kscans

Chapter 63 - Episode 3: Part 2 - Getting the Ball Rolling

The members’ reactions to the ball bearings split into two groups. Craig, along with Dalgan and Plural, turned the bearings over and over in their hands. On the other hand, Rilka and Belmini only dared to gingerly touch the ones resting on the table. The Grand Duchess handed hers to the butler at her side for inspection. A clear difference between the men and women.

Alfina was the exception among the ladies, lifting a bearing with both hands and studying it with a serious gaze.

"Now, what does it mean to transport something. To put it another way, what determines the force needed to move an object."

I said, looking around at everyone in the room.

"Well, its weight, right." Dalgan answered.

"That's correct. But it's not just weight. It's actually a combination of weight and the friction with the ground."

To be precise, it's the vertical load multiplied by the friction coefficient. I took out two metal objects I had prepared. One was a rectangle, the other a sphere. I moved both of them across the top of the desk.

"Even with objects of the same weight, one with a large contact area like a rectangle stops quickly, while one with a small point of contact like a ball will continue to roll, especially since it rotates."

Theoretically, a sphere only touches the ground at a single point, though in reality it sinks in a little, creating a surface. Still, that surface is smaller than a rectangle's. Even more important is its ability to rotate.

"That makes sense. Even with a load of the same weight, it's completely different pushing it by hand versus using a cart." Rilka said. Belmini nodded vigorously beside her. In terms of the formula I just mentioned, if the friction coefficient is reduced to one tenth, the force needed to move a load of the same weight also becomes one tenth. It doesn't work out exactly like that due to air resistance and other factors, but it's something everyone knows from daily experience.

Though there might be a few people in here who don't.

"Exactly, wheels exist to reduce friction. But the friction that hinders transport isn't just between the object and the ground."

I took out a model of a carriage axle. A metal cylinder surrounded the axle. I spun the axle. It quickly came to a stop.

"As you can see, friction also occurs between the axle and its housing. For a carriage, this means wasting the horse's strength. What’s more, with this design, the axle primarily makes contact with the upper part of the housing, which can cause deformation and damage. Lubricant is essential to make it rotate smoothly and prevent damage, but that too is a significant waste."

The merchants and Craig nodded at my words. Eufilia and Alfina looked troubled. Though they ride in carriages all the time, they probably don't think about such things.

More than anything, a fixation on vehicles is a man's romance.

"So, what about the new bearing I've given you, the ball bearing."

I took out an axle of the same thickness and inserted it into a ball bearing. Before I could even demonstrate, the men began spinning the axles themselves.

"This is incredible. How long will this thing keep spinning."

"Th, this is amazing."

"Hoh hoh, I see. The balls inside these two rings are the key. As the spheres rotate, they reduce the friction you mentioned earlier."

"Precisely. By using this bearing, we can reduce the friction between the axle and its housing to a tenth, no, a hundredth of what it was."

"He who masters rotation, masters industry." Those were the words of a professor at my old university. It wasn't just for moving objects like cars. Air conditioners, refrigerators, rotation is built into everything, and in modern society, bearings played a vital role in all of them.

It's a famous story that during World War II, America targeted Schweinfurt, where Germany's bearing factories were concentrated, for bombing. If you can't make bearings, you can't make most industrial products.

And among bearings, the ball bearing was a revolutionary invention. Spheres are placed between an inner ring that turns with the axle and an outer ring fixed to the carriage. This allows the rotational force to be received at points, and the spheres themselves rotate, reducing the friction coefficient. Furthermore, because the balls rotate, the load-bearing area is constantly dispersed.

"This is amazing. And fun, too."

The men were completely engrossed in their new mechanical toy. Oblivious to the somewhat taken aback gazes of the women, they stuck their fingers in the bearings and enjoyed spinning them.

I know how you feel. I did the same thing when I was given the prototype.

"Wait a moment. The balls inside this, and the outer rings, they all seem to be made with incredible precision." said the ever-calm Roston. His finger, however, was still spinning the outer ring.

