60 Research and National Purpose 



power plant than anything one could expect from the sodium 

 electrolytic cells Verne provided for it. His moon voyagers 

 travelled in a vehicle which was shot out of a cannon, 

 mounted at sea level and located, of all places, in Florida. This 

 decision on location was made after a long and colorful compe- 

 tition for site. They experienced some ten thousand g of 

 acceleration on take-off, as they gripped the handles on their 

 armchairs. The crates of live chickens, eggs, and vintage wines 

 in the hold came through the ordeal unscathed. I might say 

 that the gun out of which they were fired was loaded with 

 gun cotton. Verne disposed of the nose-cone problem by stating 

 that the space vehicle went through the atmosphere too fast to 

 heat up. The voyagers experienced normal gravity within the 

 cabin until they reached the equal gravity point between the 

 earth and the moon, whereupon gravity reversed its direction 

 in the course of a few dramatic minutes in which the passen- 

 gers floated about. 



It dawned on me that Verne's great strength rested on the 

 fact that he had an amateur enthusiasm for science and 

 science-based technology. He was not sufficiently professional 

 in his own approach to science to be embarrassed about cutting 

 major corners. He had the soul of a romantic novelist and was 

 willing to let the details of attaining the future take care of 

 themselves, while he painted with a broad brush. It would have 

 been much more difficult for him to do this had he had the 

 reputation of a professional scientist or engineer to uphold. 



A situation opposite to that of Verne is demonstrated by the 

 case of my good friend, Clifford Furnas, who wrote a book in 

 the 1930's trying to look ahead for a century, keeping his feet 

 firmly on the pathway of good science and technology. Although 

 he was sure at the time that he had stretched predictions well 

 beyond the breaking point, he found twenty-five years later 

 that all of the developments that he had predicted had already 

 taken place. 



My own sympathies in attempting to discuss the future 

 promises of science are all with Furnas. It is difficult enough 



