Chapter 9 Chapter Eight At Seventy-eight thousand one hundred and fourteen leagues from earth

What happened?This wonderful intoxication almost led to a disaster, what is the reason?In fact, this was just caused by Michel's negligence. Fortunately, Nicholl corrected this mistake in time. Minutes after they passed out, the captain was the first to wake up and regain consciousness.Although it was only two hours since breakfast, he was tormented by a terrible sense of hunger, as if he hadn't eaten for days.Every part of his body, especially his stomach and brain, was in a state of extreme excitement. He got up, intending to ask Michelle to give him a snack.But Michelle didn't answer, and he too passed out.Nicholl then prepared to make tea and eat a dozen sandwiches. He made preparations to light the fire, and quickly struck a match.How he marveled at the sight of the brimstone hair of the match, which shone so intensely that the eyes could hardly bear it.The gas lamp he lit was as bright as lightning.

Nicholl had a sudden revelation.The intense light, the sudden physical turmoil he felt, his mental and emotional overexcitement, all at once came to him. oxygen!he said aloud. Then he bent down to check the air unit, and saw that the faucet had been turned on, and this vital gas, colorless, tasteless, and odorless, was flowing out in large quantities.Pure oxygen can cause serious damage to the human body.In a moment of carelessness, Michel turned the tap on the air unit fully open. Nicholl hastily turned off the oxygen faucet, the oxygen in the air had reached saturation, it could kill the three passengers through full combustion instead of suffocation.An hour later, with less oxygen, their lung function returned to normal.The three friends slowly sobered up, but it took some time to digest the oxygen in their bodies, just as it takes some time for a drunk person to digest the alcohol he has absorbed.

When Michele knew that he was responsible for the accident, he didn't seem particularly disturbed.This unexpected incident of oxygen poisoning broke the monotony of the journey.Under the influence of oxygen, they said a lot of stupid things, but they said it quickly and quickly forgot it! I said, the merry Frenchman added at last, that I am not offended at tasting this intoxicating air.Did you know, my friends, that in the future there should be a marvelous entertainment complex with an oxygen chamber, where the infirm can enjoy a few hours of vigorous life.If the air in a conference hall or a theater is saturated with oxygen or maintained in high doses, imagine how rich the imagination, what enthusiasm, and how exuberant the attendees, or actors and spectators, would be!If the scope is further expanded so that the people of the whole country can enjoy this saturated gas, what an active role they can play and how fulfilling their life is!We may be able to transform a weakened people into a great and strong one, and in our ancient Europe, as far as I know, more than one country needs this oxygen therapy, which is very good for their health!

Michelle became more and more excited as she talked, almost making people suspect that the oxygen faucet was still turned too big.However, Barbicane's words woke him up from his excitement. All this is fine, Michelle friend, he said to him.But tell us, where do these chorus hens come from? hen? Yes. In fact, five or six hens and a handsome rooster were loitering here and there at a leisurely pace, hopping and clucking. aha!These idiots are also making a revolution under the stimulation of oxygen. But what do you want these hens for?asked Barbicane. Let them adapt to the climate on the moon! .

Then why did you hide them? I just wanted to make a joke, my respected chairman, but unfortunately it has been aborted now!I was going to secretly place them on the lunar continent without telling you.Hmph, when you see these poultry on the earth pecking in the fields of the moon, how amazed you will be! ah!you rascal!The eternal rascal!Even without oxygen, replied Barbicane, you will be top-heavy, and you will always be the same as we were when we had enough of this gas!Always be a madman! well!Who said that we are not law-abiding people!Michelle.Adam objected. After they finished this philosophical project, they began to tidy up the messy objects inside the projectile.Hens and roosters are regrouped in their cages.While they were so busy, they clearly sensed a new phenomenon.Their own weight, the cannonball and all that was in it, had been gradually decreasing in weight since leaving the earth.Even if it were impossible for them to notice a change in the weight of the projectile, sooner or later they would feel such a change in themselves and in the objects with which they worked.It goes without saying that it is impossible for a balance to point out this weightlessness, since the weights lose weight just as much as the objects they weigh, but spring scales, for example, are different because springs are not affected by the attraction of the earth and naturally This phenomenon of weightlessness can be pointed out.

