy, etc.]

"I think we have different definitions of 'burning'."

[Yes, this is combustion in the alchemical sense. Alchemy has a theory of 'harmonic phlogiston', which holds that the different properties of all objects in the world are the manifestation of atoms oscillating and fluctuating at different frequencies and trajectories. This is 'combustion', and what is consumed in this process is phlogiston. The core principle of Vulcan is that when an object refuses to burn, it will start to rotate! Isn't it simple!]

Victoria concluded: "So the principle can be summed up in one sentence - if you refuse to burn, you will spin! Simple, isn't it!"

Shangluo looked at the huge disc that was spinning and emitting cold air, and nodded:

"It's so easy, as easy as putting an elephant in a refrigerator. By the way, can you adjust the proportions? Does this ship also use 'refuse to burn' for propulsion?"

"It looks like that." Victoria nodded. "Generally speaking, it conforms to the chirality principle. You learned this in physics class, right? You extend your thumb and make a 'stick' gesture. Assuming that the disk rotates in the direction of the other four fingers, the propulsion direction is the direction where the thumb is pointing."

"This simple propulsion technology is really simple."

"That's right." Victoria nodded. "We once planned to put all our energy into the development of this perpetual motion machine, until..."

"Until what?"

"Until we blew up Syracuse and some other places. Because in a certain experiment, when it was not burning or rotating, the 'throw' it produced was so terrible that no one knew where it went. We only knew that it 'jumped' into the sky. We were afraid that if we got the direction wrong one day, it would penetrate the earth. So the subsequent experiments strictly maintained scientific ethics, until these giant structures in front of you were illegally built."

[Also, the Muses are now planning to restart the experiment to explore how to shut down these big guys in your hands. It may take a few more throws. They are looking for a test site. I hope they don't punch through the earth.]

(End of this chapter)