? The Great Ship (The Great Ship)
In 1851, the British Isambar? In 1851, the Englishman Isamba Kingdon. Brunel wanted to build the largest ship in the world. According to his fantasy, this ship will be able to circumnavigate the globe without docking, only need to bring enough coal. Brunel was known as the Napoleon of engineering, over-ambitious, focusing on glory over efficiency. He built railroads, bridges, and ships, and he first articulated the concept of a global transportation network. Britain's first iron steamship? HMS Great Britain? was built by him. He smoked 40 cigars a day and slept four hours. The Great Steamer was his greatest wish to accomplish in his lifetime. A fantasy? The big liner? was five times larger than the largest ocean liner at the time, carrying 15,000 tons of coal, requiring 200 stokers in three shifts, and the steam engine was four stories high. It would become a luxury cruise ship carrying 4,000 passengers. At that time, the largest passenger cruise ship only 400 people. Brunel wanted to make this ship the pride of the British Empire. 1852, Brunel began to raise funds in London. Through a year of hard work, in 1853, Brunel finally raised funds. He hired the best planners and started the planning process. The length of the ship was the longest at the time. s length was that of the longest ship of the time, the Britannia. The Great Britain was twice as long. twice as long as the longest ship of the time, the Britannia. The weight of the hull was four times that of the largest ship of the time. The 197 ships of the British Armada that defeated the Spanish Invincible Armada together had less displacement than this one ship. This was the largest iron ship of its time built by Brunel. HMS Great Britain? A great big ship. featured many of the most advanced plans of the time and revamped many planning concepts. For example, the method of launching the ship. Previously, ships were mainly built in dockyards, but where could such an infinite number of dockyards fit the Great Barge? big giant ships? Brunel planned to build the ship on the river, and after finishing, the ship was slid into the water along the track. This method is still used today, and in 1854, after various obstacles, the Great Barge was built. The Great Big Ship? was finally built. The Big Wheel Another **** with the same plan is a double hull shell, two layers of hull about 1 meter apart, and then by the longitudinal iron plate separation, constituting a space. This kind of shell is very strong, to prevent breakage, and the hull of the internal watertight compartments combined, so that the ship's safety more progress. However, due to the narrow space between the double hulls, only a lot of child labor could be used. At that time there is no welding skills today, the connection between the iron plate by red rivets, one by one to knock into the. 1855, the shipbuilding address Doug Island (Dog) into a tourist attraction in Europe, the British royal family have come to see. However, the ship is not yet finished, there has been a serious financial crisis. The shipyard, together with the unfinished ship, was seized by the bank for not being able to repay the loan on time and was forced to go on strike. Brunel convinced the bank to accept his idea: to deal with the financial problems of all, just hurry to complete. A week before completion, a worker fell to his death from a height. Before the launching ceremony, because it was the first time in history to use winches and chains, the ship along the track into the water, Brunel demanded that the launching ceremony should not be disclosed, however, the board of directors sold 3,000 tickets to watch the launching ceremony. As a result, 100,000 people from all over Europe*** came to watch. 1857 November 3, with all the British people 2 years of expectation, the launching ceremony began. The ship had moved more than a meter when one of the several chains pulling the hull suddenly cracked, striking 5 workers, one of whom died shortly after. The hull was stuck in the slipway, unable to move, and the launching ceremony had to be rescheduled. A month later, Brunel tried everything he could to keep the ship moving only 10 meters, still more than 60 meters short of the water. Brunel became an object of ridicule for the public and the media. The operation of dragging the boat down continued for three months, and on January 31, 1858, the tide was particularly high, and the boat finally drifted into the sea. At this time, the ? Big ship? The construction costs have now exceeded the budget 4 times, Brunel had to sell all their own property, the completion of the ship's interior decoration. 1859 July, finally completed. 1859 September, the boiler burning. On the day of the maiden voyage, Brunel, who invested endless sweat in this ship, suffered a stroke and could not participate in the maiden voyage. 1859 September 8, the maiden voyage began. September 9, 6:00 a.m., on the way to Holland, one of the five chimneys in the water tanks exploded, and the five crew members died. Upon learning the news, Brunel died on the morning of September 17th at the age of 53 with endless disappointment. Due to a series of disasters and rumors, no one was willing to take the ship, which was planned to be turned into a luxury cruise ship? The ship was planned to be a luxury cruise ship. never had a single passenger, and it eventually became a commercial disaster. The Great Big Ship? was later successful in placing the first submarine cable across the Atlantic Ocean. During its flight, an 85-foot crack in the shell appeared, but it survived unscathed, while 50 years later, the same crack caused the Titanic to drown.On January 1, 1889, the Great Barge was destroyed. The Great Giant Ship? After 30 years of flight, no one could afford its endless capital, and the ship was removed and crumbled. Shipbreakers found two bodies in the double hull, one of which was a child, suspected to be two riveters who had been smothered alive inside during the year's construction. People say? Big giant ship? The reason why it suffered a series of troubles from the moment it was launched was due to the curses of the dead child laborer. What I don't quite understand is why the British made the Great Barge a success story. The Great Steamer? as one of the seven wonders of industry. Because, well... The Great Steamer? 48 years after it was launched, or? The Great Galleon? was crashed 18 years later, the British created a larger ship, that is, the Titanic. We can compare the main parameters of the two giant ships: the big ship Titanic gross weight 8600 tons 21800 tons (total weight of 46000 tons) captain 207 meters 260 meters power 8000 horsepower 3000 horsepower passengers 4000 people 2000 people chimneys 5 ? 4 Titanic not adopted? The Titanic did not adopt the double-hull plan of the great liner. s double-hull plan, or else could it have prevented the subsequent disaster?In 1912, the Titanic drowned on its maiden voyage.More than 1,500 people lost their lives. Obviously, whether it was the? The great liner? or ? Titanic? , as the most endless steel ship of all time, this industrial wonder ended in disappointment, why? Because human aspirations exceeded reality. In those days, steam engines could only be powered by burning coal. In order to reach the planning requirements for worldwide flight, the ? The Great Steamer? The amount of coal to reach 15,000 tons, therefore, the hull had to build more infinite, otherwise, the ship in addition to coal, what can not be loaded. And then the steel skills are far more backward than today, a study that caused the Titanic cracked because, at that time, we do not know that era of steel in the cold sea water, will become very brittle. Thus, the search for infinity, on the one hand, is the result of free and easy fantasy, on the other hand, is also the result of skill condition constraints. Nowadays, everyone has now realized that getting bigger and bigger is not necessarily the best choice. This is also the lesson that those industrial wonders with dim endings have left for future generations. Compare China's previous history, 1851?1859? The big ship? was built in the middle of the two Opium Wars, when Britain and the Western powers plundered China. The Great Steamer A year after its maiden voyage, the Yuanmingyuan was burned down by the British and French forces.