That's right. To make a ball bearing work, you need to process metal into perfect spheres and ensure their sizes are strictly uniform. It was a technology that, even on Earth, was only realized after the Industrial Revolution. But...

"That is the reason we have Noel participating."

"I see. If it was made with alchemy, this level of precision makes sense."

"Hold on, hold on. If this is made of magical metal, the cost of materials and processing alone would be enough to buy several carriages."

"That much. ...Even for military use, that is beyond our reach."

Fulsy and Craig, two individuals with a disposition for magic, realized the problem. Military equipment costs an order of magnitude more. The demand for transport carriages from the Knight Order was the cornerstone of this plan.

"He's right. Even for Kenwell, we could never afford such an expensive carriage."

The next most important customer would be a major merchant like Kenwell, who used large numbers of carriages for transporting grain. The men, who had been absorbed by the mechanics, now wore serious expressions at the mention of cost.

"That's right. If this were made from magical metal using alchemy, you would be correct. Even if we gathered all the magical metal and alchemists in the kingdom, it wouldn't be enough. That's the analysis from the one who made this."

I looked at the creator of the bearing. Everyone’s gaze was guided to Noel.

"However, the prototype you are all holding uses neither magical metal nor alchemy. Now, Alchemist Noel-dono, if you would continue."

"Y, yes."

Noel stood ramrod straight but managed to answer me.

"This itself contains no magical metal or magical power. What I was made to...... what I made, is this."

With a clunk, Noel placed a rectangular piece of metal that shone like platinum on the lecture stand. It was about a third the size of a brick. She opened the two halves. Molds for two rings and six spheres were carved into it, with grooves on all four sides to align the top and bottom perfectly.

"...I see. You used alchemy to create just the mold, then used it to shape ordinary metal."

Fulsy was the first to grasp the concept. It was a so-called die. Of course, molds exist in this world. But making one with alchemy offers two advantages. The first is precision. Creating a highly precise sphere with a mold is incredibly difficult. But for an alchemist, who is a human CAD and precision machining tool, it's possible.

Once the mold is made, a normal blacksmith can use it to manufacture the bearings. Moreover, since the mold is made of magical metal, it is resistant to wear and heat. And that creates the second advantage.

"For your information, the prototypes are made of lead, which is soft and melts at a... low temperature. Plural-senpai. I believe there's an iron that's normally difficult to process, right."

"Yeah, I heard it requires a lot of force and high temperatures to work with. I only heard about it when I asked if they could make a mold thinner, so I don't know the details myself."

"With this alchemy mold, you can probably process that metal too."

It was likely some kind of steel. The alchemy mold could withstand high temperatures and strong impacts. This meant that the finished bearings, made without magic, would be far stronger and more durable than conventional ones.

"Making only the mold with alchemy, and the actual product with ordinary metal... I see."

"How much would it actually cost."

"This mold is one third the actual size. In terms of money, it cost over 20 gold coins. To make one for a carriage axle would require at least five times that, probably around 100 gold coins. And this is after Noel and Mia exhausted every clever idea they had. It would have originally cost five times more than that."

The room fell silent at my words.

"However, if we make 10 bearings with this mold, the cost of the mold per piece is ten gold coins. If we make 100, it's one gold coin. If we make 1000, it's one silver coin. In reality, despite its intricate construction, it's durable, uses lubricant efficiently, and is less prone to damage. It will probably last more than twice as long as a normal bearing."

"The lifespan is one thing, but for the Knight Order, which operates dozens of carriages, the reduction in breakdowns is huge. If one carriage stops, in the worst-case scenario, the entire army could grind to a halt." Craig said. For a prince, he was remarkably in touch with the field.

"It's the same for merchants. To be frank, this will be a carriage we'd kill to have."

"Eek."

Noel flinched, intimidated by the piercing gazes of the prince and Jean, no, all the men.

"Sorry to interrupt while you're all so excited." Eufilia said, looking somewhat put off by the men's enthusiasm for the mechanics.

"Can something of that caliber truly be made in Bertold. As you said earlier, Bertold's artisan base is small."

