When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 693 - 651: Spring Machine?

The person who proposed this plan was a scholar named Leonardo, whom Horn didn't have a strong impression of.

He first learned of the name because he almost got mistakenly injured during the "Lightning Slime" incident. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Horn only remembered the scholar as an engineer who had arrived with the teachers and students from River Island Royal University.

Standing on the stage, Leonardo appeared to be in his thirties, using a wide-brimmed hat to cover the Mediterranean on his forehead, speaking eloquently.

He stepped onto the podium under the recommendation of the Director of the Industrial Department and was initially a bit awkward, but when he spoke of things he was familiar with, he suddenly became fluent.

"...Based on the characteristics of mountain copper, it's commonly believed that the best way for an individual to use mountain copper is mana winding, i.e., infusing mana to soften it before winding.

With human strength alone, unless they are at the level of a Titled Knight, it is almost impossible to wind it.

But after a month of research, I noticed something. Though mountain copper can be wound with mana, it doesn't mean it can only be wound with mana, could it not be wound directly using the water power from a dam?"

I must mention, people in Windmill Land have long used windmills as mills, and in Hotam County of Thousand River Valley, water mills are everywhere.

But these mills all share a common feature: they are used in fixed locations and cannot be transported."

Seeing many high-level big shots intrigued, Leonardo gave a crooked smile.

"Based on my calculations for small springs, a 30-pound mountain copper spring can lift 170 pounds of water 10 meters in 10 seconds, which apart from the Saint's Grandson, nobody's mana can achieve.

But if we utilize the massive water power of the Ni Ao River's elevation difference, it can seal this flood-like power within the spring.

From winding to unwinding a 30-pound mountain copper spring, if using a flywheel, it takes about an hour but can lift 40,000 pounds of water or 1,600 pounds of iron ore.

Once exhausted, we simply disassemble it and replace it with another new mountain copper spring, providing continuous power, even rivaling star cast gears."

Upon hearing this, Horn couldn't help but brighten his eyes.

While star cast gears, due to their theoretical 95% efficiency, can somewhat benchmark against electric motors, this spring machine is now benchmarked against the steam engine in practical terms.

Because steam engines convert thermal energy to mechanical energy, resulting in significant losho in coal, even until 1840, the highest efficiency of steam engines was only 8%.

But the spring machine is pure mechanical energy conversion, with an estimated 65% efficiency for the Saint's Gun firing lead shot according to Horn's calculations.

If possible, Horn would certainly prefer to follow the steam engine path familiar to him, but the problem is water vapor in this world simply can't push pistons.

Normally, steam engines essentially involve coal heating a cylinder, where the steam formed by boiling pushes a piston, leveraging that force.

Yet the water vapor here, when under pressure, simply disappears, with the cylinder's front and back mass noticeably inconsistent, a void permeation phenomenon.

It can manage lifting a thin iron lid, but handling a 100-pound load is tough, let alone 1 horsepower.

The prototype of the peat-driven steam engine crafted by Hilov had an efficiency of less than 0.5%, with over 99% of thermal energy wasted.

Though star cast gears are good, they can only be concentrated on the Autumn Dusk Island, unable to form a scalable effect, which is a headache for Horn, prompting him to consider if an island could be industrialized.

According to Leonardo's idea, spring machines can effectively fill this gap.

But Horn quickly discovered a flaw.

The advantage of springs is their avoidance of thermal to kinetic energy loss, but the disadvantage is coal provides locked energy continuously, can springs do that?

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Haimodin to stand up, displeased, asking, "What about the locking mechanism? After winding the spring, it's always in a state ready for activation, can you stop time to transport it?"

Leonardo looked straight and answered her, "The locking mechanism of a spring gun must use high-pressure-resistant steel to ensure the weapon's weight is not exceeded.

But spring engines aren't weapons, why not just use direct material locking? North Mangde County's quality mineral veins are in your hands, don't you lack iron?"

The engineers who followed Haimodin immediately fell silent, indeed, the mines they possess aren't just the Mayo Town mine but all of North Mangde County's mines.

Not only are there many mines, but also rivers are abundant, so water drainage in mines is a major issue, but spring machines can precisely solve this problem.

Looking at each other, they found they had indeed overlooked this point.

Since they all emerged from making spring guns, their thought patterns were stuck in the path from spell energy to potential energy and then kinetic energy.

Who would have thought it possible to directly use dam water power to wind large springs?

Not only these engineers, but even Horn couldn't help but be surprised.

Reflecting on it, he realized he had ignored this simplest of issues.

Originally, they only had one county or even one island, so metal resources were quite scarce, and they had to economize.

But now, with alchemical reaction vessels greatly reducing losses during the alchemy process, and Horn occupying the entire Thousand River Valley, the metal resources he can mobilize are more than ten times what they used to be.

Furthermore, North Mangde County's extensive iron ore excavation for war has resulted in higher mineral output than in past years.

The Leia Kingdom blocked rivers and roads, the Pope imposed absolute prohibition, so iron ore in North Mangde County couldn't be sold, causing steel prices to plummet.

To ensure the interests of mine owners and the Steel Guild, Horn even has to "waste" some more.

In this way, past designs that were theoretically viable but conditionally unsuitable can now be tested, can't they?

In that instant, numerous ideas previously blocked by resource and condition limitations sprang to Horn's mind.

Such as spring-driven tanks, spring-driven locomotives, spring-driven forging presses and blowers, even spring cannons...

Most importantly, he could finally transition from dense industrial to discrete industrial, significantly saving transportation costs.

In this vast Pope Country, with so many people, why only now did they react?

Is it because many monks fell into the same cognitive trap, or did his authority deter monks from voicing opinions?

What happened to the Pope Country? Is it a systemic issue? Horn couldn't help but ponder.

Regardless of which, this engineer breaking through such barriers, even designing a dam turbine to wind springs in one go, was enough to pique Horn's interest.

"Compile his file and intelligence, place them in my office by tomorrow morning," Horn instructed René beside him as he turned.

"Understood, Your Majesty." René immediately nodded.