After discovering that boiling water could not produce enough steam power, Gwen gave up on the plan to build the classic steam engine on Earth.
But that did not mean that he had given up on the goal of building a universal, reliable, and simple power machine.
He still remembered how in his native world, industrial mass production wiped out all the inefficient production methods, including handmade workshops, and how the roaring machines led the entire human civilization to rise from the soil and enter the space age. In the factory, raw materials flowed like water into the workshop, and the end of the machine cluster would spew out tons and tens of thousands of products. The power of machines could completely change the way a society operated. They could split mountains and fill seas and plains. They could be stronger, more accurate, and more efficient than any individual human being. They did not know exhaustion, and these traits that were superior to natural humans were the embodiment of the true power of humans.
That was the power of thinking and creation.
Of course, Gwen was also well aware of the side effects of industrial production, such as pollution and the pressure on natural resources caused by excessive production efficiency. But while the problems could be solved, survival was not negotiable. It was like a person's illness could be cured, but it would not make sense to directly refuse to reincarnate just to prevent illness.
So whether it was to survive natural and man-made disasters, including the Great Mana Tide, to make his life more comfortable in this backward world, or to understand the truth of this world, Gwen had to light up the technology tree. And in order to light up the technology tree, the most basic thing was to solve the problem of power.
Steam propulsion was a dead end, but in this world, there were many rules in the macro field that could be used. Gears could be used, levers could be used, and waterwheels could be used. And thanks to the power of magic, many technological developments that could not be skipped on Earth and that required slow accumulation could be directly leaped forward in this world. For example, high-quality steel smelted based on magic technology, and various kinds of alloys and crystals that were different from those on Earth but had extraordinary properties. But these things could not be fully explored in this world.
Or rather, the people of this world had indeed discovered the use of these things on their own technological path. After all, the people of this world were not stupid. It was just that due to the limitations of their worldview, they had never thought of using these things in other ways.
Gwen looked at the cylinder structure on the drawing. He had already crossed out the structure. Now he had to think of a substitute to replace steam to power the entire device.
The only thing he could think of was still expansion or high-pressure airflow, but where did these high-temperature and high-pressure "sources of power" come from?
He had once thought about the Rebecca crystal. To put it bluntly, an explosion was also a kind of expansion. As long as it was used properly, the power of the explosion could also be a kind of driving force. The essence of the internal combustion engine on Earth was actually a continuous "safety explosion" (deflagration) in the cylinder. Then, could the explosion caused by the Rebecca crystal also be controlled and guided to become a driving force?
However, after understanding the principle behind the crystal explosions, he had no choice but to give up on this idea.
The explosion caused by the magic of the Rebecca crystal was completely different from the gunpowder on Earth. The two "explosion" processes were also completely different.
The explosion caused by the Rebecca crystal was essentially a "spell". The power of the magic array stimulated the energy in the crystal and formed an independent casting process. The effect of this spell was an "explosion". Therefore, before the impact and expansion, the first effect of the Rebecca crystal was actually a spell effect. So, if such a crystal was stuffed into the cylinder and triggered the detonation array, what would be the result?
The cylinder would be detonated as an alchemy product.
Of course, Gwen could make the cylinder extremely strong and heavy, so strong and heavy that it could not explode even if it was filled with crystals. Then, would the explosion magic in the cylinder be able to produce a driving force?
No, it would blow up the relatively fragile connecting rods, pistons and the like as casting materials. As long as these things were within the casting range of the magic array, they would not be spared.
What if the connecting rods, pistons and the like were extremely strong and would not be blown up, and only the crystal was involved in the magic reaction?
Well, this device may be able to work, but its size would be extremely large because the outer diameter of the absolutely explosion-proof outer wall had to exceed the casting range of the detonation array. Depending on the size of the core, the outer wall was likely to be a sphere with a radius of several meters to tens of meters, and it could not shrink in the slightest. Once it shrank, part of the device would be within the effect of the explosion magic, and the operator standing next to it would be detonated. Human beings were one of the best magic-conducting materials.
Even if there was no operator next to it, the device itself would be shrouded in a continuous explosion, and everything near it would be detonated.
It could not be used at all!
And because the "explosion" in this world was so special, Gawain gave up on the idea of using the Rebecca crystal to make guns. At least, he gave up on the idea of using the crystal to launch a gun. He could not stuff the crystal into the gun chamber as a propellant, because the propellant would directly cause an explosion within the spell's effective area during the casting process. The gun would be fine, but the person who fired the gun would definitely explode, and so would the people standing next to him.
So, what should he use to do the work?
Steam did not work. Explosions did not work. Fuel … He had not heard of anything similar to oil in this world.
And he had to consider the processing accuracy of this world. Even if he could design a working prototype, the blacksmiths could not hammer out the right parts.
But to be honest, this was not what he was most worried about. He still remembered the mithril safe he found in the Captical mansion. The complex magic lock in the safe was actually a very sophisticated mechanism, and the person who made such a mechanism was not an ordinary blacksmith, but a rune craftsman who specialized in processing magic items and had a higher status than blacksmiths.
