Chapter 236: Saltpeter and Lead Ore
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Inside the academy, everyone turned to look at Xiao Ming, their eyes full of anticipation—including Luo Xin.
At present, the cannons in Qingzhou were smoothbore, meaning they were direct-fire weapons. In ancient times, firearms were essentially miniaturized versions of cannons, and because of this, the “three-point alignment” principle also applied to them.
However, this principle wasn’t something that could be implemented just by casually installing a front sight and rear sight. Different firearms required different configurations for these sights, all of which needed to be calibrated and tested—after all, the power of each cannon and the weight of the cannonball varied.
Therefore, his cannons would also need to be tested in order to gather data before precision sights could be installed.
“This all comes down to the principle of parabolic motion. When a cannonball is fired, it’s affected by gravity,” Xiao Ming explained.
As soon as he spoke, the entire classroom took on a puzzled expression.
Seeing so many confused faces, Xiao Ming suddenly felt a bit worn out. This was precisely why he had established this academy. It wasn’t something that Luo Xin and the others could understand in just a day or two.
First, he had to teach them addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Then he would move on to basic physics. If he could get them to a level comparable to second-year middle school physics, that would be enough. Based on his estimate, even with the advantages of his technological crystal, it would still take nearly a month for Luo Xin and the others to grasp the concepts of impact point calculation and complete the sight calibration.
Of course, he wasn’t planning on selling any cannons equipped with precision sights. Those would be reserved for his own use. Once sights were installed, it would be a technological leap forward.
In a battle between armies, the advantage of such cannons would be immediately apparent.
“Your Highness, I don’t understand a word of what you just said,” Luo Xin admitted, clearly frustrated. As a military officer, all this theoretical knowledge gave him a headache.