Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 44 - 41: Reversible Work Under Ideal Conditions

Chapter 44: Chapter 41: Reversible Work Under Ideal Conditions

Looking at the parts spread across the table, Rorschach couldn’t help but think, ’If I had studied mechanics in my previous life, I’d be absolutely dominating right now.’ He paused. ’No, it seems I can still put that knowledge to use.’

"Do you have the operating parameters for the Power Furnace? Boiler temperature, pressure, power output, and so on."

"We do. I’ll have them copy a set for you."

The guys were all hard at work, so Snow and Rorschach didn’t want to disturb them, speaking in low voices after entering the room. Snow led Rorschach over to the nearest draftsman.

"He’s with Master Kano’s group. Copy a set of data for him..."

The young man who was called on looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He stared intently at Rorschach for a moment, then suddenly grabbed his hand. "Don’t come here! Run! Run, you foolish kid!"

"Have you drawn yourself stupid?!" Snow exclaimed, prying their hands apart. "I already told you he’s with Master Kano’s group, not here for a job!"

"Oh, oh, my apologies, my apologies..."

"Haha, everyone in our Magic Guide Design Department is a genius, just a little neurotic." After saying this, Snow opened a new purple potion and chugged it down.

’You’re all pretty terrifying.’ After getting the data, Rorschach hurried to the fourth floor.

When Kano saw Rorschach return, he asked, "How did it go?"

"I think the Alchemy Department needs to control its consumption of Energy Potions and ensure people get enough rest."

"They all schedule their work hours voluntarily," Kano said with a shrug. "Based on their assigned tasks, of course."

Rorschach sat down, took out some draft paper and a quill, and began to write and sketch.

Pascal, who was organizing Professor Kano’s documents, asked Rorschach, "What are you planning to do?"

"Figure out the principles behind the Dwarven Power Furnace."

"Why bother? If you can’t figure it out, you’ll just get humiliated by those guys in the Alchemy Department."

"And what if I do figure it out?"

"Hmm... then they’ll probably think you’re humiliating them."

A long time passed. Kano and his senior, Paulina, went to conduct an experiment. "Today’s experiment is very complex, so a novice like you shouldn’t join. Read some literature first."

And so, Rorschach received a stack of papers from his mentor.

"How’s it going?"

Rorschach let out a breath. He had tried to organize the data and created a table. "I haven’t figured it out completely, but I have a general idea."

"I knew it... Rorschach, pack your things. It’s about time to leave."

"This early?" Kano had brunch in the morning, then they had a group meeting in the afternoon and toured the Alchemy Department. It was only about eight o’clock now.

"Our mentor, Master Kano, has social engagements to attend. At night, the noblewomen wear low-cut dresses, and the gentlemen powder their faces. They stuff themselves with delicacies like truffled chicken and roasted turbot, and the wine flows by the barrel..."

Compared to other Great Mages, Kano wasn’t so reclusive. On the contrary, as a native-born son of the Valuva elite, he was witty, eloquent, and had become the public face of the Tower of Stars, a prominent figure in Valuva’s high society.

At nine in the evening, he attends a banquet. After the meal, he plays Tarot—a card game from the southern continent—with the bigwigs of the Royal Capital until late at night. Then he wakes up at nine in the morning to enjoy brunch. This was the daily cycle for the famous and accomplished Mr. Kano—so tedious and bland.

"Can I take these materials back to my dorm?"

"Of course! But my boy, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t lose yourself in books and miss out on all the wonderful things life has to offer!" Kano had returned from the lab, speaking to the young man in a heartfelt tone.

’No, I haven’t discovered any "wonderful things" in Valuva late at night.’ The pure-hearted young man rejected the corrupting temptations of the world.

Back in his dorm at the Tower of Stars, Rorschach took out a new sheet of paper and wrote down the title: *An Inquiry into the Conversion of Heat to Motion and the Efficiency Limits of Heat Engines*.

’What can I do? My mentor just had to be named "Kano," after all.’

To put it simply, a heat engine—any machine that converts heat into mechanical work, including Steam Engines—operates on a cycle that can be simplified into four processes:

The working substance—water, in the case of a Steam Engine—can be cooled in two ways: by expanding or by releasing heat to a low-temperature environment. It can be heated in two ways: by being compressed or by absorbing heat from a high-temperature source.

In other words, when the working substance gains or loses a certain amount of heat from its surroundings, either its volume or its temperature changes. An increase in volume can then drive a piston or turbine to produce power.

Given a fixed amount of heat, the less of it that is consumed by temperature change, the more work can be produced through volume change.

In an ideal, reversible cycle, the heat consumed by temperature change is minimized. This entire process was named after its inventor from his previous life: the Kano Cycle.

As for why that was, Rorschach would also have to explain the concept of a reversible process to the Mages of this world in his paper... In short, a heat engine has a maximum efficiency limit, which depends on the temperature difference between the heat source and the heat sink.

’It all hinges on a major premise: the conservation of energy. If I ignore chemical energy and the existence of Magic Power, I can extend the principle of equivalent exchange from alchemy to the field of thermodynamics. I’ll just tell the guys in the Alchemy Department: Energy is conserved! Hmm, they’ll definitely understand that!’

’Thankfully, this world has already developed calculus. Otherwise, plagiarizing all this would kill me. My advanced math wasn’t even that good...’ Rorschach thought to himself as he wrote furiously.

To better etch Magic Circuits, to build better houses, to fire cannons more accurately... the brilliant minds of this world still took precious time away from studying Divine Spirits and Magic to tinker with mathematical logic.

’Mathematics, you are truly powerful to be able to flourish even in a Magic World!’

If he followed the entire path laid out by Kano, Kelvin, Clausius, and Maxwell, Rorschach could write a massive tome, become the number one authority on thermodynamics in this Otherworld, and then... that would be the end of it. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The Mages who focused on alchemy would all look down on him: ’You’re a Mage, why are you researching this stuff like a Dwarf? Do you even know any Magic?’

Before he knew it, the night had grown deep. Rorschach paused his writing to refresh his [Light Technique] for illumination; he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to grind his proficiency.

’I feel like I’ve just been tinkering with theoretical knowledge lately. I need to learn some actual spells... I wonder if I can get reimbursed for buying Learning Scrolls?’

Before bed, Rorschach reviewed his unfinished draft and started a new page to jot down his thoughts:

Does the law of conservation of energy hold true for Magic Power?

Is there also an efficiency limit for the conversion of Magic Power into other elements and forms of energy?

Also need to test the effects of the Oscillation Crystal... and figure out the threshold of Magic Power input that triggers the shielding effect...

Finally, Rorschach checked his panel. The proficiency of his highest-level entry, "Magic Concentration (Purple)," had reached 836, just a few dozen experience points away from the next level.

’Will there be a next level? What comes after purple? What new effects will it unlock?’ As Rorschach pondered these things, his Light Technique flickered out without him noticing.

...

For the next few days, Paulina was busy wrangling with the Alchemy Department, while Rorschach spent his days reading literature or assisting Kano in the lab, and his nights holed up writing his paper.

On the morning of the last workday before his days off, Rorschach was having breakfast in the cafeteria while reading the newspaper, as usual.

ACHOO!

’It’s gotten cold.’ Rorschach was still wearing a cotton shirt under his Mage Robe. He looked around and saw other Apprentices with their robes open, revealing cashmere sweaters or leather vests underneath. There was even a noble lady, less tolerant of the cold, who wore a fur shawl over her robe.

’The holiday is coming up. I need to buy some new clothes.’