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Post by Thunder Child on Sept 19, 2006 23:31:43 GMT
Ok, but why would Wells constantly talk about a mirror that is an integrated part of "The Humbed Shape",someting that was a completely mystery at the time. And furthermore a part of the Generator that he could not see. Wouldn't it be more logical to say "Had the elevation of the HUMBED SHAPE been a few yards higher, none could have lived to tell the tale"? He talked about a mirror on a rod, and then about a mirror that was part of the Pit's Heat Ray, so combine 1 and 1 together... I always saw the parabolic mirror on the rod as some sort of sattelite dish only used in the Horsell pit. It captured the energy from the Heat Ray generator and focused it into a more specific ray to kill the people on the common.  Solar cooker with a Parabolic mirror |
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Post by Lensman on Sept 20, 2006 5:28:40 GMT
To repeat: a parabolic shape is *not* a disc, and one couldn't possibly confuse the shape of the solar cooker shown above for a disc. A parabolic mirror is used to focus light randomly radiating in all directions into a beam, like a headlight, or to focus it at a single point, like the solar cooker pictured above. If a narrow beam was shown *into* a parabolic mirror, it would have the exact opposite effect-- it would spread the beam out. Honestly, I can't see why this point is being gone over and over and over again. I can't see how it could possibly be any clearer: Slowly a humped shape rose out of the pit and the ghost of a beam of light seemed to flicker out from it.What could this possibly mean *other* than the Heat Ray was being projected directly from the humped shape? If the Heat Ray were bounced off the sensor tower mirror, there would be absolutely no need to elevate the projector. To suggest anything *other* than the humped shape was (or contained) the Heat Ray projector is to deliberately misinterpret what the author wrote. I can understand there could be some confusion between the two mirrors, but once you understand the purpose of the parabolic mirror-- and Wells spells out that purpose quite clearly-- then the author's meaning is unambiguous. Ok, but why would Wells constantly talk about a mirror that is an integrated part of "The Humbed Shape",someting that was a completely mystery at the time. Victorians were fascinated by technology, is why. It's part of the Victorian writing style. I always saw the parabolic mirror on the rod Again, the mirror on the rod was *not* parabolic, it was described as a "circular disc". |
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Post by Killraven on Sept 20, 2006 11:23:11 GMT
Ok, but why would Wells constantly talk about a mirror that is an integrated part of The Humped Shape - something that was a completely mystery at the time. And furthermore a part of the Generator that he could not see. TH, you are forgetting of course that the narrator was retelling the story retrospectively, after the war had ended and much of the martian technology had been examined. Therefore it is expected that Wells will drop in little nuggets of information like this throughout the novel (and indeed he did so)  . KR |
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Post by lanceradvanced on Sept 22, 2006 3:09:57 GMT
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Post by Lensman on Sept 22, 2006 3:46:23 GMT
a parabolic mirror, is a mirror with a cross section of a parabola, near it's apex, a parabolic mirror can have a -very- shallow depression <snip> "disk" shaped ones are rather common, used in telescopes <snip> Other than that, I do agree with the intreption, that the ray came from the humped shape.. Thanks for the correction, Lancer. I see you are correct: www.astro.ufl.edu/~oliver/ast3722/lectures/Scope%20Optics/scopeoptics.htmSo, a "disc-shaped" mirror *could* have been parabolic. In fact, one might go so far as to say that makes sense, as it *could* have been part of a telescopic periscope, with the parabolic mirror above focusing the image into a smaller lens below. However, this doesn't alter the fact that Wells writes "This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose, by means of a parabolic mirror of unknown composition, much as the parabolic mirror of a lighthouse projects a beam of light." The parabolic mirror on a lighthouse works just like the parabolic mirror inside a headlight, by focusing an omnidirectional light source into a beam; it does *not* work by projecting the light a certain distance then bouncing it off an external mirror. And I don't think Wells meant us to think the Heat Ray worked that way, either. |
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Post by mctoddridesagain on Sept 22, 2006 5:27:53 GMT
The parabolic mirror on a lighthouse works just like the parabolic mirror inside a headlight, by focusing an omnidirectional light source into a beam; it does *not* work by projecting the light a certain distance then bouncing it off an external mirror. And I don't think Wells meant us to think the Heat Ray worked that way, either. But there's nothing in optical physics to make that impossible. All you're saying is 'what would be the point?'. The point some have made on this thread is that perhaps the Martians hadn't yet got their Heat Ray (by which I mean the camera-like box which contained the entire heat ray-generating mechanism including the internal parablic mirror) on a flexible arm/tentacle, so had it fixed and used the disc-shaped but plain (flat) mirror on a stick which could be easily manoeuvred to do the aiming for it (rather in the way certain Star Wars/SDI designs of the 1980s were to use ground-based giant lasers which relected from aimable orbital mirrors to shoot down missiles). Now, I don't really subscribe strongly one way or the other in this debate, but I do understand what the Mirror As Heat Ray Reflector camp are saying as much as I appreciate what the Mirror As Crude Periscope faction maintain. |
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Post by lanceradvanced on Sept 23, 2006 1:52:25 GMT
I tend to lean toward the mirror as sensor mast school, mainly because the bit about the part of the crowd who was missed by the heatray because the heat ray's path was blocked - if the beam was coming from the vantage point of the pole, high above the pit, it I can't see it being blocked by a dune... Also if the beam was being reflected from above, I can't see why the "humped shape" needed to rise to fire..
