Nightless City

Joseph's statement was not entirely true, but he couldn't very well tell Napoleon, "Your brother is from another time, so he targeted Lightbulb and vacuum tubes from the very beginning, could he?"

Whether it's Lightbulb or vacuum tubes, their technological paths are almost identical, and the technical challenges are nearly the same. Overcoming one is equivalent to overcoming the other.

The first challenge is the vacuuming technology. The filament of an incandescent lamp is heated to two or three thousand degrees Celsius, emitting a brilliant light. However, any conductive material will undergo a violent oxidation reaction with oxygen in the air at such a temperature and then burn out. Therefore, the first technical hurdle to overcome in order to obtain a usable incandescent lamp is vacuuming.

Another technical challenge was the production of the filament. In the original history, Edison is said to have experimented with thousands of materials before finally selecting a barely usable carbonized bamboo filament.

Joseph knew, of course, that tungsten filaments were used in later light bulbs. However, in this era, tungsten had only just been discovered, its production was extremely low, and its melting point was very high, making it almost impossible to refine by smelting. It could only be obtained through chemical purification, powder sintering, and then forging and drawing into wire. But because tungsten itself is very hard and relatively brittle, drawing it into wire was not easy. Ordinary high-carbon steel drawing dies simply couldn't draw it; diamond drawing dies were required to produce it. And at that time, there were no synthetic diamonds.

While producing tungsten filaments wasn't impossible, the output and cost were prohibitively high. Furthermore, considering the gap in vacuum technology compared to later generations, even with tungsten filaments, the lifespan of an incandescent bulb would still be limited. In contrast, carbonizing bamboo filaments was much cheaper and simpler. Therefore, after a brief trial, Joseph decided to follow Edison's path and use carbonized bamboo filaments as the bulb's light source.

Of course, the attempts to draw tungsten wire were not without results. At least, in the process, Joseph's laboratory successfully produced tungsten carbide. Although the process for producing this stuff is not yet perfect, it will be a powerful tool in metal processing and other fields in the future.

Joseph's light bulb can now burn continuously for hundreds of hours, which is barely usable. And since there's practically no other competitor in the world, he sees no need to quickly improve its performance. In fact, in a sense, the smaller and faster it is, the better it might not be a bad thing.

As for vacuum tubes, they are relatively more complex, so the yield rate in manufacturing is still not very high. However, considering the lack of competitors, although the performance is slightly inferior and the cost is slightly higher, it is still quite good. So, it's really great to have no competitors.

"What wonders are you talking about?" Napoleon immediately perked up when he heard Joseph utter the word "wonders."

"Of course it's the 'Sleepless City'," Joseph said. "Just imagine, we replace all the streetlights in Paris with electric lights, and then install electric lights on the most important landmark buildings in Paris. At night, the whole of Paris will be as bright as day. Wouldn't that be a spectacle?"

Napoleon shook his head and said, "I thought it was something serious. Paris already has streetlights, what's the big deal?"

"Streetlights? Those gas lamps? Compared to electric lights, their brightness is like will-o'-the-wisps in a graveyard. Like fireflies compared to the moon—completely incomparable. Want to come with me to the lab to see how they work?"

Upon hearing this, Napoleon immediately widened his eyes in alarm and stared at Joseph, saying, "Joseph, are you sure that what you can do in your laboratory can also be done in the factory? I won't fall for that a second time!"

"What do you mean by being fooled a second time? Anything that can be done in my lab can definitely be done in the factory eventually; some things just need a final process," Joseph said. But seeing Napoleon's expression, he immediately added, "But don't worry this time, this thing can definitely be mass-produced in the factory immediately."

"Very well," Napoleon said, "Shall we go and take a look right away? Hmm, and bring Lucien along too."

Joseph thought for a moment. If they wanted to promote the product, Lucien's trades were definitely top-notch at driving sales. So he nodded and said, "Alright, bring him along too. But right now, this guy is probably already..."

"Who cares? No matter how busy he is, if we call him, will he not come? Does he want to rebel?" Napoleon said. In fact, Napoleon was quite happy to have a legitimate reason to disturb Lucien while he was working.

"Napoleon, you're probably jealous, that's for sure," Joseph said, adding in his mind, "That's really something Lu Xun said."

