My Italian

The sun is shining and the breeze is light. The street under the linden tree is full of traffic, the commercial ports are continuous, and the magnificent and towering buildings rise from the ground, towering over the sky, reflecting the dazzling light in the morning glow.

The nameplate of the Airship Flight Propulsion Association hangs in the air, and it is also very eye-catching in the street under the Linden tree where the advertising posters are overwhelming.

It didn't take long for McClane to see where it was. The elevator went straight up, the iron door opened and closed, and when he got out of the elevator, he looked around, and the long corridor of the office building was full of large and small offices.

After a few minutes, McClane finally found a purple wood door with "zeppelin" written on it. McClane adjusted his breathing, raised his hand and tapped on the door a few times. When he heard a syllable coming in, he pushed open the door with his hand.

Sofa coffee table, armchair square table. The two bronze incense burners exude a faint fragrance in the corners of the wall, and together with the simple furniture decoration, add a little natural elegance to the whole office.

On the chair behind the square table, a typical German old man with a mustache and a hooked nose was writing something on the table. When he saw McLen standing at the door, there was obviously a little surprise and daze on his grayish-yellow face. He didn't seem to expect that someone who was not a waiter would appear in front of him.

He put down the quill pen in his hand, and asked politely, "I'm Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who are you looking for this gentleman?"

Zeppelin's voice was condensed and thick, without the weakness and trembling in the tone of an ordinary old man.

Even though he is nearly seventy years old, he is still ruddy and full of energy. Hearing Zeppelin's self-introduction to his home, McClen finally burst into a happy smile and said, "Mr. Zeppelin, the purpose of my visit this time is to appreciate your Excellency's research on airships. Oh yes, I almost forgot. To introduce myself, my name is Ettel Maclen, an Italian, and I have long been known for your deeds in Zeppelin."

In 1838, Zeppelin was born in an aristocratic family in the Grand Duchy of Baden. His father was the inner court director of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and he was an out-and-out real-power tyrant. Zeppelin had a strong interest in construction machinery since he was a child, and this urge to work hard from the source is directly related to his later brilliant achievements.

Beginning in 1887, the retired Zeppelin formally devoted himself to the improvement of airship technology.

As an important carrier to realize the human aviation dream, the airship was born more than a hundred years ago. However, the airships that were put into use at that time were all soft airships. These airships used hydrogen-filled airbags as suspension devices to carry pods to take off. The disadvantage was that the load capacity was small and it was difficult to meet diverse needs.

In order to improve the comprehensive performance of the airship as a whole, and then open up a wider space for the development of the airship business, Zeppelin decided to open up a new way.

On the basis of the existing research results at that time, he creatively proposed a rigid airship design scheme. Specifically, a boat frame is made of aluminum, and then a plurality of cabins are isolated in the boat frame, and corresponding airbags are placed in each cabin. After everything is ready, the hull skin is covered on the outside of the hull, so that the suspension device of the rigid airship is manufactured.

Although the idea is good, the actual operation is difficult, because of the weight, lift, and frame reasons, so Zeppelin faces many reasons. Of course, there is a more important reason, and that is the issue of funding. Compared with petite aircraft, the development of airships requires much higher funding. Not to mention that Zeppelin developed a rigid airship.

Take the first rigid airship "LZ-1" he developed, for example, there are 17 airbags in the body, with a total volume of 12,000 cubic meters, which is 5 to 6 times larger than that of the soft airship at that time. The cost of this "LZ-11" was as high as 1.8 million marks. If he hadn't found more than a dozen like-minded people, the money would have emptied his savings.

Speaking of which, the reason for this is still from Italy. In the spring of 1897, two Italians, Duilio and Siegel, carried out the first mechanical flight of mankind, which made more people's enthusiasm for flying on the plane.

Of course, this has led to a lot less people willing to invest in the research of airships, which are slow and difficult to operate.

And after hearing that someone came to visit him for the sake of the airship, this Zeppelin also came to be interested. "I don't know, Mr. McClen, what insights on airships we can discuss."

"I can't say it, but I think the future development prospects of airships are very good. At present, airships have great potential in terms of load capacity and seaworthiness, which can make airships an excellent aircraft for air transportation. For example, airships can carry Thirty to fifty people from Berlin, flying all the way to London, it might only take a day."

McClane's remarks about airships convinced Zeppelin that he was indeed someone who had studied airships.

However, the visitor immediately changed the subject and continued to speak. "However, I think there are several problems that need to be solved in the current airship. The first is the danger. The airship currently uses hydrogen as the gas in the airbag. Hydrogen is too dangerous. It only takes a little spark to make an expensive airship. For nothing, this is not conducive to the promotion of airships at all."

Maclen made Zeppelin frown, because the problem was difficult to solve. At present, airship researchers in various countries use hydrogen. Everyone knows the danger of hydrogen, but hydrogen is cheap. That's right, these airship researchers have limited funding, so what can they do without hydrogen.

"I agree with what your Excellency said, but filling hydrogen is also a last resort. You must know that aluminum is not cheap. If you use non-dangerous expensive gas, then the building of this airship will be amazing, and few people can withstand it. cost."

That's right, for Zeppelin, doesn't he know the dangers of hydrogen?

In the face of Zeppelin's words, McLen replied immediately. "Mr. Zeppelin, in fact, I came here to support your Excellency, but I want helium to be used in research on airships."

Helium?

Of course Zeppelin didn't know about the gas, but McLenn introduced it right away.

Helium is a colorless and odorless inert gas with inactive chemical properties, and it is difficult to react with other substances under normal conditions.

And helium was discovered very late. It was not until 1895 that British chemist Sir William Ramsay discovered that there is also helium on earth in a radioactive ore rich in uranium~www.wuxiamtl.com~ And last year, Italian oil companies have found large amounts of helium in Libyan gas fields.

Of course, the more important thing is that helium is very light, only 0.1786kg/m3, which is a little heavier than 0.089kg/m3 of hydrogen. But in terms of security, the two are not the same thing.

After listening to McClen's account, Zeppelin was lost in thought.

"I don't know how much money you are willing to fund?"

In the face of Zeppelin's question, McLen immediately pointed out five fingers. "Five million marks, but helium must be used."

"make a deal."

After the two briefly shook hands, Zeppelin spoke up. "Mr. McClane, do you know where you are from?"

As an experienced person, Zeppelin could see at a glance that the Macklen in front of him did not seem to be a competent person, but since he dared to give 500 marks, he must have relied on it, so he needed to ask.

Faced with Zeppelin's questioning, McClane smiled and showed his snow-white teeth. "I am currently with the Savoy Royal Investment Fund."