Read Online From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jules Verne
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Sainte-Claire-Deville, succeeded in obtaining aluminum in a compact mass. That precious metal is as white as silver, as unchanging as gold, as tough as iron, as fusible as copper, and as light as glass. It’s easily worked, it’s extremely widespread in nature, since alumina forms the base of most rocks, it has only a third of the weight of iron, and it seems to have been created for the specific purpose of providing us with material for our projectile!”
“Hurrah for aluminum!” cried J. T. Maston, who was always very noisy in his moments of enthusiasm.
“But isn’t aluminum very expensive to produce?” asked the major.
“It used to be,” replied Barbicane. “When it was first discovered, it cost somewhere between $260 and $280 a pound, then it dropped to $27, and now it’s down to $9.”
“But $9 a pound,” said the major, who did not give up easily, “is still an enormous price!”
“Enormous but not prohibitive.”
“How much will the projectile weigh?” asked Morgan.
“Here are the results of my calculations,” answered Barbicane. “A shell with a diameter of nine feet and walls a foot thick would weigh 67,440 pounds if it were made of cast iron. Made of aluminum, it will weigh only 19,250 pounds.”
“Excellent!” said J. T. Maston. “That will fit into our project beautifully!”
“Excellent! Excellent!” repeated the major. “But do you realize that, at $9 a pound, the projectile will cost …”
“It will cost $173,250, yes, I’m aware of that; but don’t worry, my friends: I assure you that our project won’t be short of money.”
“We’ll be flooded with money!” said J. T. Maston.
“Well, what do you think of aluminum?” asked Barbicane.
“Motion carried!” replied the three other members of the committee.
“As for the shape of the shell,” said Barbicane, “it’s not important, because once the shell has gone through the earth’s atmosphere it will be in a vacuum. So I propose a round ball; it can revolve if it wants to, and behave however it likes.”
Thus ended the first meeting of the committee. The question of the projectile was settled, and J. T. Maston was delighted with the thought of sending an aluminum shell to the inhabitants of the moon: “It will give them an impressive idea of what we’re like!”
* Thus, if one has heard the sound of a cannon shot, one can no longer be struck by the projectile.
* This was the name given by the Americans to those enormous weapons of destruction.
CHAPTER 8
THE STORY OF THE CANNON
T HE DECISIONS made at this meeting produced a great effect in the outside world. A few timorous people were alarmed by the idea of a 20,000-pound shell being shot into space. Everyone wondered what kind of a cannon would ever be able to give enough initial velocity to such a mass. These questions were to be triumphantly answered by the minutes of the committee’s second meeting.
On the evening following the first meeting the four members of the committee sat down before new mountains of sandwiches and a veritable ocean of tea. The discussion was immediately resumed, this time without preliminaries.
“Gentlemen,” said Barbicane, “we’re now going to take up the question of the cannon that must be built: its length, shape, material, and weight. We’ll probably give it gigantic dimensions, but no matter how great the difficulties, our industrial genius will easily overcome them. So please listen to me and don’t hesitate to make blunt objections. I’m not afraid of them!”
This statement was greeted with a grunt of approval.
“Let me remind you,” he went on, “where our discussion led us yesterday. We agreed that the problem is to give an initial velocity of 36,000 feet per second to ashell with a diameter of nine feet and a weight of 20,000 pounds.”
“Yes, that’s the problem,” said Major Elphiston.
“I’ll continue from there,” said Barbicane. “When a projectile is launched into space, what
“Hurrah for aluminum!” cried J. T. Maston, who was always very noisy in his moments of enthusiasm.
“But isn’t aluminum very expensive to produce?” asked the major.
“It used to be,” replied Barbicane. “When it was first discovered, it cost somewhere between $260 and $280 a pound, then it dropped to $27, and now it’s down to $9.”
“But $9 a pound,” said the major, who did not give up easily, “is still an enormous price!”
“Enormous but not prohibitive.”
“How much will the projectile weigh?” asked Morgan.
“Here are the results of my calculations,” answered Barbicane. “A shell with a diameter of nine feet and walls a foot thick would weigh 67,440 pounds if it were made of cast iron. Made of aluminum, it will weigh only 19,250 pounds.”
“Excellent!” said J. T. Maston. “That will fit into our project beautifully!”
“Excellent! Excellent!” repeated the major. “But do you realize that, at $9 a pound, the projectile will cost …”
“It will cost $173,250, yes, I’m aware of that; but don’t worry, my friends: I assure you that our project won’t be short of money.”
“We’ll be flooded with money!” said J. T. Maston.
“Well, what do you think of aluminum?” asked Barbicane.
“Motion carried!” replied the three other members of the committee.
“As for the shape of the shell,” said Barbicane, “it’s not important, because once the shell has gone through the earth’s atmosphere it will be in a vacuum. So I propose a round ball; it can revolve if it wants to, and behave however it likes.”
Thus ended the first meeting of the committee. The question of the projectile was settled, and J. T. Maston was delighted with the thought of sending an aluminum shell to the inhabitants of the moon: “It will give them an impressive idea of what we’re like!”
* Thus, if one has heard the sound of a cannon shot, one can no longer be struck by the projectile.
* This was the name given by the Americans to those enormous weapons of destruction.
CHAPTER 8
THE STORY OF THE CANNON
T HE DECISIONS made at this meeting produced a great effect in the outside world. A few timorous people were alarmed by the idea of a 20,000-pound shell being shot into space. Everyone wondered what kind of a cannon would ever be able to give enough initial velocity to such a mass. These questions were to be triumphantly answered by the minutes of the committee’s second meeting.
On the evening following the first meeting the four members of the committee sat down before new mountains of sandwiches and a veritable ocean of tea. The discussion was immediately resumed, this time without preliminaries.
“Gentlemen,” said Barbicane, “we’re now going to take up the question of the cannon that must be built: its length, shape, material, and weight. We’ll probably give it gigantic dimensions, but no matter how great the difficulties, our industrial genius will easily overcome them. So please listen to me and don’t hesitate to make blunt objections. I’m not afraid of them!”
This statement was greeted with a grunt of approval.
“Let me remind you,” he went on, “where our discussion led us yesterday. We agreed that the problem is to give an initial velocity of 36,000 feet per second to ashell with a diameter of nine feet and a weight of 20,000 pounds.”
“Yes, that’s the problem,” said Major Elphiston.
“I’ll continue from there,” said Barbicane. “When a projectile is launched into space, what
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