Khius is a photonic planet- plane , a fictional spacecraft , often found in the fantasy works of the Half World Series from Soviet writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky [1] . For the first time appears in the novel “The Country of Crimson Clouds ”.
Content
Design features of Hius class airplanes
- The main propulsion system is based on the combined use of nuclear photon-rocket drive technology; [K 1]
- A necessary component of the drive is a two-layer parabolic “ absolute reflector ”, at the focus of which the fuel disintegrates into radiation, thus creating jet thrust ; [K 2]
- Five auxiliary atomic-pulse missiles. [K 3]
Attention is drawn to the absence of the familiar to us automation in the “Khius” design described by the Strugatsky [2] [3] .
Interesting Facts
- According to the calculations of the Nizhny Novgorod-based pragmatist Sergei Lifanov, the Khius’s flight to Venus was to take place from June to September 1991 [4] .
- In the story, the “absolute reflector” used in the construction of the photon engine was created in Novosibirsk . The mention of Novosibirsk looks like a reference to the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the SB RAS , however B. Strugatsky asserted that they did not know anything about the plans to create this institute, but they understood that “our science will necessarily“ grow by Siberia ”” [5] .
- Significantly recorded maximum speed reached 0.957 from absolute speed. At this speed, under lehny accelerations, sigma-nitration was first performed (puncture of the space-time continuum).
- For the development of planets with turbulent atmospheres the planet has a fivefold safety margin.
- After the successful conquest of Venus "Hius-2" planes class "Hius" created in mass order for the development of the solar system until the discovery of the D-principle .
- The design of the airplanes changed slightly. Of the worthwhile modifications, only an increased number of “absolute reflector” layers were mentioned.
- The name of the spacecraft comes from the Siberian dialectal word “chius” (“hivus”), this is stated in the text of the book [K 4] and independent sources [6] .
- The reference to the Strugatskys is contained in the cycle Ordus published under the pseudonym Holm van Zaychik . There "Khius" (and other names of the spacecraft from the books of the Strugatsky) are brands of cars manufactured in Ordusi [7] . Vyacheslav Rybakov , one of the co-authors of Ordusi, recalls his children's letter to the Strugatsky brothers, preserved by Boris Natanovich until May 1975, when Rybakov met with him as the author of the novel “ Durney for the Cord ”. At the end of this letter, the Khius photon rocket was drawn [8] .
Notes
- ↑ Borisov V.I. The Worlds of the Strugatsky brothers: Encyclopedia. - M. , SPb. : AST , Terra Fantastica, 1999. - T. Vol. 2 (M — I). - p. 351. - 560 s. - ISBN 5-237-01562-X , ISBN 5-7921-0241-4 .
- ↑ Sergey Pereslegin . We got into the wrong story → A manually operated photonic starship // Ogonyok . - 09/27/1999. - No. 27 . (inaccessible link)
- ↑ Sergey Pereslegin. And we will archive “copper pipes” for a suitable society .
- ↑ Boris Vishnevsky. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: a double star. - AST , Terra Fantastica , 2004. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-024956-X , 5-7921-0664-9.
- ↑ OFF-LINE interview with Boris Strugatsky. July 2011 .
- ↑ Pavel Prudnikov . Taiga wind in the Baltic (inaccessible link) , Magazine "Basic Instinct" № 1, February 2007.
- ↑ Battle of fantastic brands . Archival copy of September 11, 2015 on the Wayback Machine , Igor Sid, Andrey Tsemenko. Journal of Co-Communication, No. 6, 2004.
- ↑ Vladimir Larionov. “He wrote about what is impossible” Talking with Vyacheslav Rybakov // World fiction . - May 2007. - № 45 .
Comments
- ↑
The photon-rocket drive converts fuel into quanta of electromagnetic radiation and thus achieves the maximum ejection speed equal to the speed of light for rocket engines. The source of energy of a photon-rocket drive can be either thermonuclear processes (partial conversion of fuel into radiation) or processes of anti-matter annihilation (complete conversion of fuel into radiation).
- ↑
“A perfect mirror has been created ,” said Douge, “an absolute reflector.” Substance, reflecting all types of radiant energy of any intensity and all types of elementary particles with energies up to one hundred - fifty million electron volts . Besides neutrinos , it seems. Magic substance. Her theory was developed by the Institute in Novosibirsk. True, they did not think about the photon rocket. They investigated the possibilities of perfect protection against penetrating radiation from a nuclear reactor. ”
The creation of an “absolute reflector” was the first real achievement of a new, almost fantastic science - mesoatomic chemistry, chemistry of artificial atoms, in which the electron shells were replaced by meson ones .
“Khius” is a combined planet-plane: five conventional atomic-impulse rockets carry a parabolic mirror from an “absolute reflector”. The portions of hydrogen-tritium plasma are injected into the focus of the mirror with a certain frequency.
- ↑
The designation of nuclear missiles is twofold: first, they give Chius the opportunity to start and finish on Earth. The photon reactor was not suitable for this - it would have contaminated the atmosphere, like the simultaneous explosion of dozens of hydrogen bombs. Secondly, the rocket reactors are fed by powerful electromagnets, in the field of which plasma braking occurs and thermonuclear fusion occurs. Very simple and witty: five rockets and a mirror.
- ↑
But “chius” in Siberian is a winter wind, northerner. The project of the photon rocket was developed by Siberian engineers, and they proposed this word as a code name. Then this name passed to the rocket.