The notebook, which was taken possession of by the police, had thirty pages covered with formulae and figures, including all the calculations of J.T. Maston. It was a work of the higher mathematics, which could only be appreciated by the highest mathematicians1. The following formula,
[Equation 1]
which was also to be found in the calculation of From the Earth to the Moon, held a prominent place in these calculations. The majority of people could not understand anything of what was written in the notebook, but it would have given satisfaction to give out the results, which every one expected with so much curiosity. And so it was that all the newspapers, and the Inquiry2 Committee as well, tried to read the formulae of this celebrated3 calculator. In the work of Mr. Maston were found some problems correctly executed, others half solved, etc. The calculations had been made with great exactness and of course the Inquiry Committee supposed that they were absolutely correct. If the plan was carried out fully4 it was seen that without a doubt the earth’s axis5 would be greatly changed and that the terrible disasters which were predicted would take place with full force. The reports made by the Inquiry Committee to the different newspapers ran as follows:
“The idea followed by the Administrative6 Council of the N.P.P.A. and the object of which is to substitute a new axis for the old one is to be carried out by means of the recoil7 of a piece of ordnance8 fixed9 at a certain point of the earth. If the barrel of this device is immovably fixed to the ground it is not at all doubtful that it will communicate its shock over our whole planet. The engine adopted by the engineers of the Society is then nothing else but a monster cannon10, the effect of shooting which would be absolutely nothing if it were pointed11 vertically12. To produce its highest effect it is necessary to point it horizontally towards the north or south, and it is this last direction which has been chosen by Barbicane & Co. Under these conditions the recoil will produce a movement of the earth towards the north, a movement similar to that of one billiard ball touched very slightly by another.”
This was really just what the clever Alcide Pierdeux had predicted. As soon as the cannon has been fired off, the center line of the earth would be displaced in a parallel direction to that of the recoil. This would change the direction of the orbit somewhat, and consequently the duration of the year, but in such a mild way that it must be considered as absolutely free from bad results. At the same time the earth takes a new movement of rotation13 around an axis in the plane of the equator, and the daily rotation will then be accomplished14 indefinitely upon this new axis, as if no daily movement had existed previous to the shock. At present this movement is made around the lines of the poles, and in combination with the accessory force produced by the recoil there was created a new axis, the pole of which moves from the present to the amount of a quantity called “x.” In other words, if the cannon is fired at the moment when the vernal equinox—one of the intersections15 of the equator and the ecliptic—is at the nadir16 of the point of shooting, and if the recoil is sufficiently17 strong to displace the old pole 23 degrees, 28 minutes, the new axis becomes perpendicular18 to the direction of the earth’s orbit, the same as it is for the planet Jupiter.
What the consequences were expected to be we already know, as President Barbicane had indicated them at the meeting of the 22d of December. But, given the mass of the earth and the quantity of momentum19, which she possesses, is it possible to conceive a piece of ordnance so strong that its recoil will be able to produce a modification20 in the actual direction of the real pole, and especially to the extent of 23 degrees, 28 minutes? Yes, if a cannon or a series of cannons21 are built with the dimensions required by the laws of mechanics, or, in lieu of these dimensions, if the inventors were in possession of an explosive strong enough to impel22 a projectile23 with the necessary velocity24 for such a displacement25.
Now, taking as a basis model the cannon of 27 centimetres of the French Marine26 Corps27, which throws a projectile of 180 kilograms with an initial velocity of 500 metres a second, by giving to this piece of ordnance an increased dimension of 100 times—that is, a million times in volume—it would throw a projectile of 180,000 tons: or, in other words, if the powder had strength sufficient to give to the projectile an initial velocity 5,600 times greater than that of the old black powder used for a cannon the desired result would be obtained. In fact, with a velocity of 2,800 kilometres a second, a velocity sufficient to go from Paris to St. Petersburg in one second, there was no doubt that the recoil of the projectile, acting28 against the earth, would put everything again in a state of quietude. Well, extraordinary as it may appear, J.T. Maston and his associates had in their possession exactly this explosive, of a nearly unlimited29 power, and of which the gunpowder30 used to throw the ball of the [C]olumbiad towards the moon gave but a faint idea. It was Capt. Nicholl who had discovered it. The substances which entered into its composition were only imperfectly entered in the notebook of Mr. Maston, and he merely named it “melimelonite.” All that was known was that it was formed by the reaction of a melimelo of organic substances and azotic acids. No matter what the explosive was, with the power which it possessed31 it was more than sufficient to throw a projectile weighing 180,000 tons outside of the earth’s attraction, and it was evident that the recoil which it would produce to the cannon would have the effect of changing the axis, displacing the North Pole 23 degrees and 28 minutes, bringing the new axis in the direction of the ecliptic, and, as a consequence of this, effecting all the changes so justly dreaded32 by the inhabitants of the earth.