Napoleon, however, was unaware of this. He chuckled dismissively, "Him? Heh, well, the Kingdom of Prussia has just acquired a lovely little princess..."

Today, wired telephones are available between some of the most important departments in France. The technology is actually quite simple, and it took almost no effort to develop it. Joseph used it to establish a "Paris Telephone Company," which he entrusted to Louis, who had just graduated from the University of Paris.

However, because the installation and operating costs are very high (automatic exchanges were impossible in this era; all telephone connections had to be made manually, which naturally increased costs), only the most important departments and the wealthiest families could afford it. Of course, Lucien met both conditions, so it was very easy for Joseph and Napoleon to find him now; he even had a telephone in his room at the Moulin Rouge.

When the call was made, Lucien had just arrived at the Moulin Rouge and was about to start work. However, upon being summoned by his two older brothers, he did not hesitate to put down his work and rushed over immediately.

By the time he arrived at Joseph's laboratory, it was completely dark. Lucien alighted from the carriage and saw his two brothers waiting for him at the door. He quickly ran over. "Joseph, Napoleon, my place is quite far, but I'm on my way as fast as I can!"

"We know that," Joseph said.

Lucien breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Is there something important you wanted to discuss with me at this time?"

"I'll show you something important," Joseph said. "Now come inside with me."

As he spoke, Joseph pushed open the laboratory door and went inside, followed by Napoleon and Lucien.

"Joseph, really! It's so dark, and you didn't even light a candle... I can't see anything... Oh dear!" Lucien was complaining when suddenly a bright light shone in front of him, so intense that he couldn't even open his eyes.

"This is... this is..." Lucien shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted as he asked.

"This is an electric light. This is a completely new era that allows factories to operate 24 hours a day," Joseph replied.

"My God! My eyes almost went blind!" Lucien gradually adjusted. "This thing is so bright! Compared to it, candles are like fireflies. Hmm... Can this thing be mass-produced? How long will it last? How much does it cost? I think the entire 'Moulin Rouge,' inside and out, including the blades of that red windmill, should be circled by this! If that were the case, it would absolutely be..."

"You don't care at all about the scientific principles behind this thing?" Napoleon asked.

"Why should I care about that?" Lucien said. "You have Joseph and you, anyway. Why should I care? Besides, it's like I like to eat tuna, do I need to figure out how the chef cooks it? Hmm, Joseph, you haven't answered my question yet."

"It can be mass-produced and will last for about 800 hours. As for the price, it varies from 1 to 5 francs depending on the brightness of each bulb and a 50% profit margin. This one is 1 franc. Later, when production increases, the price can drop to one-third of what it is now," Joseph replied.

"This 1-franc note should be the common one, right? It's a bit expensive. What about the 5-franc one? Joseph, do you know how to do business? How can you only sell it for 5 francs? The high-end ones should sell for at least 50 francs! A lifetime's money, a lifetime's goods; one franc for five lifetimes' worth of goods. Do you understand? I deal with rich people every day, I understand them best. They buy these things not only to use them, but more importantly, to show off. How can you show off something that costs 5 francs? Hmm, how do you even use this?"

Joseph looked at Lucien, shook his head, and then pointed to a rope hanging down the wall:

"Pull it once and the light will turn on; pull it again and it will turn off. Try it?"

Lucien walked over, ready to reach for the rope, but then suddenly stopped and asked, "Won't this cause an electric shock?"

With the widespread use of electricity, deaths caused by electric shock have become increasingly common.

"Fool!" Napoleon exclaimed, "That rope is an insulator!"

"I know, I'm just worried about it getting wet..."

"I just finished," Joseph said.

"Alright." Lucien himself, reached out and grabbed the rope. He pulled, and with a snap, everything went dark; he pulled again, and with another snap, light returned; he pulled again, and with another snap...

"This is so much fun!" Lucien pulled again and again... "Thud..."

"Why isn't it lit?" Lucien asked in the darkness.

"You've ruined it by constantly fiddling with it!" Joseph said.

"Joseph, you said this thing could last for eight hundred hours!"

"It had already taken hundreds of hours before you started messing around," Joseph replied.