Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Ma Sitong was struck by lightning while talking with Sikeby

Director Barbicane declared: If the goal is not achieved, we will not give up.If he is not sure of success, how dare he make a big sale of stocks!Now that he had the funds, all obstacles were cleared, and success was in sight. The North Pole will eventually be conquered by human geniuses who dare to think and do. It seemed that Director Barbicane and his board had a way of succeeding where others had failed.What the Franklins, the Kanes, the Derons, the Niles and the Greeleys couldn't do, they had to do.They were going to cross the 84° line, take the vast land they had acquired at a recent auction, and add the thirty-ninth star of the thirty-ninth state of the Union to the American Stars and Stripes.

"Cheater hands!" the delegates of Europe and their supporters of the Old Continent were still swearing. They do have the means to conquer the North Pole, simple or childish, but practical, logical, and indisputable.This was calculated by Ma Sitong. In Ma Sitong's head, various ideas were synthesized by the boiling brain.The plans for the grand enterprise of developing the Arctic, and the paths leading to success, were the product of his brain. We need not repeat ourselves, the Secretary of the Gunners Club is a master of arithmetic.We could even say that he was a master of mathematical juggling—if the word "juggle" isn't as anti-scientific as it is commonly understood.Whether it is geometry to calculate areas and volumes, or extremely complex algebraic formulas, everything is easy to solve.In his view, solving the most complex mathematical problems is just a game.Please see how he arbitrarily dominates algebraic symbols: Pinyin letters represent quantity or area, and intersection lines or connecting lines represent various relationships in quantitative calculations.

Under him, or rather under the chalk on the hook-head of his arm, fluttered coefficients, exponents, radicals, root exponents, and other forms of the language.He likes to calculate on the blackboard.On the ten-square-meter board, he poured his enthusiasm as a mathematician.Don't underestimate the numbers in his pen. Under his strong "hand", every number is big: 2 and 3 are as big as a chicken folded from paper; The hanged person; 8 bends down like a pair of wide glasses; 6 and 9 both have a long and big tail. The letters used to write formulas. The first three a, b, c represent known or definite numbers; the last three x, y, z represent unknown or undetermined numbers.Only using thick brushes but not thin ones, especially z, is a sharp turn and turn!The Greek letters π, λ, ω, etc., are more imposing, even Archimedes or Euchlides would be proud of them.

1.Each operator, written in immaculate white chalk, is very graceful. "Ten" clearly indicates the addition of two numbers; "-" is simple, but has a concise beauty; "x" stands like the cross of St. Andrew; Kingdom, the word "equality" is not empty talk, at least among Caucasians; the huge <, >, are also written with great strength; Adding a horizontal line, in the form of " ", often exceeds the edge of the blackboard, threatening to put the whole world under a violent equation! Don't think that Ma Sitong's mathematical ability is limited to elementary algebra, no!He is no stranger to calculus and calculus.Drawn with a steady hand, "∫," the famous integral symbol for an infinitesimal sum of infinite elements, is simply daunting.

There is also "∑" which represents the sum of a finite number of finite elements; "∞" which is used by mathematicians to represent infinity, and all the mysterious symbols in this language that are unknown to many. This amazing figure has the potential to climb to the top of the ladder of higher mathematics. This is J·T·Maston!That's why his colleagues trust him when he solves the most incredible math problems!It was also why the Gunners' Club had entrusted him with the math of launching from the Earth to the Moon, and why Mrs Evangelina Ncube, reveling in his glory, had an admiration bordering on love for him.

As far as how to conquer the North Pole, there is absolutely no need for Ma Sitong to fly to that remote area.In order for the new buyer to exploit the Arctic, the Secretary of the Gunners' Club had only to solve a mechanical problem.The problem might be complex, requiring ingenious new formulas, but he was up to the task. While the smallest mistake can cost millions of dollars, we can trust no one but Ma Sitong.Since his first exposure to mathematical concepts in childhood, he has never made a mistake when calculating lengths, even by a thousandth of a micron.If he had made a mistake in the twentieth decimal place, he would have blown his rubber head off without hesitation.

It's important to emphasize Marthon's brilliance, and now that we've done that, let's see how he works.For this, we're going back a few weeks. One month before the publication of the Letter to the New and the Old Continent, Ma Sitong calculated various data of the development plan and hinted that the development of the North Pole must be successful. For many years Marston lived at 179 Franklin Street.It was one of the quietest streets in Baltimore, away from the business district and away from the noise that bothered him. The residence, known as the "Balistick Cottage", is a simple house, and all income is the artillery officer's pension and the secretary's salary of the Gunners Club.Ma Sitong was alone, and was served by a black man "fired".This nickname was well suited to the servants of the artillerymen.Actually the Negro was not a servant, but a second-hander, the first-gunner, who served his master as he would his cannon.

