shadow of britain

Chapter 141 Faraday's New Discovery

In the laboratory of the Royal Society, Henry Goulburn, the chancellor of the exchequer, leaned on a cane, leaned over to look at the ammeter with the pointer rotating, and pushed his glasses.

He frowned and straightened his back slowly, then asked Faraday embarrassedly, "So... Mr. Faraday, what is the meaning of this electromagnetic induction phenomenon?"

Faraday looked at Goulburn, and responded half-jokingly: "Your Excellency, of course it is meaningful. It is of great significance. It may not be long before your Ministry of Finance can rely on it to collect taxes. Have you forgotten the steam engine?"

"my God!"

Goulburn mocked himself: "Thanks to science, and more thanks to the steam engine, because of it, we just lost an outstanding leader of the House of Commons a while ago - Mr. William Huskisson. But this electromagnetic induction phenomenon may be safer than steam locomotives, right?

Mr. Faraday, I beg you, please don't make artificial lightning or anything like that.The locomotive killing Mr Huskisson would have caused a mess in the cabinet.If you come up with artificial lightning or something, and then chop Buckingham Palace later, the Duke of Wellington will not be able to explain the problem to the public even if the Duke of Wellington plays two more Waterloos, or twists Napoleon's head off. "

When Faraday heard this, he couldn't help but responded with a smile: "Electricity is certainly a dangerous thing, but I think as long as it is handled carefully, nothing will go wrong. If you don't believe it, I can personally prove the safety of electric current to you."

"is it?"

Goulben reached out and pinched the wire in front of him, only to hear a snap, and a small white spot appeared on his thumb.

He bit his finger in pain and complained to Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, is this the safety of electric current?"

Faraday smiled and shook his head and said: "Sir, you are too anxious. The current safety I mentioned requires another experiment to present and explain it."

Faraday just said this when he happened to see Arthur walking in from the open space outside the laboratory.

Before Arthur could react to what happened, he was captured by Faraday.

"Arthur, you came just in time, please help me drag the spherical iron cage in the corner of the laboratory, and help me power it up for a while."

"Huh?" Arthur glanced at the iron cage made of fine wire woven in the corner, and then asked, "Is this some new invention?"

Faraday smiled and shook his head: "No, Arthur, the new invention is here. Remember the disc generator I mentioned to you before? I just made it not long ago, but the current first version is hand-cranked. I will get into that big iron cage in a while, and you will turn the handle of the disc generator outside and discharge me with the tip of the wire."

Arthur looked at the disc generator in front of Faraday, and then at the spherical iron cage beside him. He frowned, as if thinking of something.

He remembered that he seemed to have seen a similar magic show on TV.

He tentatively asked: "Mr. Faraday, don't you want to perform that? Absolute domain? Controlling lightning?"

Faraday couldn't help being surprised when he heard the words: "Arthur, I feel more and more that you should devote yourself to the field of science. Maybe you can also benefit the public in Scotland Yard, but your talent in the field of scientific research is indeed seldom matched by others. You must have discovered that phenomenon, right?"

Arthur replied vaguely: "It's not a discovery, it's just a wonderful experience. You know, if a person survives after being struck by lightning, if he can't explain it with the apparition of God, he can only consider the problem from other aspects."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Goulburn felt more and more confused.

He asked Faraday: "Mr. Faraday, may I ask which young scientist in the Royal Society this young gentleman is?"

Faraday smiled and explained to him: "Your Excellency, this is Mr. Arthur Hastings. He is indeed a cutting-edge electromagnetic researcher in Great Britain, but unfortunately, he is not currently working for the Royal Society, but an honest and selfless Scotland Yard police officer under Sir Peel."

When Goulburn heard this name, he always felt a little familiar. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized: "Arthur Hastings, Scotland Yard, so it is you."

Goulburn extended his hand to Arthur affectionately: "Young man, Robert and I mentioned you. It's just that I thought you were just a policeman who was good at solving crimes, but I didn't expect that your achievements in scientific research could be affirmed by Mr. Faraday. You know, after the death of Sir David, Mr. Faraday can almost be regarded as the brightest star in the British scientific community. Boy, I have to be honest, maybe I underestimated you a little bit before."

Goulburn made such a high evaluation, so Arthur naturally had to respond modestly.

He took the other party's hand and complimented him politely: "Maybe you have underestimated me, but I have never underestimated you. When I was a child, I heard that you played a huge role in the war between Britain and the United States in 1812, and the "Treaty of Ghent" signed by the two countries during the peace talks in 1814 was drafted by you yourself.

