Chapter 843, Popular Science Master?

Translator: Silavin

“Ah’Lan, take these diagrams to the workshop for them to study. Remember to explain to them.”

Su Bai passed over the diagrams, continuing, “Tell them the manufacturing principles are actually quite similar to firearms, but attention must be paid to the cannon barrel’s manufacture…”

He earnestly instructed Sha Lan on precautions. This wasn’t a simple matter.

Everything that could possibly occur and needed attention had to be explained clearly, lest some mishap occur later.

“Understood. However, manufacturing such a large cannon will certainly require an enormous amount of iron ore, won’t it?” Sha Lan examined that diagram again.

Even viewing this diagram for the second time, she still found it extremely impressive. All sorts of details on it were drawn in extraordinarily meticulous fashion. Even she, an outsider, upon seeing this diagram, understood what sort of process it was.

Not to mention the workshop, which had already manufactured firearms. For them, looking at this diagram would be even more straightforward.

The only difficulty would most likely be experimentation and manufacture. As always, theory and practice were two different matters.

“The iron ore for manufacturing one cannon could be used to manufacture dozens of firearms, so it’s indeed quite wasteful of iron ore.”

Su Bai drank some tea, continuing his instructions, “But don’t give them pressure either. Definitely ensure stability. Don’t worry about wasting iron ore.”

He naturally felt distressed about iron ore consumption. After all, they still hadn’t discovered extremely large quantities of iron ore.

However, there was nothing to be done about it now. Who could blame the people of the Primitive Era for understanding nothing? They could only let them learn through trial and error, step by step.

Only by gradually cultivating their abilities and knowledge in the early stages could they help even more when the Tribe grew increasingly prosperous later on.

“Understood. I believe they should also bring good news to the Shaman.” Sha Lan nodded.

“With the steam engine, manufacturing the cannon barrel shouldn’t be too difficult.” Su Bai placed great hopes on the workshop people.

In any case, he had already drawn the cannon’s manufacturing process in great detail. The workshop people only needed to follow the steps one by one.

Of course, this didn’t mean the manufacturing aspect was extremely simple either. He would also give the workshop people sufficient time for experimentation.

After all, practice yields truth. How could one determine something’s quality without having experimented with it?

“Shaman, after we have cannons, shall we use explosive packages for the detonation?” Sha Lan asked curiously.

She had heard Su Bai explain the cannon’s principles. That is to say, ignite the fuse, and after the fuse burns to a certain degree, it would eject the cannonball inside the cannon barrel outwards.

What Sha Lan thought of was that explosive packages similarly required igniting a fuse. Could one ignite the fuse and then place it inside the cannon barrel?

“There’s no need to use explosive packages. We need to use a different weapon.” Su Bai put down his teacup.

“A different weapon?” Sha Lan asked, puzzled.

“Shaman, is this type of weapon particularly impressive?” Yan Hua asked impatiently.

“You could say that. This type of weapon is specifically adapted for cannons.” Su Bai smiled.

“Shaman, then what sort of weapon is it? Could it be weapons similar to bullets?” Sha Lan asked curiously.

“More or less, but this type of weapon is round, whereas bullets are elongated in shape. The two also differ in power.” Su Bai explained simply.

The weapon he spoke of was ammunition, a type of round pitch-black ammunition. Its explosive power could be said to be dozens of times that of bullets.

“So it’s round ammunition. Shaman, will this type of ammunition be particularly difficult to manufacture?” Yan Hua tilted her neck, asking.

Yan Hua listened with particular relish, finding this knowledge truly too interesting.

Upon hearing about cannons, she had already found it extremely impressive. Now, hearing about ammunition, she was even more captivated.

Her entire face was filled with anticipation, as though she had heard something incredible.

“It’s not particularly difficult. As long as the materials are prepared, manufacturing it is actually quite similar to explosive packages.”

Su Bai crossed his legs, continuing his explanation, “Actually, there are two different types. One is a large iron ball, relying on kinetic energy plus potential energy to smash people and smash things. This type of ammunition cannot explode.”

“Shaman, then the other type can explode, can’t it?” Yan Hua kept blinking her red eyes.

“That’s right. The other type uses a round mould, placing all materials capable of exploding inside to make a round bomb. Afterwards, projecting it out through the cannon allows it to explode.” Su Bai continued explaining.

“Shaman, if it’s as you say, this ammunition also has no fuse or anything like that. Then how can they explode after being projected out?” Yan Hua continued asking.

When Su Bai was explaining the cannon’s principles, she had listened particularly intently, not missing any aspect she didn’t understand.

Just like the two types of ammunition. Neither type of ammunition had external fuses, showing a very obvious difference from explosive packages.

This was why Yan Hua was puzzled. Previously, didn’t the fuse have to catch fire, then those flames burn to the things inside the explosive package before an explosive reaction could occur?

“Shaman, I also have a question. When we put ammunition inside the cannon barrel, won’t the ammunition explode inside the cannon barrel?” Sha Lan tapped her chin with her index finger, her face full of incomprehension. She found the cannon’s principles somewhat strange.

“That’s an excellent question. Let me first address Ah’Hua’s question. The reason cannons can explode even without fuses is because of the fuse mechanism.”

Su Bai looked towards Yan Hua, continuing, “We can internally fill it with gunpowder. The cannonball is detonated through a slowly burning fuse igniting the internal black powder…”

He explained in detail why gunpowder would explode only after flying out. Initially, the explanation was somewhat technical.

Towards the end, it gradually became more colloquial, because he feared Yan Hua might not quite understand, so he made it slightly more accessible.

Su Bai had originally wanted to explain that some cannonballs would explode upon striking objects, but in the end, decided against it.

Back on Earth, cannonballs that exploded upon striking objects only appeared in the modern era.

This principle worked through internally filling shock-sensitive gunpowder, which would detonate through the impact produced upon striking the target.

However, this triggering condition required being able to withstand the vibration during firing. Otherwise, it would be useless.

“Now let’s resolve Ah’Lan’s question. The reason it won’t explode inside the barrel is because the cannonball’s structure is actually rather complex.”

Su Bai drank some water, continuing, “Inside, there isn’t merely gunpowder producing explosive power. More importantly, there’s the fuse.”

In one breath, he spoke all the book knowledge he had previously read. Now, saying it again in his own words was still somewhat difficult.