More Miracles Ahead 271 



vortex (violently circling) motion. ... A smoke ring, which 

 is a true vortex ring, will move in any direction according to 

 the initial impulse, and owing to the vortex motion the smoke 

 will remain in the ring as long as it is moving. The more rapid 

 the motion the farther the ring will go before breaking up. 



"The rings or miniature whirlwinds shot from the vortex 

 gun conform to the behavior pattern of the smoke ring as 

 blown from the mouth. Their size and velocity, and the dis- 

 tance traveled, depend upon the dimensions of the gun and 

 the force with which it is struck. They are always invisible 

 unless smoke or some other visible substance is put in the 

 gun." 



A small vortex gun about eight inches in diameter shoots a 

 ring with a diameter of two to three inches. The ring travels 

 around twenty feet a second and its impact can be felt at 

 twenty-five feet. Another gun, which is about six and one- 

 half feet in diameter, shoots an eighteen-inch ring at a speed 

 of ninety miles an hour. It will snuff out candles at sixty to 

 seventy feet, and at closer range it will upset a man if he is 

 not prepared for the blow. 



Engineers are planning guns of twelve to fourteen feet in 

 diameter. They will be fired with a TNT cartridge, and will 

 hurl a four- or five-foot ring one mile at a speed of eight hun- 

 dred to one thousand miles per hour. This ring will strike an 

 object with devastating power, and probably could knock 

 a bomber out of control. Dr. Thomas believes much bigger 

 guns can be built, so long as a method can be devised to strike 

 the diaphragm with sufficient force. 



Before the war is over, Nazi planes may be assailed by man- 

 made tornadoes. In peacetime the vortex gun could, accord- 

 ing to Dr. Thomas, be used to rid an industrial area of smoke. 

 He suggests that huge vortex guns might be installed below 

 or above the roof to trap all the smoke from a plant. Auto- 

 matic hammers would strike the drums at regular intervals, 