We know that the earth's attraction, in other words, gravity is proportional to density and inversely proportional to the square of the distance.The result is: if there is only one earth in space, and all the other celestial bodies suddenly disappear, then, according to Newton's law, the farther the projectile is from the earth, the smaller its weight will be, but it will never completely disappear, because the earth's suction will The distance can be felt. But in the present case, if the almost zero attraction of other celestial bodies is not taken into account, the projectile will at some point be completely independent of the law of gravity.

In fact, the projectile was orbiting between the Earth and the Moon.As the projectile moves farther and farther away from the earth, the earth's attraction becomes smaller and smaller according to the inverse ratio of the square of the distance, while the moon's suction becomes larger and larger according to the same ratio.The projectile loses all weight when it reaches the point where the two gravitational forces cancel each other out.If the Moon and Earth were of equal mass, this point should be halfway between the two celestial bodies.But, taking into account the difference in their masses, we can easily calculate that this point should be expressed numerically at 47/52 of the projectile's travel, that is, at 78,110 Fourteen leagues.At this time, if an object has no speed or does not move by itself, it will remain still forever, because the gravitational force of the two celestial bodies is equal, and neither side can pull it.

If the propulsion of the projectile had been calculated perfectly correctly, and the velocity had reached exactly zero upon reaching this point, it would have lost weight as well as all the bodies in it. So, how did it turn out?We can make three hypotheses. Either the projectile maintains a certain speed and crosses a point where the two gravitational forces cancel each other out, and it will land on the moon because the gravitational force of the moon is greater than the gravitational force of the earth.Either because the speed is too small to reach this point, it will fall to the earth for the same reason.In the end, either the speed is not too big or too small, and it just reaches this point, but it cannot cross it, and it will stay in this place forever, just like the so-called Muhammad's tomb that stays between the zenith and the nadir.

Such was their present situation, and Barbicane made clear to his traveling companions the three consequences.The two developed a keen interest in this matter.But how do they know that they have reached the center of gravity, that is, seventy-eight thousand one hundred and fourteen leagues from the earth?Only when they and the objects inside the projectile are no longer governed by the laws of gravity can it be known. Until now, passengers have not yet reached the point of total weightlessness, although they have noticed that the force of gravity is getting smaller and smaller.However, at eleven o'clock in the morning of this day, Nicholl accidentally slipped a glass, but the glass did not fall, but hung in mid-air and remained motionless.

Ha ha!Michelle.Adam exclaimed, this is an interesting physical phenomenon! And all of a sudden, all objects, weapons and bottles and all, miraculously stayed in the air like the glass.So is Diana.Michel put it in the air, without using any tricks, and managed to complete those wonderful aerial animals performed by Caston and Robert︱Houdin (Note: French magician.), and this dog does not seem to have Notice yourself hanging in the air. Although the three adventurers understood this scientific truth, they were still speechless in astonishment, because they seemed to have suddenly entered a wonderful state, and felt that they lost all weight.They stretch out their arms, but the arms don't drop automatically.The head also seems to be hanging on the shoulders, and it can turn freely.Both feet had left the projectile floor, and they had lost their balance like a drunken man.Of course, how many works of fantasy have created invisible and shadowless people!But here, in reality, because the gravitational forces of the two celestial bodies cancel each other out, the human body has no weight at all, and so do all the structures in the body!Suddenly, Michele jumped off the ground, suspended in the air like the monk in Murillo's "Angel's Kitchen".After a while, his two friends also joined him, standing in the air, like a wonderful picture.

