Andy120290
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The Invasion begins.
Posts: 55
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Post by Andy120290 on Sept 14, 2006 22:18:09 GMT
In Part 1 Chapter 5, a spinning, circular mirror is described coming out of the cylinder before the Heat-Ray. I haven't figured out what this is for. Is it described more in another part of the book that I may have missed?
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Post by Lensman on Sept 14, 2006 23:20:21 GMT
It's generally referred to as the "sensor tower" here on the forum. The general thought is that it allowed the Martians to look around above the lip of the pit they were in. The sensor tower is referenced twice in that chapter-- and at least according to my notes, never again.
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Andy120290
Full Member
The Invasion begins.
Posts: 55
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Post by Andy120290 on Sept 14, 2006 23:40:50 GMT
That seems to make sense. I was a little confused before because I saw a short clip from the Pendragon movie that seemed to combine the sensor tower and the Heat-Ray into some sort of spinning Heat-Ray.
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Post by Killraven on Sept 15, 2006 11:06:27 GMT
That seems to make sense. I was a little confused before because I saw a short clip from the Pendragon movie that seemed to combine the sensor tower and the Heat-Ray into some sort of spinning Heat-Ray. Yeah, that was just Hines being incapable of reading the book properly KR
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Post by Thunder Child on Sept 15, 2006 13:34:33 GMT
We had this discussion earlier on the forum, and I still believe that the mirror was indeed part of the Heat Ray. Based on these words from chapter 6 "The Heat-Ray in the Chobham Road"
"This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose, by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the parabolic mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light. But no one has absolutely proved these details. However it is done, it is certain that a beam of heat is the essence of the matter."
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Post by mctoddridesagain on Sept 15, 2006 13:52:32 GMT
But I think that's a different mirror, because there's another quote (which I can't find now) about the Heat Ray being projected from a camera-like box (inside which, we might presume, is the parabolic focussing mirror).
In any case, in Chapter 5, 'The Heat ray', we read:
"Slowly a humped shape rose out of the pit, and the ghost of a beam of light seemed to flicker out from it... Forthwith the hissing and humming ceased, and the black, domelike object sank slowly out of sight into the pit... The Martians and their appliances were altogether invisible, save for that thin mast upon which their restless mirror wobbled."
This 'humped shape' from which the Heat Ray projects appears to be distinct and separate from the wobbling mirror, in that it sinks out of site after frying everyone, yet the wobbling mirror remains in sight...
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Post by Thunder Child on Sept 15, 2006 14:11:00 GMT
I always thought that the Martians did not already have the means to lift the Heat Ray generator into the air, above the pit's edge. So they used the mirror to re-direct the beam from the Generator to the victims on the common...
So I do agree that the humped shape is the same thing as the camera like Heat Ray generator that the FM's carry...
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Post by mctoddridesagain on Sept 15, 2006 14:33:16 GMT
I always thought that the Martians did not already have the means to lift the Heat Ray generator into the air, above the pit's edge. So they used the mirror to re-direct the beam from the Generator to the victims on the common... So I do agree that the humped shape is the same thing as the camera like Heat Ray generator that the FM's carry... There's also that interpretation, which I'd also happily go along with. It's ambiguous, I'd say - maybe the mirror is used to reflect the Heat Ray from its camera-like generator - or maybe it's a crude periscope for observing with. In Christopher Priest's tie-in 'The Space Machine', the mirror is used to reflect a Heat Ray fixed at the base of a frame pointing vertically up at the mirror. But, typically, old Herbert George is vague enough to leave it to the reader to decide.
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Post by Commandingtripod on Sept 16, 2006 1:32:19 GMT
I always thought that the Martians did not already have the means to lift the Heat Ray generator into the air, above the pit's edge. So they used the mirror to re-direct the beam from the Generator to the victims on the common... So I do agree that the humped shape is the same thing as the camera like Heat Ray generator that the FM's carry... It's ambiguous, I'd say - maybe the mirror is used to reflect the Heat Ray from its camera-like generator - or maybe it's a crude periscope for observing with. Is it possible that it could have served as both?
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Post by mctoddridesagain on Sept 16, 2006 15:38:41 GMT
Ah, that's the third interpretation I forgot to mention... Yeah, I'd go along with that too, why not?
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Post by Lensman on Sept 18, 2006 8:35:23 GMT
A parabolic mirror is not a "circular disc". Our automobile headlights use a parabolic mirror, and the Martian heat ray used such a mirror shape for exactly the same reason a car headlight does; to focus the radiation (light) into a relatively narrow beam instead of having it shine in all directions like a light bulb. The parabolic mirror was part of the Heat Ray, not a separate object like the mirror on the sensor tower. It is possible the Martians could have bounced the Heat Ray off a mirror-like device, after it was emitted from its projector. However such a mirror-like device could not have been an ordinary silvered-glass mirror, which would quickly melt; and such a mirror could not properly reflect the Heat Ray if it were parabolic shaped.
Personally I find nothing in the novel to suggest the Heat Ray was bounced off a mirror after leaving the projector. The "humped shape" that was raised from the pit was the Heat Ray projector, or contained it. This is quite clear: "Slowly a humped shape rose out of the pit and the ghost of a beam of light seemed to flicker out from it. [paragraph] Forthwith flashes of actual flame..." And later: "Forthwith the hissing and humming ceased, and the black, dome-like object sank slowly out of sight into the pit."
If the Martians had bounced the Heat Ray off the mirror on the sensor tower, there would have been no reason to raise anything else above the lip of the pit.
