Chapter 208: [Cannons, Warships, and Population]

Only a few classes need to be taught in three years, so the working hours are indeed very easy. The only thing that makes Ma Shao hesitate is that the commuting time is a bit long - several thousand hours.

  Now that there are no airplanes, it is really not easy to travel back and forth from the interior of North America to the UK. A lot of time is spent on the road. Although you can do many things while traveling by car or boat, such as reading or writing, there is still a lot of waste.

  So before agreeing, Ma Shao bargained a little and then became a professor of physics at Cambridge University.

  The Department of Physics at Cambridge University welcomed his arrival and held an induction ceremony.

  Ma Shao gave a speech at the ceremony, which mainly contained some general statements, but also some more specific ones.

  For example, the calculation of the Roche limit.

  He had just read some articles written by French scientist Edouard Roche a few days ago and realized that Roche might be trying to calculate the Roche limit but had not yet figured it out. So he decisively intercepted the opportunity and directly gave the calculation process and results in this speech.

  Although this achievement cannot be compared with the two laws of thermodynamics, its sophisticated physical ideas and profound mathematical foundation, coupled with Ma Shao's ability to speak on the podium, still impressed the physicists present.

  Of course, Ma Shao also gave Luo Xi a consolation prize, saying that he was "inspired by him" and "did some small follow-up work."

  The Luoxi people were sitting at home, and the "reward" came from the sky. I wonder how they felt.

  For example, Ma Shao proposed to build a laboratory at Cambridge University.

  Universities of this era generally lacked decent laboratories, and Cambridge University was no exception.

  Ma Shao knew that this was a problem, and that the requirements for experiments in future physics would become increasingly higher, so he mentioned this.

  But it was just a casual mention. After all, it cannot be built in a short time, and it will be even further away to produce results.

  After the induction ceremony, Ma Shao went to visit Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy, a meteorological expert recommended to him by Prince Albert.

  Darwin was also traveling with him.

  Darwin was invited because he and General Fitzroy had been friends for many years.

  When Darwin was on the Beagle conducting scientific expeditions around the world, the captain was Fitz Roy.

  After the three met, they had some exchanges.

  During the brief contact, Ma Shao quickly discovered the fact that although General Fitzroy was a meteorological expert, he was also a fanatical Christian.

  When Darwin briefly mentioned the book he was working on, The Origin of Species, Fitzroy criticized his old friend bluntly, causing Darwin to tactfully stop talking about the topic.

  At that time, no one would have thought that when Darwin published this book in the future, Fitzroy would suffer a mental breakdown and commit suicide.

  After leaving the topic of religion aside, the conversation was quite pleasant.

  General Fitzroy: "I have learned about your weather forecast plan. I have to say that this is a very good idea. It can facilitate people's lives and has military significance."

  Weather and the military are closely related, especially for the navy.

  As a senior military officer and meteorological expert, it was most appropriate for Fitzroy to head the Meteorological Office.

  He then changed the subject: "But there are also some problems, such as meteorological instruments. I think the current meteorological instruments cannot meet the needs of weather forecasting."  

  Ma Shao smiled and said, "General Fitzroy, this may be a little offensive, but I still have to say that your information is a little behind the times. Meteorological instruments are no longer a problem now. More advanced barometers, hygrometers, anemometers, rain gauges... have all been invented."

  Fitzroy was stunned: "Who invented it? When?"

  "I, last month." Ma Shao said, and then took out several instruments from the briefcase. "I brought some of them, General Fitzroy, you can take a look."

  Fitzroy took the instrument and took a quick inspection. As a meteorological expert, he realized that what Ma Shao said was true. These meteorological instruments were not the type he had used in the past. They had become more advanced and efficient.

  Looking at the instrument in his hand and then at the horse whistle sitting in front of him, General Fitzroy was deeply shocked and speechless for a long time.

  Ma Shao was a little embarrassed: "In fact, it is just a slight improvement on the previous instruments. But with these, combined with the telegraph and the necessary personnel, the demand for weather forecasting should be met."

  Darwin smiled and said, "Captain, Sir Ma Shao is such a genius. Incredible creations are as easy for him as breathing. I think you will get used to it slowly in the future."

  Fitzroy was still amazed. He looked at Ma Shao and said, "To be honest, I used to be skeptical about your achievements in other fields... until now, you have come to a field that I am familiar with."

  As Ma Shao said, the conditions for weather forecasting are already in place, and the establishment of a meteorological office is a natural progression.

  Fitzroy served as the director of the Meteorological Office and began to organize the release of weather forecasts. Military-related information was handled by him, while weather information for the public was released by Ma Shao.

  Meteorological instruments are certainly not provided for nothing. These advanced instruments are exchanged for the Meteorological Office's exclusive reporting rights.

  For this purpose, Ma Shao specially acquired a penny newspaper in London which had been established for less than two years. This penny newspaper, which was established to follow the trend, was poorly managed and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The acquisition did not cost much money, but it had all the necessary configurations, including personnel and equipment.

  After buying the newspaper, Ma Shao renamed it The Daily Mail, adjusted its business strategy, and made exclusive weather forecast information a feature of the newspaper.

  In order to get weather information, many people began to subscribe to the Daily Mail on a long-term basis, bringing this dying newspaper back to life.

  Later, Ma Shao invited Dickens to serialize his novel in the Daily Mail - a novel with Apache as the background.

  As the top of the top, Dickens' royalties are quite expensive. In fact, Ma Shao paid him 2,000 pounds in one go, and it is expected that he will have to pay him another 8,000 pounds in the future.

  But compared with the profits it brings, the ten thousand pounds is completely negligible.

  This novel made the Daily Mail take off immediately and became an instant hit, and also made the British people have a better understanding and better impression of Apache.

  It is foreseeable that, with the help of Dickens's huge influence, the resulting public opinion and political orientation will gradually spread to the whole world...

  Perhaps one day in the future, people will sympathize with Indians as deeply as they sympathize with Jews, even though the Indians by then will have long escaped from their miserable situation.

  The success of the weather forecast project earned Ma Shao the friendship of General Fitzroy and officially established a connection with the British military.

  Like most people, Fitzroy admired Ma Shao's extraordinary creativity and hoped that he could do something awesome for him.

  For a general, it goes without saying what such a thing is.

  "Sir Ma Shao, I wonder if you have any way to improve our weapons - just like improving meteorological instruments?" he asked this question.