The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven Chapter 45

"The disadvantages of the paddle wheel are too obvious. It is bulky, inefficient, and easy to damage. What's more terrible is that as a warship, the weakness of the paddle wheel is too easy to be caught by the opponent." Franz said.

"Inefficiency? Isn't it much faster than paddling? Such a continuous and stable power is exactly what people have been pursuing for thousands of years. How come it becomes a bulky and inefficient waste in your mouth?" Free Delici countered.

"Talia" Franz called out. Franz knew that it would not be so easy to convince the other party, so he prepared a big fish tank in advance.

The two maids cleared a space on the table, and then Thalia put the glass fish tank on it, filled it with clean water, and took out two model boats with paddle wheels and put them on it.

"The first one is a fixed paddle wheel with paddle wheels on both sides. It is characterized by simple structure and easy maintenance. The disadvantage is that the efficiency is too low: the paddle board presses water when it enters the water, and lifts water before it exits the water, so Most of the energy is wasted, so its diameter is often made very large, and the depth of entering the water generally does not exceed 1/2 of the radius."

Afterwards, Thalia filled the boat model with legal strips and put the boat into the lake in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The boat stopped after traveling 15 meters.

As an old man, Friedrich was very excited to see the wind-up boat sailing on the lake. He had never seen such an exquisite toy, and he couldn't help feeling a little envious.

Can it be refined? Franz found more than a dozen experts, and it took a month to build it.

In fact, the craftsmanship is not that complicated, but these experts feel that it should be perfect, and they even sent the boat to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts for retouching.

Franz did not continue to take care of the first boat, but let the servants row to fetch it.

Thalia took out the second boat and put it into the water. The paddle wheel of this small boat was at the stern, and it was a movable paddle wheel.

"Active paddle wheel: Its paddle board is connected with the wheel body in a hinged manner, and performs compound motion through eccentricity, because its paddle board can enter and exit the water at a suitable angle, which improves efficiency. The thrust generated by the movable paddle wheel is slightly Inferior to fixed paddle wheels, but superior in that it consumes less power and lasts longer."

Thalia put the second fully wound boat into the water. Although the speed of the boat was not as fast as the previous one, it sailed a total of 25 meters before stopping.

Friedrich still showed great disdain. After all, he had systematically studied shipbuilding knowledge. The disadvantages of this movable paddle wheel were too obvious, that is, it was too exposed and difficult to maintain. There was no need for the opponent to bombard him. An unlucky crew member can get stuck in the water.

And he really didn't think that a ship without a paddle wheel would be better than a ship with a paddle wheel. Now the mainstream direction of steamship development in the world is the paddle steamer. Could it be that the whole world is wrong?

Franz picked up the third boat and pointed to a fan-shaped object at the tail.

Friedrich also noticed this small device just now, but he didn't think of its purpose. It should be some kind of auxiliary power device, but the direction is wrong. If it is to provide forward power, its fan blades should not be separated from the left and right, it should be One in front and one in back, or a round paddle wheel is right, so as to provide forward momentum.

Franz gave the model boat to Thalia, and Thalia fully wound the clockwork and put it into the lake. The boat sailed forty meters before stopping.

Friedrich stood up in surprise, and wanted to jump into the lake to see what happened.

Fortunately, Thalia grabbed the belt and escaped the fate of an untimely death.

To say that the Habsburg family is really similar to the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Duke Karl and his son both fell into the water and died, the Grand Duke Friedrich drowned, and the Grand Duke Karl died of pneumonia after falling into the water.

Back on his seat, Friedrich carefully studied the design of the third ship, and finally asked with some reluctance.

"What is this spiral object?"

"Propeller." Franz replied flatly.

"Good name, it's really powerful, can you tell me why?" Friedrich put away his previous arrogance and asked.

In fact, Friedrich also disliked the paddle wheel design very much. The reason why there are no giant paddle wheel battleships in the world is not that the technology is not good enough, but that there are too many problems and obvious weaknesses.

The mainstream tactics of this era is to grab t, occupy a dominant position, and then fire broadside.

And that huge paddle wheel is undoubtedly the easiest target to destroy, and once a paddle wheel warship loses its paddle wheel, it will be no different from an ordinary warship, or even a burden.

"Miss Thalia, please explain to Archduke Friedrich." Franz was a kid in Friedrich's eyes, and in Franz's eyes, Friedrich was also a kid. The fart boy should find someone he can accept easily.

Thalia's IQ is not bad. After asking Doppler for a surprise physics knowledge, she understood the working principle of the propeller.

"Arch Duke Friedrich, many processes in physics are reversible. A windmill can be blown by water, and then wind can be blown in reverse. Where the flow velocity is high, the pressure is low. When the propeller rotates, a flow velocity difference will be formed, thereby generating pressure. Poor, build momentum."

Thalia fiddled with the propeller on the model ship while explaining.

The slender fingers and his favorite model ship are a perfect match, and Friedrich is almost drunk.

Friedrich immediately recognized that this design would change the Austrian Empire and even the laws of naval warfare.

Maybe a new era is coming, an era dominated by giant ships with tons of tons, an era with a speed of more than 20 knots.

In fact, this was Friedrich's fantasy. It was not until 1858 that the first 10,000-ton ship was launched.

"This is really a genius design. Our Austrian Empire has this technology, and it will definitely surpass Spain and Sardinia. If the French cannot follow up in time, they will also lose to us. Franz, you must be careful about this The technology is kept secret."

"Actually, this technology was invented by a British engineer, but he has not yet applied for a patent. If you want, you can go to grab his patent right~ www.mtlnovel.com~ Franz replied calmly.

"Damn old British! How can there be so many geniuses in that place where the birds don't shit? When will we catch up with the British Navy." Friedrich accidentally said the truth.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier, and an admiral who doesn't want to compete with the old British can't build a truly powerful fleet.

"Don't worry, they don't have an excellent commander like you, nor do they have the courage to embrace new things." Franz said.

In fact, the British Navy internally debated the propeller for nearly 20 years before reaching a final conclusion. As long as Austria does not use propellers on a large scale in civilian industry, the British will not care too much.

"Thank you for your praise." At this time, Archduke Friedrich really recognized Franz. This was the first time he saw someone who was younger than him, smarter, more far-sighted, and more generous. It turns out that I really lost.

"I hope my little toy can help your naval reform. I want to remind you that the Egyptians are expanding their armies and preparing for war. They are not satisfied with the Treaty of Kutahia. In order to maintain the dignity of the great power, your The Navy is a must."

Friedrich knew the strength of the Egyptian navy and understood that the status quo of the Austrian navy was not enough to deal with the crisis. He hesitated and said.

"Frantz, you are a true descendant of the Habsburg family, and I am too small compared to you. I have an unkind request."

Friedrich was suddenly so formal, Franz couldn't get used to it, but he still spoke.

"If possible, I will help."

Friedrich summoned up his courage and said.

"I would like to hire Miss Thalia as a special advisor to our navy."

Chapter end