Chapter 74 Magical saltpeter in exchange for information!
【Saltpeter (fine)】
Description: High-purity saltpeter purified by the entry-level craftsman "Soma" has a wide range of uses and can be used to make matches, pyrotechnics, black powder, glass and food preservatives. For some inexplicable reason, the grade has been changed.
Upgraded to a sophisticated level.
Special ability: Make nitric acid (concentration (95%↑)
Make gunpowder (energy +50%)
Made into fertilizer (fertility +25%)
....
Evaluation: Many uses, wide range, quick results! Is it just a hang-up? (That’s fair!)
The property page that pops up from the system is swiped by Saltpeter's special ability for the first time.
There are more than thirty items with various uses, all of which have been strengthened to a certain extent.
But this was not what surprised Sumo the most.
"So it turns out that mixing psionic water with these things will produce so many changes?"
Playing with the saltpeter in the beaker in surprise, Sumo still couldn't figure out how this thing had so many properties.
"but..."
"If it is really as powerful as the system says, I'm afraid my technology tree will skyrocket."
Staring at the saltpeter powder with burning eyes, Somo's thoughts had drifted to the oil well in Shelter No. 2.
Originally, after this wave of purified saltpeter and sulfur were mixed with charcoal, the famous black gunpowder could be produced, directly entering the age of firearms.
But now, an unexpected term popped up in Sumo's mind -
“Bitter and sour!”
The famous "yellow dynamite" (TNP) is also known as "picric acid dynamite".
Its ingredient is "trinitrophenol", which is often confused with Nobel's "safety explosive", "TNT".
In 1771, the Englishman Peter Wolfe synthesized a dye.
He mixed concentrated sulfuric acid, nitric acid and phenol (probably refined coal tar crude phenol or indigo, people at the time did not know phenol) and obtained a crystalline powder with a strong bitter taste and a bright yellow appearance, so it was called
Given the name "picric acid".
At that time, people only used bitter acid to dye their clothes and make paint.
In the dye industry at that time, the name of trinitrophenol was often "yellow". People had been using bitter acid to dye cloth for 100 years, but they never thought about how to explode it.
In 1871, a clerk in a dye shop in Paris, France encountered a problem. There was a backlog of yellow dye cans that seemed to be rusty and could not be opened no matter what. So the anxious clerks decided to use the simplest and crudest method to open the can -
—Smash!
And the hammersmith we hired was a big hammer worth 80 yuan.
This time, the hammersmith exerted enough strength and hammered down!
Unexpectedly, the jar exploded with a "boom", and the entire dyeing workshop was suddenly evacuated, leaving only a group of colorful survivors groaning in the ruins.
After many investigations, people ruled out the possibility of unknown explosives hidden in the jar, and focused the problem on the picric acid jar. People suddenly realized--
"The yellow paint was hammered and exploded!!!"
This incident caused a sensation in the society, and people were worried about the "yellow color".
But at that time, the French military's eyes lit up. This was clearly the best military weapon sent from heaven. "Yellow" has proven its safety in long-term use, and it can also be easily prepared on a large scale.
Later, the Frenchman "Eugene Turpin" took the lead in developing the "picric acid pressing method" for artillery shells, and also gave it the name "Melinite", that is, "melinite".
This term is unfamiliar to many people, but when it comes to the 1897 75mm field gun, everyone is familiar with it, which is Li Yunlong's "Italian gun"
Now we have saltpeter to prepare nitric acid, and we have sulfur and saltpeter to react to form sulfuric acid. Let's use some petroleum to extract the toluene in it...
"If it really works, I'm afraid my bomb technology tree will directly skip the black powder and nitrocellulose, and go directly to the yellow explosive era!"
Thinking about the methods of preparing explosives that his father had been talking about before coming here, Sumo instantly became excited.
After all, black powder is just a propellant. When made into a gunpowder bag, it can only complete the two processes of explosion and combustion.
Picric acid is different. Once the shock wave with chemical reaction is detonated, an explosive reaction will first occur at the detonation point to generate a large amount of high temperature, high pressure and high speed airflow, which will stimulate the shock wave in the explosive.
The shock wave strongly compresses the adjacent thin layer of explosives, causing the explosives to react, producing a large amount of gas and heat, completing the explosion-detonation-wave process.
Even if you can accumulate enough picric acid, you can make it into explosives and throw them into the kobold castle.
Under the detonation wave, just one round trip can make the kobolds know what justice comes from heaven!
"Go try to repair the oil well tomorrow!"
In front of the workbench, Somo stood up and sat down repeatedly, his heart agitated and unable to calm down.
After pouring 500g of the purified saltpeter powder into a wooden container and placing it in the second bedroom, Somo returned to the workbench.
"I know the equation for purifying yellow explosives. I also learned the methods of preparing nitric acid and sulfuric acid in high school. These are not problems. The key lies in the process of extracting toluene in petroleum and the mixing reaction to generate picric acid."
"Nobel killed his brother when he was making dynamite. Although picric acid is not as difficult as nitroglycerin, it may explode when exposed to high temperature, friction, or impact. Moreover, it can react with iron and can act like thunder.
