Carefree Prince In Tang Dynasty

Generally speaking, iron is divided into wrought iron and pig iron. The difference between the two is mainly the carbon content.

Anyone who has studied chemistry knows that the "iron" we use in our daily life is not a single substance of iron, but an iron-carbon alloy. Its properties are far from the real single iron. To take the simplest example, it is common knowledge that iron is easy to rust, but in fact, iron alone, that is, a metal that is 100% composed of zero-valent iron atoms, actually has considerable corrosion resistance and is also That said, it's not too prone to rust.

This is because the carbon atoms in the iron-carbon alloy can easily react with the iron atoms to form a galvanic battery, so the oxidation rate of the iron atoms is greatly increased, which is manifested as rust. In the iron element, there are only iron atoms, and its reaction rate with oxygen is very slow, so it is very corrosion-resistant.

Far away.

Wrought iron refers to an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content of less than 0.2%, while pig iron usually has a carbon content of more than 2.0%. Because of the difference in carbon content, they exhibit different properties. Simply understood, wrought iron is closer to simple iron, with a softer texture and easy casting into various shapes, but it is not strong enough and has a limited range of applications. Pig iron, on the other hand, exhibits higher hardness, but at the same time lacks toughness, is relatively brittle, and is not a very ideal material.

Naturally, people should think - if we can combine the advantages of pig iron and wrought iron to obtain a material that is both hard and tough, how great would it be?

Yes, the material is steel. Its carbon content is between 0.2% and 2.0%. It has both hardness and toughness. It is widely used in many fields. It can be cast into a sword casually. Easy Song is a sword of the level of Juque and Zhanlu.

This is the power of science. The treasures made by the ancients who exhausted their ingenuity and wisdom and spent a lot of time and energy can be mass-produced with scientific methods as long as there are sufficient materials and conditions.

Of course, I have to admit that such mass production is not aesthetically pleasing. But, very powerful.

During these five days, Li Xin led a large number of craftsmen to test the effect of water drainage by the river, and along the way wanted to find the most suitable steelmaking ratio.

When making iron, water is drained into the blast furnace to blow hot air. Oxygen and carbon are incompletely oxidized to generate carbon monoxide, which reduces the oxidized iron. At the same time, it can also take away excess carbon, reduce the carbon content, and increase the purity of iron.

Of course, the blowing volume of the water row is not the same as that of the old-fashioned manpower or animal power blowing in the past. On the first day when the furnace was opened, the iron-making master was shocked by the blower and couldn't help but praise it again and again.

Then, the craftsmen were divided into three shifts, started experiments around the clock, and continuously reported data to Li Xin.

Li Xin didn't have a calculator either, so he had to rely on his own hands, use a charcoal pen to record one by one on paper, and calculate the data he wanted.

Chen Xinheng once asked Li Xin, what is this counting.

Li Xin told him that this is the road to success.

Chen Xinheng rolled his eyes on the spot.

As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success. After countless failures, Li Xin finally figured out the proper mixing ratio of pig iron and wrought iron, and finally found the perfect way to pour steel. If his calculation is correct, then the pot of iron that will be baked in a while is exactly the steel that everyone dreams of.

In the past, wrought iron and pig iron were made by frying iron, which is also the origin of the words "raw" and "cooked". Regardless of the specific method of frying, in simple terms, if you fry more, the carbon content is low, and the iron is more cooked; if you fry less, the carbon content is high, and the iron is raw.

The carbon content range of steel is not large. A small difference of one percent may cause huge fluctuations in steel quality. Therefore, it is difficult to fry steel directly during the frying process. This is also the origin of the saying "steel is made from one hundred tempers" - ancient swordsmiths had to further control the carbon content of the iron block through repeated forging until it turned into steel.

But now, no need.

Li Xin and Chen Xinheng came to a blast furnace—these blast furnaces were also temporarily forged, and they would all be destroyed at that time—a master whose face was red from the smoke was busy. Seeing the prince coming, he was about to put down the things in his hands to salute, but Li Xin waved his hand, signaling him not to be too polite and concentrate on his work.

"How is it?" Li Xin asked.

The master replied: "Quickly, it will be done soon."

After a while, the stove was turned on, and orange molten iron flowed out from below, emitting astonishing heat, making everyone's pupils red.

You can't tell the difference just by looking at it with the naked eye. There is only one best way to tell whether the iron in front of him is the steel Li Xin wants - to beat them into weapons.

"Old Wang, come here, work has started!" Li Xin shouted.

Lao Wang, a blacksmith who often hoes for the villagers, separated from the crowd and came over.