Short video spoiler history: The beginning of modern warfare

Chapter 88 History of Railway Track Development

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

The first and second laws of genetics fundamentally reveal the essential reasons for the differences in biological shapes.

Through these two laws, the basic theoretical basis for hybrid wheat and hybrid rice is supplemented, and it also gives everyone a shot in the arm.

Previously, people only knew some methods of hybridizing wheat, but they were not clear about why they did so. Now they understand that distant hybridization of wheat is actually for the disease resistance of forage grass, and this disease resistance is controlled by genes. Through artificial pollination and hybridization, there is a chance to cultivate excellent wheat plants.

With the theoretical support of these two laws, we will be able to quickly understand and solve various problems when conducting various hybridization experiments.

[Seeing the train and the rails, many of you will definitely ask, which came first, the rails or the train? ]

[In fact, rail transit already existed before the invention of trains. In the 16th century, Europe's industry gradually developed and the mining industry was also very prosperous. Under the impetus of production capacity, the earliest rail transit was born.]

[It’s just that the tracks at that time were made of wood and the carts were powered by manpower, but using them in the mining industry did add a lot of convenience. Later, with the gradual development of the industrial system, the wooden tracks were changed to iron tracks, and manpower was replaced by horsepower.]

[It was not until the appearance of the first steam locomotive in 1803 that mankind was completely brought into the railway age, so the tracks came first and then the steam locomotives]

[Those who often build railways know that the structure of the rails is that a large amount of ballast is laid under the rails, and above it are sleepers, and on top of the sleepers are two rails]

[So why can't we just lay the rails on the road? In the beginning, the rails were laid directly on the road, but as technology gradually developed, the power became stronger and stronger, and the weight of the trains became heavier, the disadvantages of doing so became apparent.]

[If laid directly on the road, the constant back and forth movement of trains plus the weight of the train itself and the weight of the cargo will cause the rails to collapse or even be damaged quickly. In addition, when encountering some extreme weather conditions such as floods or mudslides]

[When the ground below is washed away, the track will be suspended in the air, which is very likely to cause an accident. It can be said that today's railway tracks have evolved into this state after hundreds of years of development]

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

"Wooden tracks?" Liu Ji and the others' eyes lit up. "This is just like putting two logs underneath when transporting huge trees or boulders. It can also save effort."

In large projects such as palace construction, huge trees and rocks are usually used. Due to their weight, ordinary animals cannot pull them at all, so this method is the only way to transport them. Everyone knows this.

"The function of this wooden track is far more than that. Especially on rainy days, the train running on the track can get rid of mud and other problems to the greatest extent, ensuring the operation of the train." Everyone began to think about it, especially with the heavy body of the train and the weight of the cargo it carries, it is really hard to say.

You know, on a rainy day, even a small horse-drawn carriage may get stuck in the mud and be unable to get out, let alone such a heavy train and the cargo it carries.

Although the train that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rode on previously had wheels, it did not have tracks. Because the test was conducted in the palace, no one had anticipated this situation.

As you can imagine, if the tracks were not laid, the trains would not be able to travel far.

"Why are these tracks laid straight?" Zhu Biao asked puzzledly. Although there had been pictures of the sky dome before, they were only a quick glimpse and had never been introduced in a popular way like this.

At this time everyone also reacted, yes, why is this track almost straight? Even if there are some non-straight places, they only deviate slightly from the original track.

Everyone in the Science Department has bitten the tip of their pens, thinking hard.

"Turn! It's to avoid turning!" Liu Ji seemed to have thought of something and said excitedly, "The train is too long, so turning must be very difficult, so it can only run in a straight line, and the track can only be laid straight."

"Yes!" Zhu Biao also suddenly realized, and then asked in confusion: "Then how can we turn around after we get there?"

You can't just conscript civilians to turn the train around at any time, right? Zhu Biao had already had a question. There was only one carriage in the palace that could be carried by a young eunuch to turn the train around. How could such a long and heavy train turn the train around?