Mercury acid forms mercury salts to form picric acid metal salts, causing an accident and explosion hazard."
"Perhaps I can get the preparation method of picric acid through transaction information... and through system upgrade, I can get a better and safer method!"
After thinking about this, Sumo no longer hesitated and directly called out the game panel to find a contact person.
After scanning all the friend lists, Sumo finally focused on the line labeled Shen Ke.
Concentrate and open the chat panel.
[Suma: Hello Shen Ke, do you have time to chat? I want to make a deal! 】
After the message was passed, Sumo continued to sit at the workbench and waited quietly.
Sure enough, less than five seconds later, the video of Shen Ke on the opposite side came up.
When the video was connected, the screen buzzed, and Shen Ke's pretty, slightly tired face appeared on the screen opposite.
"Wow, Mr. Somo, your shelter is developing so fast. It doesn't look like a wasteland at all, but it looks a bit like the brick house in my hometown!"
bright lights.
Neat and clean partitions.
In the distance of the camera, there are big and small sparks and Oreos playing on the ground.
Looking at myself.
The dilapidated wooden house was lit with homemade thick smoke torches. Through the window, it was pitch black.
From time to time, a headwind blew in, blowing black smoke into the room, causing Renke to cough.
"No, no, I am just lucky, and I have achieved some results, which are nothing compared to you." Waving his hand, Sumo quickly ended the polite time and went straight to the topic.
"I want to make a deal with you. You know yellow explosive, which is picric acid. I think someone among you should know the formula and preparation method, right?"
"I know, I know, this is not a problem. If it weren't for the lack of raw materials, we would have made it. Do you have the raw materials nearby?" Shen Ke said it without thinking too much.
After all, this thing is not difficult. Compared with TNT, RDX or cloud bombs, yellow explosives are basically not difficult as long as the raw materials are available.
But what this thing lacks is raw materials!
The reason why ancient China failed to develop explosives was that oil was difficult to extract.
Oil is not available everywhere. As a top-level strategic material, it is obviously not explored near Shen Ke's refuge.
"Ahem, I got this raw material from the treasure chest. I just have some storage now and want to make some explosives for self-defense."
Somo's expression remained unchanged and he kept telling lies with his eyes open.
But there is no need to explain too much, everyone is just trading, stop there.
Shen Ke on the opposite side nodded: "What about the item of this transaction? Is it still psionic water?"
"No, this time I will give you information in exchange for information about alien creatures!" Sumo smiled confidently and waved his hand.
"Well...I'm afraid I can't make the decision. I need to ask the higher-ups for instructions." Shen Ke looked embarrassed. After getting Sumo's consent, he hung up the phone.
After a while, when the call was connected again, two middle-aged men with dignified faces were sitting opposite. Behind the men were four recorders, looking nervously at the camera.
"Hello, Sumo, we have approved your deal. All you need to do is tell us the information about the alien creatures. Whether we know it or not, we will give you the complete formula and preparation method at the right time."
Nodding, Somo was not afraid of running away from the other side, and he slowly and straightforwardly told the information about the warrior kobolds, the warlock kobolds, and the white-robed kobolds that he had not figured out yet.
During this process, Somo concealed some details of the battle, only telling the warlock kobolds' spellcasting methods, the combat effectiveness of the warrior kobolds, and the information that the kobolds brought supplies when they arrived.
The four recorders were writing furiously, and Sumo could observe from the video the shock on their faces as more and more information leaked out.
Even the serious middle-aged man sitting on the left asked about several details again and again during the process.
"Okay, Sumo, thank you for your contribution to mankind. Your information is very useful. This information will be gradually disseminated to the Chinese Sanctuary. Do you have any objection to this?"
"No, no..." After saying that, several people stood up in a hurry, and Shen Ke sat back down again.
While the other party was preparing bitter and sour dishes, the two of them also started chatting.
"By the way, Shen Ke, who is the person sitting on the right just now? It feels a bit weird." After changing the topic for a few times, Sumo changed the subject and asked about his doubts.
The man on the left is moving vigorously and with an upright posture, while the man on the right is still there at first, but within a few minutes he is sitting loosely.
"The biggest suspicion is that when I told you about the kobold information just now, although he looked shocked, his micro-expression actually seemed like he already knew..."
"Oh? You mean President Ying? Ying Tianlong is the president of the Folk Self-Rescue Association. Their family is relatively large. When we came here, more than 20 people were put together. He is the current member of our "Tundra" shelter. The main force!" Shen Ke smiled innocently and said without any concealment.
"Tundra?"
"Well! This is the name of our shelter. Of course, if we can get the first place in disaster resistance next time, we will still use the name Huaxia. This title can only be used by the first shelter. At other times, we will use the name Tundra. To call..."
"That's it..." After getting the news he wanted, Sumo immediately changed the topic and talked about some aspects of life.
After a while, Shen Ke's transaction request came over.
Looking at the complete flow chart of yellow explosives among the transaction items, Sumo smiled under the light.
There was a flash of light, and two pieces of paper filled with text appeared in front of the work table!