The Moon-Voyage by Jules Verne
page 65 of 450 (14%)
page 65 of 450 (14%)
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The four members of the committee each swallowed a dozen sandwiches, followed by a cup of tea, and the debate recommenced. "Our cannon," said Barbicane, "must be possessed of great tenacity, great hardness; it must be infusible by heat, indissoluble, and inoxydable by the corrosive action of acids." "There is no doubt about that," answered the major, "and as we shall have to employ a considerable quantity of metal we shall not have much choice." "Well, then," said Morgan, "I propose for the fabrication of the Columbiad the best alloy hitherto known--that is to say, 100 parts of copper, 12 of tin, and 6 of brass." "My friends," answered the president, "I agree that this composition has given excellent results; but in bulk it would be too dear and very hard to work. I therefore think we must adopt an excellent material, but cheap, such as cast-iron. Is not that your opinion, major?" "Quite," answered Elphinstone. "In fact," resumed Barbicane, "cast-iron costs ten times less than bronze; it is easily melted, it is readily run into sand moulds, and is rapidly manipulated; it is, therefore, an economy of money and time. Besides, that material is excellent, and I remember that during the war at the siege of Atlanta cast-iron cannon fired a thousand shots each every twenty minutes without being damaged by it." |
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