People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 339 Progress
Office of the Prime Minister.

In the middle of the hall, there is a half-person-high object. It is square and has a metal ornament underneath that is constantly shaking left and right at a fixed frequency. The upper part is a dial with several pointers that are constantly rotating at different speeds.

Xu Chen, who was looking at this thing from left to right, couldn't help but nod with his hands folded, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

Hu Tao, who was beside him, saw Xu Chen's reaction and immediately started laughing.

"Master, I have made the finished product according to your requirements. This device can record time through mechanical principles. According to your requirements, the time can be further divided into 24 hours, as well as hours, minutes and seconds. The three hands on the dial indicate the hours, minutes and seconds respectively."

Listening to Hu Tao's introduction and seeing the ticking thing in front of him, Xu Chen was visibly happy.

Of course he knew what it was; it was a mechanical grandfather clock.

What made him happy was not the creation of such a machine. The reason why he made this request to the Institute of Works was actually to test the current level of machinery in the Institute of Works.

Chinese traditional craftsmen already have considerable mechanical technology. Now, after many years of theoretical construction, this ability should be able to begin to be improved, and the level of machinery should develop from relatively simple to complex and precise.

Even if we only look at the Qin and Han dynasties, there are quite a few mechanical achievements, such as the earliest seed drill and plow, as well as water wheels, crossbows, water pestles and other tools, which are all the achievements of ancient mechanical manufacturing, involving mechanical principles such as cam transmission and crank rocker.

However, this technology is mostly passed down through experience and has no systematic theory.

Today, the work of constructing mechanical theory is being carried out by both the Institute of Engineering and the Xuanxia Academy, and has achieved considerable results.

The results show that scientific summary of laws, their application and more in-depth research have indeed greatly and rapidly promoted the advancement of mechanical levels. The clock in front of us is the best proof of this.

Compared with existing mechanical devices, the complexity and precision of the table clock is on a completely different level. The fact that such a device can be completed is enough to show that the current mechanical theory system is already quite good, which is more exciting than inventing a new thing.

Even Zhang Zhongjing understood this principle very well.

Any technical thing, as long as it lacks theoretical support, can only remain at the level of technique. Only after it becomes a systematic theory can it truly touch the level of Tao. This is true even for doctors.

Today, he had witnessed the exquisite craftsmanship of craftsmanship, and he was very envious of the clock in front of him.

"Good stuff, good stuff! This is much more accurate than observing the weather!"

Zhang Zhongjing had to marvel at this. In fact, accurately calculating time is a very difficult thing nowadays. The ancients could only roughly judge the time by observing the weather.

Institutions like the imperial court might have tools such as clepsydras, gnomons, and sundials, but they still had many shortcomings such as inconvenience, inaccuracy, and demanding requirements. It was basically impossible for ordinary people to use these things, and the most they could do was light a stick of incense.

Fortunately, the requirements for time accuracy in the agricultural era were not high enough, but this problem troubled Zhang Zhongjing very much, because people who do research actually have very high requirements for precise time.

To observe experimental reactions, you need to record data, and time is extremely important data. If I could have such a clock, I don’t know how much trouble I could save myself.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhongjing could no longer hold back and grabbed Hu Tao: "Remember to make another one for me, I need it urgently!"

Hu Tao said helplessly, "Principal, don't worry. Since we can make one, we can naturally make a second one. When the skills are mature, the quality will gradually stabilize, and mass production is not impossible. As long as it is made, this thing will not be difficult."

At this point, Hu Tao paused again and said, "Of course, it will take time. Our current level of metal processing is relatively limited. Many parts have to be made by hand, which is indeed very time-consuming and there will be errors in precision. These are all problems we have to overcome slowly."

Zhang Zhongjing nodded happily when he heard this: "It's okay, as long as it's done as soon as possible."

Xu Chen returned to his desk and sat down, looking at Zhang Zhongjing and said, "My office doesn't need this item for the time being. Zhang Zhongjing's research needs are more important. This clock should be moved to your laboratory first."

With these words, Zhang Zhongjing was overjoyed and quickly thanked Xu Chen.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing walked around the clock, looking at it left and right, exclaiming in amazement, with admiration in his eyes evident.

This kind of exquisite and complex artifact is rare even for a scholar like himself. If it were in the court of the Han Dynasty, it would be a first-class treasure.

This is the power of natural science, which can transform decay into magic and simplify complexity.

If such precision products can be mass-produced in the future, it will inevitably be attributed to the systematic mechanical theory and the manufacturing capabilities of industrial development.

