Chapter 19: The Electrical Age
Initially, Li Qingsong had considered building a steam-powered locomotive.
After all, that technology was simple and straightforward, and he had accumulated enough technical knowledge in that area.
But after weighing his options, Li Qingsong ultimately abandoned that idea. He decided to get it right in one go and build an electric locomotive from the start.
The reason was simple: electric locomotives had a greater hauling capacity, higher efficiency, and could reach higher speeds.
They had numerous advantages over their steam-powered counterparts.
But that wasn’t the only reason Li Qingsong decided to go with electric locomotives.
Another reason was that if he planned to transport various ores on a massive scale in the future, then production had to be scaled up just as much as consumption.
Relying on the previous method of manual mining was simply not an option; the Clones couldn’t possibly keep up, even if they worked themselves to death.
He had to implement various types of mining machinery to extract sufficient quantities of ore.
This meant that Iron Mine No. 1, the Oxygen Ore site, and the Tolin Mine would also require a large amount of machinery and electricity.
’So, should I build separate power plants at each location?’
Li Qingsong rejected that plan.
At this stage, rather than building multiple small power plants, it was better to focus all his efforts on constructing one large power plant and then distribute electricity to the various bases from there.
This made building a power grid a necessity. And since a grid would be in place, the problem of powering the train would be solved as a side benefit.
The second reason was that Li Qingsong’s future plans revolved around large-scale mechanization.
Only through mechanization could he truly advance his technological development. Relying on manual labor, he would never be more than a glorified workshop, at best.
The mechanization of Earth’s industrial era was built on coal and petroleum.
But Ceres had no such fossil fuels.
To achieve mechanization, the only solution was to bypass the fossil fuel era entirely and jump straight into the electric age.
And since he had already decided to use electrification for future large-scale mechanization, and electric locomotives offered so many advantages right now, why wouldn’t he use them?
Beyond that, there was another, more significant factor that was extremely favorable for electrification.
This factor was something humanity on Earth could only have dreamed of.
Superconductivity.
Because of the extremely low temperatures on Ceres, a natural superconducting environment existed without any need for special engineering. Li Qingsong just had to put a little effort into the cable materials, and he could mass-produce superconducting lines, achieving lossless power transmission across the grid.
This would make the system even more efficient.
For all these reasons combined, Li Qingsong finally made his decision.
Inside Machinery Plant No. 1, over twenty Clones were constantly handcrafting parts, assembling them manually, and running tests.
They were figuring out how to build an electric locomotive.
Throughout this process, their minds worked at high speed, constantly adapting to real-world conditions through trial and error. Piece by piece, new knowledge was generated in their minds, becoming Li Qingsong’s own.
This knowledge, gathered from different sources, converged in Li Qingsong’s mind, where he integrated it all. Then, it was fed back in real time to every single Clone.
The twenty-odd Clones worked in silence, with no communication among them whatsoever. Yet, when one Clone learned something through experimentation—for example, that certain connecting parts couldn’t be treated with an acid-dipping process without compromising their strength—that piece of knowledge was instantly synchronized to the minds of all the others.
Without a word or a signal, every other Clone would avoid that same mistake when handling similar parts.
When another Clone made a different discovery, it was also immediately synchronized to the minds of the rest.
The progress of each individual Clone led to the progress of the collective.
Under these conditions, the construction of the electric locomotive proceeded with remarkable smoothness. After all, Li Qingsong’s requirements weren’t very high at the moment. It didn’t need to be particularly intelligent, nor did its performance have to be top-tier.
By the time the railroad tracks were halfway laid, the first prototype locomotive was complete.
Li Qingsong guided it onto the tracks. He carefully raised the pantograph to connect with the overhead line, then pressed a button. Instantly, a surge of electrical energy began to drive the motor, which in turn transferred power to the wheels.
With the friction of wheels on rails, the long train—over 600 meters from end to end, hauling a full 30 cars loaded with 3,000 tons of cargo—began to move forward.
Its speed was slow at first, but it quickly picked up, eventually reaching a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour.
Faster than an unloaded tractor at top speed!
’Not bad.’
Li Qingsong’s heart filled with satisfaction.
Now, with an electric locomotive, not only was the cargo transport problem solved, but he had also laid the foundation for his leap into the electric age.
’If I can build an electric locomotive for a heavy-haul train, will building some electric-powered crushers, mine carts, ore separators, excavators, and bulldozers be a problem?’
As it turned out, there really was a problem.
Some stationary equipment, like crushers and ore separators, could be connected directly to the power grid without issue.
But mobile machinery, such as mine carts, trucks, and bulldozers, couldn’t be directly wired in.
But that didn’t matter. Li Qingsong already had a solution.
’If they can’t be wired in, then I’ll just use batteries!’
Simple lead-acid batteries weren’t particularly high-tech; Li Qingsong could manufacture them even with his current level of technology.
Compared to their Earth equivalents, the only differences would be a slightly lower energy density, a heavier weight, lower safety, and a slower charging rate.
But that didn’t matter. It came back to the same principle: as long as it worked, it was good enough.
There was another, even more important point.
Back on Earth, for environmental reasons, many toxic and harmful additives that could have improved battery performance were banned.
Cadmium, for example.
But here on Ceres, Li Qingsong couldn’t care less about such things.
’It improves performance? Then I’ll add it.’
With such unrestrained methods, Li Qingsong discovered that the first battery he produced—practically a custom, handcrafted unit from his lab—had an overall performance that could reach about half that of its Earth-era equivalent.
It was important to remember that Li Qingsong’s overall technology was leagues behind Earth’s. But even so, he could still achieve half the performance!
This was a pleasant surprise for Li Qingsong.
’For now, I’ll handcraft a batch to make do. Once the steel plant is at full production, I’ll need to build a dedicated battery factory.’
Li Qingsong made up his mind.
The railway construction continued at a feverish pace.
Another year passed, and by now, over 80% of the railway was complete.
The remaining work didn’t require as much manpower. So, combining the 400 new Clones created over the past year with existing ones, Li Qingsong dispatched a total of 600 Clones to the three mining sites.
He was going to build three new branch bases!