"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 12 - In the Race to the Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

electromagnetic radiation given off by each element and its isotopes. As a result
of this discovery, Tom had invented the Swift spectroscope. Later, he had
developed a device that could reproduce this new type of radiation. Tom had
found that by having this radiation out of phase with the natural radiation of the
atom, a repelling force was set up. This force, when used to hold off sea water,
had made it possible to tap helium-gas wells on the ocean bottom, as related in
Tom Swift and His Deep-Sea Hydrodome. Now Tom was trying to use such
SPLASH LANDING 3
a force to hold up an aircraft while it was in flight.
"You mean the repelatron will actually be the ship's drive system?" Bud
asked.
"You might call it that," said Tom. "At least it will drive the ship forward by
pushing us away from the earth or any other body in the solar system."
Bud clapped Tom on the back. "Genius boy, I think you've got something
great here!"
"Thanks, pal." The young inventor chuckled. "I've hooked up one of the new
repelatrons to a plane to see how it works in flight. Want to come along and risk
your neck while I give it a tryout?"
Bud gave a yip of excitement. "What's a little old neck matter in the forward
march of science?"
The two boys climbed into a jeep and drove across the grounds of Swift
Enterprises, the experimental station where Tom and his famous father
developed their new inventions. Gleaming white, ultramodern buildings, for every
scientific purpose, were spread over the four square miles of Enterprises. The
entire area, crisscrossed by white airstrips, was enclosed by a high concrete wall.
"What ship are we taking up?" Bud asked.
"A Pigeon Special," Tom said, referring to a two-seater pleasure craft
produced by the Swift Construction Company, owned by Tom's father.
They pulled up in front of a small hangar and went inside, where a crew of
mechanics was getting the plane ready for flight.
4 THE RACE TO THE MOON
"Where's the repelatron?" Bud asked.
"Installed in the luggage space behind the seats. Its antenna, or directional
radiator, projects out from under the fuselage."
In a few moments the plane was rolled out on the airstrip and fueled. The
boys climbed in and donned their headsets.
"Going to use the repelatron for vertical takeoff?" asked Bud.
Tom shook his head. "We'll take off conventionally and then switch over."
Soon the sleek two-seater was gathering speed as it rolled down the runway.
Seconds later, the boys were air-borne. Below, the flat-roofed laboratory
buildings and workshops gleamed in the warm morning sunshine.
Tom waited until they had climbed to ten thousand feet. "I want enough
altitude so I can restart the engine if anything goes wrong," he said. "Here goes!
Keep your fingers crossed!"
Tom turned and adjusted a vernier dial newly mounted on the panel; this fed
power to the repelatron. A meter measured the power fed to the repelatron. He
watched the needle on a second meter swing to the right until it registered a
force equal to the weight of the plane. This repelling force, produced by the
repelatron, was needed to overcome the pull of gravity. Next, he cut the engine
and feathered the props.