tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post5198666213716512885..comments2023-05-16T08:19:10.325-05:00Comments on Victoria's Boys in Red: "H" is for...J Womack, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14400879353685357966noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-78959152768105923452012-04-13T13:09:20.528-05:002012-04-13T13:09:20.528-05:00A different mineral, unobtainite, produces an anti...A different mineral, unobtainite, produces an anti-gravitational effect when a galvanic current is run through it. This produces lift sufficient for armoured airships. It is a blue crystal.J Womack, Esq.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14400879353685357966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-46522148806168207862012-04-13T12:03:31.247-05:002012-04-13T12:03:31.247-05:00I used a mineral called Gravocite that was not its...I used a mineral called Gravocite that was not itself burned but produced a anti-gravitic effect when it was heated up. It could refined into a more efficient, liquid form called Gravosene.<br /><br />-EliEli Arndthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10445801567500822187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-30669784877491503252012-04-13T08:28:27.236-05:002012-04-13T08:28:27.236-05:00@Elderac: The mysterious 8th and 9th rays of barso...@Elderac: The mysterious 8th and 9th rays of barsoom are, indeed, handwaving at its finest. And the radium rifles, of infinite range and supreme deadliness... well, I always liked the image ERB gave of dawn on a battlefield following a nighttime battle - the explosion of all the projectiles laying about.J Womack, Esq.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14400879353685357966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-52085009791982349382012-04-13T08:25:01.650-05:002012-04-13T08:25:01.650-05:00@Kobold: No, not quite - it's actually toxic w...@Kobold: No, not quite - it's actually toxic when smoked. Bongolesian Oxyweed -or, more properly - the Bongolesian Oxygen Plant (<i>Oxygenesis bongolesia</i>) is a rare plant which produces incredible amounts of oxygen when subjected to the proper environmental conditions of temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, etc. Quite useful for long interplanetary jaunts. Found (so far) only in the highlands of remote Bongolesia, it is a prized botanical specimen.J Womack, Esq.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14400879353685357966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-60684645425424850032012-04-13T07:39:07.992-05:002012-04-13T07:39:07.992-05:00I was racking my brain trying to think what H migh...I was racking my brain trying to think what H might be. I thought of Hydrogen and Heliograph, but neither of those are necessarily uniquely VSF.<br /><br />This works wonderfully, especially after I have read it in your earlier posts.<br /><br />You may want to add the 8th and 9th rays to your list from ERB's Mars novels. Along with his use of "Radium", that is handwaving at its finest.<br /><br />Mark "Geo" GelinasElderachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14472991994880918600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823035553787046459.post-39583795839499978192012-04-13T05:51:16.933-05:002012-04-13T05:51:16.933-05:00Bongolesian Oxyweed has an effect similar to opium...Bongolesian Oxyweed has an effect similar to opium when smoked in a water pipe, so any perceived levitational properties are more akin to a pipe dream, one assumes.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14192928573798426693noreply@blogger.com