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Post by Killraven on Sept 24, 2006 20:15:07 GMT
Perhaps His Majesty's forces should have concentrated their fire against the mirror... might have given the martians seven years bad luck  KR |
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tug
Full Member
Posts: 87
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Post by tug on Oct 29, 2006 19:39:53 GMT
I took the humped shape to be the top section of a tripods cowl.
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Post by Commandingtripod on Oct 30, 2006 7:46:48 GMT
This is how I see the 'Generator' and 'Mirror':  It may not be how you think it is/looks but it's what I believed they used. |
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Post by Killraven on Oct 30, 2006 13:20:55 GMT
Nice diagram CT I understand the theory - but still don't believe that this is what the mirror was used for. Either that or HG was referring to two different mirrors with different roles KR |
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Nov 3, 2006 10:41:19 GMT
I think the mirror is very similar to what humans have at the end the aisle in supermarkets. The martians are looking to see if anyone is coming along with a trolley.  |
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Post by Killraven on Nov 3, 2006 14:50:35 GMT
I think the mirror is very similar to what humans have at the end the aisle in supermarkets. The martians are looking to see if anyone is coming along with a trolley. Well it should certainly stop the chavs and wasters indulging in any "cylinderlifting" ;D KR |
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Post by Lensman on Nov 17, 2006 11:15:33 GMT
This is how I see the 'Generator' and 'Mirror': It may not be how you think it is/looks but it's what I believed they used. Yet again-- if that's how it worked, there would be no need for the "humped shape" to raise up. Unless and until anyone can explain *why* the humped shape needed to be raised if the Martains were bouncing the beam off the mirror, I maintain it's quite clear that Wells was not suggesting anything of the sort. |
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Post by Killraven on Nov 17, 2006 14:40:10 GMT
This is how I see the 'Generator' and 'Mirror': It may not be how you think it is/looks but it's what I believed they used. Yet again-- if that's how it worked, there would be no need for the "humped shape" to raise up. Unless and until anyone can explain *why* the humped shape needed to be raised if the Martains were bouncing the beam off the mirror, I maintain it's quite clear the Wells was not suggesting anything of the sort. My point exactly! KR |
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Post by Leatherhead on Jan 1, 2007 0:03:53 GMT
We need to consider this: the Martians do not shot a light beam, they shoot HEAT. You can reflect light off of a mirror to heat an object but you cannot reflect heat with a mirror. (try holding a mirror on an angle above an oven's burner, it doesn't work) I think this spinning mirror may have been a sensor and not part of the heat ray.
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Post by Rob on Jan 4, 2007 12:27:30 GMT
maybe some way for the martians to see what they are aiming at like the shiney strip inside a scanner
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Post by Lensman on Jan 9, 2007 14:55:46 GMT
We need to consider this: the Martians do not shot a light beam, they shoot HEAT. You can reflect light off of a mirror to heat an object but you cannot reflect heat with a mirror. (try holding a mirror on an angle above an oven's burner, it doesn't work) I think this spinning mirror may have been a sensor and not part of the heat ray. A stove's burner heats by conduction, by directly touching what it heats up; not anything like the way a Martian heat ray works. Your microwave oven does work something like the heat ray; and the microwave has a rotating metal shield in it which is used to reflect the microwaves, just like a mirror. Wells specified the Heat Ray projector used a parabolic mirror inside to focus the heat energy into a beam. |
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Reppu
Junior Member
heatraying the crap out of mankind?cooollllaaaa!
Posts: 33
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Post by Reppu on Jan 11, 2007 11:04:25 GMT
I always imagined the mirror as a sort of "radar", if you please. Something round, turning and turning on top of a mast. That's my interpretation from the book.
I consider that they would definitely need a surveillance device. Otherwise, they wouldn't even know what's outside the pit, not to mention where to aim the heat ray at. As for that mirror being used for both purposes (survelliance and heat ray directioning), i highly doubt it.
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