Chapter 497 Wrought Iron
"Is this iron?"
“It’s iron!”
“It’s really iron!”
"Fuck, it worked, it really worked! Bifang has made iron!"
In the first venue, the crowd cheered.
Some people even set off fireworks on the spot, and streamers fell from the sky onto everyone's heads.
“Success!”
"Fuck, where did the fireworks come from?"
"Thirty-six yuan a piece. They're sold in the small shop next door. They say they're real rewards..."
【This is a miracle! 】
【iron!!!!】
[How many kebabs are needed to make so much charcoal ? ]
[The temperature is absolutely ridiculous! ]
Bifang used a long wooden stick to pick up the iron ingot, but the bottom seemed to be stuck firmly, so he had to take it out together with the furnace bridge.
At the moment the furnace bridge emerged from the land, the camera quickly zoomed in, and only the uneven black iron block on the furnace bridge could be seen, with many places glowing red and flashing, as if the metal was breathing.
When you hold the stone and smash it hard, it will deform almost visibly, and it is almost melted...
That’s awesome.
Audiences at home and abroad were amazed.
Before Bifang, no one had ever been able to go deep into the jungle alone like him and refine iron with nothing...
It's too exaggerated.
In comparison, those "wild ores" found and brought to factories for refining are undoubtedly a pile of shit!
This is not about teaching people how to survive in the wild or how to develop hands-on skills. It has reached the point of how to rely on wisdom to rebuild human civilization without any of the products of modern civilization!
The appearance of iron has brought Bifang’s live broadcast to a completely different level from the past.
In the past, it could be considered a simple wilderness survival, but now, it is completely different.
From catching fish to making chicken soup, from a lean-to to a walled, roofed shelter, to a raincoat for rainy days.
Various stone tools, salt, and even now iron.
All the necessities of life are available, and even more high-end materials have appeared.
No one doubts that if Bifang had not brought a pair of shorts and a grass skirt when he got off the plane, but a bag of wheat seeds...
No!
Maybe all he needs is a potato, or maybe even no potato at all. If he is given more time to search, he may be able to find a plantable, stable source of carbon dioxide!
【GOD! 】
[Even God cannot condense a piece of iron in the wilderness]
This is the birth of civilization
[Messier presents the anchor with a spaceship*1.0——Cheers to civilization! ]
[Fat Cat Pete presents the anchor with a yacht*1. ——Respect civilization! 】
[Pig heart and shrimp are presented to the anchor meatball * 66——Respect civilization! 】
[I don’t have money, but! Cheers to civilization! Let’s fire a small salute to Fang Shen! ]
[What I’m watching is not a live broadcast, but the evolution and progress of human civilization]
The audience was even more excited and almost spoke without thinking. Anyone who has experienced the process of more than ten days and witnessed the birth of iron with their own eyes would be like this.
A full six million viewers witnessed this scene, witnessing what civilization and wisdom are.
Which came first, the idea or the object?
China did not have tables and chairs in the past, not because of a lack of materials or capabilities, but because there was no concept of tables and chairs.
The most valuable thing in this world is not oil or gold, but human thoughts.
Thoughts are more precious than gold and diamonds. They are the most valuable asset of the entire human civilization. Anyone who wants to imprison people's thoughts will eventually suffer backlash.
"You guys are so excited, of course, I'm excited too."
His heart was beating so violently that Bifang began to gasp for breath.
He explained: "But my goal is not only to forge iron, remember what I said at the beginning? To forge an iron tool, at least a dagger."
"I somewhat overestimated the production of iron bacteria."
Bifang placed his hand next to the iron block. With the contrast, the audience realized how small the iron lump glowing red was.
It’s only as big as a fingernail!
This alone is obviously not enough and is far from the requirements of an iron sword.
"Originally I thought ten dirt cakes would be enough, but now five are only the size of a fingernail. It seems that it is not enough. But there is no need to worry. In addition to the yellow iron bacteria, I also dug up rust soil. The dirt cakes made from rust soil have a higher iron content, which is enough to bring us surprises."
Bifang kept taking deep breaths to calm his excited mood.
This is far from the end. After smelting the iron, it still needs to be forged.
"The slime secreted by these iron bacteria is mainly composed of iron hydroxide. I added charcoal as a reducing agent C and wood ash as a solvent K2CO3. The three were mixed into a clay blank and placed in a furnace for high-temperature firing to successfully produce iron."
"Wood ash decomposes into potassium peroxide and carbon dioxide under high temperature roasting, which reacts with the carbon dioxide produced by combustion and charcoal to produce coal gas carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide finally reduces the clay, which is already iron oxide, to obtain iron."
"If we refine all the iron, it will be difficult to melt it again. At this point, it is already pure iron. Although there may still be a lot of impurities in it, it is no longer comparable to the original powdered iron oxide."
