The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 80: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (11)
"Oh! I can make the air I want to consume, but I don't have to, because I can rise to the surface whenever I like. But electricity can't provide me with air to breathe, but it can make a powerful pump. The machine, which feeds air into a special air tank, allows me to stay as long as I want in the depths of the sea when I need to."

I said, "Captain, I really admire you. It is clear that you have found what mankind may find in the future, and that is the kinetic energy of true electricity."

Captain Nemo replied coldly: "I don't know if anyone will find it in the future, but anyway, you have realized that I was the first to exploit this precious energy. Electricity gives us uniform, continuous energy." The sun cannot do this. Now, please look at this clock. It is turned by the power of electricity, and it keeps as accurately as the most precise clock. I divide it into 24 Hours, like a clock made in Italy. For to me there is no day and night, neither sunlight nor moonlight, but only this artificial light which I brought to the bottom of the sea! You see, it is ten o'clock in the morning bell."

"Yes."

"Electricity has other uses. This dial before us shows the speed of the Nautilus. A wire connects it to the speedometer, and a long needle on it will show me the speed of the Nautilus." The real speed of the boat. You see, we are traveling at a medium speed, fifteen knots an hour."

"Captain, you are very remarkable," I replied. "I now understand why you use this motive force, which can replace wind, water and steam."

Captain Nemo stood up and said, "Mr. Aronnax, we haven't finished yet! Please come with me, and we will go to the rear of the 'Nautilus' to have a look."

Now, I have an idea of ​​the whole front of this submarine.The total length of the front part is 35 meters. From the middle of the ship to the bow, the front part is exactly divided into: the five-meter-long dining room, which is separated from the library by a sealed and water-tight partition; the five-meter-long library; The large saloon, ten meters long, with a second partition separating it from the captain's cabin; the captain's quarters, five meters long; my room, three and a half meters long; The air storage compartment, which is closely attached to the bow.There are doors on the waterproof bulkheads, which are tightly plugged with rubber obturators, even if there is a hole in the hull, the 'Nautilus' will be safe and sound.

I followed Captain Nemo through the narrow passage beside the ship and came to the middle part of the ship.In the center of the ship, there is a well-like opening between two bulkheads.An iron ladder ran along the inner wall and went up to the top of the well.I asked the captain what the ladder was for.

"Follow this ladder to get into the boat," he answered.

"Ah? Captain, do you still have a boat?" I was a little surprised.

"Yes. It's a very nice skiff, light and unsinkable, for my rides and fishing."

"Then when you want to use the dinghy you have to come to the surface?"

"Not at all. The skiff is attached to the upper part of the Nautilus's hull, where there is a recess made just for it. The skiff is fully decked, absolutely watertight, fastened with screws, and very strong. This ladder leads to a hatch in the Nautilus, and there is a hatch of the same size in the boat, and the two hatches are connected. It is through these two hatches that I boarded the boat. A man took my place. I closed the entrance and exit of the Nautilus with the pressure screw, and at the same time I closed the entrance and exit of the boat myself, then I loosened the anchor, and the boat quickly floated to the surface of the water. At this time, I opened the tightly closed I put the cover up, put the mast up, and raise the sail or row the oars, and I can roam on the water for a ride.

"But how are you going to get back to the ship?"

"It's not me, Monsieur Aronnax, but the 'Nautilus' is coming back to me."

"Is it following your orders?"

"Yes, it obeys my orders. There is a wire between me and it, and all I have to do is send a telegram."

"It's so convenient," I said, "I'm so intoxicated by these wonderful things!"

Walking through the stair cage leading to the platform, I saw a cabin about two meters long, in which Conseil and Ned Land were eating, and it seemed that they were quite satisfied with the meals.Then there was another door leading to the kitchen, about three meters long, between two large pantry rooms.

All the cooking work in the kitchen is done with electricity, which is more powerful than gas and easy to adjust.The wires are connected to the bottom of the stove, and the heat is transferred to the platinum sheet, and then the heat will be evenly distributed everywhere, and the temperature will be kept very stable and regular.The stills also use electricity, and the distilled water is fine drinking water.Adjacent to the kitchen was a large, comfortably furnished bathroom with hot and cold water in the pipes, whichever one preferred.

The galley used to be the five meter long crew studio.I couldn't see the interior arrangement because the door was closed, but I had a vague feeling that it was determined by the number of people needed to pilot the Nautilus.

In the innermost place, there is a fourth waterproof board separating this working room from the machinery.After opening the door, I walked into the room where Captain Nemo installed various power machines.All the equipment in the room showed that Captain Nemo was a first-class engineer.

This well-lit cabin is more than 20 meters long.The cabin is naturally divided into two parts: the first part contains the power generation equipment, and the second part contains the mechanical equipment that turns the propeller.

As soon as I entered the cabin, I smelled a "special" smell that permeated the entire cabin, which made me feel very uncomfortable.Captain Nemo saw my reaction and said:

"This smell is the smell of gas from the decomposition of sodium, which is a fly in the ointment. It is something we must do every morning to get the boat out of the water to ventilate and remove this smell."