However, there was one chance for humanity to escape the consequences of this trial, which was to provoke such revulsions in the geographical33 and climatic conditions of the globe. Was it possible to build a cannon of such dimensions that it was to be a million times greater in volume than the one of 27 centimetres? It was doubtful. That was just the point and one of the reasons for thinking the attempt of Barbicane & Co. would not succeed. But there was the other possibility, for it seemed that the Company had already begun to work on their gigantic project. Now the question arose, where was their place of operations? No one knew, and consequently it was impossible to overtake these audacious operations. It was well known that Barbicane and Nicholl had left Baltimore and America. They had gone away two months ago. Where were they? Most certainly at that unknown point of the globe where the operations were under way for their grand object. It was evident that this place was indicated on the last page of the notebook of J.T. Maston. On this point there was no doubt. But this last page had been torn out and eaten up by the accomplice34 of Impey Barbicane, and Maston sat imprisoned35 in the Baltimore City Prison and absolutely refused to speak. This was the condition of affairs. If the President succeeded in making this monster cannon and its projectile—in a word, if the operation was carried out under the above stated conditions—it would modify the earth’s axis, and within six months the earth would be subject to the consequences of this audacious attempt of Barbicane & Co. This would come on the 22d day of September, twelve hours after the passage of the sun over the meridian36 of the place “x.”
The facts that were known were: 1st. That the shooting would be done with a cannon a million times larger than the cannon of 27 centimetres. 2d. That the cannon would be loaded with a projectile of 180,000 tons. 3d. That the projectile would be animated37 with a velocity of 2,800 kilometres. 4th. That the shooting would take place on the 22d of September, twelve hours after the passage of the sun over the meridian of the place “x.” Was it possible to deduce, under these facts, where was the spot “x,” where the operation was to take place? Evidently not, said the Inquiry Committee. There was nothing by which to calculate where the point “x” was, as nothing in the calculations of Mr. Maston indicated through which point of the globe the new axis was to pass, or, in other words, on which part of the present earth the new poles would be situated38. Therefore, it would be impossible to know which would be the elevated and submerged countries, due to the changed surface of the ocean, or which parts of the earth would be transformed into water, and where water would be transformed into land. It was evident that the maximum change in the ocean surface would be 8.415 metres, and that in certain points of the globe various areas would be lowered and raised to this amount. All, however, depended upon the location of the point “x,” or where the shooting was to take place. In other words, “x” was the secret of the promoter of this uncertain affair. “We have,” said the Committee, “only to mention again that the inhabitants of the world, no matter in what part of it they are living, are directly interested in knowing this secret, as they are all directly t[h]reatened by the actions of Barbicane & Co. Therefore all the inhabitants of Europe, Africa, Asia, America, and Australia are advised to watch all gun foundries, powder factories, etc., which are situated in their territory and to note the presence of all strangers whose arrival may appear suspicious, and to advise the Inquiry Committee at Baltimore by wire immediately. Heaven grant that this news may arrive before the 22d of September of the present year, as that date threatens to disturb the order established since the creation in our earthly system.
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mathematicians
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| 数学家( mathematician的名词复数 ) | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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rotation
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| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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intersections
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| n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集 | |
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nadir
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| n.最低点，无底 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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cannons
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| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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impel
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| v.推动；激励，迫使 | |
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projectile
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| n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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displacement
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| n.移置，取代，位移，排水量 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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