War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"The disadvantages of the paddle wheel are too obvious. They are bulky, inefficient, and easily damaged. What's more terrible is that as a warship, the weakness of the paddle wheel is too easy for opponents to seize." Franz said.

"Inefficient? Isn't it much faster than paddling? Such continuous and stable power is exactly what people have been pursuing for thousands of years. How come it turns into bulky and inefficient waste in your mouth?" Free Derich retorted.

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

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

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

After that, Thalia filled up the legal regulations on the boat model and put the boat into the lake in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The boat traveled 15 meters and stopped.

As a glue guy, Friedrich was very excited to see the wind-up boat moving in the lake. He had never seen such a delicate toy and couldn't help but feel envious.

Can it not be exquisite? Franz found more than a dozen experts and took a month to build it.

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

Franz did not continue to take care of the first boat, but asked the servants to row out 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 was a movable paddle wheel.

"Mobile paddle wheel: Its paddle is connected to the wheel body in a hinged manner, and performs compound motion through eccentricity, because its paddle can enter and exit the water at a suitable angle, which improves efficiency. The thrust generated by the movable paddle wheel is slightly It is inferior to the fixed paddle wheel, but it is better in that it consumes less power and is more durable.”

Thalia filled the second boat with wind and put it 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 was still very disdainful. After all, he had systematically studied shipbuilding knowledge. The shortcomings of this movable paddle wheel were too obvious, that is, it was too exposed and difficult to repair. There was no need for the opponent to use cannons at all, as long as there were a few An unlucky crew member could jam it if he fell into the water.

And he really doesn’t think that a ship without a paddle wheel can be better than a ship with a paddle wheel. Now the mainstream development direction of steam ships in the world is paddle wheels. Is the whole world wrong?

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

Friedrich also noticed this small device just now, but did not think of its use. 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 separate to the left and right, but should be One in tandem, or a circular paddle wheel is suitable, so as to provide forward power.

Franz handed the ship model to Thalia, who filled 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 an untimely death.

The Habsburg family is really similar to the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty. Archduke Karl and his son both fell into the water and died, Archduke Friedrich fell into the water and drowned, and Archduke Karl fell into the water and died of pneumonia.

Returning to his seat, Friedrich carefully studied the design of the third ship, and finally asked reluctantly.

"What is this spiral object?"

"Propeller." Franz replied calmly.

"What a great name. It's really powerful. Can you tell me why?" Friedrich asked, putting away his previous arrogance.

In fact, Friedrich also disliked the design of paddle wheels very much. The reason why there are no giant paddle wheel warships in the world is not that the technology is not up to par, but that there are too many problems and the weaknesses are too obvious.

The mainstream strategy in this era is to grab the T, occupy a superior position, and then fire from the side.

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

"Miss Thalia, please explain to Grand Duke Friedrich." Franz was a little brat in Friedrich's eyes, but in Franz's eyes he also felt that Friedrich was a brat, a brat. The kid should find someone he can easily accept.

Thalia's IQ was not bad. After asking Doppler to do some physics knowledge, she understood the working principle of the propeller.

"Grand Duke Friedrich, many processes in physics are reversible. A windmill can be blown by water, which in turn can blow out wind. Where the flow speed is high, the pressure is low. When the propeller rotates, a flow speed difference will be formed, thus generating pressure. Poor, it creates momentum.”

Thalia explained while fiddling with the propeller on the ship model.

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

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

Perhaps a new era is coming, an era dominated by 10,000-ton giant ships, an era with speeds exceeding 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. With this technology, our Austrian Empire will definitely be able to surpass Spain and Sardinia. If the French cannot follow up in time, they will also be defeated by us. Franz, you must do this This technology is kept secret.”

"Actually, this technology was invented by a British engineer, but he has not applied for a patent yet. If you want, you can grab his patent rights." Franz replied calmly.

"Damn British guys! How can there be so many geniuses in that barren place? When will we catch up with the British Navy?" Friedrich accidentally said his true words.

A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a marshal who also does not want to compete with the British cannot build a truly powerful fleet.

"Don't worry, they don't have a commander as good as you, nor do they have the courage to embrace new things." Franz said.

In fact, the British Navy debated the propeller internally 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 compliment." At this time, Archduke Friedrich really recognized Franz. This was the first time he had seen someone who was younger than him, smarter, more far-sighted, and more ambitious. See Come on, you really lost.

"I hope my little toy can be helpful to your naval reform. I would like to remind you that the Egyptians are expanding their arms and preparing for war. They are not satisfied with the Treaty of Kutahya. In order to maintain the dignity of the great power, the Austrian Empire, you A navy is a must.”

Friedrich knew the power of the Egyptian navy and also understood that the current situation of the Austrian navy was not enough to cope with the crisis. He hesitated and said.

"Franz, you are a true descendant of the Habsburg family. Compared with you, I am really insignificant. I have a merciless request."

Franz couldn't adapt to Friedrich's sudden formality, but he still spoke.

"If I can, I will definitely help."

Friedrich took courage and said.

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