novelhk Chapter 223
Chapter 223
As your power continues to expand, your daily necessities will also need to keep pace with the times. This is when glass products come into being. Glass can not only be used in your own life, but can also be given as gifts to other factions.
[Today we're talking about the essential skills for time travel—glass and mirrors.]
[There was colored glaze in ancient China, but it was somewhat different from glass.]
The formula for glass is quite simple: sand, limestone, sodium carbonate, and a little borax. You might be wondering if sodium carbonate existed in ancient times. We'll explain this in detail below.
Daqin
Is this to make something similar to colored glaze? Qin Shihuang looked at the sky curtain carefully and felt that this thing was better than colored glaze.
Especially the products placed on the skylight, I wonder if the Mohists can make them.
It looks like it's not difficult to make on the skylight.
The Mohist disciple didn't even blink as he looked at the sky while searching for information. Finally, he found the record of limestone in the previous records.
This thing can be forged using shells. Of course, once prospectors find limestone mines, they won't have to go through so much trouble.
big man
Liu Che's eyes lit up when he looked at the glassware on it. This thing is great. It can be used to reward the surrounding forces. They will definitely like it.
"Tell the Shaofu to prepare all the raw materials. Once we learn how to make it, we will manufacture it on a large scale and have the court send an envoy to see if we can exchange it for some horses."
……
We've already discussed limestone, so we won't go into detail here. Let's discuss the production of sodium carbonate. First, you need to find some plants in saline-alkali land and then burn them into ash.
Soak the wood ash in water, filter it, and boil the water dry. You'll get a white substance, which is the sodium carbonate we need.
Mix sodium carbonate and sand in a 1:1 ratio, add a little limestone and combustion-supporting borax, and finally place it in a crucible. Place it in a kiln and burn it at a temperature of over 1,500 degrees Celsius.
[After the material melts, take it out and hit it with a wooden stick to shake out the bubbles inside. Then you can use an iron rod to get the glass out.]
【When the temperature drops, it becomes a glass product. 】
[Of course, you can also try blowing, and you can make things like cups. However, you still need to slowly experiment with the specific production process, and nothing will work the first time.]
Tang Dynasty
Li Shimin carefully considered the value of glass. Sand and other things were cheap, or even worthless, but the glass made in that shape was priceless.
"Brother, this thing seems a little transparent. If it is made flat, can it be installed on the window?" Li Tai suddenly had an idea. "Sand is very cheap. We can make a lot of money and buy candy later..."
Li Chengqian shook his head. The host's home has glass windows, so since it was not mentioned above, it must be that the technology was not available at that time.
"It's okay to give it a try." Li Chengqian changed his mind before he said it. He thought about the technological development of the Song Dynasty. Would the Tang Dynasty have any black technology that he didn't know about?
Even if it is not successful, it can still drive some development.
Qing Dynasty
Emperor Yongzheng felt a little proud when looking at the glass windows. He thought he should be the first emperor to use glass windows. He wondered if the Qing Dynasty had the technology to produce them in large quantities.
Glass is indeed better than rice paper.
……
Next, let's talk about mirror manufacturing. Everyone knows that bronze mirrors existed in ancient times, but making them was still a bit troublesome.
[We're not talking about glass mirrors here. Although everyone knows that glass mirrors rely on the silver mirror reaction, it's still too technically difficult.]
【For example, the manufacture of the simplest flat glass. 】
[We are going to talk about a kind of Indian craftsmanship, which uses a mixed solution of copper and tin to make metal mirrors.]
First, melt the copper and tin separately and pour them out to solidify. Then you need a mud paste. This mud paste can be made of clay, fine mud, and a tattered sack.
【Mix these ingredients together and grind them finely. 】
[Then place them in a round mold and put them in the sun. After they solidify, remove the clay plate and polish them carefully with clay.]
[Then apply carbon powder on it, then place four small pieces of metal on top, place another identical mud disc on top, and then wrap it with mud.]
[A feeding port is dug out on the top, and a circular place for discharging materials is added.]
[When it's finished, it's shaped like a wine jug. Add the cooled copper and tin. You need to experiment with the ratio yourself, but it's probably 2.5 to 7.5.]
[After burning it in the fire for several hours, turn it upside down and open it after one night to get a crude mirror.]
【After careful polishing, zero distortion can be achieved. 】
Qi Cheng didn't know how clear the ancient bronze mirrors were, but judging from the flat surface, the clarity of this mirror was quite good. As for the polishing problem, it was not difficult in ancient times.
big man
Liu Che looked at the mirror on the sky, thinking about the issue of India. From the sky in front of him, he probably already knew where India was.
Moreover, he had heard before that there was a secret passage in Shu that could lead to that place, and that a very famous businessman made his fortune through this passage.
He didn't know whether the army could get through. If they could, he wouldn't have to arrange for craftsmen to make this mirror. At that time, the craftsmen in the Shaofu had too much work to do.
During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han.
Feiyan and Hede gathered in front of the emperor and asked him to order the craftsmen to make one for them.
"We don't want this small one. We want the one that can take full-body photos." Hede said loudly, "Give the order quickly."
Emperor Cheng of Han touched his head. Tianmu mentioned him and said that he was licentious and lustful. Because of this, the ministers would write memorials to criticize him every now and then.
He has a terrible headache now.
"You can just assign the craftsmen to handle this kind of small matter. There's no need to come here specifically to report."
"Those ministers outside will just write memorials to curse people. When have our words ever been effective? I think it would be better to arrange a few obedient ministers, at least a few in the Ministry of Personnel."
Emperor Cheng of Han nodded in agreement. He had long disliked the ministers outside.
Tang Dynasty
Li Tai immediately arranged for his subordinates to do this, and he wanted to polish it himself as a gift for his mother.
Li Chengqian had the same idea.
Li Shimin also planned to do so.
So in the near future, Empress Changsun will receive three carefully polished mirrors.
I think she will like every side of it.