Kai Fu Han

Chapter 297 New Gunpowder
"Okay, I'll send the golden eagle south this time and pass this order along." Xu Zhong responded.

Later, Jin Guo's further southward attack will definitely put tremendous pressure on Zhao Guo's court, and Wanyan Zongjun who is alive will become very important, so it is still uncertain what the outcome of this matter will be.

It is really difficult for the Zhao court to figure out that they had previously joined forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty and lured the wolf into the house.

According to the memory of Liu Xinqi's later generations, if he had not been a variable, he would have joined forces to destroy the gold, lure the tigers and drive the wolves away, and swallow the "evil consequences" he had planted again.

If the Xinghan League offends the Zhao State, and the Zhao State is confused and wants to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Han, and organizes thousands of ships from the sea to attack, with the current strength of the Xinghan League, it will really be unbearable.

"report!"

"Come in."

"Reporting to the leader, the Minister of Industry said that there is a major invention, and I hope you can go to the research institute to check it out."

Liu Xinqi has not been out recently. He has stayed in Penglai and issued many scientific research plans to the Ministry of Industry. He must have made a breakthrough in one of them.

"You two go and do your work, I'll go to the institute." Liu Xinqi said to Liu Xinbao and Xu Zhong.

The Institute was remodeled from the former Liu Family Warehouse in Penglai Port, and now there are basically no refugees or laborers living in it.All of them are occupied by the Ministry of Industry, except for some scientific researchers, they are workers and laborers who serve the Ministry of Industry.

When he arrived at the institute, Liu Xinqi showed his ID card to the guard guarding the door before he could enter.

This kind of behavior may be too formal for Liu Xinqi, but Liu Xinqi must take the lead, otherwise the institute's confidentiality system will be difficult to enforce.

After asking several people, I finally found Liu Zhimu in the Gunpowder Research Laboratory.

"Master, you are here."

"Well, what did you find, so excited?" Liu Xinqi asked.

"This is a major breakthrough in gunpowder research." Liu Zhimu replied.

"Have you discovered a more flammable gunpowder ratio?" Liu Xinqi was puzzled.

Since the musket was developed, gunpowder, which is the soul of the musket, has been studied by the Xinghan League. Currently, the most powerful gunpowder formula has been discovered, which is [-]% saltpeter, [-]% sulfur and [-]% charcoal. .

However, the requirements for the preparation of this kind of 'laboratory gunpowder' are too high. It must first reach a certain purity before it can exert its maximum power. At present, it is simply unrealistic to prepare large quantities of this kind of gunpowder industrially.

Secondly, in addition to purity constraints, there is also the issue of saltpeter production. At present, in addition to purchasing large quantities of saltpeter from Japan and Jiangnan, the Xinghan League also builds saltpeter fields to produce its own saltpeter. The combined output of both is not enough to meet the current demand for saltpeter. All firearms of the Han League were released for use, let alone the preparation of high-power black powder.

Under various conditions, Xinghan League can only choose the most suitable gunpowder formula.Under the balance of low power sacrifice, reduced saltpeter ratio, and lower raw material purity requirements, several formulas were selected to suit the gunpowder needs in various situations.

The igniting powder is flammable, the propellant is highly powerful, the gun powder is resistant to storage and transportation, and the signal flare has a long burning time, etc.

"It's not black powder, we prepared mercury fulminate." Liu Zhimu replied.

"Really?!" Liu Xinqi was shocked.

This is amazing. Mercury fulminate was discovered in the [-]th century and was used to make flash caps in the [-]th century. This step was too big.

"Thanks to Gao Hui, who recently majored in chemistry, he was lucky enough to prepare mercury fulminate." Liu Zhimu explained.

"Let me take a look." Liu Zhimu brought Liu Xinqi into the inner room, where Gao Hui was doing experiments.

"This is it."

Without disturbing Gao Hui, Liu Zhimu took out a handful of dry gray powdery crystals and showed them to Liu Xinqi.

Of course, you can't tell what it is with the naked eye, but since Liu Zhimu said it was, it must be the same. The characteristics of mercury fulminate are too unique.

"High explosive" is not something other gray crystal powders can have.

At this time, Gao Hui just finished what he was doing and came over to explain to Liu Xinqi.

"The preparation of this is also a coincidence... (The specific content will not be described to avoid being blocked.). At present, we do not have the conditions for mass production, and laboratory preparation is also very difficult. It can only be used as a pre-research technology reserve to provide guidance for subsequent research. direction."

"You are right. We can conduct research on the raw materials, preparation environment, equipment and processes for preparing mercury fulminate until it can be industrially prepared." Liu Xinqi agreed.

It is very normal that there is a generation difference between laboratory preparation and industrial preparation, and the maximum generation difference can be decades or even hundreds of years.

"This new type of gunpowder is indeed flammable, but the drawback is that it is too flammable." Gao Hui said: "When dry, it is extremely sensitive to vibration, impact and friction, and is easily exploded by sparks and flames."

"In addition to being flammable, it also has many other shortcomings. For example, it easily decomposes at room temperature. The most bizarre thing is that it explodes when it comes into contact with sulfuric acid. It explodes when it comes into contact with liquids, which I can't understand."

[That means you haven't studied chemistry thoroughly. 】

Liu Xinqi muttered in his heart, but said: "How can the truth be so easy to explore? How can the laws of the universe be so simple to grasp? Your mastery of this knowledge now exceeds mine, and I can't answer your doubts." , you can only think about it yourself and experiment patiently, and one day, you will understand the rules contained in these phenomena.”

Liu Xinqi is now entangled in secular affairs, alliance affairs, military affairs and other affairs. Compared with Gao Hui, who is devoted to research, the gap between the two has become wider and wider.

At present, Liu Xinqi only has a wider vision than Gao Hui, but his level of detailed grasp is already worse than Gao Hui's.

"I understand this. I'm just curious. Although this new type of gunpowder is flammable and can be used as a primer to ignite propellant, it is so difficult to control. Is it really suitable?" Gao Hui asked.

Of course it is not possible to use mercury fulminate directly, otherwise the bullet will explode if it touches the bullet.

"There is a way to make it dull and stable." Liu Xin said.

"What method?" Gao Hui was curious.

Curiosity is an essential quality for all scientific researchers.

"Actually, if you continue to study mercury fulminate, you will find out for yourself. This kind of gunpowder will become stable when it encounters water. When the water content reaches [-]%, it will only burn without exploding. If it exceeds [-]%, it will not burn."

"In addition to water, adding oil, fat or paraffin can also passivate mercury fulminate. There are many ways."

"Okay, I'll give it a try in the future." Gao Hui said.

"I'd like to remind you that this mercury fulminate is highly toxic. You can't come into contact with it in such an open manner. I'll have someone make some protective equipment for you, and try to avoid direct contact with it." Liu Xinqi reminded.

(End of this chapter)