anwhile, the developnt of gun cotton inspired many chemists.
Nitroglycerin
What kind of principle makes it explosive when two acids are mixed?
They were interested in the mixing of nitric and sulfuric acids itself, while other chemists were busy improving gun cotton.
They thought that maybe through this, they could make a better gunpowder than gun cotton.
And among them was Warm Hat.
Hmm. I was curious what kind of topic you wanted to research, since youve been reading books for a long ti Unexpected. Why do you suddenly want to study nitroglycerin?
The head of the Departnt of Chemistry at the Imperial University, Red Bowl, asked Warm Hat, who shrugged his shoulders.
Theres no special reason. I just felt embarrassed for only reading books for a long ti. And the potential of nitroglycerin is very high, so I thought Id kill two birds with one stone
Ha ha! The famous Warm Hat feels embarrassed?
Tsk. I have that much sense.
Well then, do a lot of research. Dont just read books all the ti.
Red Bowl teased him, but Warm Hat just smiled it off.
Then Red Bowl clenched his jaw and said seriously.
I see. I have to support your research. Ill open my own lab for you, so submit what you need in writing. But, as you know, nitroglycerin is a very dangerous substance. So be careful as much as possible.
Ill keep that in mind. Thank you as always.
Dont ntion it. If youre done with your business, get out.
Yes, sir.
As soon as Warm Hat left the office, Red Bowl clicked his tongue.
Tsk tsk. Anyway, he has his own research topic. He has to think about studying such a dangerous substance.
Warm Hat was one of the best scholars in the Departnt of Chemistry.
When other scholars were digging deep into their own fields, he had mastered various fields since he was a librarian.
Sigh. He wont listen even if I stop him.
But Red Bowl soon gave up.
He was glad that he was in the Departnt of Chemistry.
Red Bowl wrote a paper on photosensitivity and was deeply involved in the research of the cara that resulted from it.
He was recognized for his achievents and finally beca the head of the Departnt of Chemistry.
So he was very grateful to Warm Hat.
If he hadnt been a librarian and thought of the principle of the cara, he wouldnt have been able to beco the head of the departnt.
Ah, lets stop thinking about it. Hell do well on his own.
The only way he could show his gratitude now was to give Warm Hat a lot of support for his lab.
On the other hand, Warm Hat headed to the Central Library.
Oh, thats him
Do you see him for the first ti? Well, you havent been enrolled in the Imperial University for long. But if you ca to the library often, you would have seen his face at least.
Ha ha. Its hard to catch up with my studies And Im busy with research too.
Youre so new. Hehe.
When Warm Hat entered the library, the passing scholars whispered to each other.
I can hear you, guys.
Warm Hat smiled bitterly to himself and quickened his pace.
In fact, he didnt really want to enroll in the Departnt of Chemistry at the Imperial University and beco a chemist.
He was happier reading books than doing annoying experints.
But his life was shattered when the cara was invented.
Ugh
He shuddered as he rembered that ti.
The impact of the cara was trendous.
After Kim Ki-woos portrait was taken for the first ti, the trend beca even more intense.
As a result, people beca very interested in the cara, and various behind-the-scenes stories related to its developnt were introduced.
The fact that a librarian at the Imperial University designed all the basic principles of the cara and that it was actually implented by the Departnt of Chemistry at the Imperial University.
This story beca a big issue throughout the empire.
It ant that a librarian at the Imperial University had built all the foundations for such an amazing invention as photography.
I couldnt do my librarian job since then.
After Warm Hats story echoed throughout the country, countless scholars ca to see him.
Even the Minister of Education personally visited him.
As a result, Warm Hat couldnt read any books.
He had a lot of trouble doing his librarian job.
Being deprived of his reading ti was a great pain for him.
It was a terrible ti.
And around that ti, Wide Lid, who was then the head of the Departnt of Chemistry, ca to see Warm Hat.
Are you okay?
No, Im not okay. If I had known this would happen, I wouldnt have gone to see you that day.
Hehe. What a scary thing to say. Its because of you that the cara was invented.
Thats why Im suffering.
He was under so much stress that Warm Hats words were full of sharp thorns.
His next words were also very harsh.
So, what are you doing here?
I ca here to tell you sothing and to make you an offer.
What is it?
Heh. You must be feeling old and sore.
Huff. Co this way.
Thank you.
The two of them sat down facing each other and continued their conversation.
Now, tell what it is.
Youre in a hurry. Here, take this.
What is this?
Its an account that contains the royalties youve received for your cara invention.
!
The eyes of the Warm Hat widened at the sudden words.
Why are you so surprised? You are the first inventor of the cara, arent you? So, of course, you should get the royalties.