Who can believe it?is this real?Is this possible?Michelle yelled.impossible.But it is true!ah!What a marvelous "Ascension" would Raphael have painted on his canvas if he had seen us like this! Our ascension will not last long, answered Barbicane.If the projectile crossed the gravitational centerline, we would be pulled by the moon's gravity. Our feet are then on the vault of the projectile.Michelle said. No, said Barbicane, because the projectile has a low center of gravity, it will slowly turn over. Then, all our equipment will be completely overturned, that is the sentence.Work. Don't worry, Michel, Nicholl replied.There is no need to be afraid of a big turnaround.Nothing shifts position, since the projectile is flipped imperceptibly. In fact, Barbicane went on to say, the projectile, after passing the center of gravity, would remain perpendicular to the moon, owing to its weight at the base.But this phenomenon will only occur after this point has been crossed. Go beyond the center point!Michelle said loudly.Let's celebrate with a glass of wine just like the sailors crossed the equator! With a slight movement, Michelle slid towards the wall pad.He took out a bottle of wine and several glasses, put the glasses in the air in front of his companions, and then happily clinked glasses, cheering three times to the center of gravity: Ulla! This weightlessness lasted only an hour.The three travelers slowly felt themselves returning to the base of the projectile, and Barbicane seemed to notice that the conical top of the projectile was slowly drifting away from its original direction.The bottom gradually flips over to point towards the Moon.The gravitational force of the moon finally overcomes the gravitational force of the earth.So the projectile began to fall towards the moon. At first, the speed was so small that it was almost imperceptible. However, as the moon's gravitational force became stronger and stronger, the falling speed gradually increased until it reached the lunar continent.In this way they reach their destination.Now, this scientific experiment must be successful, and there will be no more obstacles. Nicholl and Michel shared Barbicane's happiness together.Then, they kept talking about phenomena that surprised them one by one.In particular, the phenomenon of weightlessness has become a topic they can't finish talking about.Michel was in the best of spirits, wishing to draw several conclusions that were purely fanciful. ah!Dear friends, he exclaimed, what kind of progress would it be if we could also get rid of the law of gravity and the chains that tie us to the earth here on earth!It was like a prisoner set free!Arms and legs will never tire again.If we really need a power one hundred and fifty times greater than ours to fly on the earth or stay in the air, then, as long as we get rid of the gravity of the earth, we can fly to The air went. In fact, Nicholl said with a smile, if we could eliminate gravity, just as anesthetics can eliminate pain, the face of modern society would be changed! Yes, exclaimed the dreamy Michele, let's kill gravity, no more heavy loads.The cranes, jacks, winches, cranks, and other mechanisms, etc., have no reason to exist anymore! Well said, retorted Barbicane, but, if everything were weightless, nothing could be held together, not only your hat, my venerable Michel, your house There is no more, because the stones that build the house are connected together only because of the weight!There are no boats in the sea anymore, because the boat can float smoothly on the water only because of gravity.Not even the ocean, since the waves are balanced by gravity.In the end, there was not even an atmosphere, because the molecules of the air no longer remained on the surface of the earth, but were scattered into space! That is unpleasant, replied Michel, alas!These practical people always try to pull you into reality suddenly. Still, you can console yourself, Michel, continued Barbicane, because, while there is no celestial body from which the law of gravity can be ruled out, at least on the one you are about to visit, the force of gravity is much less than that on Earth. Did you mean the moon? Yes, on the Moon, objects weigh six times less than on Earth, and this phenomenon is easily verified. Can we feel it? Of course it can, because an object weighing 200 grams is only 30 grams on the moon. Will the strength of our muscles decrease? Not one bit less, you could jump one meter high, now you can jump eighteen feet high. In this way, we will become giants on the moon, exclaimed Michelle. Not only that, but Nicholl went on to say that if the Moonmen were in proportion to their Moon, they would be only a foot tall. We have arrived in Lilliputian!Michelle said.Then, let me play Gulliver (Note: The protagonist of the novel "Gulliver's Travels".) Let's go!We are all going to become giants in mythology!This is the benefit of leaving your own planet to travel in the world of the solar system! Wait, Michel, answered Barbicane.If you want to play Gulliver, you can only visit smaller planets, such as Mercury, Venus, or Mars, which are all less dense than Earth.You must not try your luck on those big planets, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune, because there, your role will be reversed, and you will become a fool in Lilliputian again. And what about on the sun? On the sun, although its density is only a quarter of that of the earth, its volume is 1,324,000 times larger than that of the earth, and its suction is 26 times that of the earth.On this scale the average inhabitant of the sun is two hundred feet high. hell!cried Michelle.Then I'm just a pygmy, a dwarf! Gulliver in the kingdom of adults, said Nicholl. Exactly!Barbicane replied. In other words, it is not useless for us to bring a few cannons, we can use cannons for self-defense. good!Barbicane retorted that your balls had no effect at all on the sun, and fell to the ground only a few meters high. This is too much! It must be so, answered Barbicane.This gigantic celestial body has extremely strong suction. An object weighing 60 kilograms on the earth weighs 1,930 kilograms on the surface of the sun.Your hat weighs twelve kilograms!Your cigars weigh half a pound.Finally, if you land on the Sun Continent, your weight is about 2,500 kilograms, so you can't even stand up! To hell with the sun!Michelle said.Well, we must bring a portable crane slightly!very good!My friends, we are content today to visit the Moon.Here, we can at least be a hero!Later we will see if we need to go to the sun. On the sun, if we don't use a winch to raise our cup to our mouth, we can't drink water!