During continuous learning, Tom manipulated a Clone to use the metal processing equipment to fabricate a rudimentary glass production setup.
This particular setup could not be used in a vacuum environment; it required sufficient atmospheric pressure. For this, Tom had to find another small cave, seal its entrance with a thin film, and only then was he able to create an environment suitable for the equipment's operation.
It was mainly composed of these parts: first, the raw material processing tank.
Loshen Star also had a lot of silicon dioxide, and its purity was not low, so it could be used directly. Thus, in the raw material processing tank, this silicon dioxide was mixed with some sodium oxide, limestone, and other materials.
Afterward, they were sent into a furnace, where they were heated to above 1500 degrees Celsius via electric heating. At this point, they would completely melt.
Then, the Clone responsible for blowing would use a long blowpipe, dip a little glass solution, and blow into a mold, and a glass tube would be formed.
Once it cooled, it could be used.
The manufacturing method Tom was using at this moment was, of course, an extremely simplified one. Glass tubes manufactured using this method had low transparency, many burrs, were prone to cracking, and had a host of other drawbacks.
But all these drawbacks were overshadowed by one major advantage.
The ability to produce it at the current stage was the biggest advantage!
Aside from the 17 Clones responsible for agricultural production and remaining on standby, Tom specifically assigned two of the remaining 10 Clones to blow glass tubes.
Of the remaining 8, two drove a planetary rover, following early exploration guidance, to search for mercury and argon.
These two elements were indispensable in fluorescent lamps.
Of the remaining six Clones, three stayed on Loshen Star's surface, operating the blast furnace and metal processing equipment to produce tungsten filaments, metal sheets, and other materials needed for fluorescent lamps. The last three then took these products back to the Shenkong (Deep Space) Spaceship, using the spaceship's laboratory to manually produce devices like starters.
The 27 bodies once again began bustling with activity, with not a single one idle.
When the colorless argon ore and silvery-white solid mercury, also frozen solid, were found and brought back by the Clones, the first batch of glass tubes, starters, ballasts, and other components had already been produced.
Tom manipulated one Clone to begin the final assembly work.
For the current early technical stage, the most difficult step should have been vacuuming.
After all, the inside of a fluorescent lamp tube needed to be vacuumed first, and then filled with argon gas.
But this step was no problem at all for Tom .
The reason was simple: Loshen Star's surface was full of vacuum everywhere, so there was no need to pump.
Thus, some small equipment and circuits were filled into the glass tube.
After making a fluorescent lamp, Tom carefully connected it to a power source.
The next moment, bright light emanated from the lamp tube, causing the Clone to involuntarily squint his eyes.
"Not bad, not bad."
Tom was very satisfied with this.
Once the ability to manufacture fluorescent lamps was verified, the biggest obstacle to building the No. 2 Planting Base was removed.
Thus, among these 10 Clones, five were specifically responsible for manufacturing fluorescent lamps, and the other five operated various equipment, beginning the production of planting racks.
The appearance of these planting racks was similar to a bookshelf, but open on both sides.
A planting rack was about one meter wide, two meters high, and varied in length from three to four meters.
Its interior was divided into two to four layers according to different needs.
Those divided into two layers could be used to plant taller crops, such as wheat and rapeseed. Those divided into four layers could only plant shorter crops, such as oilseed rape and sweet potatoes.
There were also undivided ones, which were used for planting corn.
Tom manufactured a variety of different planting racks.
This time, building the planting base was not as simple as just planting a few types of crops. Tom planned to plant anything useful. Even if there was too much to eat, it could be used for industrial purposes.
Time slowly passed, and in a blink of an eye, several more months went by, and Tom 's forces once again added 5 Clones, bringing the total number to 32.
Under the daily operation of the sole tractor, working more than ten hours to transport fuel and ore, under the ceaseless efforts of the 32 Clones, under the constant smelting of the blast furnace and the continuous roar of the metal processing equipment, all the equipment needed for the No. 2 Planting Base was finally completed.
Even the larger generator prepared for Base No. 2 had already been built.
It was finally time for actual construction.
15 Clones, full of vigor, wearing worn-out, tape-covered, low-quality space suits, arrived at this huge cave, previously explored, with a total internal area of 11,000 square meters.
Such a huge cave, with no internal supports, could probably only form on Loshen Star, where gravity is extremely low.
If it were on Earth, it would have collapsed long ago.
Although this cave was huge, its exit was not large, only about a dozen square meters in total.
The 15 Clones worked together, and after completing the material relocation, they directly used specially produced steel plates as a gate to seal the cave entrance. At the same time, an entrance and an isolation chamber were left below the gate to facilitate the Clones' entry and exit.
The inside of this cave was sealed by rock, and the entrance was sealed by an iron gate. Thus, it completed the isolation between the inside and the outside.
The 15 Clones worked together again, and the long metal hoses, acting as underfloor heating pipes, covered the entire cave in just a few hours.
Under the roar of the steam generator, rolling heat was transmitted into the pipes, beginning to heat the surface.
Large amounts of frozen material began to directly vaporize and then rise into the air.
Under normal circumstances, they should naturally flow towards areas of lower air pressure. But at this moment, the exit was blocked by the iron gate, so they could only accumulate inside the cave.
With a certain temperature, they began to cause the frozen material on the rock walls and the top of the cave to also melt and turn into gas, so the pressure inside the cave became higher and higher.
When the pressure rose to be equivalent to one atmosphere, a Clone opened the gas outlet.
Thus, these miscellaneous gases gushed out like a long sword.
After flowing out for several meters, they were cooled and turned into snowflakes, falling down.
When the internal pressure dropped, the vent was sealed, and the interior began to heat up again.
After repeating this several times, all the miscellaneous gases inside were finally expelled. At this point, Tom controlled the Clone to place relatively pure solid oxygen, solid nitrogen, a certain proportion of carbon dioxide, and water ice into the cave.
After they all melted and turned into gas, filling the entire cave, Tom manipulated a Clone to enter the No. 2 Base.
Taking off his space suit, breathing the slightly moist air, and looking at the huge, empty cave, Tom murmured with emotion in his heart, "What a good place."