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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!cbdkc1!desoto!cord!hudson!bentley!ihnp1!ihnp4!iitcs!draughn
From: draughn@iitcs.UUCP (Mark Draughn)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Fantastic Voyage fix
Message-ID: <161@iitcs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Aug-85 04:18:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: iitcs.161
Posted: Wed Aug 28 04:18:58 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 21:28:32 EDT
References: <3323@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Reply-To: draughn@iitcs.UUCP (Mark draughn)
Organization: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Il.
Lines: 61

In article <3323@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> kdale@minet-vhn-em.arpa writes:
>How about this as an attempt at an explanation?  As a preface, though,
>if you're going to swallow the fact of miniaturization,  you're  going
>to  have  to accept some pretty flaky assumptions (I mean, it's got to
>be on a par with "Beam me up, Scotty!").
>
>  1. The miniaturization process begins with setting up an 
>     homogeneous field around the object(s) to be mini'ed.
>     What kind of field?  Well, a field that reacts in equal
>     force or amount to all points within it.  So, Flaky
>     Assumption #1 is: this field does not behave according
>     to the inverse square rule.
>
>  2. Next, an effect of the field is to reduce energy within
>     it's influence by directly converting mass to energy.  The
>     energy released is used to sustain the field.  Due to the 
>     nature of the field, no whole unit of matter is converted 
>     to energy, but just a part.  The nature of the unit
>     of matter is not changed (F.A.#2) and it reduces size in
>     proportion to the amount of matter that was converted.
 [...]
 When the matter "attempts" to regain it's mass (after a sort of threshold
 period) it has to draw in erergy.  So...
>  7. Another field is set up that provides a source of energy that
>     is specific to miniaturized matter (F.A.#4).  Surrounding normal
>     matter is not affected, and you have a definite time limit on
>     how long you can stay small before the mass you're gaining 
>     becomes a problem (say, for the patient that you're "inhabiting").
>     When you exit the patient, the juice can be turned up so that 
>     you grow more rapidly.  There, that's it.

 Problem:  When the mass is converted to energy, you'd get an awful
           lot of energy.  E = m*c^2 get's real big for a person-size
           mass.  I'm not saying this is a big problem though, since
           it can be hand-waved away by storing the energy in the field.

 Problem:  If the particles lose mass without losing charge, I think the
           electron clouds will go nuts.  With less inertia, things will
           move much faster.  I think we have to do some more hand-waving
           and say that the charge is also reduced.  We probably also have
           to say this about the other forces so that the nucleus holds
           together.  (Gravity could probably still be ignored, because
           it is so weak.)

 Problem:  External influences can play havoc with the miniturized objects.
           Molecules near the fringes of the field will be torn apart by the
           many-times-greater charge from the full-size atoms.  Also, what
           about photons?  It seems to me that photons from the outside
           world would blast the electron clouds right off the mini-atoms
           rather than just pop the electrons up a few orbitals.  I think
           we must also stipulate that forces and massless particles from
           the outside world undergo an automatic reduction in strength
           or energy when they cross through the field.

 By the way, the field must be pegged to all particles with mass that were
 in the original shrinking field because it must be flexible, yet not spread
 to surrounding particles.

 What do you think?

                                          Mark Draughn