It seems almost certain the purpose of the sensor tower was (as was said above) that of a periscope, allowing the Martians to look around above the lip of the pit without exposing themselves. If one must speculate there is a secondary purpose to the mirror on the sensor tower, one might speculate it was used in conjunction with a searchlight. From I-8: "...now and again a light-ray, like the beam of a warship's searchlight, swept the common, and the Heat-Ray was ready to follow." But again I see no actual evidence the searchlight beam was bounced off the sensor tower mirror.
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Post by Lensman on Sept 18, 2006 8:58:25 GMT
But I think that's a different mirror, because there's another quote (which I can't find now) about the Heat Ray being projected from a camera-like box (inside which, we might presume, is the parabolic focussing mirror). From I-6: Many think that in some way they are able to generate an intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose, by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the parabolic mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light. But no one has absolutely proved these details. However it is done, it is certain that a beam of heat is the essence of the matter. Heat, and invisible, instead of visible, light.From I-11: A kind of arm carried a complicated metallic case, about which green flashes scintillated, and out of the funnel of this there smoked the Heat-Ray.From I-17: ...one of them raised the camera-like generator of the Heat-Ray...~~~~~~~~~~ Incidentally, for anyone who wants to find specific words or phrases in the text of the novel for themselves, an online searchable version is at: www.online-literature.com/wellshg/warworlds/
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Post by mctoddridesagain on Sept 18, 2006 12:07:25 GMT
It is possible the Martians could have bounced the Heat Ray off a mirror-like device, after it was emitted from its projector. However such a mirror-like device could not have been an ordinary silvered-glass mirror, which would quickly melt; Well, nobody said it was an ordinary mirror - if the Martians were reflecting the heat ray from the projector off another, plain, mirror, then it would have been made of the same material as the parabolic mirror that formed part of the heat ray mechanism. TC has made the point that the heat ray was generated in a self-contained box, his only query was whether another mirror outside it was used at the Horsell Common pit (and there only). Now, there's no direct evidence that it was, but the text is also sufficiently vague that it might have been. Personally, I don't give a monkey's one way or the other...
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Post by Killraven on Sept 18, 2006 12:15:34 GMT
I think its pretty well accepted though that the wobbly mirror did not make any contribution towards the projection of the heat ray. The mere fact that it wobbled reflects this! ;D
KR
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Post by Stewymartian on Sept 18, 2006 15:02:38 GMT
This extract from the book seems to confirm that the mirror was used to deflect the heat ray:
But that crowd of people had a far narrower escape than mine. Only the fact that a hummock of heathery sand intercepted the lower part of the Heat-Ray saved them. Had the elevation of the parabolic mirror been a few yards higher, none could have lived to tell the tale. They saw the flashes and the men falling and an invisible hand, as it were, lit the bushes as it hurried towards them through the twilight. Then, with a whistling note that rose above the droning of the pit, the beam swung close over their heads, lighting the tops of the beech trees that line the road, and splitting the bricks, smashing the windows, firing the window frames, and bringing down in crumbling ruin a portion of the gable of the house nearest the corner.
It specifically mentions that the angle of the mirror determined where the heat -ray hit.
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Post by Thunder Child on Sept 18, 2006 16:21:06 GMT
Yep, we have that interesting fragment of text as well. But I would like to emphasize that, like McTodd said, it all depends on the interpretation of the individual reader. When we look at the artists who illustrated the novel over the years we see that they too had their own interpretation of the mirror: We have Warwick Goble who depicted the humped shape and mirror to be a FM firing his Heat Ray box: Alvim Correa did this as well: EP Jacobs interpreted the mirror as being part of the Heat ray, redirecting it from the pit. The FM's carry the box shaped generator altough Jacobs made it more roundish...: In Classics Illustrated Lou Cameron depicted the mirror as something independently from the humbed shape: In Illustrated Classic editions Brendan Lynch didn't care about the box shaped generator and made the FM's carry around the mast and mirror:
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Post by Thunder Child on Sept 18, 2006 16:32:35 GMT
And of course we have Pendragon Pictures who, like Brendan Lynch, made the mast and mirror from the pit the same thing as what the FM's carry around. No box shaped generator at all...
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Andy120290
Full Member
The Invasion begins.
Posts: 55
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Post by Andy120290 on Sept 18, 2006 20:57:31 GMT
Cool pictures Thunder Child. But the first one doesn't seem to show up correctly.
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Post by Killraven on Sept 19, 2006 12:11:29 GMT
This extract from the book seems to confirm that the mirror was used to deflect the heat ray: But that crowd of people had a far narrower escape than mine. Only the fact that a hummock of heathery sand intercepted the lower part of the Heat-Ray saved them. Had the elevation of the parabolic mirror been a few yards higher, none could have lived to tell the tale. Stewy, my interpretation of this follows Lensman's sensor tower theory. If the mirror had been elevated higher, then the Martians would have been able to see farther and better angle the camera projector. In other words, it was a scanning device rather than a reflector for the heat ray itself Thanks for the pics Thunderchild! KR
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Post by Lensman on Sept 19, 2006 17:54:01 GMT
This extract from the book seems to confirm that the mirror was used to deflect the heat ray: <snip> Had the elevation of the parabolic mirror been a few yards higher, none could have lived to tell the tale. <snip> It specifically mentions that the angle of the mirror determined where the heat-ray hit. Yes, but again it specifies the *parabolic* mirror; that is, the one which is an integral part of the Heat Ray projector itself. So again that's clear evidence the Heat Ray was *not* bounced off a mirror after leaving the projector. If it were, the mirror could have been raised to allow it to hit those protected by the hummock.
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