Telegram-herald., 1890-03-14

existed previous e the shock. Al
present tins uoyeIu&ut = made around
the lines of The Poles, ana la eomblHz-
ten Hith the accessory f5goe Prod aoed
by the reooN There N1s created new
axis. the pole ot which moves frou lae
present - t1e zuouns of QesaUfy
called '-x@ Ia other words, Il tne can
non 5 hred a. the moment ~hea tAe
yernal eQuinox-one II TIE intersections
of the equator @nd the ellipt-c--s a. TIE
naGir OF the point of shooting, and II
the recol Is sufficiently strong u dis
place the cid pole - degrees = minutes,
tie ne~ axis becomes perpendicular %
the direction .. Ibe earth orblt, tie
same as Is Is for the planet jupiter.
What the con<eq uenoes we're expected
10 DC Ne already know. as President
BarbicAns had indicated them al the
meeting Of tie I'D o. Decemb Der. But,
given the mass Of the earth and the
quantity OF momentum which she pos
sesses. is 10 possible 10 conceive piece
of ordnance 50 strong that is reooll Viii
be able 10 prod zee a modification n the
actual direction Of the real pole. and es-
pscially 10 the extent Of % degrees 2s
minutes? Yes, if a cannon OF = series
of cannons are built with tie dimensions
required by the laws Of mechanics, oi,
IN lieu Of these dimensions II the in
ventors we're in possession OF an eNplo-
sive strong enough ~ impel proJectile
with the necessary velocity for such
displacement
Now, taking as basis model the can
non OF y centimeters Of the French
Marine Corps, which throws projectile
Of $50 Kilograms with an initial velocity
Of 500 meters a second, by giving 70 this
piece OF ordnance an increased dimen-
sion Of 100 times-that is, million
times ia yolume-it would throw a pro-
iectilo OF $50 600 tons; OF, in other words,
il the powder had strength sufficient to
give 10 the proJectile On initial velocity
5000 times greater than that of the old
black powder used for c cannon the de-
sired result would be obtained In fact
with a velocity OF 2. 500 kilometers
a second, velocity sufficient 10 go from
Paris TO ST. Petersburg in one second,
there was no doubt that the recoil OF
the projectile, acting against the earth,
would put every thing again in state
OF ouietude. Well, extraordinary as il
may appear. ]. T. Maston and his asso-
ciates had in their possession exactly
this explosive, of nearly unlimited
power, and Of which the gunpowder
used TO throw the ball Of the Columbiad
towards the moon gave but a faint idea
1t was Captain Nicholl who had discov-
&. Ic.a xa,hf -oI
into its composition were only imper-
fectly entered in the notebook of Mr..
Maston, and be merely named il ''meli-
melonite." 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 ex-
plosive was, with the power which it
possessed it was more than sufficient TO
throw projcctile weighing 10000 tons
outside of the earth's attraction, and it
was evident that the recoil which ii
would produce 70 the cannon would have
rho effect Of changing the axis, dis
placing the North Pole % degrees and
% minutes, bringing the new axis in the
direction of the elliptic, and, as a conse-
ouence Of this, efIecting all the changes
so Justly dreaded by the inhabitants of
the earth.
However, there was one chance for
humanity to escape the consequences Of
this trial, which was to provoke sueh
revulsions in the geographical and cli-
matte conditions of the globe. Was il
possible TO build q cannon Of such di-
mensions that it was to be million
times greater in volume than the one Of
twenty-seven centimeters? II was
doubtful That was just the point and
one of the reasons for thinking the at
tempt of Barbicane & Co. would not
succeed. But there was the other pos
sibility. for il seemed that the company
had already begun TO work on their
gigantic project. Now the question
arose, where was their place of opera
tions? No one knew, and consequently
1t was impossible to overtake these au-
dacious operators. 1t was we'll
known that Barbicane and Nicholl
had left Baltimore and America.
They had gone away two months
ago. Where we're they? Most certainly
at that unknown point OF the globe
where the operations were under way
FOR their grand object. 1t was evident
that this place was indicated on the last
page OF the notebook OF J. 7. Nastcn.
On this point there was no doubt But