When I was studying history at the University of London, I also read the transcripts of your negotiations - until I came here, I did not realize the deep-rooted determination in the heart of every American to destroy the Indians and occupy their territories.

Although your determination to prevent the Americans from invading the Indian Territory failed to be implemented in the treaty, we can still see your efforts in historical materials. "

Goulburn was surprised when he heard that Arthur was so familiar with his past experiences.

He praised: "It seems that some members of the parliament have a problem with the prejudice against the University of London. Mr. Hastings, from your words and deeds, I deeply feel the thick style of study and good education in the University of London. To tell you the truth, I actually like the thoughts of Mr. Jeremy Bentham very much. His expositions have had a profound impact on the formation of my life concepts and political views."

Speaking of this, Arthur smiled and asked insincerely: "Perhaps you should consider persuading the congressmen, for Mr. Bentham's sake, at least issue our school's teaching charter?"

Goulburn is also an old fox who has become a spirit. He also responded with a smile: "If the cabinet can last until the start of your school next year, I will definitely consider your proposal carefully."

After finishing speaking, Goulburn naturally changed the subject. He looked at the round iron cage moved by Arthur, bent down and looked carefully: "So, Mr. Faraday, what are you going to show me today?"

Faraday didn't say a word, he just smiled and nodded at Arthur, then he opened the door of the iron cage and got in by himself.

Seeing this, Arthur roughly recalled the magic video he had watched, so he imitated the handle of the disc generator with one hand, and picked up the discharge rod with the tip in the other.

Afterwards, he nodded politely at Goulburn, and said.

"Your Excellency, I would trouble you to avoid a certain distance, this experiment may be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Goulburn said in a daze, "Didn't Mr. Faraday say that this experiment is safe?"

Arthur pursed his lips and smiled: "Yes, this experiment is safe for Mr. Faraday in the cage. But if you insist on standing between the discharge pole and Mr. Faraday, then you will become very dangerous. How can I describe this matter?"

Hmm... for an analogy, you are now Mr. William Huskisson, the former Secretary of State, standing on the railway tracks.If you don't want to be knocked a few meters away, it's best to follow the advice of a professional.

Of course, I may be a bit alarmist when I say this.After all, I don't know how powerful the disk generator made by Mr. Faraday is.

However, it is for my own sake to let you leave that position, after all we at Scotland Yard have just had a superintendent dismissed because of the death of a prominent politician. "

"Oh! My God!" Hearing this, Goulburn hurriedly gave way to a distance of seven or eight steps. He helped his crooked hat and said, "There are always so many weird things in the Royal Society."

Seeing that he had hidden himself, Arthur took a deep breath.

While turning the handle of the disc generator, he moved the discharge rod to the iron cage.

It was only seen that the two hadn't completely contacted before, and a slender, winding bright lightning had already been produced between the tip of the discharge rod and the surface of the iron cage.

The sound of electric current exploding in the air made Goulben's eyelids twitch wildly, but before he could recover, he saw Faraday smiling and pressing his white-gloved hands to the inner surface of the iron cage.

"Mr. Faraday, danger!" Goulburn yelled, but Faraday's expected electric shock did not appear.

"This?" Goulburn pinched his chin and pondered for a moment, then looked at the white spot on his finger just now, and asked Arthur, "Could it be that your generator is generating fake electricity?"

Arthur glanced at the experimental bench behind him, and said, "Whether it's a fake electricity or not, we don't care. So, I suggest that you can pick up the mop next to the experimental bench and poke the outer surface of the iron cage."

The grey-haired Goulburn seemed to be struggling when he heard the words, but after hesitating for a long time, curiosity finally defeated fear.

The dignified British Minister of the Exchequer raised his mop at the iron cage like an eight or nine-year-old urchin: "Am I really going to poke it?"

Arthur breathed out, his arms were already a little sore: "You'd better hurry up, this disc generator is still quite tiring. Maybe next time the Ministry of Finance plans to allocate funds to the Royal Society, you can consider sending some squirrels over. Those little guys are naturally suitable for running around."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Goulburn gritted his teeth and pushed the mop hard against the iron cage.

There was a bang, and a ball of fire exploded from the cloth head of the mop, so startled that Mr. Goulburn threw the stick hastily and sat down on the ground.

After a long time, Goulburn, who was running to sixth, stood up again while holding his beating heart and supporting the laboratory table.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, swallowed and asked, "This...what the hell is this?"

Arthur smiled and shrugged. "If I remember correctly, this should be called the 'Faraday cage effect'."

(End of this chapter)