pdf-ebookys Chapter 888
Chapter 888
Although his thoughts were interrupted by Wei Wu, Xu Miao was not angry. Instead, he immediately looked up.
Just like making ice from saltpeter, why gunpowder explodes is also a question that Xu Miao is very curious about.
The reason why he raised these two questions just now was because they were very difficult, so difficult that he himself did not understand them.
His original plan was to stump Wei Wu with his questions, and when Wei Wu couldn't answer, he would immediately turn around and leave.
Even if he himself does not know the answer to the question, he can prevent the other party from having the opportunity to ask him.
But he never expected that the question he couldn't understand was answered easily by Wei Wu.
In fact, he really wanted to ask why saltpeter could absorb heat.
But the gunpowder explosion was also a question that he was curious about, so he simply said nothing and waited for Wei Wu to announce the answer.
And Wei Wu did not disappoint him. He slowly spoke in anticipation:
"The essence of gunpowder explosion is a violent redox reaction, which generates a large amount of high-temperature gas and expands in a very short time."
"If you place gunpowder in a confined space, the hot gases will be trapped, creating a high-pressure environment."
"When this confinement reaches its limit, it will break, and the high temperature and high pressure will be released instantly, causing an explosion."
It was different from the saltpeter ice making just now. Xu Miao could still understand some of it just now, but now it was like he was listening to a foreign language.
He understood high temperature, but he had no idea what high pressure was, nor did he understand redox reactions and gas expansion.
He knew these words individually, but when they were put together, they felt incredibly unfamiliar to him.
While Xu Miao was puzzled, Wei Wu continued to speak.
"When saltpeter is heated, it decomposes to produce oxygen. Sulfur and charcoal act as reducing agents, burning violently with oxygen."
"This reaction takes a very short time and is completed in an instant, and the expanding high-temperature gas is released instantly."
Wei Wu stopped talking here, looked at Xu Miao, and said with a hint of amusement:
"Given your understanding of things, you basically don't understand what I'm saying, so I'll say it again in a way you understand."
"Nitrate is the most yin, sulfur the most yang. These two divine objects of yin and yang meet in a place where there is no room for them to be contained. When they emerge, those who encounter them will be shocked and their souls will be scattered and their spirits will be crushed to pieces!"
Wei Wu's words actually come from "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", but the author, Song Yingxing, lived two hundred years later.
So Xu Miao had never heard of this before, but after all, he was studying alchemy, so he could still understand the meaning.
However, compared to Wei Wu's later explanation, which he could understand, Xu Miao was more concerned about the earlier explanation, which he could not understand.
Although he didn't understand, he had a feeling that as long as he figured this out, he would be able to understand the nature of gunpowder explosion.
Compared to knowing the facts, Xu Miao wants to know the reasons behind them!
With this desire for new knowledge, Xu Miao immediately wanted to speak out the doubts in his heart.
However, Wei Wu also saw what he was thinking, but did not give him a chance to speak.
Before Xu Miao opened his mouth, he said:
"I have answered all your questions. Whether you can understand the meaning of them with your knowledge is none of my business."
"Also, since you asked me a question to test me, I'll return the favor and ask myself a question to see how good you are."
"Just now you asked me why saltpeter can be used to make ice. Now let me ask you, do you know how to make water turn into ice?"
After asking the question, Wei Wu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. Then, as if he thought of something, he added another sentence.
"Oh, by the way, I'm not talking about doing it in the extremely cold place. I'm talking about doing it right here and now."