With the scientific system of research, natural science can develop forward on its own. This is the inevitable result of the correct methodology.

Not to mention that with the dual support of Xu Chen and the court, the research of Xuanxia and Gongshiyuan has developed rapidly, and today's clock is just one of the results. Xu Chen may not understand what Hu Tao is researching today, such as the various complex mechanical structures in this clock. Hu Tao must be much better than Xu Chen, but this is something Xu Chen is happy to see.

Even if a person alone can make some small inventions, it cannot promote the development of science at all. Only when countless people begin to use scientific methods to study problems can science truly take root.

At this stage, Xu Chen also felt that the time was right and he could speed up the process.

When it comes to technical things, Xu Chen is usually unwilling to directly take out the results from future generations. Instead, he prefers to let people of that time explore them themselves and perfect a whole set of technical systems through the process of exploration.

However, as long as the time is right, he is willing to bring out the basic theories directly.

Because the discovery of basic theories is actually highly accidental. If there is no momentary coincidence or a sudden flash of inspiration, it may not be discovered for a hundred or a thousand years.

Just like the paper on Xu Chen's desk, if the electromagnetic induction phenomenon described in it is really left for future generations to discover it on their own, it is unknown how long that time will be.

But Xu Chen couldn't wait. When it was time to bring out this basic theory, there was no need to hesitate.

Today, Xuan Xia's knowledge system has been completely separated from the old era. The new knowledge system is completely built on the basis of natural science methodology, and the basic theory can truly demonstrate its value.

If it were under the old system, even if the discovery of electromagnetic induction was proposed, I am afraid that the final result would be gradually buried like the pinhole imaging in "Mozi".

Xu Chen has many basic theories that can be published at any time, and the first one he has already thought of is electromagnetic induction.

As for why, it is because this is the easiest direction to break through. The invention of electromagnetic induction directly opened the era of human use of electricity, and its principle itself is not complicated, and its use is relatively simple, at least much simpler than a steam engine.

It is possible that generators and motors will appear earlier than the steam engine that Hu Tao is currently researching.

It will take a relatively long time from the proposal of basic theory to the emergence of specific technological achievements, but Xu Chen believes that he will be able to achieve leapfrog scientific development within his lifetime, and it will be much faster than the normal scientific progress in history. After all, the overall process is controlled by himself as a time traveler.

While Xu Chen was thinking, Hu Tao took his leave and left, leaving only Xu Chen and Zhang Zhongjing in the office.

Xu Chen also knew why Zhang Zhongjing came.

Today, talents from all disciplines of the Institute of Engineering are working hard to make breakthroughs in their own research.

Zhang Zhongjing, who has already achieved many achievements in medicine, is also unwilling to slack off. He plans to go one step further today and do something extraordinary.

He looked at Zhang Zhongjing: "Do you really want to perform a human autopsy?"

Zhang Zhongjing looked a little solemn: "This may not be accepted by the world. In order to make medicine more advanced, I don't mind being criticized by the world, but I don't want the results I get to be boycotted. So I want to ask the prime minister to issue a document to rectify this path."

After hearing this, Xu Chen nodded decisively. There was no reason not to support such a thing.

In fact, Zhang Zhongjing's worries were not without reason. Many people in that era had mysterious ideas. Human anatomy was considered too harmful to nature and could easily be unacceptable to others, so he had to provide as much help as possible.

However, this kind of thing cannot be done just on a whim.

Xu Chen asked him again: "How exactly does Zhongjing do it?"

Zhang Zhongjing said: "The body I dissected this time was a folk doctor I met in recent years. He had known about my idea of ​​dissecting and volunteered to use his own body to practice medicine. Therefore, there is no problem with the body. It was a completely voluntary attitude."

Xu Chen felt relieved after hearing this. This kind of matter was too sensitive, so one had to be thorough enough in doing it.

Before he could say anything, Zhang Zhongjing's eyes flashed and he said again: "The study of the human body is bound to be a long process. In the future, more bodies may be needed to promote the development of anatomy. In order to seek truth, I am willing to make a will to donate my body, which will also be used for medical anatomy research in the future. I hope this will encourage more people to contribute to it."

After hearing this, Xu Chen was shocked. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he was only filled with admiration.

I cannot and should not advise him on this matter, otherwise it would be an insult to Zhang Zhongjing.

"Don't worry, Zhongjing. I will publish an article to restore the reputation of anatomy. The development of medical studies by future generations will definitely depend on the names of pioneers like you."

(End of this chapter)