Release that Witch

Anna turned around the prototype two times and accurately said her first feeling.

"Really... small."

"But there is a kind of beauty that can't be said," Celine said, "especially the dense pipes around it are just like tentacles."

Roland couldn't help but laugh. The two people's observation angles are completely different, and the conclusions obtained are particularly appropriate. They can be said to succinctly express the characteristics of the new machine.

Compared with the first cast iron steam engine made by Anna, the prototype prototype has been reduced by ten times. This is the reason for the great leap in processing technology, but the most important thing is that the boiler is eliminated.

At present, there is no steam engine in the winter city has been developed to the fourth generation, but the boiler part has not changed much - whether it is burning coke or firewood, or heavy oil, a huge combustion chamber and steam generator are inevitable. Now, it is just a rectangular steel box that is one meter long, half a meter wide and less than twenty centimeters thick.

This box is also the core of the entire system.

Although it is simple to put the cube and water in a container to achieve the fusion of combustion and evaporation, neither the near-rigid sealing requirements nor the high-pressure pipe casings are the first Bentham towns. Enterprise. In other words, even if you can get the relics of the radioactive family at that time, it is estimated that the role played can be no different from others.

At the end of the steel box, three pieces of ritual cubes are placed side by side as a source of machine power, and a layer of lead is placed on the bottom to block excess rays. The top of the clean shell is neatly arranged with more than ten heat pipes. After passing through the secondary water tank and the heat sink condenser, it returns from the bottom. The "heating-energy-cooling" cycle is completely closed and does not exchange with the outside world. Reliable enough, theoretically used to scrap and no need to add new thermal media.

Of course, this size is not the limit of the new steam engine.

Water is just the most accessible and cheapest thermal medium. If you switch to other more efficient media, such as liquid alkali metal, the volume can be made smaller at the same power.

Only the principle prototype verified the feasibility of the program, and Roland finally resisted the impulse of one step. After all, in the event of a heat leak accident, if the alkali metal in the steam state is mixed with water vapor, I am afraid that the entire test site will be blown up.

The pipe extending from the heating box can continuously transfer the heat generated by the Rubik's Cube until the secondary water tank is boiled. The next process is the same as that of the ordinary steam engine, and the technology that has not matured in the winter city is used.

The most appreciated part of Celine is the condensate tube evenly distributed on both sides of the machine body. In order to obtain a large enough heat dissipation area, each pipe is twisted and twisted, and it is said to be a tentacle. Does not violate the peace.

If the active steam engine is stupid and black, this prototype can be called small and exquisite, especially the silver-white core box and the brown-red heat-conducting copper tube that can reflect the human face, from the color and brightness. The degree is much more dazzling than its predecessors. Even a layman who knows nothing about the industry can tell the level at a glance.

Just technically, it is enough to be worthy of the title of art.

"So... start?" Roland looked at the two.

Anna nodded and reached out on the joystick. "Come on."

Celine hesitated, and finally hanged the main must, gently placed on the hands of the king and the queen.

"Magic square steam engine principle prototype test, three, two, one, start -"

Along with Roland's countdown, the joystick was pulled to the maximum limit, and the linkage mechanism pressed three Rubik's cube switches at the same time. The landmark new generation power source began its first operation.

However, the scene was silent, and nothing seemed to happen.

"Oh... failed?" Looking at the unresponsive machine, Celine hesitated.

"No, let it burn for a while." Roland replied calmly.

After almost two minutes, the core box trembled slightly, and a "light" on the pipe also gave a soft yellow glow - that is a pressure gauge made of stickman's relics, indicating that the pressure inside the tube is happening Variety.

The heat transfer process was obviously much slower, and after waiting for nearly five minutes, the secondary water tank finally rushed out of the steam and pushed the piston to run slowly.

As the temperature inside the pipe is gradually increased, the speed of the steam turbine flywheel is also getting faster and faster, and it also drives the water pump of the condensing system. The main function of the latter is to increase the speed of fluid circulation in the pipe and re-extract the heat-conducting medium with reduced temperature. Go back to the core box. At this point, the new machine completed a complete cycle and officially entered the operational state.

"It seems that the effect is not bad," Anna gave a sigh of relief, her face showing a shallow smile. "It is a slow start."

"This is also a common problem with steam engines," Roland nodded. It took time to transfer heat. Even if it was replaced with a more efficient heat medium, it would not be as good as an internal combustion engine that could be moved by a fire. In addition, since it is theoretically necessary to maintain a cycle of at least three water tanks, how much its volume is reduced is also much larger than that of an internal combustion engine. In addition, the consumption of uranium tablets by the ritual cubes is too fast, resulting in almost no practical value for this prototype.

But any industrial product is step by step.

As long as Cylon can solve the persistence problem, its distinct advantages can not be neglected - mature technology allows it to be put into production quickly, and the light weight is enough to be placed on most vehicles, and it will not increase the fuel burden. Wait. Even if durability problems cannot be improved for a while, ships built on new power sources can save a lot of space for fuel and thus load more cargo or weapons.

After half an hour, the speed of the steam engine reached its limit, the whole body was shaking, and the hum of the exhaust port became a sharp whistling sound. Obviously, the core box composed of the three Rubik's cubes has a little excess power for this steam engine. Roland pulls the operating lever back to the first gear, which is equivalent to closing the two Rubik's cubes before the prototype is stabilized again.

Then there is a long reliability test.

This step will last for a week or so, and it is the most easy to expose the problem. After all, the principle of the new machine is simple and simple. It is not difficult to make it move. It is difficult to run for a long time and stably.

It was extremely tedious to keep in front of a steam engine that was jingling, but it was a decompression method for Roland. Sitting with Anna in the yard, while chatting and paying attention to the dynamics of the prototype, it is like the time when the two first met, relaxed and peaceful.

I don't know when, Celine quietly left the lab, and there was only him and Anna left in the yard.

The latter leaned his head on his shoulder and the noise of the machine seemed to be very far away.

"If it succeeds, can we be closer to the world you used to be?"

"Well, I will shorten it a lot - know that the world has not yet implemented a similar technology."

"Can you achieve the kind of four-wheeled car that one person can control?"

“You can, if you like, I can design a simple one to let you try.”

"Okay!" Anna’s voice jumped a lot. "Yes, what is your name for this machine?"

"Do you have a name?" Roland laughed.

"Of course." Her look is very serious.

"Well, black technology No. 1 and Rubik's cube power, which one do you choose?"

"Where is it black... Really, I chose the one behind. But how does the name distinguish the model?"

"Simple, a ritual cube represents a cylinder, and the prototype is called the three-cylinder cube power, how?"

“I always feel a little strange.”

"Don't care about those details..."

The laughter of the two people is mixed with the sound of the machine, which constitutes a long-lasting melody in the yard.