After waiting and biting my nails on this, I think I can sweetten things up by giving music to the excellent gentlemen that command this forum so that they will answer my questions. You can sing it in the bathroom, to your wives or girlfriends, in front of tv, or just to yourselves. Given is, that it must be sang very quickly and manly. Please, be my guests. If you do not find the strenght (use the force, Luke...) in yourselves to do it, I kindly put two links below so taht you could enjoy it in the fine representation of others. And very spacely also.

The Major-General Song (with most interesting notations below for the more exquisitive)

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical,
From Marathon(1) to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I 'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news ­
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

(Chorus)
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse;
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse;
With many cheerful facts about the square of the
hypote- potenuse.
   
I'm very good at integral and differential calculus,
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous(2);
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

(Chorus)
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's
I answer hard acrostics(3), I've a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegaic(4) all the crimes of Heliogabalus(5)
In conics(6) I can floor peculiarities parabolous.
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows(7) and Zoffanies(7),
I know the coaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes(8),
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore(9).

Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform(10),
And tell you every detail of Caractacus's(11) uniform;
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

(Chorus)
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

In fact, when I know what is meant by 'mamelon'(12) and 'ravelin,'(12)
When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin,
When such affairs as sorties(13) and surprises I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely what is meant by 'commissariat,'(14)
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery;
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy,
You'll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee(15). -

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

(Chorus)
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General!

(1) Marathon - Ancient battle between the Greeks and the Persians. And later the idea and effort of a soldier would be used to create a sport challenge.
(2) Animalcule - a microscopic organism
(3) acrostic - a type of word puzzle
(4) elegiac - a classical verse form
(5) Heliogabalus - a corrupt Roman emperor
(6) conics - mathematics dealing with parabolic and hyperbolic curves.
(7) Dow, Zoffany - portraitists
(8) Aristophanes - ancient Greek playwright who parodied politicians as croaking frogs
(9) Pinafore - HMS Pinafore, Gilbert and Sullivan's earlier opera
(10) cuneiform - ancient writing made with wedges on clay tablets
(11) Caractacus - chief of the ancient Britons (who fought nude)
(12) mamelon, ravelin - features of Vaubain's famous fort design system
(13) sortie - a short military raid
(14) commissariat - the military branch in charge of food supplies
15) gee - a horse

If your excellencies aren't stunned enough, please proceed to the following links, in order presented please and then, return and answer "me" questions in the uppermost petition. (Singing) "I am the very model of a modern Major-General..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQ-y589mx8

..and stop the Major General stuff, dude - you're scaring me... :shock:

And, in reviewing the source material, I realize that Cavorite could be a very dangerous thing...

So, one of two things must happen:

1) We'll need to figure out why Cavor was wrong, and one misused piece of Cavorite wouldn't vacate the entire atmosphere, or

2) We'll have to figure out when the anarchists plan to use such a device, and how they will be stopped.

Note that the narrator made an assumption, that the air would continue a LONG way into space.

Not so much, I suspect. Remember, Cavor was dense enough to have created such a large piece to START with. I have serious misgivings about his ability to think ahead. He wrecked his shed by creating an artifical tornado - but I suspect we'd have no reason to worry about Anarchists using cavorite to strip our atmosphere away.

It would be an interesting use of cavorite to form disruptive 'air walls' as defense against aircraft, though...

Perhaps, perhaps not. But I don't want to rely on a mere "the narrator was mistaken" excuse -- since the integrity of the narrators of Wells' books is the basis for our whole universe.

Yup.

Hi Daniel:

I'm starting to piece all the internal logic pieces of your wonderful universe together. It wasn't easy in the begining, but it is still very refreshing. Adding to what TheDugan has said before, your explanation is most revealing.

So we have a alternate reality where science turned a bit to other path. Instead of internal combustion engines being the core of our way of life, this universe leans into a more electro-magnetic machinery way of thinking.

Also, the ether, "au contraire" to the ideas of 19th century doesn't affect solid matter, isn't in a fashion breathable and it's very cold. So if we would have space roaming creatures, these creatures would have to have strong electric properties.

As for the Spacial expeditions, what I meant was that I like the late 19th century and early 20th century expeditons to the ends of our world, mixed a bit with the description, not necessarily with the horror imput, of "The Mountains of Madness", by Lovcraft, or the films in earlies 20's where the explorers would find the forgotten cities of long lost civilizations in the middle of the Himalayas.

Not steam-punk at all. Only a mix of Corto Maltese and space travel.

When I speak in atomics it's not about the knowledge or the bombs, it's about the frame of mind of an atomic society versus the Edwardian society.

Am I babbling too much?

  :x

I'm a bit dissappointed, but not really surprised. Cavorite would be expensive, more so than armor plate for battleships. Also, having Aeronaughts and Civilian use of such a resource would fundamentally alter the world, to such a degree that we'd be remiss NOT to change the political landscape radically in response. Having a very different world would loose some of the charm of the Iron Stars Setting, and make it just another 'alternate universe'. It would also require us to work a LOT harder to make things for it that fit.....

Before anyone else, let me be the first one to congratolate you, Admiral, sir.
:roll:

I'm also desapointed and not as much convinced as our Admiral.
Cavorite would be expensive, but you wouldn't need very much of it in order to lift a battleship, would you?

Not necessarily.It would have the effect of the zeppelin-type craft if it was slow enough. But we would be able to fight titanic battles in sky with great amored airships. So it would be possible to be used by civilians, and still the great powers would maintain their boots over the world. Probably even more strongly. Ten battleships over Paris?

And more even. We could use aetherships again airbattleships, where the disavantage would go to the aetherships, for most of it's space and weight would have to be used with sealing systems and casimir engines.

And don't forget the beauty of a ethership floating over the landscape of Io or Venus.

I never doubt of Admiral Dugan capacities for give us splendid images of our imaginarium! No, sir, oho no!

And for the record, I love Zeppelins, but there are just so much zeppelins can do... 11' cannons and zeppelins don't go together. Or they would go together until the cannon fired the first time...

And when you arrived on other planets you would have to do everything so similar to reality. A shuttle of some kind, etc, etc, while if you could descent with the aethership it would be more poetic and epic.

I'm thinking that the air pressure from outside of the affected column of air (which WOULD extend all the way into space) would force any air ascending the column out of the column, and back into the influence of normal gravity. A lot of turbulence, but no air would fly away from the planet.

Yeah, other than expense, Aeronaughts would REALLY cause a lot of damage due to the winds they'd create due to this effect. Probably better for the Aethernaughts to train for rapid re-entry (well, in hours, not days), in case conventional forces were unable to hold the city. The enemy would do a lot of damage anyway, no need to keep the "tornado team" in space...

You wouldn't build a vehicle for cargo transport that had the potential to cause that much damage just by it's passage.

I like the idea of cargo and passenger Zeppelins, but they'd not be real effective militarily.

Zepplins can be quite beautiful...and interesting.  The Golden Compass comes to mind, wherein their "Sky Ships" were such craft...and would seem to fit the period nicely as well.  I'm in full agreement with Dan on that one 

I hadn't considered the tornado effect...*L* that would put a damper on bringing such ships into proximity of the planet.  Though for a warship, guess you wouldn't need guns... :!: ...though I could see the dirigible using "cavorite" cannon...literally blowing the enemy away!  :twisted:

Sounds better than Admiral Go0gleplex...*LOL*