Innovation and Revolution (7)
Pak Sun marveled at the stick of gelignite wrapped in kraft paper, pressing it with his fingers and even shaking it about as if testing its strength. Yet To Gye-jung simply smiled. He had sworn it would never explode, and he had personally performed the experiments himself.
Once upon a time, Joseon had been known as the Golden Rooster for laying that legendary egg of gold, the hen that could hardly be found a place to live. Hawonggun and Heo Jun had replaced her with plump, healthy hens imported from Ming China. Unlike the old native breed that produced only one or two eggs every two days, these Ming hens laid one every single day, sometimes even two. The eggs were also much larger. Before long, every poultry farm in the country was raising Ming hens. Egg production skyrocketed, and the price of a single egg dropped from one won to three or five per egg. In the end, the chicken manure and eggshells piled up so high that disposal became an absolute nightmare.
That is why Yi Yeon ordered them to mix in rice straw, let it rot, and turn it into fertilizer. This compost was rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and a dozen other nutrients. It would make the finest fertilizer anyone could ask for, he explained. At the same time, they were forbidden from using human manure. Parasitic eggs from people’s bodies might lurk in it, and it could even spread diseases like smallpox.
And the output of saltpeter exploded. Soak willow ash and chicken manure in an earthenware jar and let it age, and a solution of potassium nitrate began to drip out. Then mountains of imported sulfuric acid from Ming and Wa piled up as well. So Yi Yeon summoned Hawonggun and told him to turn saltpeter and sulfuric acid into nitric acid. He also taught him the simplest way to make smokeless powder.
“Listen well. Mix nitric acid and sulfuric acid in equal parts, soak clean cotton in the solution until it is thoroughly wet, and dry it completely. You will have gunpowder—nitrocellulose—that barely produces any smoke.”
Yi I had built an efficient steam engine, so they could already produce ammonia and nitric acid using the Haber-Bosch and Ostwald processes. But they could not yet set up the petroleum-refining facilities, so they had not even tried. Besides, the potassium sulfate byproduct was useful, so Yi Yeon told Hawonggun to use all the saltpeter and sulfuric acid they could for nitric acid and potassium sulfate.
They were improving the quality of the crops brought from Ming, but the results were not very promising. So he suggested using potassium sulfate to promote the growth of root vegetables and ensure they bore quality fruit. Who knew if even the rice grains themselves would grow thicker? If they wanted to raise output per unit area, they had to try everything.
But the nitrocellulose they made was far more sensitive than black powder and could not even be stored. If they dissolved it in ether and alcohol until it became a sticky, transparent collodion, that was one thing, but even that was tricky. So he taught Hawonggun the ether-making method as well.
“Listen carefully. First you must make ethanol from potatoes. Mash the potatoes and add the yeast used for making alcohol, then ferment. You will get the same alcohol found in liquor.”
The potatoes they were breeding now were small and tasteless, so they planned to use them only for alcohol. They could also be used in lamps or for medical purposes. Next he explained how to turn alcohol into ether.
“Listen. This substance does not dissolve well in water and is highly volatile, which is why it is called ether. Slowly pour concentrated sulfuric acid into the alcohol and heat it to 130–140 degrees Celsius. You will obtain it.”
Williamson’s method of synthesizing ether in large quantities was quick and easy, but they could not yet manufacture haloalkanes, so they had chosen this route. Mixing the ether with alcohol and soaking cotton in it produced a safe, collodion-like form of cotton.
“That is exactly what Poudre B is.”
Invented in 1884, Poudre B was the world’s first practical smokeless powder. It stabilized the instantly burning nitrocellulose with ether and alcohol, yet its explosive power was three times that of black powder. It spread like wildfire.
“Once it appeared, so did the weapons and combat methods that went with it.”
Because Poudre B had such enormous power even in small quantities, gun barrels became smaller and projectile weights lighter. Range increased dramatically, so the line infantry style of battle began to disappear. When machine guns arrived, that style vanished completely.
During the production of Poudre B, the sticky transparent liquid—collodion form—was put to many uses. Rolled thin with rollers, it became the film used at the very beginning. Molded and hardened into buttons, used for shirt collars, and even turned into artificial teeth. But its extreme flammability caused countless accidents.
So Yi Yeon decided to create a safer and far more powerful double-base smokeless powder—nitrocellulose plus nitroglycerin—called Cordite because it resembled a strand of spaghetti. But Cordite required nitroglycerin, vaseline, and acetone. So he started by teaching Hawonggun how to make acetone.
“Listen. Ferment the starch made from powdered corn and you will obtain butanol (C4H9OH) and acetone (C3H6O), both of which burn easily in fire.”
The corn they were raising now was also too tasteless to eat, so they planned to use it only for chemical production. They told Hawonggun to store the byproduct butanol for use in printing or as bio-fuel and to manage acetone with special care, since it was an infinitely useful solvent.
The real problem was the supply of vaseline. They could not get any right now.
“Without hydrocarbon vaseline, I cannot stabilize nitroglycerin…”
After long thought, they decided to use castor oil instead, which was sticky and waterproof. They would use it until the petroleum-refining facilities were complete and they could obtain the useless sludge that passed for vaseline.
“I heard someone made Cordite with castor oil instead of vaseline before. It should be fine.”
Yi Yeon recalled the memory of creating substitutes for black powder and made Cordite accordingly.
“Nitroglycerin is obtained by adding glycerin made from peanut oil instead of cotton to a solution of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.”
