Chapter 514 - 245 Opening Ceremony (5.8K)

Although the nitroglycerin was given somewhat hastily.

But there was no choice; the time left for Xu Yun was also running out.

After all, angina caused by coronary heart disease is a sudden condition with unpredictable timing and intensity.

It might just be chest tightness for a few seconds, but it could also lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

Now it’s already the end of 1850, and there are no phones or messaging apps like WeChat to ensure immediate contact.

Additionally, Darwin is not an employee of the University, so it’s hard to say when the next meeting will be.

Under such circumstances.

Xu Yun couldn’t afford to slowly build relationships anymore.

After all, he was that mysterious Fat Fish descendant, and also a current student at the University of Cambridge, which made his identity fairly reliable.

Even if Darwin had doubts, he wouldn’t just throw away the medicine, at most he would avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.

If Annie was indeed in extreme danger.

Without medication that could save her, he would naturally think of these few tablets of nitroglycerin.

In his past life, when Xu Yun was writing novels, he included similar scenarios, and a reader left a comment:

This approach is not advisable in reality, as nitroglycerin contacted with air will form a film that affects its efficacy.

How should this be explained...

This method definitely affects the efficacy, which is an unavoidable situation.

But first.

The loss of efficacy and the formation of the film are unrelated matters.

Secondly.

As long as it is tightly wrapped in cloth and not exposed to high temperatures and light, the efficacy won’t be impacted too much.

Nitroglycerin tablets do indeed form a film with air, but it’s caused by polyvinylpyrrolidone and has nothing to do with nitroglycerin components.

The reason why nitroglycerin’s efficacy reduces in air is actually due to its instability; it will evaporate under high temperature and sunlight—Min Province readers are advised to read the last three words several times.

That’s also why its bottle is brown.

As for wrapping nitroglycerin in cloth, this was an original and effective preservation method.

For example, William Merrill initially used cloth to preserve it because compression technology at the time was unstable, and nitroglycerin had a certain risk of exploding.

It’s just that in modern contexts, our techniques and preservation conditions are abundant, so doctors would conveniently advise to seal it properly.

Describing components such as polyvinylpyrrolidone deeply to patients who understand them is rare, and would waste time and effort instead.

Still, the point remains.

This method may lose some of its efficacy.

But in 1850, Xu Yun didn’t have the ability to adhere strictly to future procedures:

He just had this one bottle; he couldn’t possibly give all this nitroglycerin to Darwin, could he?

A loss of 10% or 20% effectiveness sometimes doesn’t have such a large impact—let alone the role of nitroglycerin tablets in relaxing vascular smooth muscle, where the released nitric oxide is actually higher than modeled doses.

As long as it doesn’t evaporate over 30%, angina pectoris will still have an effect.

Ah, this amount of water... Have I provided 700 words of popular science?

Cough cough...

Back to the main topic.

After handing over the nitroglycerin to Darwin.

Xu Yun temporarily parted ways with Old Da, ending this unexpected meeting.

He later consulted some materials, and estimated that the time was about right, so he went to the first floor to find Wheat, and together they returned to the dormitory.

Over the next four days.

The two kept going back and forth between the library amidst many sideways glances.

Wheat prepared his lessons, while Xu Yun further refined his understanding of the current timeline.

He gained insights, but also felt disappointment.

The insights go without saying; now Xu Yun has basically mastered the changed European timeline.

As for the disappointment...

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that shipping methods are still underdeveloped.

The Eastern literature available in the Cambridge Library is not abundant.

Even if there were, most are introductions to India or Neon, and books about Huaxia’s native history are scarce.

One must understand.

Since 1707, the Cambridge Library could be considered one of the most comprehensive libraries in the United Kingdom.

If even here doesn’t have these books, it’s safe to presume nowhere in the UK does.

However, although there were not many reference books, Xu Yun confirmed one thing:

that the native history had hardly changed.

For example, in 1126 the Northern Song was still overrun in one movement, and a hundred years later Zhu Yuanzhang rose, and the Great Ming reopened the Great Song skies.

In 1644, Li Zicheng seized Yanjing, and Chongzhen hung himself on the Old Crooked Tree, sacrificing his nation.

Previously Xu Yun thought the native lands’ survival in the strengthening Western productivity might have some relation to his actions in the Old Su Dungeon—though it’s impossible to completely align with the 1100 Dungeon timeline, perhaps there’s some kind of Easter egg-like correlation in certain areas.

Such as breakthroughs in weapons or metal smelting, giving the native lands certain defensive enhancements, etc.

But now it seems...

In this timeline, there’s no connection between the native lands and himself; their ability to persist for so long is entirely due to other reasons.

This conclusion has its pros and cons.

The good part is naturally not having to fear punishments of historical nihilism, allowing one to live peacefully.

The bad part is the native lands have no countermeasures, making the painful, humiliating modern history inevitable.

....

Three days later.

Aveline delivered the timetable to Xu Yun and Wheat as promised.

Another day passed.

The University of Cambridge formally opened.

The 1850 class enrollment at Cambridge was about two hundred more than before, with about seven hundred enrollments per session, marking a notable increase.