Next to the Daming Petroleum Trading Company, a brand new building was opening for business. Accompanied by the roar of gongs and drums and the sound of firecrackers, the logo and name on the building were also unveiled.
"Da Ming Electrical Trading Company?"
People passing by looked at the huge Chinese characters on the building and were full of doubts.
"What kind of gas is electricity?"
"I don't know either. What is electricity?"
"It's not related to thunder and lightning, right? What does thunder and lightning have to do with qi?"
"Does anyone know what this electrical company does?"
"I don't know, I don't know either."
"Looking at the grandeur of this building, this electrical company must be very powerful. Which owner invested in it?"
"I heard that this electrical trading company was jointly established by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Liu Jin, Chief Minister of the Cabinet Liu Gong. The initial investment capital alone was tens of millions of taels of silver."
"My dear, I'm investing tens of millions of taels of silver right now. What on earth are you doing?"
"Yeah, what kind of business is this?"
"I don't know. I don't know what kind of gas this electrical appliance is. Who knows what kind of business it is doing?"
The passers-by were talking about the majestic building.
There is also speculation as to what the electrical company does.
Everyone still doesn’t know what electrical gas is, and they can’t understand it, so they are all very confused about what this electrical company does.
Inside the Electrical Trading Company, Cao Lan, the person in charge of the Electrical Trading Company, was reporting to Liu Jin and the Prince on the work of the Gas Electrical Trading Company.
"His Royal Highness, Mr. Liu~"
"After three months of preparation, our electrical firm has also established a wire manufacturing factory, which can produce two types of wires, one is a high-voltage transmission wire, and the other is a small copper wire with insulating rubber for users.
"
"The construction of the thermal power plant is already underway, and it is estimated that it will be officially put into power generation in a while."
"The preparatory work for the electric lamp factory has been basically completed, and it will be officially put into production in a while. The production capacity is not high at the moment, and the number of electric lamps produced per month will not exceed 10,000."
Cao Lan reported in detail to his two employers what the electrical firm had done.
In fact, the electrical trading company had been established and put into operation a few months ago, and began to prepare for thermal power plants, wire factories, and electric light factories to prepare for the promotion of electric lights.
"Hmm~"
"It doesn't matter if the output is lower now, but we must constantly summarize experience and technology, find ways to continuously increase production capacity, and use more machines, so that we can continuously improve production capacity and efficiency."
Liu Jin nodded with satisfaction after hearing this.
In the blink of an eye, it has already arrived summer, and now that the weather is hot, Liu Jin is eager to use an electric fan as soon as possible.
For this reason, a new research task was specially assigned to the Imperial College of Technology and the Ming Dynasty Royal Institute of Technology, asking them to research motors.
Motors are very versatile and have huge potential and market prospects.
With the advent of the electrical age, the role of motors is very important. It is the core of many electrical equipment. Without this thing, many electrical appliances cannot operate.
Of course, Liu Jin doesn't have high demands on them now. He needs to get the motor out first, so that he can make an electric fan. In the summer, it's really uncomfortable not having an electric fan.
I am not an emperor, but I have a special icehouse to store ice. In summer, I can also take out ice cubes to cool down, and the electric fan is very good.
Motors are not very difficult. As long as you study electromagnetism, you can easily develop motors.
Once this thing can be researched, it can be used in many fields in the future. It is definitely a promising thing and invention.
"Yes~"
Cao Lan replied quickly.
Whether it is a power plant, a wire factory, an electric light factory, or an electrical company, now they are all trying to cross the river by feeling the stones. They are constantly exploring on their own, summarizing experience and technology, and improving and developing step by step.
Especially the production of electric lamps. Although this thing may not look small, it has extremely high technical content.
Apart from anything else, the production of tungsten filament alone is not an easy task. The tungsten needs to be purified and then made into filament. There is also the production of light bulbs, which is related to the production process of glass. If you want to produce a perfect vacuum
It is really not an easy task to take out the glass bulb.
Naturally, the output is not going anywhere. Currently, the monthly output is only a few thousand pieces, and the defective product rate remains high.
Relatively speaking, the simplest is the production of wire factories. With today's technology, wires are still very easy to manufacture. Especially after the invention of the automatic wire twisting machine, the production of wires has become much easier.
The only troublesome thing is the smelting of metal. Wires require a large amount of copper, and copper mining is extremely troublesome. In addition, the price of copper is also very expensive. After all, the main currency of the Ming Dynasty is still copper coins.
As for other metals, they are not suitable for making wires. Aluminum is very suitable. However, aluminum in this period was more expensive than copper. Before the electrolysis method was invented, the price of aluminum was enough to be compared with gold, which was extremely expensive.
For this era, using copper to make wires is a very luxury thing.
Luxury is luxury, you should still use it.
The power plant is relatively easy and there is no technical difficulty.
Electricity is obtained by cutting the magnetic field. The power plant here mainly uses fire to burn the boiler and uses steam to drive the machinery to generate electricity. The only thing that is not satisfactory is that the current generator set technology is still relatively primitive and the power generation efficiency is not as good as
People's will.
"Old Liu, how big of an investment do you think we have? This is a power plant, a wire factory, and an electric light factory. They all use copper wires. The output of this light bulb is low. When the time comes, we will
How to charge, and how much does this light bulb cost?"
"Is there anyone here who would be willing to use our electric lights?"
Zhu Houzhao on the side crossed his legs and said while eating watermelon.
"As long as the stuff is good, why are we afraid that no one will use our stuff?"
"How to charge for this electricity? Naturally, it has to be charged according to the amount of electricity used. We must come up with something that can calculate the amount of electricity."
"As for light bulbs, although the output is low and the price is high now, the price can be reduced after the technology improves in the future."
"Currently, only the rich can afford electric lights."
Liu Jin was full of confidence in this. How could there be no one using the electric light?
After a while, when everything is done, we will hold a lantern festival and put out all kinds of beautiful and colorful lights. When the electricity is turned on, everyone will be fascinated by the electric lights.
With electric lights, who would use candles, oil lamps, etc., which are troublesome and unsafe. The key is that they are not bright enough, and they are not as beautiful as colorful electric lights.
It is not as convenient as electric lights when using them. Electric lights can eliminate candles. Oil lamps are inevitable because electric lights have so many advantages and benefits.
The only trouble is that the initial investment is relatively large, and wires must be installed where electricity is needed. This investment must be made by the electrical company.
Assuming that once the wires are in place, the subsequent expenditures and investments in other aspects will be relatively small.
Just buy some wires, switches, and install light bulbs to enjoy the era of electric lighting, and the electricity bill is actually not much more expensive than electric candles and oil lamps.
The cost of electricity is actually very cheap, especially the cost of hydropower generation is even cheaper.
The development of electric lights and electricity is not only to facilitate life, but also to promote the development and progress of Ming technology. There are many related technologies, equipment, etc. that need to be researched.
Now Liu Jin has also asked several institutions of higher learning, including the Beijing Mechanical Institute, to come over and help them study electricity and various electrical instruments, motors, equipment, etc.
As more and more people conduct research and investment increases, various new discoveries, new technologies, and new inventions are constantly emerging, all of which are preparing for the arrival of the electrical age.
"Okay, anyway, I'm just a little worried that I might lose money on this investment."
After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao thought about it and said, in his opinion, buying some electric lights and selling electricity does not seem to be very profitable. If you invest tens of millions of taels of silver, it will be all real money.
"Don't worry, in a few months we will hold a light show that will amaze everyone!"
Ps: What was it like to blow an electric fan in ancient times?