Add cotton and castor oil to the nitroglycerin, dissolve it in acetone, extrude it through a die to form spaghetti-like strands, and you have double-base smokeless powder—Cordite MD.
First used in the First World War and later refined into many forms, the Cordite that saw mass production in the Second World War was the representative smokeless powder of its day. So Yi Yeon decided to call it guksuhwagyak and apply it to every weapon in the Hwaryeokgun.
The thinner strands would go into machine guns and sniper rifles. The thicker ones would be used to make grenades and bombs. They even planned to use it as an industrial explosive. Excellent explosives were essential for developing mines, carving roads, and digging canals.
But Cordite was far too dangerous for industrial use. Just like black powder, once it caught fire it burned and exploded immediately. So they decided to make dynamite. All the ingredients were ready except diatomaceous earth. Because it had a primer like black powder or Cordite, it could not detonate without one, and they judged it would be safe.
But dynamite still had problems. If left in the heat, the nitroglycerin trapped inside the diatomaceous earth could leak out and explode. So they moved straight to Gelignite, which could be used without a primer.
“It is easy to store and easy to handle.”
Alfred Nobel’s Gelignite, made after dynamite, had far greater explosive power than dynamite, yet it was still safe. It would never explode unless exposed to extreme heat. It could even be made without diatomaceous earth. Like the first plastic explosive, it could be molded like C4 into any shape.
So Yi Yeon immediately summoned Hawonggun and taught him the Gelignite-making method.
“Listen. Just as with Cordite, dissolve cotton in nitroglycerin, mix in pulp used for making paper and saltpeter, and you can create a new explosive that is safe to use.”
To Gye-jung had brought the rod of gelignite he had made. Pak Sun picked it up, shook it, and tilted his head in bewilderment. It really did not look like a bomb at all.
“Is this truly a bomb? It just looks like a stick.”
“No, Your Excellency. It is a most terrifying explosive. Five times stronger than a self-propelled grenade.”
“Eek!”
Pak Sun dropped the gelignite onto the table in sudden fright. To Gye-jung grinned and pulled a thick black fuse from his leather bag, holding it up.
“Your Excellency, do not worry. This fuse will prevent any accidental explosion.”
“I-I see…”
“Yes, Your Excellency. With this gelignite, building canals will be a simple matter.”
“Y-Yes, I suppose.”
“But how do you intend to build the dam and the bridge? Even if a flood comes, the water level of the Han River will rise sharply.”
“That is why I have prepared something.”
To Gye-jung opened his leather bag again and placed a thick bundle of steel bars and a large pouch on the table.
“This is rebar made of steel produced at the Third Steelworks. This is the Pocheon Cement I have newly invented.”
“Is that so? Let me see.”
Yi Yeon did not yet know the exact ingredients of Portland cement. He only knew it contained aluminum and iron oxide. At first he had planned to make cement from iron pyrites and iron oxide found in Pyeongan-do. But since bauxite, the source of aluminum, was a rare mineral in Joseon, they had decided to use a substitute. Now they were trying to use abundant plagioclase and dolomite instead.
“It contains aluminum, iron, calcium, and magnesium, so it might be even stronger.”
Having experimented on the basis of the chemical properties of minerals, they had discovered that the cement was of far higher quality than expected. Thanks to the efficient steam engine built by Yi I, they could now blast hot air over 1,400 degrees Celsius into the rotary kiln. Inside it, limestone, plagioclase, dolomite, and iron oxide powder reacted tightly to form clinker. Grinding the clinker produced cement they could use immediately. This cement hardened quickly and was extremely strong. Even in the middle of winter it did not crack or split.
Yi Yeon decided to call this cement Pocheon Cement. Because it was the first batch produced at the Pocheon Cement factory.
To Gye-jung showed it proudly to Pak Sun, who was kneading white powder. “Your Excellency, this Pocheon Cement sets much faster than reinforced cement, and its strength is also high.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. So we will build the dam and the bridge with it.”
“How exactly?”
To Gye-jung opened his leather bag once more and unrolled a rolled-up blueprint.
“This is how to build the dam. Pile dirt along the riverbank, dig a channel in the middle, drive in the steel bars, tie them together, build wooden forms, and fill them with sand and gravel from the riverbank mixed with this Pocheon Cement. You will have a dam that will not collapse even in a flood.”
“Oh…! I never imagined such a method. How wonderful and impressive you are, sir.”
Because the dock at Mapo Naruter had already been strengthened with reinforced cement, Pak Sun immediately understood the method. Even under the Minister of Hanyang’s praise, To Gye-jung grinned and unrolled the bridge blueprint, explaining it in detail. After listening for a long time, Pak Sun sighed with regret.
“The piers will be the same as the dam, so there should be no problem. But the deck cannot be made immediately…”
“That cannot be helped. First we must build the piers. Once the ‘ae-iron frame’ is ready, we will lay the deck.”
“What is an ae-iron frame?”
To Gye-jung grinned again and pointed to one part of the blueprint.
“It is a long steel backbone shaped like the Korean letter ‘ae’.”
“Ah, that is why you call it ae-iron frame.”
Pak Sun repeated the new term in his mind.
After the new king ascended the throne, the world had changed dramatically. New words kept pouring out endlessly. Some people still ignored them and proudly used the new Chinese characters and idioms they had learned from Ming China, but he did not.
He believed that if one did not know the new words, one would not only fall behind in this rapidly changing era but also lose one’s place and be ignored.
* * *
Note: The explosive ratio is not very high. It can be found easily on the internet. The photo below shows Cordite, which looks like spaghetti.