Chapter 46

Since the contract had been largely approved, the remaining details were quickly finalized. Three days later, both parties officially signed the contract. According to the agreement, Will stayed in Ryukyu as the initial technical advisor.

Lin Yuan hoped that Will could start the training as soon as possible, but Will said, "That's difficult because I need to translate a batch of materials for you. I know you have people in Ryukyu who speak English, but I don't think anyone can translate these technical documents, as they are too difficult for you."

Lin Yuan almost burst out laughing when he heard this. He barely managed to hold back his laughter and said, "Give us the materials, and we'll translate them for you to review. If they are suitable, we'll start the training as soon as possible."

Will agreed without hesitation, thinking to himself, "These people can't possibly understand these things."

Lin Yuan took the materials and went to find the scientists and engineers on the ship, hoping they could help with the translation. He also shared Will's words as a joke, and everyone laughed it off. However, Su Zhengming got angry when he heard it and said, "Help me call that foreigner over. I want to discuss some technical issues with him!"

Lin Yuan quickly laughed and said, "Old Mr. Su, don't take that foreigner seriously. You have more important things to do. We need to produce many items, and we need a lot of materials. I hope you can give us a rough list. I know this is a difficult task, but only you can handle it."

Su Zhengming laughed and said, "You've come to the right person. At our level, most scholars have deep knowledge, but not broad knowledge. I'm one of the few who have both."

Lin Yuan agreed repeatedly. In China, people with science and engineering backgrounds rarely have poor English skills because they need to read a lot of English materials. Therefore, with the efforts of multiple scientists and engineers, the translation was completed quickly.

With Shang Tai's help, the first batch of fifty students was quickly recruited. These people had some cultural knowledge and could at least read, which was already quite impressive in this country. Thus, the training began in just a few days.

For the first class, Lin Yuan specially found Liu Jinqiu and said, "Old Mr. Liu, could you please attend the class and see how the technology of this era differs from ours?"

Liu Jinqiu laughed and said, "Don't call me Old Mr. Liu; just call me Professor Liu. I taught at a university for my whole life, and it feels great to be called a professor! Since the captain has asked, I will definitely go."

Lin Yuan said, "Professor Liu, if that foreigner says anything incorrect, please bear with him."

Liu Jinqiu laughed and said, "I won't take that foreigner seriously."

Thermodynamics is the foundation of almost all metallurgical sciences, so Will's first class started with some basic concepts of thermodynamics. He said, "What is heat? We often see examples in our daily lives, such as a pot of hot water gradually cooling down. Why does this happen? Heat is a weightless substance that can flow freely within objects. The density of this substance is temperature. In places with higher temperatures, the density of heat is greater. Why does hot water cool down? Because heat flows from areas of high density to areas of low density."

When Lin Yuan heard this, he knew that this was the "caloric theory" that once dominated the history of thermodynamics. This theory was later refuted by the "kinetic theory," which posits that heat is a form of motion. The kinetic theory was proposed in the early 19th century, but it took another hundred years to completely refute the caloric theory.

At this point, Lin Yuan saw Liu Jinqiu slam his hand on the table and shout, "You're talking nonsense!"

Will was stunned. When he saw this unassuming old man sitting in the classroom, he thought he was a janitor. His gentlemanly demeanor prevented him from asking the old man to leave, but now the old man was slamming the table and shouting at him, which left him bewildered!

Lin Yuan didn't know that this Old Mr. Liu was usually very easy-going, but when it came to academics, he was even more serious than Su Zhengming!

Liu Jinqiu stood up and said, as if scolding a child who couldn't count to ten, "How can heat be a substance? I ask you: if heat is a substance, why does friction generate heat?"

Will, taken aback by the old man's aggressive questioning, said, "During friction, debris is produced, and the caloric is released with the debris."

Liu Jinqiu asked again, "What if I use a transmission mechanism to make two ice blocks, immersed in ice water, rub against each other, will they generate heat?"

Will thought for a moment and said, "They should generate heat."

Liu Jinqiu said, "How can they generate heat? In ice water, the temperature is zero degrees, and the density of caloric is uniform. No matter how much they rub, they won't generate heat."

Will was really panicked now. He understood the problem, which was a clear paradox! If he said the ice blocks wouldn't generate heat, it would also be wrong because friction would release caloric.

At this point, Liu Jinqiu walked up to the podium and said, "Students, don't be misled by the caloric theory. Remember, there is no such thing as caloric in this world. Heat, fundamentally, is a form of motion!"

Liu Jinqiu stood on the podium, as if he were back in his familiar university. He reached out to grab a piece of chalk but realized that there was no chalk in this era. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and leaned on the table to say, "Students, after understanding the essence of heat, we can learn about iron and steel smelting. Heat is essential in both iron and steel smelting. Where does the heat for iron smelting come from? From the combustion of coke! This heat is used to melt iron ore, which comes in many types, such as magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3). Where does this melting process take place? In a blast furnace. After the molten iron is produced in the blast furnace, we perform desulfurization and dephosphorization treatments and then send the molten iron to the steel furnace, where steel is produced..."

He explained the basic process of steel production in simple terms, captivating everyone. Then he said, "This is the basic theory. In actual production, many technical issues will arise. Please copy the materials I have."

The materials were those translated by the scientists and engineers organized by Lin Yuan. Liu Jinqiu glanced through them and frowned, saying, "There are many errors in these materials. For example, it says that the silicon content in molten iron can be slightly higher because silicon can act as a heat source. This is incorrect. The lower the silicon content, the better for desulfurization and dephosphorization, and it also reduces the amount of slag produced!"

Liu Jinqiu, standing from a modern perspective, pointed out the shortcomings of 19th-century steel production techniques. By the time he reached his fifth point, he saw Lin Yuan signaling to him repeatedly and said, somewhat embarrassed, "That's it for today."

Will was thoroughly impressed. He couldn't understand why an old man from Ryukyu knew so much. As everyone left, he ran over to Liu Jinqiu and asked, "How do you know so much?"

Lin Yuan laughed and said, "Because he is Chinese."

Will quickly exclaimed, "Oh! Amazing East! Amazing Chinese!"