Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 663: The Truth of Steel and the Laws of Heredity
Chapter 663: The Truth of Steel and the Laws of Heredity
TL: Rui88
“The element of carbon?”
Paul showed a somewhat exaggerated expression of curiosity.
Tennyson came to Paul’s side and placed a stack of papers on the table.
Paul quickly scanned through it. It was covered with dense text, detailing the alchemists’ experimental process.
What moved him was that the shadow of laboratory science had already appeared in it. New methods such as controlling variables and conducting control experiments were taking shape.
“We conducted countless experiments and can finally confirm that your suspicion about the so-called phlogiston was correct. In fact, when metal is calcined, no such thing as phlogiston escaping occurs. Rather, certain substances in the air combine with the metal, which is why the metal ash is heavier.”
Tennyson pointed his finger at the paper and explained it to Paul paragraph by paragraph.
“We will temporarily call this substance oxygen, but it is still not the key substance that turns iron into steel.”
“So we focused on the auxiliary material used in making steel—charcoal powder.”
“In the process from iron to steel, it is something in the charcoal that changes the properties of the metal.”
“So we continued our experiments…”
Tennyson spoke very quickly, forcing Paul to listen attentively.
“…We then studied other substances, such as coal, and even diamonds—which cost a lot of money—and burned them with the high heat generated by a convex lens.”
“The gas produced in this process produced the same phenomenon when mixed with limewater…”
“…Ultimately, we concluded that these things, including charcoal, contain a common simple substance—a form that cannot be further broken down into other substances. With your vast knowledge, you can easily understand the meaning of this—or element. We shall call it the element of carbon.”
“Carbon is the key factor in the transition from iron to steel.”
Tennyson cast aside his earlier restraint and waved his arms excitedly.
“Great Count Grayman, in this process, we even managed to overthrow the phlogiston theory as a side effect.”
“This will surely be recorded in history, and it all began with your suspicion of phlogiston last time.”
Paul stopped him from flattering him. “If you could, please focus on the research itself.”
“Oh, of course.” Tennyson regained a bit of his composure, but his face was still flushed.
“In summary, Count Grayman, as long as we control the carbon content in the metal, we can create all sorts of steel with different properties.”
Paul nodded with great satisfaction.
“With this theory as our guide, we can find or summarize a large-scale, rapid steel smelting process, instead of having craftsmen laboriously hammering with large iron hammers.”
“That is correct, Count Grayman. We already have an ironworks. I’m sure we can quickly build a steelworks on this foundation.”
Wells also joined the discussion, his eyes shining.
He had also contributed greatly to the experiment but did not want to steal his student’s thunder.
“Tsk, tsk, it’s unbelievable. The exquisite and expensive diamond and the pitch-black coal… are actually related.”
“Perhaps in the future, we can find a way to synthesize diamonds artificially. That would definitely make a fortune.”
“It’s exciting just to think about it.”
The three of them were deeply engrossed in their discussion, while Mariana, on the side, was somewhat surprised.
Large-scale steel smelting?
An image of thousands of knights in plate armor charging on horseback appeared in her mind.
But it was only a fleeting thought. She did not believe her son could truly find such a method.
Who knew if these two alchemists were just talking nonsense—Mariana had not understood much of what they had just said.
Hmm? The witch saw a surprising scene.
Paul’s eyes were actually moist with tears.
Just because of some gibberish from these two alchemists?
For a moment, a trace of annoyance rose in her heart. Her son’s eyes had not even welled up when he learned of her identity.
Slap!
What she did not know was that Paul’s emotion was not due to the conclusion itself, but to the process by which Tennyson and the others had reached it.
The alchemists had begun to rely on solid data, rigorous logic, and self-consistent calculations to find reasonable explanations step by step, rather than relying on the previous imaginative, “it seems to me” approach.
He slammed his hand on the table and said excitedly, “Tennyson! Your family, from this day forward, is free again!”
Tennyson immediately stood up from his chair and then knelt on one knee.
“Thank you, great Count Grayman!”
“You deserve it.” Paul smiled and extended his hand. “Please sit down. Let’s hear what surprise Vice-President Anderson has brought us.”
“Respected Lord, and gentlemen, it is an honor to present my findings to you here.”
Anderson similarly placed a stack of papers for Paul to look over.
When he introduced it, his tone was much gentler.
“During this time, I have been studying plants, focusing on the correlation of traits between their different generations.”
“We know that a child’s appearance always carries some of the parents’ characteristics. Cows, horses, and even various plants, the next generation is always influenced by the previous one.”
“I call this phenomenon heredity, and my research is to understand the laws within heredity.”
“At Count Grayman’s suggestion, I chose peas as the subject of my experiment, and this suggestion proved to be very useful.”
“After unremitting efforts, I have come to the following conclusions.”
“There is something I call a genetic factor that controls the traits of organisms. These genetic factors come from both parents and are divided into dominant and recessive…”
Anderson spoke in a calm tone, detailing his experimental process and the conclusions he had drawn.
Paul listened and felt there was no problem; what Anderson described basically conformed to Mendel’s theories.
Distinguishing appearances, selecting purebreds, the law of dominance, the law of segregation, the law of independent assortment, and so on.
Of course, considering the later development of genetics, there were bound to be errors in this, but in this world, such a discovery was already invaluable.
“I believe these conclusions can explain why the world’s creatures are so diverse. In addition, I have also discovered a major problem that has always existed in human society.”
Anderson’s expression became serious.
“The union between brother and sister is not permitted by our social ethics. It now seems that this is because our ancestors had already discovered that unions between close relatives have a high probability of producing problematic offspring. I think this can now be explained. It is because the closer the blood relationship, the greater the possibility that they carry the same defective genetic factors. When two defective genetic factors combine, the traits they control will inevitably be expressed as harmful.”
“But our ethics have a loophole, which is that they only prohibit unions between close relatives on the paternal side, while ignoring the maternal side. It now seems that genetic factors come from both parents, so not only can paternal cousins not marry, but the union of maternal cousins should also be disallowed.”
“I request that you immediately issue a decree to prohibit this phenomenon and to inform the other parts of the kingdom of our new findings.”
Paul nodded heavily. “This is a no-brainer. I will definitely accept your suggestion. This is what you call eugenics. I will order the Administration Council to draft a new decree later.”
He stood up, full of ambition.
“Anderson, your discovery is very important. Perhaps we can use the laws you’ve summarized to do some very meaningful things.”
“For example, in the areas of crop cultivation and livestock breeding…”
Especially in the situation of having to fight a war with the orcs.
AN: I’ve forgotten a lot of my chemistry and biology knowledge, so I wrote this randomly. Please forgive any errors.
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Chapter 663: The Truth of Steel and the Laws of Heredity
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