At this time, I began to study the machinery and equipment of the "Nautilus" with great interest.

"Professor, you see," Captain Nemo said to me, "I use a Bunsen generator, not a Lankov generator. The Lankov generator may not be powerful enough. The Bunsen generator is simple. But the power is high, and it has been proved by experiments that it is indeed the case. The electricity sent out is sent to the back, and acts on a special transmission device composed of levers and gears through a large battery iron, and then this device transmits the motion to the propeller The wheel shaft, so the whole ship moves. The diameter of the propeller is six meters, the diameter of the turbine is 120 meters, and the speed can reach [-] revolutions per second.

"So what's the fastest speed you can reach?"

"Fifty knots an hour."

There is a secret in this, but I didn't insist on exploring it.How can electricity be so powerful?Where does this almost unlimited power come from?Is it derived from the high voltage produced by a new type of transformer?Or from an infinitely enhanced rotation of an as yet unknown system of levers?This question is what confuses me the most.

"Captain Nemo," I said, "I have seen the facts before me, but I want an explanation of them. I have seen the power of the Nautilus moving ahead of the Lincoln, and I will We already know its speed. But it is not enough to make it drive fast, we also need to be able to see the direction it is driving! We also need to make it turn left and right, lift up and down! How can you make it It dives to the deepest part of the seabed? Because you will be under more and more pressure at the bottom of the sea, and the atmospheric pressure can be said to be tens of thousands! What method do you use to make it float to the surface? In addition, you How do you keep yourself at a depth that you feel comfortable with? Don't you think it's a bit too abrupt for me to ask you these questions?"

"Professor, your question is not intrusive," he answered me after a little hesitation, "because it is already impossible for you to leave this submarine. Our real studio is the living room. In the living room, about' Nautilus, where you can learn all you need to know! Now, please come to the drawing room."

some data

After a while, we each had a cigar in our mouths and sat on a couch in the living room.The captain put a picture in front of me, which is the plan, section and perspective of the "Nautilus".He then described the shape of the ship as follows:
"Professor, the following is the shape and volume of the boat you are on. The shape of the boat is cylindrical, and it is very long, with tapered ends. If you look closely, its shape is similar to that of a cigar. Some London The structure of the ship has already adopted this form. The length of this cylinder from head to tail is exactly 70 meters. Its width, at its widest point, is eight meters. Therefore, the structure of this ship is not exactly like an ordinary voyage ship. Like a steamboat, it is built to a ratio of one to ten, and it is long enough from end to end, and has a streamlined outline in general, and it is easy to drain when sailing, so that the ship will not be hindered by water while sailing."

"If you want to get the area and volume of the 'Nautilus', you only need to calculate the width and length above. Its area is [-] square meters; its volume is [-] square meters. One hundred and twenty-two cubic meters, which means that after the ship is fully submerged in the sea, its displacement or weight is [-] cubic meters or [-] tons.

"When I was sketching this boat that was going to sail on the bottom of the ocean, I wanted it to be nine-tenths submerged and only one-tenth exposed for balance. So, the submarine in this case The displacement is only nine-tenths of the volume, that is, 350 cubic meters, that is to say, its weight is 350 tons. Therefore, when building this submarine according to the above dimensions, I must Let it not exceed this weight.

"The hull of the 'Nautilus' is double-layered, consisting of an inner hull and an outer hull. There are many T-shaped shoes connecting the two hulls, which greatly increase the strength of the submarine. In fact, because of this middle With a full and seamless cell structure, the submarine is as resistant as a piece of solid iron. The hull will not split, it relies on its own adhesion, not on tightened rivets; due to the well-assembled parts, the submarine is very well built Uniform and harmonious, so the submarine can withstand even the most severe wind and waves."

"The two-layer hull is made of steel plates, and the density of the steel is seven to eight-tenths that of seawater. The thickness of the first hull is not less than five centimeters, and it weighs 390 tons. The second layer of inner shell, the keel height is 25cm, the width is 62cm, and its own weight is 960 tons. With the addition of machines, shipwagons, various accessories and installations, the weight of various internal wall panels and wood is 390 tons. 350 tons, plus [-] tons, the total weight requirement of [-] tons is reached. Do you understand what I said?"

"Understood, Captain." I replied.

The captain continued: "Therefore, when the Nautilus stays in the sea under these conditions, its surface part is one-tenth. However, if I install a storage tank with a volume equal to this one-tenth , the water capacity is 150 tons, and if I fill the tanks with water, the sub displaces [-] tons, so it's fully submerged. Professor, these tanks are actually in The lower deck of the 'Nautilus'. As soon as I open the door of the tank, the tank will be filled with water, and the submarine will sink, down to the same level as the sea surface."

"Very well, Captain, but here we have encountered real difficulties. Your ship's surface can be at the same level as the sea surface, I understand that. But if you go down, the ship dives below the surface of the sea , isn't the machine going to encounter pressure? Moreover, it will also encounter a kind of buoyancy from the bottom up. This buoyancy is about one atmosphere per thirty feet, that is to say, every square centimeter of the submarine is It takes a kilogram of pressure."

