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From: john@hp-pcd.UUCP (john)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Asimov and scientific revenge (from
Message-ID: <8200062@hp-pcd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Aug-85 12:28:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hp-pcd.8200062
Posted: Fri Aug 23 12:28:00 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 26-Aug-85 01:09:39 EDT
References: <149@rtp47.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard - Corvallis, OR
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Nf-ID: #R:rtp47:-14900:hp-pcd:8200062:000:1658
Nf-From: hp-pcd!john    Aug 23 08:28:00 1985

<<<
<
<  I don't remember the title

The Billiard Ball from his Asimov's Mysteries collection (Although he almost
called it "Ditry Pool"

< Sadly, it seems to me that there is a problem with Asimov's reasoning.
< Such a field "should" act on the elementary particles that *make up* the
< pool ball, not on the pool ball as a whole.  Thus, since the particles
< that make it up are vibrating every-which-way (in thermal motion), the
< ball should have *exploded*, leaving a sizeable crater, rather than
< turning into a pool-ball-diameter beam of hard radiation.  Ah well, a
< fairly nice short story with a twist ending, even so.
<
Even if you ignore thermal vibration it doesnt make sense. The point
of a rolling pool ball that would first strike the field has a velocity
vector that is straight DOWN into the pool table. The ball should start
"Peeling" itself off into a beam of particles that would start off going 
down and move up and forward. When the axis of the ball hit the field it
would punch straight through but the rest would be quite a mess.

You can explain the balls actions if you assume that the field barrier
acts more like an elastic membrane than a solid sheet. When a bit of matter
strikes the field it depresses the surface without breaking it. After the
matter is fully inside the original boundry the field will close around behind
it leaving it in a bubble within a closed field. We all know that a closed
antigravity field (Like Nivens Statis Fields) cannot exist within another
closed field so the inner one will instantly cease to exist. At that time
the matter instantly achieves light speed.

John Eaton
!hplabs!hp-pcd!john