Read Online Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates by Victor Appleton II - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Victor Appleton II
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Russian chefs, Tom returned to his long-interrupted explanation. "All matter— all atoms —responds to magnetism to some degree. Matter with diamagnetic properties is ‘squeezed’ by magnetic forces and moves away from the center of the field, a form of repulsion."
"And I just happen to know that paramagnetic matter does the opposite," Bud interjected proudly.
Arv Hanson raised his eyebrows. "The boy’s been reading!"
Grinning, Tom went on. "Those basic effects are much weaker than ferromagnetism, the strong reactions we’re used to with substances like iron and commercial magnets. What I’m at work on, which I call a magnetic deflector, concentrates, modulates, and ‘contours’ a field in a way that amplifies the weaker forms of reaction."
"Made it work yet?" Bud asked.
"Watch." As Tom carefully adjusted the dials of the magneto-dynamic test device, a transparent filmy surface layer, floating on a fluid like a skin of oil, became luminous beneath the protective plate. "The glow is produced by microlasers in the sides of the tray, refracting upwards as they sweep back and forth through the top layer. Now let’s switch on the magnetic deflector apparatus, which is underneath the test stand."
There was a click. Instantly a pattern of neatly curving lines, a spiral, spread across the luminous surface. Like a tour guide, Tom commented: "That’s a perfect logarithmic spiral, by the way." There was a small dark area in the very center, and as the three watched it smoothly expanded out until the spiral was only visible at the edges of the fluid pan.
"What is it you have floating on the suspension liquid, Skipper?" Arv inquired. "Iron filings?"
Tom shook his head. "Nope. It’s been dusted with tiny droplets of Tomasite doped with manganese flouride, which is magnetically unresponsive."
"But it responds anyway," Bud declared.
"That’s the whole point," his friend noted.
Arv scratched his forehead, jostling his lazily-combed blond hair. "I’m guessing the Meissner Effect." Which elicited the Barclay Effect—a blank, slightly pained, look.
"I took a different direction, Arv," Tom corrected the modelmaker. "Remember how we used linear spacewave fields to guide the megascope’s microwave beams through space? Well, my brain-light flicked on and it struck me that microwave interference patterns crawling along a surface like that act like ‘virtual’ electric currents."
Responding to Bud’s expression, Hanson said: "Hey, let me take a crack at the explanation bit. Budworth, you like surfing and hit the beach when there’s one available, right?"
"Good start—Arvid."
"Then maybe you’ve noticed how, when regularly spaced ocean waves come in and hit against a straight barrier—a seawall—at an angle, you can see a chain of wave crests moving sideways against the barrier." When Bud nodded, the engineer continued: "Well, if I’m grasping what our blond prodigy is saying, he’s using an effect like that to produce what amounts to a chain of moving electric charges on the surface of the spectronic field. And that’s what an electric current is —moving charges. Which, incidentally, generate magnetic force."
"Hmm." Bud winked at Tom. "Not bad. The guy’s got a future."
Tom laughed. "Anyway, by projecting the forces out into the space ahead of the deflector, it creates highly localized currents that grab ahold of ― "
" Hey! "
The exclamation was Bud’s, but Hanson echoed it. "Something’s rummaging around in my pants pocket!" gulped Arv, startled.
Tom stared at his companions with blank puzzlement. Then his hands darted downward toward his own pockets. The same thing was happening to him!
The next instant the entire contents of all their pockets—coins, keys, bits of paper, even globs of lint—were streaming out into the air at high speed, turning the pockets inside-out.
"Good grief, it’s happening all over the lab!" cried Tom.
Throughout the laboratory, small objects were streaking back and
"And I just happen to know that paramagnetic matter does the opposite," Bud interjected proudly.
Arv Hanson raised his eyebrows. "The boy’s been reading!"
Grinning, Tom went on. "Those basic effects are much weaker than ferromagnetism, the strong reactions we’re used to with substances like iron and commercial magnets. What I’m at work on, which I call a magnetic deflector, concentrates, modulates, and ‘contours’ a field in a way that amplifies the weaker forms of reaction."
"Made it work yet?" Bud asked.
"Watch." As Tom carefully adjusted the dials of the magneto-dynamic test device, a transparent filmy surface layer, floating on a fluid like a skin of oil, became luminous beneath the protective plate. "The glow is produced by microlasers in the sides of the tray, refracting upwards as they sweep back and forth through the top layer. Now let’s switch on the magnetic deflector apparatus, which is underneath the test stand."
There was a click. Instantly a pattern of neatly curving lines, a spiral, spread across the luminous surface. Like a tour guide, Tom commented: "That’s a perfect logarithmic spiral, by the way." There was a small dark area in the very center, and as the three watched it smoothly expanded out until the spiral was only visible at the edges of the fluid pan.
"What is it you have floating on the suspension liquid, Skipper?" Arv inquired. "Iron filings?"
Tom shook his head. "Nope. It’s been dusted with tiny droplets of Tomasite doped with manganese flouride, which is magnetically unresponsive."
"But it responds anyway," Bud declared.
"That’s the whole point," his friend noted.
Arv scratched his forehead, jostling his lazily-combed blond hair. "I’m guessing the Meissner Effect." Which elicited the Barclay Effect—a blank, slightly pained, look.
"I took a different direction, Arv," Tom corrected the modelmaker. "Remember how we used linear spacewave fields to guide the megascope’s microwave beams through space? Well, my brain-light flicked on and it struck me that microwave interference patterns crawling along a surface like that act like ‘virtual’ electric currents."
Responding to Bud’s expression, Hanson said: "Hey, let me take a crack at the explanation bit. Budworth, you like surfing and hit the beach when there’s one available, right?"
"Good start—Arvid."
"Then maybe you’ve noticed how, when regularly spaced ocean waves come in and hit against a straight barrier—a seawall—at an angle, you can see a chain of wave crests moving sideways against the barrier." When Bud nodded, the engineer continued: "Well, if I’m grasping what our blond prodigy is saying, he’s using an effect like that to produce what amounts to a chain of moving electric charges on the surface of the spectronic field. And that’s what an electric current is —moving charges. Which, incidentally, generate magnetic force."
"Hmm." Bud winked at Tom. "Not bad. The guy’s got a future."
Tom laughed. "Anyway, by projecting the forces out into the space ahead of the deflector, it creates highly localized currents that grab ahold of ― "
" Hey! "
The exclamation was Bud’s, but Hanson echoed it. "Something’s rummaging around in my pants pocket!" gulped Arv, startled.
Tom stared at his companions with blank puzzlement. Then his hands darted downward toward his own pockets. The same thing was happening to him!
The next instant the entire contents of all their pockets—coins, keys, bits of paper, even globs of lint—were streaming out into the air at high speed, turning the pockets inside-out.
"Good grief, it’s happening all over the lab!" cried Tom.
Throughout the laboratory, small objects were streaking back and
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