Thats true.
He was surprised because he hadnt thought about the royalties, but it made sense.
Theres much more money in there than you can imagine. But this is just the beginning. As the cara becos more popular, a huge amount of money will be deposited into that account. You wont run out of money even if you live a lavish life for the rest of your life.
The Warm Hat looked down at the account he received with a blank expression.
Congratulations on becoming a rich man. Thanks to you, I beca rich too. Hahaha!
Do you care about money too, Dean?
Of course I do. Do you think I have no desire for money? I deserve to be rewarded for my efforts.
The Warm Hat nodded at his words.
There was nothing wrong with earning a lot of money legitimately, not by doing sothing corrupt.
With that money, you dont have to work as a servant anymore. You can buy countless books and just read them. You can live the life you dread of.
Haha
The Warm Hat laughed bitterly at his words.
The Wide Pot Lid looked at him and leaned forward with his fingers crossed.
But no matter how many books you buy, they wont compare to this vast central library of the Imperial University. Right?
Thats true.
He was right.
Even if the royalties from the cara were trendous and would continue to grow, it was impossible to buy as many books as this library.
It was sothing that even the huge corporations would find burdenso.
So I have one suggestion for you.
Join the chemistry departnt, right?
You know well. If you want to stay at the Imperial University, there are only two ways: either enroll as a scholar or get a job as a staff mber like a librarian. But it would be very hard to commute from outside the Imperial University to the central library. It would take a lot of ti too. You wouldnt want that, would you?
He knew very well how hard it was to work as a staff mber.
But
I know what youre worried about. But I can promise you one thing. Even if you join the chemistry departnt, I wont interfere with anything. You can research when you want to research, and if you dont want to You can just borrow books from the library and read them like now.
As he continued his words, the pupils of the Warm Hat dilated. It was such a radical offer.
Thats why he was curious.
Why are you doing this much for ?
As I said before, I think very highly of you. And this was proven by your invention. Its good for the chemistry departnt to have you as a mber. Its good for you and good for the chemistry departnt. How great is that? Dont worry about the exam either. Ive already got permission for special admission.
Permission
Well, even though youll make a lot of money from the royalties, the salary from the Imperial University wont be bad either. And you can also do your own research on things that co to your mind like this ti.
This was almost giving him everything.
It showed how much the Wide Pot Lid cared about him.
So after hesitating for a while, the Warm Hat finally nodded.
Huff. You win. Youve done so much for that I cant refuse.
You made a good decision. I sincerely congratulate you on becoming a chemist of the Imperial Universitys chemistry departnt.
I look forward to working with you, Dean.
too.
***
The Warm Hat recalled his past mories.
After borrowing so papers related to his acid research, he ca out of the central library and found that it was getting dark.
He looked up at the sky and thought of the Wide Pot Lids face.
I miss him.
The Wide Pot Lid was no longer in this world.
He retired after serving as dean for several years and passed away two years ago.
He was a benefactor who gave him many things, so he still thought of him sotis even after two years.
For his sake, I cant give up on research completely
For Wide Pot Lid, the Imperial College of Chemistry was his ho.
He felt a duty to maintain his ho in a sturdy condition.
And indeed, he had accomplished so significant researches in the past, fulfilling so of Wide Pot Lids expectations.
It was quite unpleasant to have his reading ti taken away by research, but it was sothing he had to endure.
Afterwards, Warm Hat prepared his research by reading papers related to nitric acid.
And as ti passed, he finally opened his own laboratory.
Warm Hats research? Then it must be worth participating.
But the research topic is a bit dangerous, isnt it?
Is backing out because of danger sothing a chemist should do? Im willing to take the risk and join.
Although many chemists were reluctant to study explosives, Warm Hats reputation was enough to recruit enough chemists.
From now on, we will use nitric acid to react with various substances in various ways. So please prioritize safety when conducting the research.
Yes!
His short speech ended and the research began in earnest.
And in his laboratory, he synthesized nitroglycerin using nitric acid and glycerin, and even developed TNT by reacting toluene with high temperature.
Of course, he poured his blood and sweat into making each of these.
These things could explode at any mont.
He thought this and handled them carefully for a long ti, and thanks to that, he found out that they were very sensitive like the early cotton powder.
And he solved this problem step by step. Here, too, the official docunt containing Kim Ki-woos advice was very helpful.
In the end, the important thing is stabilization.
With this in mind, he started experinting on stabilizing nitroglycerin.
As a result, he succeeded in developing a stable dynamite by mixing nitroglycerin and diatomaceous earth.
It was the mont when dynamite was born.
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