Chapter 542 253 Lift, It Can All Be Lifted (8.2K)_2

After Old Tang left.

Xu Yun nodded to the several big shots around him and said:

"Prince Albert, Mr. Faraday, Dean Huai Wei, oh right, and Senior Luo Man, we can start the next phase of the experiment."

Old Fa stepped forward again, being the first to arrive at the equipment.

As a leading figure in electricity, he was all too familiar with the electrolysis cell.

He stood with his hands behind his back, leaned in to inspect the electrolysis cell, and even sniffed with his nose, concluding:

"Is this... an acid solution?"

Xu Yun nodded and added:

"To be precise, it's a mixture of silver chloride and fluosilicic acid."

Old Fa looked again at the metal plate placed in the solution, his eyes lingering on it for a moment:

"A platinum electrode?"

Xu Yun gave him a thumbs-up, praising:

"You've got sharp eyes, that's right, it's a platinum electrode."

Old Fa ignored Xu Yun's flattery, furrowed his brow slightly, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

What does a platinum electrode, silver chloride, and fluosilicic acid have to do with light?

Seeing Old Fa deep in thought, Xu Yun tentatively asked:

"Professor Faraday, shall I start now?"

Old Fa snapped back to reality, looked around, and quickly said:

"Alright, go ahead."

Xu Yun informed Prince Albert and the others, then took a powerful flashlight and an ammeter from Little Niu's hands.

According to the original timeline.

Weber invented the double-wire ammeter in 1841 and the wattmeter in 1846, significant milestones in the history of electronic components.

These milestones have neither been accelerated nor delayed in this particular dungeon, so it's not surprising that the University of Cambridge could produce high-precision ammeters.

Then, Xu Yun connected the ammeter to the electrolysis cell, turned on the flashlight, calibrated it, and handed it to Little Niu:

"Hold it, don't let go."

Little Niu responded naively, assuming the role of a tool man.

Seeing this situation.

A question mark popped up over Old Fa's head:

"?"

An electrolysis cell without electricity being illuminated, what kind of operation is this?

However, since Xu Yun previously conducted the rotating mirror light speed experiment, Old Fa and the others patiently watched on.

One minute...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

When the time reached the thirteenth minute.

Old Fa yawned and was about to speak.

But before he could, he caught something flickering in the corner of his eye.

He instinctively turned his head to look.

The moment he saw clearly what was happening, Old Fa felt a tingling sensation on his scalp:

What he saw at that moment.

The previously unresponsive ammeter's needle was unexpectedly and stubbornly moving!

Old Fa's actions quickly caught the attention of other professors, and gradually, more people focused their attention on the ammeter.

"Look at the ammeter!"

"Hallelujah, where did this electromotive force come from?!"

"This is ridiculous, what is this thing?"

"The ammeter moved, I'm done, wdnmd!"

Ultimately.

Little Niu naively voiced everyone's question:

"It's so strange, there's clearly no electricity, so why does the electrolysis cell produce a current?"

Whoosh—

In the next second.

Everyone's eyes locked onto Xu Yun.

Even William Whewell's eyes were filled with intense curiosity.

Although his knowledge in the natural sciences was limited, he still knew a bit about the principles of electrolysis cells.

An electrolysis cell without electricity wouldn't work naturally.

But now, Xu Yun merely used a powerful flashlight to make the cell produce current again—or should I say, create a potential difference?

Looking at the big shots gazing at him like curious children, Xu Yun looked up for a few seconds.

Sigh.

With less than three thousand words, I'll have to continue in the next chapter.

He then sighed slightly and said to Old Fa:

"One morning over a hundred years ago, Fat Fish Ancestor was adjusting equipment for an electrolysis experiment and immersed two platinum electrodes into an electrolyte solution."

"At that time, someone happened to visit, so Fat Fish Ancestor put the unpowered electrolysis cell on the windowsill."

"When he returned after the meeting, he suddenly discovered that a potential difference had appeared in the cell!"

"He then methodically eliminated external factors through controlled experiments and finally confirmed one thing..."

At this point.

Xu Yun paused, looked around, then firmly declared:

"Platinum electrodes generate electromotive forces when exposed to light, indicating a special and close relationship between the electrical properties of matter and light waves!"

Hearing this.

The scene fell into a peculiar silence again.

After a few seconds.

Old Fa gave Xu Yun a complex look and asked:

"Did Mr. Feiyu have a name for this phenomenon?"

Xu Yun nodded and explained:

"Yes, Fat Fish Ancestor called this phenomenon the photovoltaic effect, abbreviated as the photovoltaic effect."

Old Fa looked at the bubbling electrolysis cell and murmured:

"Photovoltaic... conductor..."

Indeed.

The second experiment Xu Yun demonstrated was the photovoltaic effect!

In the local context, the photovoltaic effect was discovered in 1839, when Alexander Becquerel observed the phenomenon by chance.

The effect was just as Xu Yun demonstrated:

When two platinum electrodes are placed in an electrolyte and illuminated, an electromotive force appears in the cell.

However, on this timeline.

Influenced by Little Niu.

The field of electronic components had advanced rapidly, and Anton Cesar Becquerel participated in the invention of the electric lamp, so Alexander Becquerel missed the chance to discover the photovoltaic effect. (No one noticed this foreshadowing, such a pity...)