The original wood ash is powder, and iron oxide is also powder. When they blend together, the reaction is naturally simple.
Bifang smashed the black mass in front of him with stones, knocking out all the iron blocks inside, and was pleasantly surprised.
The iron lump is not just the one on the surface, there are two smaller pieces inside, which together are as big as a finger joint. In addition to these three pieces, there are also many fine iron sands, but not much in total.
Bifang immediately struck while the iron was hot and put five more earth cakes in and continued refining.
"Don't put too much soil cake at a time. Too much may result in less results and not allow for a full combustion reaction."
By the evening, Bifang had refined twenty earth cakes and obtained an iron ingot slightly larger than his index finger.
I weighed it in my hand and it was very heavy.
[Is that enough? I feel…]
[It should be almost flattened? 】
Bifang shook his head: "Not enough, this will only make a blade, what do I need a blade for, shaving?"
Touching the stubble on his face, Bifang was amused by his own words.
"I want a knife with practical functions, at least a dagger. Not to mention there are a lot of impurities in it, and when it is forged, the size will be further reduced."
Over the next two days, Bifang continued to smelt iron. During the process, he went out hunting with a bow and arrow, and caught a snake and a hare, and also salvaged some fish from the fishing grounds.
It’s the sixteenth day of survival in the Xishuangbanna rainforest, and there are still five days left until the end of the mission.
"Hello!"
As soon as the fish was poured into the puddle, the water monitor lizard ran over out of habit, but was scared away by Bifang's spear.
As they lived together for a long time, the water monitor lizard became more and more courageous. Bifang even dared to come over to feed it next to the puddle. He didn't care, he was not blind.
I got hit hard last night and was totally dazed. Today I've been a little more well-behaved.
[Does it sound good? If it sounds good, it’s a good start]
【Hahaha!】
When we arrived at the shelter, there were already dozens of iron ingots of various sizes on the ground. Often, a piece of earth cake could produce several pieces, the big ones were the size of knuckles, the smaller ones were the size of fingernails, and the smallest ones were the size of beans.
Bifang gathered all the iron in his hands, and could hardly hold it in one hand.
It’s very heavy, just in terms of weight, it’s almost one kilogram!
Even if we take into account the wear and tear, it still weighs about one pound, or five hundred grams.
The weight of a tactical knife is generally around 400 grams, including the overall weight of the handle. The one pound in front of us is enough for Bifang to forge a dagger.
The only problem was how to forge it. He didn't have an iron hammer, only a stone hammer...
There are stones that are harder than iron, such as quartz and lapis lazuli, but they are hard and not tough, and can be easily broken.
If you hit me with this, your arm will be broken, right?
Let’s try it later, Bifang shook his head, and wanted to see if he could melt the iron blocks first and then forge them directly into molds. That would be much simpler, at least simpler than direct forging.
There are only five days left, and Bifang already feels a sense of urgency. He originally found the iron bacteria and thought that he had more than enough time, but he didn't expect that the real challenge was making the knives!
Taking all the iron, Bifang returned to the blast furnace , put the iron blocks into the ceramic bowl, sprinkled ash on it, spread firewood around it and lit it, then kept adding charcoal. The whole process was exactly the same.
At this point, the audience no longer cared whether they could forge an iron sword. They did not have a systematic task assignment, nor did they have Bifang's sense of urgency. The moment Fang Shen forged the iron, they felt that their mission was accomplished.
The white smoke stopped.
Bifang opened the lid of the stove and took out the pottery bowl.
Fortunately, the scarlet iron showed signs of melting, but it was just a trend. The only things that actually began to melt were the iron sand at the bottom of the bowl.
Hundreds or thousands of grains of iron sand, each less than one-third the size of a grain of rice, melted together and stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
"The conditions are still not right to completely melt the large piece of iron." Bifang raised his head and looked at the chimney that was more than two meters long.
The current conditions are not enough and need to be further improved!
"The chimney needs to be raised further, to three metres, and we also need to make a blower, and after that, it will be almost done."
Throw the iron block into the bowl and Bifang will do it right away.
Go to the river again, dig clay, wash clay, build tall chimneys, and then make blowers.
The blower is very simple to make.
"The main components are the internal fan and the external shell that restricts the airflow."
Bifang took out two pieces of hard tree bark, each piece was twenty centimeters long and five or six centimeters wide, and cut a groove in the middle of each piece. After aligning them with each other and inserting them, a cross-shaped fan blade was completed.
Then he took a thin wooden branch, peeled off the bark, cut a cross on one end with a stone dagger, divided it into four small petals, and inserted them into the center of the fan blade.
Both ends of the fan were tied with fiber ropes to ensure that it would not fall apart due to material problems. Bifang held the long pole and rubbed it, and tried it next to the campfire. The wind was very strong.
The next step is to use clay to make a shell on the outside of the fan blades to gather the fanned airflow into an outlet.
