Chapter 236.2 - Snow Countermeasures and a New Field for Slime Research (2/3)
Volume 3 Chapter 236: Snow Countermeasures and a New Field for Slime Research (2/3)
That’s the resulting product after I combined the acid slime’s acid and the sticky slime’s sticky liquid.
A super water repellent powder. It’s filled with the mana of the slimes and is combustible, so caution needs to be exercised when using it.
I believe the same substance that allows the sticky liquid to make my waterproof cloths waterproof is also present in it.
“So you can get something like this by mixing the liquids of the slimes, huh.” [Tekun]
“It appears that the mana within the two liquids reacted against each other and caused the change.” [Fernoberia]
The reaction of the God of Technology, Tekun, and the God of Knowledge, Fernoberia, was good. [1]
But given their reaction, I can’t help but wonder if they know something about it.
“This is a bit off topic, but is this thing strange to the gods? Identify couldn’t give it a name too.” [Ryouma]
“It’s not particularly strange, but, well, I suppose seeing one in this form is strange.” [Tekun]
“Well, it’s certainly strange for humans. The simplest way I can put it is that it has a similar trait to that of magic potions and magic stones. If I were to explain any more, it will take too much time, so just make do with that.” [Fernoberia]
It seems this is a much more complicated matter than I’d assumed.
“In that case, I’ll just have to patiently research it for myself.” [Ryouma]
“That’s a good attitude to have. As the God of Knowledge, I encourage it.” [Fernoberia]
We veered off topic there for a bit, but we didn’t spend too long before getting back on track.
“Anyway, something like this came out, so I became even more curious, and I tried mixing the liquids of the other slimes too.” [Ryouma]
“Ah, I figured that would be the case.” [Kufo]
“I could just imagine you happily experimenting.” [Rurutia]
Kufo and Rurutia nodded. The problem is what came next.
As I mixed various slime liquids in pursuit of a way to deal with the piling snow, my experiments led me to produce a black-colored powder. It looked just like charcoal that’s been thoroughly crushed, but it didn’t have any hint of luster to it.
The powder was made from the fertilizer of the scavenger slime and the deodorizing liquid of the deodorant slime.
“At first, I suspected it might release a poisonous gas, so I tried mixing it outside to be safe, but then it suddenly boiled and then blew up. What’s more is that it caught flames when it scattered. Kind of like a Molotov or an incendiary grenade. It really took me by surprise.” [Ryouma]
“You’re laughing after something like that happened?” [Kirillel]
“It’s good that you didn’t get hurt.” [Grimp]
“Don’t worry, I have a shield and a place to evacuate to in times of emergency.” [Ryouma]
As the sayings go. ‘Failure is inherent in research’, ‘art is an explosion!’… etc. So I always make sure to have plenty of safety measures in place.
“Anyway, I continued investigating the black-colored powder, and from that I discovered that it had the property of efficiently absorbing light and generating heat.” [Ryouma]
I tried mixing the black powder with a glass of water, then left it in the light, and before long, steam began to rise from the muddy solution after just a few seconds. How long before steam appears depends on the strength of the light, but with daylight, it takes at most 10 seconds.
I left the solution to completely evaporate under the light, and within three minutes, the remaining black powder that settled at the bottom of the vessel caught fire.
“Since it could release considerable heat just by being exposed to light, I figured I should be able to use it to remove the snow.” [Ryouma]
Scattering the black powder over the snow should melt the snow, right? The only problem is that there’s a chance that a fire might break out if there are any left over powder after the water from the snow has completely evaporated.
Given that, scattering crushed charcoal is still much safer. They’re not as effective as the black-colored powder, but they should be quite effective when coupled with magic, while still being safe.
But on the other hand, if I could just implement sufficient safety measures, then the black-colored powder would be much more effective.
“Do you have any in mind?” [Rurutia]
“Right. I don’t think you really need to rush it for this year, but if you want to make it to the next snowy day, well, you don’t have much time.” [Willieris]
Rurutia and Willieris were right, of course.
“I have a plan to prevent the fire. Incandescent light bulbs were used a lot in my previous world, particularly in my childhood.” [Ryouma]
Incandescent light bulbs emit light and generate heat by passing electricity through a light-emitting part called a filament. Carbon is used for this filament. After many improvements, at one point in time, carbonized bamboo became the choice of material to make this filament. Electricity is passed through carbonized bamboo, and heat and electricity are generated. But the bigger question is why the filament doesn’t burn up. The reason behind that is the vacuum.
You need three things to start a fire: oxygen, heat, and fuel.
Incandescent light bulbs create a vacuum inside the light bulb to block the oxygen needed to burn an object. As a result, it is possible to emit high temperature and light without starting a fire even when electricity passes through.
“I see. So you intend to do something similar to that incandescent light bulb and cut off the oxygen. I take it you already have an idea what material you’ll use for that?” [Rurutia]
[1] – Tekun’s other godhood, other than the God of Wine, was originally translated as the God of Art and Craftsmen, but God of Technology and Craftsmen seems to make more sense here, so it’s now been changed. There is also a separate god for fine arts, so this probably should’ve been changed earlier.