Read Online From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne - Free Book Online
Authors: Jules Verne
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36,000 feet per second. I have reason to think we’ll succeed. But now let’s examine the speeds obtained so far. General Morgan can enlighten us on that subject.”
“Yes, especially since I was on the Experiment Committee during the war,” replied the general. “First, I can tell you that the Dahlgren hundred-pounders, which had a range of three miles, gave their projectiles a muzzle velocity of 1,500 feet per second.”
“Good. And what about the Rodman Columbiad?” * asked Barbicane.
“The Rodman Columbiad, tested at Fort Hamilton, near New York City, shot a half-ton projectile six miles, with a muzzle velocity of 2,400 feet per second, a result never obtained by Armstrong and Paliser in England.”
“Oh, the English!” said J. T. Maston, shaking his formidable hook at the horizon.
“So 2,400 feet per second is the highest velocity reached so far?” asked Barbicane.
“Yes,” replied Morgan.
“I
will
say, however,” remarked J. T. Maston, “that if my mortar hadn’t burst …”
“Yes, but it did burst,” Barbicane said with a benevolentgesture. “Now, let’s take that velocity of 2,400 feet per second as our starting point. We’ll have to increase it fifteenfold. I’ll postpone discussing the means of achieving that velocity until another meeting! For the moment, I’d like to call your attention to the dimensions that the projectile will have to have. As you can well imagine, we won’t be dealing with a little bullet weighing no more than half a ton!”
“Why not?” asked Major Elphiston.
“Because our projectile,” J. T. Maston said quickly, “must be big enough to attract the attention of the inhabitants of the moon, if there are any.”
“Yes,” said Barbicane, “and also for an even more important reason.”
“What do you mean?” asked the major.
“I mean that it’s not enough to send off a projectile and then forget about it: we must be able to watch it until it reaches its destination.”
“What!” exclaimed the general and the major, somewhat startled by this idea.
“If we can’t watch it,” Barbicane said with self-assurance, “our experiment will be inconclusive.”
“Then you must be planning to make a projectile of colossal size!” said the major.
“No. Listen carefully. As you know, optical instruments have been highly developed. There are telescopes capable of magnifying objects six thousand times, and bringing the moon to an apparent distance of forty miles. At that distance, objects sixty feet wide are clearly visible. The reason why telescopes haven’t been made any more powerful is that their clarity decreases as their power increases, and the moon, which is only a reflecting mirror, doesn’t give off enough light to make it desirable to increase magnification beyond that point.”
“Then what will you do?” asked the general. “Give your projectile a diameter of sixty feet?”
“No.”
“Well, then, do you intend to make the moon brighter?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You can’t be serious!” cried J. T. Maston.
“It’s really quite simple,” said Barbicane. “If I succeed in diminishing the density of the atmosphere the moon’s light travels through, haven’t I, in effect, made its light brighter?”
“Of course.”
“Very well: to obtain that result, all that’s necessary is to place a telescope on a high mountain, and that’s what we’ll do.”
“I surrender!” said the major. “You have a way of simplifying things … And what magnification do you expect to get that way?”
“Forty-eight thousand. That will bring the moon to within five miles, and objects only nine feet wide will be visible.”
“Wonderful!” said J. T. Maston. “So our projectile will have a diameter of nine feet!”
“Exactly.”
“Allow me to point out, however,” said Major Elphiston, “that it will be so heavy that …”
“Before we discuss its weight, Major,” said Barbicane, “let me tell you that our ancestors
“Yes, especially since I was on the Experiment Committee during the war,” replied the general. “First, I can tell you that the Dahlgren hundred-pounders, which had a range of three miles, gave their projectiles a muzzle velocity of 1,500 feet per second.”
“Good. And what about the Rodman Columbiad?” * asked Barbicane.
“The Rodman Columbiad, tested at Fort Hamilton, near New York City, shot a half-ton projectile six miles, with a muzzle velocity of 2,400 feet per second, a result never obtained by Armstrong and Paliser in England.”
“Oh, the English!” said J. T. Maston, shaking his formidable hook at the horizon.
“So 2,400 feet per second is the highest velocity reached so far?” asked Barbicane.
“Yes,” replied Morgan.
“I
will
say, however,” remarked J. T. Maston, “that if my mortar hadn’t burst …”
“Yes, but it did burst,” Barbicane said with a benevolentgesture. “Now, let’s take that velocity of 2,400 feet per second as our starting point. We’ll have to increase it fifteenfold. I’ll postpone discussing the means of achieving that velocity until another meeting! For the moment, I’d like to call your attention to the dimensions that the projectile will have to have. As you can well imagine, we won’t be dealing with a little bullet weighing no more than half a ton!”
“Why not?” asked Major Elphiston.
“Because our projectile,” J. T. Maston said quickly, “must be big enough to attract the attention of the inhabitants of the moon, if there are any.”
“Yes,” said Barbicane, “and also for an even more important reason.”
“What do you mean?” asked the major.
“I mean that it’s not enough to send off a projectile and then forget about it: we must be able to watch it until it reaches its destination.”
“What!” exclaimed the general and the major, somewhat startled by this idea.
“If we can’t watch it,” Barbicane said with self-assurance, “our experiment will be inconclusive.”
“Then you must be planning to make a projectile of colossal size!” said the major.
“No. Listen carefully. As you know, optical instruments have been highly developed. There are telescopes capable of magnifying objects six thousand times, and bringing the moon to an apparent distance of forty miles. At that distance, objects sixty feet wide are clearly visible. The reason why telescopes haven’t been made any more powerful is that their clarity decreases as their power increases, and the moon, which is only a reflecting mirror, doesn’t give off enough light to make it desirable to increase magnification beyond that point.”
“Then what will you do?” asked the general. “Give your projectile a diameter of sixty feet?”
“No.”
“Well, then, do you intend to make the moon brighter?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You can’t be serious!” cried J. T. Maston.
“It’s really quite simple,” said Barbicane. “If I succeed in diminishing the density of the atmosphere the moon’s light travels through, haven’t I, in effect, made its light brighter?”
“Of course.”
“Very well: to obtain that result, all that’s necessary is to place a telescope on a high mountain, and that’s what we’ll do.”
“I surrender!” said the major. “You have a way of simplifying things … And what magnification do you expect to get that way?”
“Forty-eight thousand. That will bring the moon to within five miles, and objects only nine feet wide will be visible.”
“Wonderful!” said J. T. Maston. “So our projectile will have a diameter of nine feet!”
“Exactly.”
“Allow me to point out, however,” said Major Elphiston, “that it will be so heavy that …”
“Before we discuss its weight, Major,” said Barbicane, “let me tell you that our ancestors
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