"Sir is quite right."

"So unless you filled the Nautilus completely with water, I don't see how you got the ship under the sea."

"Professor," Captain Nemo replied, "statics and dynamics should be considered separately, so that no serious mistakes will occur. In fact, it does not take much effort to reach the lower layers of the ocean, because the object itself There is a tendency to sink to the bottom. Let me deduce it for you, please listen."

"Captain, please speak, and I will listen."

"Only by increasing the weight of the boat can I submerge the boat to the bottom. When I decide to increase, I just need to pay attention to the volume of seawater shrinking with depth."

"That's right." I replied.

"However, while water is not absolutely incompressible, it is at least very difficult to compress. In fact, according to the latest calculations, the compression of this water is one hundred 430/1000. If you dive into a 1000-meter-deep water layer, I think that the compression of the seawater volume is the same as when it is under the pressure of a 430-meter water column, that is, the pressure it receives is one hundred atmospheres. This At that time, the volumetric compression of water is 510 six parts per ten thousand. Therefore, the weight I should add is to make the total weight of the submarine [-] tons instead of [-] tons. Then, only Just add [-] tons of weight."

"so little?"

"Yes, that's all, Mr. Aronnax. This calculation is easy to verify. I have a lot of supplementary storage tanks, which can hold hundreds of tons of water. In this way, I can sink to a very deep place on the bottom of the sea. When I want to rise to the same height as the sea surface, I only need to release the water in these supplementary storage tanks. If I want the 'Nautilus' to show a tenth, I will drain all the water in the storage tanks. Clean up."

I raise no objection to these numerical inferences.

"As regards these figures, Captain," said I, "I admit that your calculations are very precise. It would appear me to be vexatious if I persisted in disputing them, for experience daily vindicates them. But now I have a real problem."

"Sir, what's the problem?"

"When you are below 1000 meters, the pressure on the outer layer of the 'Nautilus' is one hundred atmospheres. If at this time you want to drain the water from each supplementary storage tank to reduce the weight of the submarine and make it float out of the water, then the power of your water pump must overcome the pressure of one hundred atmospheres, which is one hundred kilograms per square centimeter. Therefore, the power required here..."

"I need only electricity to give me that kind of power! Sir," said Captain Nemo hastily, "I have told you many times that the power of my machines is almost unlimited. The Nautilus's pumps have Incredible power, the last time it sprayed water jets towards the 'Lincoln' as violent as a powerful torrent, I think you should have seen this situation. In addition, in order to maintain my machine, I only have to go to 500 meters And at intermediate depths of 2000 meters, those supplementary tanks are used, and they are used very carefully. Therefore, when I suddenly think of the bottom of the ocean two or three miles below the surface, I use another driving method, It takes longer, but it's just as effective."

"What method, Captain?" I asked.

"I thought it was time to let you know how I piloted the Nautilus."

"I'd love to know too."

"To control the side-to-side steering and U-turn of the submarine, simply put, when it is required to travel on a level surface, I usually use a wide-plate auxiliary rudder attached to the stern post, and steer it with wheels and blocks. But I can also To make the "Nautilus" rise and fall in the water, it is necessary to use two sloping panels fixed at the center of the waterline and on both sides of the hull. The sloping panels are movable and can change positions at will. Lever, to operate them from the inside of the ship. When the position of the inclined plane is parallel to the hull, the ship will travel on the horizontal plane; Floating or sinking in the direction of inclination or along the diagonal I want. And, the length of the diagonal is controlled by me. If I want to surface faster, I push the propeller, 'Nautilus 'floats vertically under the pressure of the water, like a hydrogen balloon rapidly rising into the air."

I exclaimed, "That's wonderful! Captain. But how can the helmsman follow the course you show him in the water?"

"The helmsman stays in a cockpit with glass. The cockpit is equipped with various concave and convex glass pieces, which are the protruding parts of the upper part of the Nautilus' hull, so that he can see the route at a glance."

"Can a piece of glass withstand such a strong pressure?"

"It can withstand it completely. Although glass is easy to break, it is very resistant to pressure. In 1864, an experiment using electro-optic fishing was carried out in the North Sea. In that experiment, someone used this kind of glass, glass The thickness of the sheet is only 21 millimeters, which can withstand the pressure of [-] atmospheres. At the same time, the heat and light are very strong, which makes the glass sheet heated unevenly, but the light can still pass through. What's more, the glass sheet we use is much stronger than the glass sheet used for fishing above. Thirty times thicker, that is to say, the glass sheets I used were at least [-] centimeters thick in the center."

"Okay, Captain Nemo, even if that's the case, there must be light to see things clearly in the sea, right? I can't imagine how you can drive away the darkness. In the darkness of the sea..."

"Behind the helmsman's cockpit, there is an electric searchlight. Its luminosity is so strong that it can illuminate the ocean within half a nautical mile."

(End of this chapter)