Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint Read Online Free PDF Page B

my bumping against the ceiling.”
    Mr. Willoughby looked round at the rest.
    â€œOne more point,” he said, and suddenly his expression became very grave. “I have mentioned this before, but now we are official. There is one word you must live with from now on: secrecy. Secrecy is our watchword, night and day!”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    It’s Tomorrow
    Secrecy is our watchword . The words rang in Danny’s ears, and for the next three months or so he was both more happy and more miserable than any other boy in the land. Happy, because he was on the inside of one of the most thrilling projects ever begun by man, and miserable, because he had to keep a constant watch over himself to be sure he never let anything slip out about it.
    Professor Bullfinch, with his constant companion, Dr. Grimes, spent more and more time in the laboratory testing and analyzing the anti-gravity liquid. It became clear that whatever was painted with the liquid resisted gravity and would fly out away from the earth. As long as the paint was charged with electricity, the liquid continued to operate. The speed of the object could be controlled by regulating the strength of the electrical charge in it.
    Dr. Grimes and the Professor argued for hours over how an anti-gravity ship would look and what it would carry. At last the day came when Danny, sitting on a stool with his elbows on the lab bench and his chin on his hands, was allowed to look at the large charts and drawings they had prepared.
    â€œYou see,” the Professor explained, “this ship will not look like most people’s idea of a spaceship. In the first place, we won’t have to worry about either friction or acceleration.”
    â€œI don’t understand, Professor,” Danny said.
    â€œWell, a rocket ship needs to get away from the pull of gravity, and so it must go very fast until it’s free. But the heat caused by the friction of the atmosphere might burn it up. That’s the first problem. Second, that great starting speed means that the men in the ship will have to undergo tremendous pressure.
    â€œWe, however, can go just as fast or as slowly as we like, since the anti-gravity paint overcomes the earth’s pull. Our ship will have an automatic governor, so that when we start it it will automatically travel very slowly, and then gradually gather speed as it goes higher. There will be almost no sense of movement, no pressure, and we can go slowly enough so that air friction will be no danger.”
    Danny nodded. “I see. But then what will drive the ship in space?”
    â€œInertia,” the Professor replied. “When we charge the paint, gravity itself will push us away from earth. That push will keep the ship—well, coasting would be one way to explain it.”
    â€œHow fast will it go? As fast as light?”
    â€œOh, no, I don’t think so. Actually it’s hard to say, but since it will be the force of the earth’s mass pushing the ship away, its speed will certainly be immense.”
    He tapped the plans with the stem of his pipe.
    â€œWe won’t need any fuel to speak of, and so most of our space in the ship will be used for supplies, living quarters, and our garden.”
    â€œGarden?” Danny exclaimed. “I thought you’d get food from cans.”
    â€œSo we will, to a certain extent.” The Professor smiled. “But fresh food and flowers are important to men cooped up in a limited amount of space like this. Anyway, that’s what I think. And this garden will also act as an important extra air supply.”
    â€œHow can it do that?”
    â€œWell, plants under light, when they are making food for themselves, release a great deal of oxygen. Now, we’ll make most of our oxygen from chemicals, but the garden will produce a certain amount of fresh air and will absorb a certain amount of the carbon dioxide breathed out by the passengers.”
    Danny grinned. “Then