"We will make it so that it can only be made in Bertold. There are two key points. The first is that this mold can only be created with alchemy. As long as we control the mold, we can monopolize the technology. The second is a weakness that stems from this bearing's precision."

"A weakness, you say."

"Yes. As you can tell from the processing precision, it needs to be installed on a carriage far more accurately than a normal bearing. It also needs a mechanism to prevent foreign objects from getting inside. It's susceptible to vibrations, so without measures to suppress them, it won't be able to demonstrate the durability I mentioned earlier."

It has far less play than the commonly used plain bearings. The level of craftsmanship here makes it difficult to handle. But if we focus on just that, technological innovation should not be impossible. For example, developing jigs for installation.

"Also, no matter how precise the mold, the cast bearings will have burrs, and the balls will need polishing. All of that know-how will accumulate in Bertold. That is what's important."

Industrialization isn't just about having a lot of factories, it's the tangible and intangible know-how that builds up there that is most significant. This creates a competitive advantage that cannot be replicated even if you move the factories elsewhere.

In a world with slow information transmission, and where all processing techniques are manual, once an advantage is established, it can overcome geographical disadvantages.

"Cooking is similar to a certain extent, so I understand."

"Yes, it takes a great deal of time to train a confectioner." Dalgan and Plural said.

"The next challenge is creating the demand to promote the accumulation of that know-how. We'll first aim to replace military carriages, which can afford the high initial costs."

I looked at Craig. The prince smiled fearlessly.

"Are you telling the Knight Order to be the guinea pigs."

"Is it not a fair trade. For a Knight Order that must race from east to west to deal with Monster Floods..."

There's a story that many of the early transistors were for military use. Seeking performance over cost is a characteristic of the military. Provided, of course, that reliability is guaranteed.

"I understand. But we can't switch everything over at once."

Craig gave the expected answer. If you replaced your car every time a more fuel-efficient one came out, you'd end up wasting resources and money.

"I agree. We'll start by replacing only the axle assemblies of existing carriages. As I said earlier, installing these bearings requires special know-how. This will allow the artisans to focus their learning on that specific part. Furthermore, as its reputation spreads, carriages will flock to Bertold seeking to have their old bearings replaced. Those carriages will naturally be carrying cargo. This will make it possible to transport the metal and wood that Bertold lacks from the Royal Capital or Kurtheite."

I finally arrived at the nominal purpose of my plan.

"The trade fair is the stage for building that reputation. And once the technology has accumulated and we can build new carriages, we've won. Because you don't need a carriage to transport a carriage you've just built."

I finished my speech. Everyone was leaning forward, looking at me.

"I want to see a real carriage as soon as possible. With our increased range of activity and numbers, expanding our transport capacity is an urgent task for my knight order." Craig said.

"I want to push forward with the replacement as quickly as possible. If this is realized, it will change everything about business. Mass transport of grain will be affected the most."

"If we can transport fruit while keeping it fresh, the appeal of our sweets will increase even more."

"That's right. If we can transport not just butter and cheese, but milk too, the possibilities for our business will expand."

"It's the same for vegetables. The amount and variety we can bring to the capital will increase."

It seemed everyone understood the meaning of this transportation revolution, though that might be a slight exaggeration.

"As a side note, expanding transport capacity also lifts the constraints on the size of cities, which depend on surrounding agricultural villages. Cities like Bertold can grow much larger."

I looked at the lord of a large city. Eufilia took the bearing from her butler and nodded.

"A groundbreaking technology and a way to monopolize it. A method for training artisans and accumulating know-how for producing new carriages. Securing raw materials. On top of that, securing buyers and a way to transport the finished product. Your plan includes all of it. So with this one thing, not only Bertold but the very shape of the country will change..."

Everyone gave a wry smile at the Grand Duchess's amazed words. It was a little funny that Noel was among them. She seemed relieved that the presentation was over, but she probably didn't realize she might just leave her name in the history of this country.

Mia, however, understood perfectly. "I was naive to only be wary of him 'dabbling' in magic," were my secretary's words.