Chapter 175 Hot Air Balloon Journey

The principle of a hot air balloon is very simple, and there are only two difficulties in making it, one is the combustion device, and the other is the air bag.

The first point is that in the absence of a pressure vessel to provide gas fuel, relying solely on firewood or charcoal to heat the air is not to mention low efficiency, and it cannot fly far due to fuel restrictions. This is also the reason why the principle of hot air balloons was discovered very early in history, but hydrogen balloons were the first to be put into use in actual combat. So Roland simply gave up the burning device and asked Anna to ignite and heat it.

The difficulty of airbags lies in airtightness, but for Roland, who has learned from previous experience, this problem can be easily solved by using interlayer fabrics. The outermost layer of the airbag is wear-resistant canvas, the middle is lined with cow intestine skin, and the inner layer is light gauze, so that it can be sewn together to prevent air leakage, and at the same time, it is not afraid of birds' pecking.

Roland opened the bottom of the airbag and let Anna spray black fire with a temperature close to that of ordinary flames. The airbag slowly inflated, looking like a wrinkled winter melon. Considering that the hot air balloon needs to carry two people into the air, the diameter of the airbag at its widest point is five meters. The intestinal membranes of twelve cows were used up, and the sewing took nearly a week. If it is not the lord who governs a place, it may not be able to afford such a big toy.

"Did it fly with the help of the buoyancy provided by the hot air?" Anna asked, "I remember it was mentioned in the book that hot air always rises upward."

"That's right. It is a common natural phenomenon that hot air rises and cold air sinks. Using particle theory to explain, the movement of hotter air balls is intensified, the ability to diffuse to the surroundings is strong, and the density will become smaller after volume expansion. For the surrounding air, which has not changed, it is equivalent to lighter, so it will rise."

After Roland finished explaining the principle, he found that except for Anna who showed an expression of "that's how it is", the other three looked at a loss, which made him secretly lament the importance of talent.

When the airbag was fully inflated and floated up, the traction rope was slowly straightened, and Roland took the lead in flipping into the gondola, and then took over Anna who was crawling.

"I'm still a little worried," Nightingale said anxiously, "Why don't you let me go up and try first."

"Trust me, nothing will happen," Roland smiled easily, "and even if an accident happens, there will still be lightning."

"I'll catch them, don't worry." Lightning patted his chest.

"There's me too!" Maggie patted her chest imitating Lightning's appearance.

With a burst of shaking, the hot air balloon left the ground with the gondola and gradually climbed up. It didn't take long for the two of them to cross the top of the castle, and the whole town was presented in front of them one by one.

For Roland, such a scene is not unfamiliar, after all, he is also someone who has seen skyscrapers, but in Anna's eyes, it is a completely new experience from the previous perspective. She was lying on the edge of the gondola and looking out, holding Roland's arm firmly with one hand, looking excited and nervous at the same time.

This is the first time Roland has seen her show such an expression. Probably people who have never left their feet off the ground will have a slight sense of fear of heights when they fly into the sky for the first time.

After a while, the hemp rope used to tie the hot air balloon under the basket was pulled to the limit, and the ascent stopped. The hemp rope is about fifty meters long, which is the height of fifteen or six-story buildings in later generations. Roland asked Anna to reduce the firepower, and the hot air balloon finally hovered in the air.

At the beginning, Lightning stayed close to the hanging basket, but after seeing the basket was stable, he felt relieved, and played a chasing game with Maggie around the hot air balloon.

Looking down from here, you can clearly see the roof of the castle, the town under construction everywhere, the Chishui River flowing from west to east, and the green farmland beside the river.

"How does it feel?"

It wasn't until Anna retracted her head that Roland asked with a smile.

"Thank you for the gift," she said excitedly, "So I can fly so high."

"It can be higher." Roland sat down against the side wall of the rattan basket. "If the hemp rope underneath is longer, it will be no problem to fly ten times this distance, but the airflow becomes more complicated as you go up, so it's safe." It is difficult to guarantee the safety. And this is only a rudimentary aircraft. After the piston machine is built, ordinary people can fly faster and higher than birds, and then..." He looked up at the blue sky. The sky, "People can even fly out of this world and go to the boundless space."

"..." Anna held her breath, her eyes sparkled, and something was about to come out.

"I can't promise to fly out of the world." Roland was amused by her appearance, "but making a piston engine so that ordinary people can fly like birds should still be possible in their lifetime." In fact, with Anna, There is no bottleneck in processing capacity, and the current short board exists in material performance. Inferior pig iron can be used to make steam engines, wrought iron can be used to make guns, and steel revolver guns smelted with black fire are not a big problem, but internal combustion engines probably need high-quality cast iron, cast steel, or aluminum. "Border Town can have what it is now, all of this is due to you, "Miss Anna." "

After hearing this sentence, Anna was stunned. After a while, she leaned over and said softly, "My mother died in a fire, but not only did I not die in the thick smoke and fire, I became a witch instead. For a long time, I I thought it was my awakening that caused the fire, and I hated myself as a witch. When I was locked in the prison, I thought that this might lead to liberation, but you rescued me from the prison and taught me How do I use my ability...I never thought that besides burning and pain, flames can have so many uses." Anna paused, "I should be extremely satisfied to meet you, but now I find that My thoughts have changed, and sometimes I feel depressed and uncomfortable, hoping to get more.”

She climbed onto Roland's shoulders, "Even so, do you still want to hire me?"

There were sparkles in her lake blue eyes, and her breath was blowing on her face, feeling a little itchy. Through the thin clothes, he could feel the other person's soft body and pounding heartbeat. Even so, she didn't avoid looking directly at her eyes. When there was no Nightingale, she was always full of enthusiasm and initiative.

"Outside there are..."

Before Roland could finish speaking, Anna had already sealed his lips.

After parting, he took a breath, "I want to hire you, always. Miss Anna."

"Um."

This time, he took the initiative to lower his head and get close to her.

...

"Hey, wait," Maggie chased after Lightning for a while, then suddenly stopped in the air, looking at the empty hanging basket, "They're gone!"

"Huh?" Lightning turned his head and glanced, "They just sat down."

"Wouldn't you be able to see the scenery outside?"

"The scenery can be seen at any time, but there are not many such opportunities."

"Opportunity?" Maggie shook her wings and landed on Lightning's shoulder, "I don't really understand, do you want to go and see them?"

"That can't be done," Lightning hugged the pigeon. "This is a sacred ceremony that cannot be interrupted."

"Goo?"

"Anyway, you'll understand in the future. At times like this, just pretend you haven't seen it. This is what my father, the greatest explorer, told me." Lightning threw Maggie and said with her hands on her hips, "Run now, It’s my turn to chase you!” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users, please go to read.)