A simple version of the hydraulic press slowly took shape under Li Qinzai's design.
Water from the reservoir poured continuously into the large iron tank, which was quickly filled.
Everyone looked at Li Qinzai eagerly, waiting for his next order.
Like a general scolding Fang Qiu, Li Qinzai stood beside the hydraulic press with his hands behind his hands and waved to Buqu. The water injection port immediately cut off the water source.
Seeing that everyone was confused, Li Qinzai smiled and said to the blacksmiths: "Can you beat a piece of iron as thin as a cicada's wings with a radius of one foot?"
The blacksmiths' expressions froze and they all shook their heads.
Iron sheets can naturally be made. Many hairpins used by the ladies of powerful families, as well as various exquisite small objects for decoration, require iron sheets or gold sheets, and blacksmiths can do it.
However, setting aside the big and small stories is just a hooliganism.
They can make iron pieces the size of a finger or even the size of a palm, but an iron piece one foot in diameter must be as thin as a cicada. No one in the world can make such craftsmanship.
This is the current situation in this era. In terms of refining and metallurgy, individual skills alone are actually very limited. No matter how powerful the skills are, it is really difficult to produce an iron sheet with a radius of one foot, let alone keep the entire iron sheet as thin as a cicada.
state is basically impossible to achieve.
Li Qinzai also knew the current situation of manual iron smelting and said with a smile: "Today I will open your eyes."
So Li Qinzai ordered the blacksmith to heat a large piece of iron red, beat it into a round cake shape, and then put it into the furnace for calcination.
The pliers held the red round cake-shaped iron block out of the furnace. Li Qinzai asked someone to place it between the anvil and the iron ingot of the hydraulic press, and then ordered his troops to simultaneously knock open the buckle stuck between the piston and the iron cylinder.
.
There was a loud bang, and the iron ingot filled with water in the upper part fell with huge pressure and hit the red round iron block hard.
After the loud noise, sparks flew everywhere, and the round cake, which was originally as thick as a pinky finger, became only half the thickness of a pinky finger after being hit hard by the iron ingot.
"Continue, do it three more times." Li Qinzai ordered.
The tribesmen quickly pulled the pulleys, and the huge iron ingot slowly rose. At the same time, the round iron blocks were also stuffed into the furnace to continue calcining.
When the iron ingot rises to the top, the calcined round cake is taken out again and placed between the iron ingot and the anvil.
The huge iron ingot fell again, and after a loud noise, the iron block half the thickness of a thumb instantly turned into a slightly thicker piece of iron, only about one centimeter thick.
"Continue." Li Qinzai ordered.
The same process was repeated twice more. The blacksmith used pliers to take out the iron piece. After pouring water on the surface to cool it down, everyone gathered around and measured the thickness of the iron piece with two fingers.
I was surprised to find that it was as thin as a cicada's wings, and the surface was smooth and flat without any unevenness. It was like an exquisite work of art.
This is a work that cannot be struck with a blacksmith's hammer.
Everyone was stunned. It was as if a magic spell had been cast. The round piece of iron that was as thick as a little finger just now turned into this piece of iron as thin as a cicada's wings in front of them after just four taps.
A layman watches the excitement, an expert watches the door.
The onlookers, the students and the dealers, only thought it was amazing, but the blacksmiths were all experts, and they knew very well how difficult it was to beat a piece of iron into such a thin piece of iron, and it was almost impossible to do it by manpower.
"Li, County Uncle Li, is this... true?" A blacksmith stared blankly at the piece of iron in front of him, his expression still unbelievable.
"It's false. It's all your hallucination. You've been too tired recently. Go back and take a nap." Li Qinzai said softly.
The blacksmith dazedly touched the iron piece that was still warm, and was shocked: "No, it's true! Being able to create an iron piece as thin as a cicada's wings, this is simply... a magic trick, isn't it?"
"How it came out, you saw it with your own eyes." Li Qinzai didn't intend to explain it too clearly to the blacksmith, because he would definitely not understand.
Turning around and waving to the students watching in the crowd, Li Qinzai said: "You all come closer, do you think you can disappear into the crowd if you blend in? I can still see you stupid people in the crowd at a glance, it's too distinct."
The students were so embarrassed that they came forward one by one and gathered around the iron pieces to observe.
Li Qinzai said calmly: "You always say that arithmetic is too complicated and boring, and you don't understand why I often say that arithmetic is just a tool."
"Then today I will let you see with your own eyes why arithmetic is just a tool and who it serves."
"You saw this piece of iron being formed with your own eyes, so how was it formed? Why can this big thing I made be able to make something that a blacksmith can't make by hand?"
Facing the probing gazes of the students, Li Qinzai said slowly: "This piece of iron is also a subject of knowledge. It is called 'physics'. The physics knowledge I used just now is a subcategory of it, called 'Newton's third law'
...Well, no, it’s called ‘Jingchu’s third law’.”
Li Qinzai puffed up his chest and welcomed the admiring eyes of everyone without any guilt.
Who is Newton? His grandfather's grandfather's grandfather and grandfather were all still single-celled. Sorry, I was reincarnated relatively early, so let me go first.
"The so-called 'third law' is essentially the law of collision between objects. Action force and reaction force must be equal. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what action force is. Just open your ignorant eyes..."
"For example, you were too stupid and I was angry with you, so I raised my hand and slapped you in the face. Your face hurts, right? But if you have slapped others, you will know that your hands also hurt. This is the action force and reaction force.
"
"The iron piece in front of you is formed by the collision of action force and reaction force. The forces are mutual. The density and volume of the object under force are different, which will determine whether the shape of the object can be changed after the impact..."
Seeing that the students' eyes were still wide open in surprise, Li Qinzai said slowly: "This science is called 'physics'. What I just said is the introductory knowledge of physics. When you understand what I just said, congratulations to you."
, you have already half-stepped into the new world of 'physics'."
"The thing I built is called a 'hydraulic press'. It can forge large pieces of iron, so that the iron can meet relatively precise standards. It can change the world, both in people's livelihood and in the military. But you must understand that it is not the hydraulic press that changes the world.
It’s the science of physics that changed the world.”
The students were stunned and bowed to Li Qinzai one after another.
"Thank you sir for your teaching."
After Li Qinzai's death, the blacksmiths also saluted with red eyes: "Thank you so much for your teachings, Uncle Li. Although I don't understand this, I think it is a blessing to the country and all the people in the Tang Dynasty to have a talented person like Uncle Li."