When the officials from the six ministries saw the steam locomotive, some of them also noticed this problem, but when they saw the eunuchs carrying the train and turning it around, their thoughts also went astray.

And if all else fails, isn't it easy to just mobilize the people and gather everyone's strength?

Therefore, no one investigated it further and of course could not think of a solution.

Liu Ji seemed confident about this and smiled slightly. However, before he could say anything, Sun Chuanshi from the Science Department spoke first.

He had also thought about this question, and now he said with full confidence: "Your Highness, this is easy."

Sun Chuanshi smiled. Although he was secretly happy about the attention he received, he did not pretend to be mysterious. Without waiting for anyone to urge him, he continued, "We just need to install a front part at the rear of the car, with the direction opposite to the front part."

"The rear and the front of the car." Everyone digested what he said and their eyes lit up instantly, "Isn't this a two-headed car?"

This thing is a bit counter-intuitive. It's not that people can't figure it out, but that they are affected by common sense and their brains can't wrap their heads around it, so they can't figure it out for a while.

Once this layer of window paper is broken, people will quickly accept this statement.

"You can call me that! But the name isn't important!"

"Great!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but applaud after listening to Sun Chuanshi's words, thinking that he did not live up to his promotion.

Fortunately, Biaoer asked more questions.

But Zhu Yuanzhang thought of something and ordered: "If there are better ways to improve in the future, please report it in time. The progress of science and technology depends entirely on you."

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.

[So what are the specific functions of the ballast and sleepers below?]

[Anyone who has seen a railway will find that the sleepers under the rails are generally very wide, and the length of the sleepers is much longer than the width of the rails]

[The sleepers support and disperse the pressure under the tracks. The force-bearing area between them and the ground is much higher than that of the rails. They bear the weight of the tracks and the freight cars above them.]

[Then the force is dispersed to the underground ballast with a larger force-bearing area. Junior high school physics tells us that the larger the force-bearing area, the smaller the pressure.]

[The ballast under the sleepers replaces the previous soil or hardened ground. Don’t underestimate these small stones, there is actually a lot of knowledge in them]

[The requirements for these ballasts are very high. They must be made of high-density, high-strength and wear-resistant stones. Their importance is even greater than that of trains.]

[Generally, they are angular stones, which must have enough friction to fix the sleepers. The sleepers bear the pressure of the tracks and trains, most of which is transferred to the ballast] [Not only that, it also has the function of shock absorption for the trains. In addition, it can also drain rainwater in time when heavy rain comes. Regardless of high or low temperatures, their performance will not be greatly affected. It can be said that ballast is a treasure on the railway]

[In fact, this type of railway structure has been in existence for a hundred years. The biggest change in its development is the change in kinetic energy.]

[From the earliest steam engines, to internal combustion engines, to the widely used electric engines today, the speed of train changes has become faster and faster over the years]

[In order to meet the demand for faster and higher transportation, rails are constantly changing, and the proportion of traditional railways in my country's railway network is shrinking year by year]

During the Zhenguan period, Chang'an City.

"So that's it!" Li Shimin nodded. He didn't expect that a small stone could have such a big effect. The development history of this railway track was the result of natural evolution through the test of time.

There are reasons for the addition and deletion of each item. These experiences are extremely valuable and can help the Tang Dynasty's steam locomotive industry avoid many detours.

Pressure is also related to the area of ​​force, which is in line with common sense, but no one can clearly summarize it normally. These are only subjects that students have to learn in junior high school in the future.

It can be seen that the knowledge of physics is applied in all aspects of life.

Of course, steam locomotives have very important strategic significance to the Tang Dynasty, which is also the reason why he has been urging the Ministry of Science to step up research and development to improve steam locomotives.

That is, we learned from Tianmu that a large number of people later poured into Guanzhong, and coupled with the impact of the Little Ice Age, rainfall decreased, the eight rivers dried up, and Guanzhong's food supply was unsustainable.

For this reason, they had to transport food and grass over thousands of miles. Among the food and grass transported from Luoyang, more than half of it was lost on the way due to the inconvenience of river transportation.