Rune craftsmen were equivalent to advanced blacksmiths and carpenters who had received advanced training. Although they did not have the ability to cast spells, they had some knowledge in the field of magic. They were usually "workers" trained by mages to make magic items for themselves.
Their craftsmanship was superb, and they could make things more sophisticated than ordinary ironware. They also knew how to safely process various magic materials.
Although the number of rune craftsmen was small, and it cost a lot to make things (mainly the cost of magic materials), if they could help him build a prototype, it would be worth it.
There were rune craftsmen among the 100 technicians from the Captical …
While Gwen was thinking, two familiar breaths appeared in his perception. The curtain of the tent was lifted, and Rebecca and Heti came in together.
"Ancestor (Ancestor), you're looking for us?" Both of them asked almost in unison.
"Yes." Gwen did not talk nonsense. He directly pushed the drawings forward and said, "Get a chair and sit here. You two take a look at these things."
Rebecca ran to get a big chair, and Heti waved her hand, and a chair in the corner of the tent flew to them. Rebecca was stunned.
But soon, Miss Ironhead's little disappointment was attracted by the drawings that Gwen showed her.
"What's this?" Rebecca's eyes sparkled. "There are many wheels and connecting rods … Is it also a waterwheel?"
"No, it's a kind of … machine that can generate power," Gwen explained casually. "My ideas are limited, and I want to hear your ideas. You can imagine a machine that is driven by the most basic magic units. It can generate stable and reliable power, such as making the wheels rotate continuously, or making the hammer move up and down. Look at these connecting rods and wheels, and this structure — it's called a crankshaft. These things can convert the linear reciprocation and the rotation of the wheels … "
Gawain patiently explained his ideas. Heidi listened and fell into deep thought. Rebecca, on the other hand, had a gleam in her eyes. She had developed a keen interest in these imaginative designs!
The concept of a mechanical device that was driven by magic was not a new one. This world with supernatural powers had many natural advantages in many aspects. Naturally, there were many things that Gwen thought were "beyond the times", such as the magic puppets made by the magicians, the automatic door that was activated with a secret key in the treasure vault in the mountain, and the magic lock that could identify the user's identity that he saw in the Captical. These were the applications of magic mechanisms, and many of them could even be described as "black technology".
But Rebecca instinctively felt that the "magic power mechanism" that Gwen proposed was completely different from those things.
Most of its structure was intuitive and direct mechanical structure, and it did not need magic to participate.
Its function and purpose were extraordinarily simple. It was to provide power, and this power was to prepare the next level of machinery.
It was standard, standard, and clear-cut, abandoning all the parts that allowed the craftsmen to 'play freely'. Instead, it was replaced by precise numerical indicators like magic rules. It strived to achieve the purpose in the most reasonable and concise way, unlike the traditional rune craftsmen and sorcerers who would add a lot of patterns on the magic items they made and try their best to hide the truly useful runes in the complicated encryption patterns, fearing that they would be seen and understood by other people.
Rebecca thought hard for a long time. Finally, a word that Gwen often said to her came to mind: universal.
Just like Magic Net I, this device was also "universal".
It was not designed as a treasure or a work of art. Instead, like the Rebecca crystals in the furnace area, it was required to be large in quantity and reliable in quality.
After Gawain explained his idea, he pointed at the cylinder structure that had a cross on it. "Now, there's only one step left. It needs an initial power source to make the 'piston' move. I've thought of using expanding gas to complete the process, so I designed this sealed 'cylinder'. But you don't have to be limited by my ideas. From a magical point of view, what kind of magic do you think can create an uninterrupted, cyclical propulsion force as long as there's a supply of energy?"
Rebecca grabbed the chair and shook her body. "Engrave a super-small hurricane magic circle in it? Blow the wind hard? "
Heti also frowned and thought seriously. "It's not realistic. The hurricane magic circle is too complicated, and the airflow it can trigger in a closed environment is limited …"
As she spoke, she casually formed a translucent Evocation Hand beside her. Then, she quickly dispersed the magic. "It would be easy to push the machine with the Evocation Hand. Unfortunately, this is a very special spell. There is no corresponding magic circle. And … it feels weird to have the Evocation Hand pushing the machine around."
"The hand …" Rebecca rolled her eyes and thought for a while. Suddenly, she seemed to have an idea. "Oh, it doesn't have to be airflow … It doesn't even have to be this thing called 'cylinder'."
Looking at Rebecca's eyes getting brighter and brighter, Gwen could not help but feel happy. The silly roe deer is going to do something again?!
Heti was also curious. "What did you think of?"
Rebecca happily gestured. "Auntie, do you remember that there was a spell that I couldn't learn?"
Heidi asked, "Apart from Fireball, which spells did you learn back then?"
"No, it was that level of a magic trick. You thought that even if I was stupid, I would definitely be able to learn it." Rebecca waved her hand vigorously. "Later, I secretly drew the runes in the glove and pretended that I could cast the spell. In the end, I was beaten up by you and dad …"
Gwen was speechless.
Did this girl have to be so happy when she said this?!
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