Ma Sitong is a stubborn bachelor.He believes that in the world of mortals, being single is the best state of life.He knew a Slavic proverb: "It's easier to drive an ox that turns back and pull a plow than a woman," though he didn't quite believe it. He lives alone in the "Balistique Cottage", which he prefers.Originally, he only needed to lift a finger to change a single person into a two-person cohabitation; change a meager property into a millionaire's wealth.He did not even doubt that Mrs. Evangelina Scobie would be happy to be his companion.But at least until now, Ma Sitong has not realized what happiness there is.It seems that the two people agree with each other-at least the gentle widow thinks so-it can't change Ma Sitong's single life.

This is a simple two-story cottage, with a small living room and a small dining room on the ground floor, and an outbuilding on the garden corner is connected to the ground floor with a kitchen and pantry.Upstairs is the bedroom, the windows open to the street, and the work room faces the courtyard, so that no sound from outside can be heard inside.Scholars and sages hid in this remote hut and solved countless calculation problems.If Newton, Laplace or Couch were alive, they would be envious. Mrs. Avengerina Scobie's private residence was very different from Maston's "Balistique Cottage".It is located in the wealthy Xinyuan area. The front wall of the building is inlaid with Anglo-Saxon chic reliefs, which have both Gothic and Renaissance features.The living room is furnished with all kinds of furniture, and the hall is spacious.In the gallery, the immortal masterpieces of French masters occupy a lofty position.The double spiral staircase, numerous servants, stables, garages, gardens, lawns, big trees, fountains, the clock tower overlooks the row upon row of buildings, and the blue and yellow flag of the Skoby family flutters in the wind at the top of the clock tower.

There are at least three nautical miles between the residence in Xinyuan and the "Balistic Hut", but there is a dedicated telephone between the two residences.As long as you say "Hello! Hello!", the cabin and the mansion can communicate.Although the two parties in the conversation cannot see each other, they can clearly hear each other's voice.Mrs. Evangelina Sculby asked Ma Sitong more often into the trembling microphone, and Ma Sitong seldom asked Mrs. Evangelina Scurby into the microphone.No one will be surprised by this.The computerist put down the work at hand without complaining, and listened to the friendly greeting, of course he would be a little impatient.It is conceivable that the dry tone has become slightly softer thanks to the transmission of electric current.As soon as he put down the microphone, he returned to the math problem.