These are all heavy burdens and are also one of the reasons for the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin had no choice but to take them seriously.

The steam locomotive was the most important national weapon to save the Tang Dynasty.

Its importance is no less than that of sweet potatoes and coal mines.

Therefore, all technical improvements and experience regarding steam locomotives are given high priority and no mistakes are allowed. This is known to all civil and military officials.

So strictly speaking, the style of tracks, sleepers, ballast and train wheels, the structure of the steam engine on the locomotive, as well as its development history and past operating experience are all extremely important to the Tang Dynasty.

[With the rapid development of the economy, the requirements for railway construction are getting higher and higher, and the disadvantages of traditional construction methods are gradually emerging]

[It’s mainly an environmental issue. Large-scale mining of sleepers and ballast will lead to environmental problems. On the other hand, sleepers made of concrete have better performance.]

[Later, ballastless track also gradually developed, until the emergence of disruptive technology magnetic levitation, which brought rail transportation into a completely new era]

[This also leads to the question of why high-speed rail does not have ballast and sleepers? ]

[Today, all high-speed railways in my country use ballastless tracks, removing the sleepers and ballast of traditional tracks and replacing them with concrete and steel structures]

[Although the construction cost is relatively high, the structure has become simpler and more reasonable, and the strength has been greatly improved]

[The most important point is that it is very easy for ballast to splash when a train passes by. The faster the train is, the more serious the splash will be. Think about the speed of a high-speed train at hundreds of kilometers per hour.]

[If we use explosive rails, wouldn’t it be like a train that could fire explosive bullets at any time? Just thinking about it is a very scary thing]

Ming Dynasty, Jinling City, Hexing Tea and Snack Shop.

Shopkeeper Wan was looking forward to the day when the train would arrive.

Not only him, but the diners in the restaurant felt the same way. After more than half a year of being baptized by Tianmu, they are the new-age Jinling people who have seen the vast world outside. How could they be depressed and live under someone else's control for a long time?

The world is so big, I also want to go and see it, to see "There will always be a time to ride the wind and waves, and set sail to cross the vast ocean", to see "The smoke rises straight in the desert, and the sun sets over the long river".

Inside the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang and others became itchy when they heard about internal combustion engines, magnetic levitation technology, etc. again.

The internal combustion engine is an improved version of the steam engine. At present, it seems to burn petroleum or its separations, and its internal structure and technology are unknown.

Magnetic levitation, from the name it seems to be related to magnets, or the magnetic force generated when electricity is turned on?

The people in the Science Department also had no idea. They could only guess the direction based on the name and then conduct relevant experiments, gradually approaching the correct answer.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the room-temperature superconducting material that Tianmu had mentioned before, the extremely shocking material that carried oranges floating in the air and rotating. At that time, he thought it was the technology for airplanes to take off.

Unexpectedly, it is easier for an airplane to take off, but the room-temperature superconducting material, which does not seem to involve any technical details, is so difficult, even more difficult than magnetic levitation technology.

However, he also knew that with the current capabilities of the court, even if they knew the principle, they might not be able to manufacture it. This was the case with lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries, which were heavy and could not be used for long, and there were also airplanes.

Especially for airplanes, the principle of takeoff is very similar to flying a kite.

The Science Department tried moving the steam engine to the top, and even put four horses in front of it to pull it, but the plane still didn't fly.

There is no doubt that the speed is not enough.

Previously, the sky dome was shot from a video far away, and there was no corresponding reference material, so everyone thought the speed was not very fast. But when they really tried it themselves, they found that it was quite difficult.

The same is true for magnetic levitation technology. More importantly, the Science Department is unable to spare the manpower.

We are short of people, really short of people!
Another point is that I really don’t have the money to support him!

For this reason, even the Northern Expedition was temporarily put on hold.

If we really want to expand the Science Department, we'll probably have to wait until the autumn harvest when the finances are more ample.

(End of this chapter)