Tale #8: Dearest Vincent
The Grand Academy of Fulgrath brought forth some of the most brilliant minds of the first century GE. Among them was Rudolph Molotov, who performed extensive conversion and measurement experiments of soul power and lightning magic, creating the existential conversion coefficient, the "Molotov" [M], based on the Kunibert unit [K] for measuring soul power. Before the Declaration of Existential Independence and the jumping to the South Pole of Borealis in 25 GE, Rudolph Molotov and Vincent Kunibert Greenhorn were close colleagues that inspired much of each other's work. Molotov's extensive research and experimentation with soul power to energy conversion, electromagnetism, and electric field theory led to the invention of the Molotov Tower, a tall capacitor tower built to harness the energy of lightning strikes to store as electrical power in large fuel cells. The first large-scale Molotov Tower was built as a proof-of-concept next to the then just Grand Academy in 175 GE.
This tower, affectionately called “the Burning Tree” by the students of the Grand Academy of Fulgrath is still used to this day, not to harness electricity from lightning strikes - at least not as a means of power generation - but for the students to practice their lightning magic on it.
- Fact 108 taken from Old Tim's One Hundred Facts about Aqualon, Volume 2
My dearest friend Vincent, After your visit during the previous month of Fernsty, I have given great thought to our discussions on the matter of storing electrical energy. While most intrigued by your ingenious theories on storing the power kinetically by having it pump water to higher ground so that it may then be fed again into a large dynamo at the consumer's convenience, I must say the prospect of building large reservoirs on stilts for such a purpose is less than practical for large-scale purposes, and as you know the Middlish lands, especially around my esteemed little town, are rather flat in their topography. Hence, I had to turn my thoughts to different kinds of energy storage. Yet, not too different, my dear friend! Why, it was when I took one of my long strolls by the Eel Holes near the Academy grounds, I am sure you recall these magnificent ponds from your visit? Yes, while not as broad as the lakes down south, these are rather peculiar bodies of water, you see. They reach down to incredible depths; in fact, many of my colleagues have long suspected that they connect directly to that elusive reservoir we Middlish folk refer to as the 'secret ocean'. Though 'undiscovered' or 'unconfirmed' would be far more academically appropriate terms, if you ask me, my good chap. Now, these Eel Holes have a staggering depth of several kilometers, penetrating deep into Aqualon's outer crust. I thought to myself: Well, certainly one may pump water to higher elevation and then have it flow down again to utilize the so stored energy, but surely whether the medium that holds the energy is water or something else is hardly pertinent to the principle at work. So this got me thinking: A nice old cinder block tied to a rope winch, that might just do the trick. I have drawn up some schematics and attached them to this letter, which I hope will find you well. As you can see, the storage tower I have developed will submerge a heavy block of stone or metal, tied to a sturdy chain, within the depths of the Eel Holes. Tied into a powerful transmission box within the tower, the weight of the block against the translation of the transmission will have it sink at a very slow pace while the transmission turns a dynamo at break-neck speeds, providing significant amounts of electrical energy at demand. Whenever new electrical energy is produced by my patented Molotov Towers (as soon as a proper implementation of it can be devised and constructed), or fed in directly by the lightning mages of the Academy, it can be stored by means of these storage units as the energy can be fed back into the dynamo, making it act as an engine that pulls the block back up. I am quite exited about this concept and would enjoy to hear your input on my thoughts and figures. Who knows, perhaps this invention will soon become the industrial standard for this region. There are great heights yet to be achieved my friend, and I am certain that we will be the architects of that lofty future. I hope to hear from you again soon, and do feel very much invited to visit me again at your convenience. My wife has grown quite fond of your inspiring presence, and I am sure you would say the same of her excellent roast beef casserole, seeing how you seemed to enjoy seconds and thirds during your last visit, so be assured that more will be made readily available upon your return visit. Yours truly, Rudolph Molotov
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