1855 United States Tycoon

"But Mr. Scrooge, do you talk about the authenticity of these things withstand the test?" An officer couldn't help but ask, because the pictures Scrooge painted for them are so beautiful that they are so beautiful that they are consistent. The man who was overwhelmed by the Royal Navy couldn't believe it.

"The artillery is already available," Scrooge said. "The semi-armor piercing projectile has just been completed. We can see the effect of shooting in a while. As for the speed issue, we also have ready-made examples. Well, Mr. Morgan's. Do you know that yacht?"

Morgan’s high-speed yacht is now well-known throughout the United States and even the entire world, because it is the fastest yacht in the world. Among the ships with a displacement of more than one thousand tons, no one is more famous than that one. Soon. But Scrooge used it as an example but did not convince the navy officers. A colonel even frowned and said: "Of course we know that boat, but that boat's high speed is achieved by a series of extreme designs. For example, the length-to-width ratio is so big. Although it has brought amazing high speed to this ship, it also made the ship's stability and handling performance poor. Our navy has also conducted research on this ship shape, and the conclusion is that such a ship shape cannot be used as a warship at all. "

"The length-to-width ratio of the boat shape we just saw is not particularly large." Scrooge replied, "and relying on the sway fins, the stability is guaranteed. I know that the Navy also has an opinion on the boat shape of Mr. Morgan's yacht. I have conducted research, but there is one thing that you may not know, that is, Mr. Morgan’s boat can sail for more than ten hours at maximum speed. I think everyone should know what this means."

Maintain top speed for ten consecutive hours? The news almost stunned everyone. During this period, ships using reciprocating steam engines can reach a speed of about 20 knots at the fastest time, but this speed is difficult to maintain for a long time. Generally, it lasts up to half an hour, and you have to lower the speed. . Otherwise, the steam engine may malfunction.

This is because there are too many moving parts such as cylinder pistons and crankshafts in the reciprocating steam engine, which leads to a decrease in reliability. A basic principle of reliability is that the more moving parts, the worse the reliability. If the reliability of a moving part is 90%, then there are two different parts in your machine, and the reliability will drop to 81%. In contrast, steam turbines have much fewer moving parts, so they have to be much stronger in terms of reliability, so they can maintain maximum power operation for a long time. This is also one of the key reasons why Scrooge chose steam turbines instead of reciprocating steam engines as the source of power in the process of promoting electrification.

In addition, because there are fewer moving parts, the steam turbine is also easier to achieve higher air pressure, which not only makes the thermal efficiency higher, but also makes the overall volume of the steam engine smaller. On warships, every inch of space is precious. Steam turbines that occupy less space and have better reliability under the same power are obviously much better than reciprocating steam engines.

"If you don’t believe me, well, our shipyard has just built a high-speed yacht, and this ship is linear, very close to our warship model. Now this ship is being tested. If you are interested, you can join us. Go on the boat and have a look." Scrooge said enthusiastically.

...

A month later, Morgan and Scrooge’s shipyards successfully received orders from the Navy. They will build four iron-clad ships with a displacement of 3,000 tons and two larger iron-clad ships of about 5,000 tons for the navy.

Also this month, free Cuba, which was unable to attack because of the blockade, reached a compromise with the Spaniards who were also unable to counterattack due to excessive losses and economic difficulties. The Spanish recognized many autonomy rights of the Cubans, and the Cubans continued to The Kingdom of Spain is loyal and pays taxes. However, everyone knows that this is only a temporary compromise.

That's how it passed in 1867. This is a year of rapid change. If you want to count the biggest changes that have taken place in the lives of United States people in this year, it is probably the gradual popularity of electricity. By the end of the year, United States Power plants have been built in the most important cities in the United States, and electrical appliances represented by electric lights have begun to quickly enter thousands of households. At the same time, in many factories, electric motors have begun to replace the old ones, often out. Malfunctioning steam engine. A brand-new revolution has begun to bear fruit.

This revolution also spread to Europe. In Europe, the Prussians were the first to keep up with the pace of this revolution. Relying on the special relationship with Scrooge formed before, after paying considerable patent fees, a large number of power plants started. Appeared in Prussia, Prussian factories also quickly replaced steam engines with electric motors. The Prussian's industrial level began to make strides forward, and even began to surpass his most powerful neighbor-France.

The British also obtained the Scrooge patent authorization, but unlike the Prussian situation, their application of electricity was more concentrated in the life aspect. In their factories, the elimination of steam engines was much slower than in Prussia. Because Britain has a vast colony, it can monopolize trade with the colony, and it is impossible to weed out the old productive forces so quickly.

In Spain, when Queen Isabella II was in power, France had a huge influence in Spain. Now that the queen is overthrown, the question of who will inherit the throne has become extremely sensitive. In the Cuban incident, Spain, which was in desperate need of materials and funds, could not get enough help from France, and the French were not financially rich. So they turned to Prussia for help. As a result, Prussia's influence on Spain increased day by day.

One of the characteristics of European royal families is that they will have marriage ties with each other. In this way, the kings of European countries are actually relatives. When a king dies, you will find that there may also be many foreign countries. People actually rank very high in the rank of heirs. The same is true in Spain. In theory, the queen’s son should have the most inheritance rights, but the queen was overthrown. Who would be assured of letting the queen’s son be the king of those who overthrew the queen? What if he settles after autumn? Just like Charles II back then, Cromwell went into the grave and was pulled out by him to whip the body. Therefore, the Spanish government very much wants to change heirs, and among other heirs, Prince Leopold of the Hohenzollern family who is distantly related to the King of Prussia seems to be a candidate. The Spaniards are very optimistic about him. Prussia is also quietly in contact with the Spaniards, trying to dig the corner of the French.

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