The Rise of the European Emperor

For revolvers, the difficulty of the firearm itself is actually extremely low. After all, Marin was a military fan when he was a child. He broke a lot of smashing guns and was familiar with their structure. But the biggest problem is the primer, which Marin doesn't know how to make.

It's not that the primer technology is so difficult, but that these technologies are kept secret on the Huaxia Network in later generations, and they are not allowed to talk about them. Therefore, even if Marin has visited many forums, he doesn't know how to get the bottom fire. Even, in his previous life, Marin had read a handwritten novel called Lao Niu, and two chapters were directly 4O4 because he introduced the manufacturing technology of smokeless gunpowder in detail. In such an environment, no matter how much Marin loves weapons, he can't figure out the technology of making firearms. So, what kind of revolver, what kind of AK, has nothing to do with him. The most he can produce is the Minie rifle, which is already the limit. And the slug bullets currently used to describe the rifling can be regarded as black technology.

Of course, Marin also knew that the early primer was Thunder Mercury. However, he didn't dare to study that stuff. The primer is very sensitive, and it explodes much more violently than ordinary gunpowder. A little bit can send people to the west. He didn't dare to study it himself, and he didn't dare to let the only scientist Leonardo da Vinci do it. After all, it's a matter of life and death. We can only wait for these elementary school students to grow up and chemical talents appear. Then, let them do the research. It's best to research it, and it's okay if it doesn't. In short, "I am lucky if I get it, and my life is lost"...

And our boss Da Vinci is currently doing his best to modify the steam engine. After Marin came up with the idea of ​​using soft elephant skin as the air-tight gasket of the steam engine, the performance of the steam engine was greatly improved.

Don't underestimate the role of the gasket, this thing looks small, but it is actually very effective. To give a simple example, during the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia used the rear-loaded Krupp rifled steel guns to defeat the French army. Back then, the French army used the Napoleon 12-pound smoothbore gun, which was mounted on the front, not because it was conservative, but because it did not solve the problem of the breech gun's air-holding. Because the gunpowder gas when the artillery fires is extremely powerful. If the rear door of the rear-mounted gun is not properly closed, the leaked gunpowder gas can directly kill the artillery. The French have never solved this problem, so they can only continue to use old guns during the war. The Krupp company simply used a copper washer to solve this problem, making the Krupp steel gun the protagonist of the Franco-Prussian War, which also led to the establishment of the German Empire. If the French also had the technology of air-tight gaskets back then, Prussia would definitely not be able to win the French so readily. Even if they could win, it would be a miserable victory. Even, it is possible to lose. After all, at that time the French army's Chasebol rifle was much more advanced than the Prussian army's Dreiser rifle...

Historically, steam engines did not use rubber as air-tight gaskets until the late 19th century. Before, ordinary leather such as cowhide was used, and the effect was not very good. After all, Marin has actually soaked in the Internet, and there are many sources of information. He knows that elephant skin is soft and thick, which is an excellent material for air-tight gaskets. Fortunately, there happened to be a team hunting rhinos in Senegal to make rhino leather armor, so they were asked to hunt elephants as well. By the way, I can get some ivory back.

As for animal protection, there are so many animals in Africa that they don't need protection. Things that walk all over the place need protection? These animals were killed to be protected in later generations because of the large-scale introduction of modern shotguns in Africa, which greatly improved the hunting efficiency.

Just like the North American bison, there were tens of millions of them in the early days, and the Indians couldn't kill them all. Later, in the late 1800s, after the introduction of the modern breech-loading rifle, it was killed to near extinction within a few decades.

Similarly, the sika deer on Taiwan Island were almost extinct by modern hunting guns during the period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Therefore, there is no need to worry about elephants being extinct now. After all, the modern rifle hadn't been invented yet. But Marin must tell Caesar before he dies. If elephants and rhinos become scarce in the future, he must pay attention to protection.

Moreover, Marin is now using elephant skin as an air-tight gasket, and that is only temporary. Because Marin has already started planting rubber in the American colonies. Once the mass production of rubber starts, Marin does not need to deliberately send people to slaughter elephants to obtain elephant skins as air-tight gaskets...

...

Marin was just thinking about rubber.

Probably because the nagging worked, news came from the port over there that the Cuban colony in the Americas had begun to tap rubber, and sent back the first batch of rubber products...

Counting the time, it has been several years since Marin ordered the planting of rubber trees in Cuba. Now, it is indeed time to tap the rubber.

But after getting the rubber product, Marin's face turned black instantly—Nimma, what the hell is this? Why is it still the most elementary rubber ball? I am so old, I still want to play ball? In other words, the first batch of rubber was actually raw rubber...

Marin was furious-this is a waste of precious resources!

However, he didn't want to think about it. Did he talk about the technology of rubber aging (that is, vulcanization) before? Moreover, even Marin probably knows that sulfur is added to the rubber when the latex is formed, which can vulcanize the rubber and become mature rubber with practical value. But he doesn't know exactly how to vulcanize it...

Therefore, he really can't blame the Cuban rubber tapping workers for this matter. People are responsible for collecting the latex from the trees. As for how to process it, they don't know...

Marin wanted practical cooked rubber, so he had to send someone to the Cuban rubber plantation to study how to vulcanize rubber. Moreover, it is best to be a craftsman with a research spirit...

Therefore, Marin selected a group of master craftsmen who tanned leather and sent them to the rubber plantation on Cuba Island. The next time they tap rubber, they will break up into groups and experiment with how to vulcanize the rubber. And, explore what kind of ratio to use to vulcanize the rubber.

Marin's requirement is that the cured rubber after vulcanization should be tough, elastic, and have a certain hardness. In addition, a certain amount of corrosion resistance is required...

In addition, Marin also asked those craftsmen to study how to add carbon black powder to rubber by the way. This is the legendary carbon black tire technology. It is said that this technology that appeared in the early 20th century can greatly improve the wear resistance of rubber tires.

The most important application of rubber is probably tires. Therefore, adding carbon black powder to vulcanized rubber is also an important direction of research. If the research is successful, it will directly enter the level of the early 20th century.

As for the more complex steel cord technology, Marin did not allow research. It's not that it can't be researched, but the cost of the high-performance steel wire is too high. Moreover, in the era when there were no heavy vehicles, the wheels and tires of carriages did not need high-grade tires with steel cords. If you can use carbon black to reinforce the rubber, it is considered a top match. After all, according to tests at the beginning of the 20th century, tires made of ordinary vulcanized natural rubber were almost worn out after driving 6,000 kilometers. And carbon black reinforced rubber, driving 100,000 kilometers is no problem.

Of course, it's not just tire technology. Marin also plans to use rubber to research life jackets and inflatable boats. After all, with the increase of ships from the North Sea country in the future, the issue of maritime navigation safety must also be taken seriously. If the sailors are equipped with life jackets and rubber boats, even if the ship hits a rock and sinks, the sailors will still have a chance to survive at sea with the life jackets and rubber boats until rescue arrives.

Therefore, the role of rubber is quite large, and we must pay attention to it...