On October 3, after the last long meeting, Ma Sitong bid farewell to his colleagues and invested in calculations to find a mechanical method to the North Pole so that the coal resources hidden under the Arctic ice could be exploited.It was one of the most important work projects he took on. Ma Sitong estimated that it would take a week to complete his complex and tricky mysterious work.He was to solve various equations including mechanics, three-dimensional analytic geometry, polar geometry, and trigonometry. In order to avoid any disturbance, the Secretary of the Gunners Club took refuge in the hut.It was agreed that no one would visit him.This made Mrs. Evangelina Scobie very sad, but she had to let it go.This afternoon she was to pay a last visit to Marston's with Director Barbicane, Captain Nicole, and their colleagues - Merry Bisby, Colonel Bronsberry, and Woodleg Tom Hunt. "You will succeed, my dear Maston!" Mrs. Evangelina Sculby encouraged him when they parted. "Make no mistake!" Director Barbicane added with a smile. "Mistake? Him?" exclaimed Mrs. Evangelina Scobie. "No more mistakes than God made in formulating the laws of celestial mechanics!" said the Secretary of the Gunners' Club modestly. Then, some people shook hands, some sighed, wished him success, told him not to overwork, and then took their leave one by one and left. The door to the "Balistick Cottage" was closed.The servants were ordered not to open the door to anyone, not even the President of the United States of America. For the first two days, Ma Sitong, who locked himself at home, did not calculate with chalk.Instead, think carefully in your brain.He rereads works on parameters: Earth, mass, density, volume, shape, rotation on axis, orbit.These data are the basis for his calculations. The following are the basic data provided to the readers. The shape of the earth: spheroid with a maximum radius of 6,377,398 meters.If the whole number of four kilometers is combined into one French mile, it is 1,594 French miles.Its minimum radius is 6,356,080 meters, or 1,589 French miles.As the poles of the earth are flat, this creates two radii which differ by 21,318 meters, or about five French miles. Circumference of the Earth at the equator: 40,000 kilometers, or 10,000 French miles. Earth's area: about 510 million square kilometers. The volume of the earth: about one trillion cubic kilometers.A cubic kilometer is one kilometer each in length, width and height. Earth's density: about five times that of water, slightly higher than barite, and comparable to iodine.That is to say, assuming that the surface of the earth is weighed piece by piece, each cubic meter weighs an average of 5,480 kilograms.This figure was calculated by Cavendish using a scale invented and manufactured by Mitchell.Or precisely, according to Berry's correction, 5,670 kilograms.Since then, Mr. Wilshine, Mr. Cornu, and Mr. Jiller have also carried out weighing. The time it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun once: 365 days and a quarter of an hour, forming a solar year.More precisely, it is 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, 10:37 seconds, and the Earth is rotating at 30,400 meters per second, or 7.6 miles. The path traveled by points on the surface of the equator as the Earth rotates on its axis: 463 meters per second or 417 miles per hour. Now, Ma Sitong took the measurement units of circumference, weight, time, and angle for his calculations.These units of measurement are: meters, kilograms, seconds, central angles, and an arc equal to the radius intercepted in any circle. At 5:00 p.m. on October 5th—such a great cause worth remembering, it is very important to introduce the exact time here——Ma Sitong began to work on paper after careful consideration.First, he started with the number of the circumference of the earth's equator. The blackboard is in one corner of the office, supported by waxed oak stands, and the small wooden boards below it are lined with short chalks, and the eraser is placed within reach of the calculator's left, "right hand," or iron hook. A prosthetic hand designed to draw, write formulas and numbers.Sunlight pours in from the windows that open to the courtyard, filling the interior with light. Ma Sitong drew a very circular line to represent the earth.On the Earth's equator, the front arc lines are drawn as solid lines and the back arc lines are drawn as dashed lines, so that the spherical projection is clearly shown.The axis passing through the poles is perpendicular to the equatorial plane, and the north and south poles are marked with S and N, respectively. In the right corner of the board, write a number representing the circumference of the Earth in meters: After 40,000,000, Ma Sitong set up his posture and began to perform a series of calculations. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice the weather at all.The weather changed a lot in the afternoon, the storm had been blowing for an hour, the sky was dark and dark clouds were accumulating, rolling over the city, affecting the organisms of all living beings.The thunder rumbles in the distance, echoing in the voids of earth and space.Suddenly, lightning pierced the sky, and the voltage in the sky was extremely high. Ma Sitong was so engrossed that he was so busy that he turned a blind eye to and listened to everything outside. Suddenly, there was a rush of phone ringing, breaking the silence in the office. "Okay!" cried Ma Sitong, "those bastards, if you can't get in through the door, come and call! ... For those who need quiet, this is really a 'beautiful invention'! Really want to work quietly , it seems that we have to cut off the phone line!" "What can I do for you?" he asked. "Talk for a moment," a woman's voice answered. "who are you?……" "Didn't you hear that? My dear Mr. Marston. It's me, Mrs. Scobie." "Mrs. Scobie, . . . won't let me be quiet for a minute." The latter sentence is very offensive to a lovely widow.He whispered carefully, away from the microphone so as not to reach the telephone. Ma Sitong understood that he had to answer, at least he should say something polite: "Ah! It's you, Mrs. Scobie." "It is I, dear Mr. Marston." "Mrs. Scobie, what can I do for you?" "I want to tell you in advance that there will be a heavy rain soon!" "Then I can't stop it..." "Yes, I ask you, did you close the windows?" No sooner had Mrs. Avengerina Scobie finished these words than there was a thunderclap in the sky, as if a huge piece of silk had been torn whole.Lightning struck near the "Balistick Hut," and electricity was blasted through telephone lines into the computer's office. Ma Sitong was leaning over the phone, and received a heavy blow to the face of the electric current-a slap like this had never been done to a scientist's face.Then, the iron hook at the end of the arm sparked, and he fell suddenly.Ma Sitong touched the blackboard, and the blackboard was tilted to the corner of the room.After that, the lightning passed through the invisible hole in the glass window, met the water pipe, and drilled into the ground. Ma Sitong was stunned.He stood up, touched every part of his body, and concluded that he was not injured at all.Then, calm as usual, like an old counter at the Columbia Cannon, he tidied up the office, set up the blackboard stand, set up the blackboard, picked up the chalk scattered on the rug, and resumed the work he had suddenly interrupted. At this time, he found that the number of meters written on the right corner of the blackboard indicating the circumference of the earth's equator had been erased.So he had to rewrite it.At this time, the phone rang slightly tremblingly and rang again. "here we go again!" He walked to the phone and stood still. "Who is it?" "Mrs. Scobie." "Mrs. Scobie, what can I do for you?" "That thunder didn't hit the 'Balistique Cottage,' did it?" "I have every reason to believe it's on!" "Oh! God! Thunderbolt..." "Don't worry, Mrs. Scobie." "You are not hurt? My dear Mr. Marston." "No." "You sure you weren't hit?" "I was 'hit' by your friendship." Ma Sitong felt that he should answer her kindly. "Good night, dear Ma Sitong." "Good night, dear Mrs. Sculby." He returned to his seat and said again: "Troublemaker, this kind woman, if she hadn't called me so stupidly, how could I have been struck by lightning?" This time, it must be all right.Ma Sitong should no longer be disturbed during the work process.In order to maintain the silence necessary for his work, he cut the wire and the phone went completely silent. He used the number he had just written as a base from which he worked out various formulas.Finally, he crossed out the other numbers, leaving a final formula, written on the left side of the blackboard. At this time, he plunged into endless algebraic symbols... Eight days later, on October 10, this huge mechanical calculation problem was finally solved.The gunner's club secretary brings solutions to problems for anxious colleagues. A practical way to mine Arctic coal is mathematically possible. Now, let's review the entire event: a company called "Arctic Experiment Association" was formed, and Washington decided that if the auction allowed the government to obtain the North Pole, it would sell the North Pole to the company.We know that the United States of America gets the North Pole.The new company appealed to capitalists from the New and Old Worlds for funding.