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Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Everything Uses Electricity

"Sir," said Captain Nemo, pointing to the instruments hanging on the wall of his room. These were the instruments necessary for the navigation of the Nautilus.Here as in the living room, I keep an eye on them, and these gauges show me my actual position and exact direction in the middle of the ocean.Some of these instruments are known to you, such as the thermometer, which indicates the temperature in the Nautilus, the anemometer, which measures the weight of the air and forecasts changes in the weather, the thermometer, which shows the dry temperature of the air; When the mixture in the mirror disintegrates, it foretells the approaching storm; the compass, to guide my course; the sextant, which measures the height of the sun, so that I know the latitude of the ship, and the longitude, which allows me to calculate the longitude of the ship; and finally It was a day telescope and a night telescope, and when the Nautilus was on the surface, I could scout all around the sky. "

"These are instruments commonly used by navigators," I replied. "I know their use. But there are other instruments here, which must have been used for the special needs of the Nautilus. The dial I see now, above There is a needle that can rotate, isn't that a fluid pressure gauge?" "It's a fluid pressure gauge. It communicates with the seawater and can indicate the pressure of the seawater outside. Therefore, I know the depth of my ship." "And what are those new testers for?" "Those are thermometers. They report to me the temperature of the various layers of water beneath the sea."

"And what about the instruments I can't guess the use for?" "Professor, I should explain to you at this point," said Captain Nemo. "Please listen to me." He was silent for a while, then said: "Here is a mighty motive force of ease, swiftness, and ease, which can be used in every way, on which everything on board depends. Everything is made of it. It gives me light, it gives me heat, it is my ship's machinery The soul. The prime mover is electricity." "Electricity!" I cried out in surprise. "Yes, sir." "However, Captain, the speed with which your ship is moving is not quite consistent with the power of electricity. So far, electricity is very limited and can only produce a fairly limited amount of power!"

"Professor," Captain Nemo replied, "my electricity is not ordinary electricity, and that is what I can say to you." "Sir, I don't want to ask any more questions. I just feel very strange about such an effect. But there is a question I want to ask. If it should not be asked, then you don't have to answer it. The method you use to produce this amazing driving force Of course, substances will be used up soon. For example, zinc, since you have no connection with the ground, how do you replenish it when it runs out?" "Your question can be answered." Captain Nemo replied, "First of all, let me tell you that there are deposits of zinc, iron, silver, gold and other minerals on the seabed, and it is not impossible to develop them. But I do not rely on land Of these metals, I just want the sea itself to supply me with the raw materials to produce electricity.

"Need the sea to supply it?" "Yes, Professor, I have a lot of ideas. For example, I can connect metal wires at different depths to form a circuit, and the different heats received by the metal wires will generate electricity: but I usually use another comparison. Convenient and practical approach." "Which way?" "You know the composition of seawater. 96.5 percent of a kilogram of seawater is water, about 2.7 percent is sodium chloride, and the rest is a small amount of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, Magnesium, Magnesium Sulphate, Sulfuric Acid and Carbolic Acid. So you can see that NaCl has a considerable amount in seawater. And what I extract from seawater is sodium, and that's what I use to make what I need ."

"Sodium?" "Yes, sir. Sodium is mixed with mercury and forms an alloy that replaces the zinc required in the Bunsen cell. The mercury is not lost, only the sodium is consumed, but the sea itself supplies the sodium I need. Besides I can also tell you that the sodium battery should be the strongest, and its electric power is several times stronger than that of the zinc battery." "Captain, I am quite aware of the superiority you have gained in this case of sodium. Sea water contains 6 pairs of sodium. But it has to be worked out, that is to say, brought out. How do you do it? Of course. Your battery can do the job, though if I'm not wrong, the amount of sodium that the electric machine consumes, I'm afraid, exceeds the amount of sodium that is raised. Then you end up consuming more sodium for production. Actually more than you The amount of sodium that can be produced is greater!"

"Professor, I don't use batteries for extraction, I simply use the heat of land-based coal. "On land?" I said emphatically. "Let's say it's coal from the bottom of the ocean," Captain Nemo replied. "Can you mine coal on the ocean floor?" "Mr. Aronnax, you will see me mine. I just ask you to be patient, because you have time, you can wait. I just ask you to pay attention to this: I take everything from the sea, use the sea Generate electricity to provide heat, light, and power to the Nautilus, in a word. Electricity gives life to the Nautilus."

"But electricity doesn't supply the air you breathe?" "Oh! I can also make air for my consumption, but there is no need, because I can float to the surface of the sea when I like. But although electricity does not supply me with air to breathe, it can start a powerful pump. , sending the air into a special airtight chamber, so that I can stay in the depths of the sea for as long as I want." "Captain," I replied, "I can only admire that you have clearly found what mankind may find in the future, and that is the real power of electricity." "I don't know if they'll ever find any of them," replied Captain Nemo dryly. "At any rate, you've seen my first practical application of this precious prime mover. There it is, with the sun The uniformity and continuity that light does not have illuminates us. Now, look at this clock, which is rotated by electricity, and it runs very accurately. It can compete with the most perfect and accurate clocks. I divide it For twenty-four hours, like a clock made in Italy; for to me there is neither day nor night, neither sun nor moon, but only this artificial light, which I can always bring to the bottom of the sea! See, It's ten o'clock in the morning."

