Chapter 429 - Batteries and Timekeeping

The Crossing Group's desire for telegraph machines was immense, but Dr. Zhong correctly observed that their leapfrog advances in mechanical and chemical engineering remained insufficient to support the development of electrical science. The road ahead was long.

At present, the Crossing Group had established an electrical application system far surpassing anything in this space-time—a simple power generation and distribution network, wireless radio, semi-automatic and manual telephone exchange systems, and cellular networks. Yet all of this rested upon equipment from the twenty-first century.

Compared with the mechanical industry, which could now manufacture various simple machine tools, standard parts, and bearings, the Crossing Group's electrical industry was essentially a blank slate. Forget the simplest equipment—merely mass-producing electrical wire had only recently been accomplished. The insulating material employed a crude mixture of raw lacquer and tung oil as its basic ingredients. This substance was currently barely adequate for telephone lines. Zhong Lishi believed it would probably not pose too great a problem for wired telegraph. And wired telegraph was precisely what he had chosen to develop.

Why wired telegraph first? Dr. Zhong explained his reasoning thus: First, wired telegraph was the easiest communication equipment to manufacture using crude methods. Many had seen simple wired telegraph equipment in The Mysterious Island. Though the manufacturing process depicted there was overly simplified, Dr. Zhong believed the basic concept was sound. With his abilities and the equipment at his disposal, he should be able to produce something superior. Manual exchange telephones might appear technically simpler, but manufacturing the telephones themselves required overcoming certain technical difficulties. Second, wired telegraph offered a low error rate and reliable transmission. Though the radio environment in this space-time was remarkably clean, various weather-related interferences persisted. In truth, most commercial, civilian, and military telegrams in the past had traveled via wired telegraph networks.

Had Dr. Zhong crossed over alone and empty-handed, this work would have proven exceedingly difficult—he would have needed to rebuild an entire system of crude chemical industry while also relying on a metal smelting industry that, however primitive, at least existed. Manufacturing electrical instruments would have been an extraordinarily arduous task. But now he possessed various testing instruments and equipment brought from across space-time, along with a fairly modern industrial system. Manufacturing wired telegraph would not be terribly hard.

First, he needed to address the power source. The Crossing Group's power supply ran on alternating current, which obviously failed to meet the requirements of a basic telegraph machine. The power source problem had to be solved. Originally, this was not a significant obstacle—whether hand-cranked generators or lead-acid batteries, the Planning Commission's warehouse held ample stock. But Dr. Zhong resolved to develop a power source resting entirely on the Crossing Group's industrial foundation. The twenty-first century inventory would run out eventually.

For the battery, he settled on the technically least demanding Daniell cell. This battery consisted of a copper cylinder containing a porous container within. The copper cylinder served as the positive electrode, while a zinc rod inside the porous container acted as the negative electrode. Dilute sulfuric acid was poured into the porous container, with saturated copper sulfate solution outside.

The design proved quite successful. It avoided the acid mist problem common to early batteries, could operate for extended periods without supervision, and delivered stable voltage output. Moreover, the electrodes did not corrode and could function for considerable time.

The Daniell cell served as the primary power source for telegraph machines until 1875. Though its output voltage was only two volts, a ten-cell battery sufficed to power a telegraph machine for long, stable operation. Its greatest drawback was that it could not be recharged. After discharging, the liquid had to be refilled and maintained, causing significant environmental pollution and affecting operators' health. Yet compared to the voltaic pile, which could only serve as a laboratory curiosity, this battery possessed high practical value.

All raw materials for the Daniell cell could be supplied by Crossing industry. Zinc was the "Japanese lead" of this space-time. The Crossing Group had imported large quantities of low-purity Japanese lead from Guangdong and re-smelted and purified it—the Manufacturing Committee had originally planned to use it for tinplate.

After Dr. Zhong provided the design, the machine factory quickly produced a prototype. The battery's outer container was fashioned from glass. Glass offered superior corrosion resistance and leak prevention compared to ordinary materials; its only disadvantage was fragility. Fortunately, a typical wired telegraph machine would not be moved about frequently.

With the finished product in hand, Zhong Lishi conducted a short-circuit spark discharge test to verify that the battery functioned. He connected two rubber-coated copper wires to the two electrodes, donned protective gloves against electric shock, and slowly brought the wires together until they touched. A minuscule electric spark, barely visible to the naked eye, flashed for an instant at the point of contact. The spark was so small it required careful observation to detect.

He then measured the battery with a multimeter. The output voltage held steady at two volts—the Daniell cell was a complete success. Dr. Zhong immediately christened it the "Zhong Model 1 Battery." He called it "Model 1" because he planned to continue appropriating subsequent achievements—such as rechargeable lead-acid batteries.

The Zhong Model 1 Battery still had room for improvement. Subsequently, using information from technical materials he had studied, he processed and manufactured zinc sulfate solution to replace the dilute sulfuric acid. This approach was said to extend the life of the zinc rod. He had the machine factory produce another prototype, intending to run both batteries simultaneously to determine whether the claim held true.

With Dr. Zhong absorbed in battery research and wired telegraphy, Lingao had to continue relying on the traditional method of sounding steam whistles for public time announcements. Timekeeping had not been emphasized by the Crossing Group in the past; they had simply continued using Beijing time brought from the other space-time.

Before crossing over, the Transmigrators, except for a few special-purpose locations, had replaced their timepieces with mechanical ones and also brought a large quantity of mechanical watches as reserves. All public and private timepieces were uniformly calibrated to Beijing time, calculated from the Greenwich time displayed on the marine chronometer aboard the Fengcheng.

To provide public time announcements for natives and Transmigrators alike, steam whistles sounded four times daily at six o'clock, twelve o'clock, eighteen o'clock, and midnight at the thermal power stations in Bairen Castle and Bopu. Within Bairen Castle and Bopu Harbor, the Lingao wired broadcasting station provided hourly time announcements.

Now they realized that continuing with this time system was no longer necessary. First, Lingao and Beijing occupied different time zones. Second, on the future political map of the Crossing Group, Beijing—located in the far north, with a poor natural environment and no sea access—enjoyed no special status. Some extremists had already proposed changing its name to "Youzhou" once the crossing enterprise succeeded in China.

After several discussions, the research group led by Wang Luobin concluded that they could begin using local time in Lingao—specifically, the time of the East Seventh time zone.

"To be honest, I fail to see what practical significance switching from East Eighth to East Seventh has for us—beyond satisfying certain people's inexplicable preferences." Ma Qianzhu did not understand this change, driven more by psychology than practicality.

"There's no harm in it," Wang Luobin replied. "At minimum, timekeeping will be more precise. After all, there's a one-hour difference. Besides, some people even want to adopt Lingao time instead of Greenwich time."

"No, absolutely not. If we changed that, an entire pile of technical materials would require modification. Far too troublesome." Wen Desi had no interest in this proposal either.

Wang Luobin had no desire to change Greenwich time either. At present, their most precise time was the Greenwich time on the Fengcheng's marine chronometer. Switching to Lingao time would likely prove less accurate than the original.

"We need to establish an observatory in Lingao," Wang Luobin said.

The significance of establishing an observatory was, of course, not to observe Halley's Comet or search for signs of extraterrestrial life. The basic purpose of the Crossing Group's observatory was the same as the ancients'—primarily to serve precise calendars and timekeeping.

"Not just an observatory, but also a weather station," Ma Qianzhu suggested. "Weather forecasting is tremendously important to us. We require not only a weather station but also a meteorological monitoring network."

"And hydrological stations," Wen Desi added, remembering that Yanque Zhi had mentioned the need to collect hydrological data on Lingao's main rivers. At minimum, full-watershed observation stations needed to be established across the Wenlan River basin.

"Very well, let us make this a systematic long-term plan." Wen Desi spread out the large-scale map of Lingao. "The observatory can be located in the Gaoshan Ridge area."

"Isn't that area planned for animal husbandry?"

"Besides animal husbandry, the observatory and weather station can go there as well. I propose making the Gaoshan Ridge area our construction priority for the next phase," Wen Desi continued. "We should relocate our research institutions and archives to the mountainous area—it's easier to secure. Should an enemy launch an attack, Bairen Castle could become a battlefield. With flat ground on all sides, comprehensive defense is difficult."

There was also the matter of typhoons in Lingao. Thus far, the Crossing Group had not experienced one. According to warnings from several amateur meteorologists, late summer and early autumn marked the peak period for typhoons striking Lingao. Though Lingao was among the coastal areas of Hainan Island with relatively fewer typhoons, their power was not to be underestimated. They frequently caused flooding. The Crossing Group's main bases were situated either at harbors or beside rivers, rendering them vulnerable to such disasters. The Gaoshan Ridge area suffered far less wind damage and faced lower flooding risks. As for mudslides, the staff at the Grand Library had searched through all available materials and found no such records in the Gaoshan Ridge area. By all indications, it was a safe location.

Gaoshan Ridge boasted abundant water sources, an excellent natural environment, and temperatures milder than the Wenlan River basin. The geological conditions were highly stable—during the era of "dig deep tunnels and store plenty of grain," the local garrison had excavated large wartime caves there. Gaoshan Ridge possessed certain feasibility as a strategic reserve base for the Crossing Group.

(End of Chapter)