"right." "Here is another use of electricity. This dial, hanging before us, is used to indicate the speed of the Nautilus. A wire connects it to the propeller of the rangefinder, and the long needle on it Show me the actual speed of the boat. Look, we're going at a moderate speed of fifteen knots at the moment." That's amazing. "I replied, "Captain, I understand the reason why you use this kind of motive force, because this motive force can replace wind, water and steam. "Mr. Aronnax, our work is not over yet," said Captain Nemo, standing up. "Please follow me, and we will go and see the rear of the Nautilus."

I have now seen the entire front of this submarine, from the center of the ship to the front of the ship, the correct division of the front half is as follows: a five-meter-long dining room, a partition, that is, a partition that cannot allow water to penetrate, and the It is separated from the library; the library is five meters long, the large drawing room is ten meters long, and a second partition separates it from the captain's cabin; the captain's cabin is five meters long; my room is two and a half meters long ; and finally the six-and-a-half-meter-long air chamber, which is attached to the bow.The total length of the first half is thirty-five meters.The waterproof partitions all have doors, and the rubber obturator closes the door tightly. Even if there is a leak, the safety of the Nautilus can be guaranteed. , I followed Captain Nemo, through the narrow passage at the side of the ship, to the center of the ship.There is a well-like opening between the two partitions in the center of the ship.Along the inner wall there is an iron ladder leading to the upper part of the well.I asked the captain what the ladder was for.

"It leads to the boat," he answered. "What! Do you still have a boat?" I said with some surprise. "Certainly. A fine boat, light and unsinkable, for excursions and fishing." "Then when you want to get into a boat, do you have to float to the surface?" "No need. The skiff is fastened to the upper part of the Nautilus's hull, in a recess specially designed to hide it. The skiff is fully decked, completely impermeable, and anchored by strong screws. Nailed. The iron ladder leads to a single hole in the hull of the Nautilus, which follows a hole of the same size in the hull of the boat. I get into the boat through these two holes. One person uses The pressure screw closed the porthole of the Nautilus, and at the same time I closed the porthole of the boat; I loosened the anchor, and the boat surfaced at a rapid speed. With the flaps closed, the mast erected, the sails unfurled or the oars drawn, I was roaming on the water. "But how do you get back to the ship?" "Mr. Aronnax, it is not I who return, but the Nautilus who returns to me." "It does what you say?" "It does what I say. A wire connects me to it. All I have to do is send a telegram." "Indeed," said I, intoxicated by these wonders, "there is nothing more convenient!" I walked through the ladder cage leading to the platform, and saw a two-meter-long cabin, Conseil and Ned.Lan and the two were gobbling up and eating their meal happily.Then another door led to the three-meter-long kitchen in the middle of the large pantry. In the kitchen, electricity is used for all cooking tasks, which is more efficient and convenient than gas.The wires are connected to the bottom of the stove, and the heat is transmitted to the platinum sheet, and the heat is distributed to various places to maintain a certain and regular temperature.The electricity heats up the distiller again, by.The sub-vaporization can supply people with clean drinking water.Adjacent to the kitchen was a bathroom, comfortably furnished, with taps in the room that could supply hot or cold water as one wished. Connecting to the kitchen is the crew's studio, which is five meters long.With the door closed, I couldn't see the interior, but it seemed to me that it was determined by the number of people needed to pilot the Nautilus. Inside, a fourth flashing separates this studio from the machinery.The door opened, and I entered a room in which Captain Nemo (who was undoubtedly a first-rate engineer) installed the various machinery for navigating the ship. The machine room, brightly lit, was more than twenty meters long.The interior is naturally divided into two parts: the first contains the raw materials for producing electricity, and the second contains the machinery that turns the propellers. As soon as I entered, I felt unaccustomed to the indescribable smell that filled the room.Captain Nemo saw my expression, and said: It's a gas from the breakdown of sodium; that's the only fly in the ointment.We always take the boat out of the water and ventilate it every morning to get rid of the gas. " At this time I studied with great interest the machinery and equipment of the Nautilus. "You see," said Captain Nemo to me, "I use a Bunsen cell device, not a Lankoff cell device, which is not very powerful. The Bunsen cell device is simple, but very powerful. , Experience has proved that this is indeed the case. The generated electricity is transmitted to the rear, so that the electromagnet with a large area will act on the special mechanism composed of levers and gear teeth to rotate the wheel shaft of the propeller, and the whole ship will move. Propel The diameter of the machine is six meters, the diameter of the turbine is seven and a half meters, and it can rotate one hundred and twenty revolutions per second. "And what is the maximum speed you can achieve?" "Can go as high as fifty knots an hour. There is a secret in it, but I don't insist on knowing it.How can electricity produce such a powerful force?Where did this almost unlimited power come from?Is this from the high voltage created by a new type of transformer?Or is it derived from a secret lever mechanism that can increase the rotation without limit?This is the problem that I can't understand. "Captain Nemo," I said, "I see the facts before me, and I don't want an explanation of those facts. I see the strength of the Nautilus moving ahead of the Lincoln, and I know her speed." But it’s not enough to make it move] We must also be able to see where it is going! We must also be able to direct it to the left, right, up, and down! How can you make it dive into the deepest seabed , because the resistance below the water is constantly increasing, it is calculated that there are tens of thousands of atmospheric pressure? How can you make it rise to the surface of the sea? Finally, how can you keep it at the depth you think is suitable? What? Is it presumptuous of me to ask you these questions?" "No offense, Professor," he answered me after a moment's hesitation, "because you cannot leave my submarine. Please come into the drawing room. The drawing room is our real working room, and in it you can Know everything you need to know about the Nautilus!"
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