Art, Science, Technology J - L
Numbers are indexed as words (3 = three, 8 = eight)
Jeri-saw: A high-tech handsaw used by Aquillo. (The Ring)
Jimmy the Jinx: A play (and the main character - a burglar) popular in La Rochelle, France, shortly before Earth was ejected from the solar system. (The Lighthouse at the End of the World)
Jodas juice: Essentially the same as tincture of iodine - a solution of elemental iodine in ethanol. Used as a condiment by Mentecians to give certain starch-like polysaccharides in some of their foods a green color. "Jodas" is the Lithuanian name for "iodine" and is the name used on Waxon. (One Potato, Two Potatoes)
Jumbo Double Cheeseburger: A cheeseburger that starts with two 1-pound ground beef patties. It includes the cheese of your choice and whatever other "fixings" you want. It is a speciality of the Tiki Bar at Rochelle Beach in New France Prefecture on Panjandrum. For an image, click here. (The Lighthouse at the End of the World)
Laser gate: A gate constructed of laser beams to prevent passage. (Alien Abduction)
Law of Gravity, Gabriele's: The scientific law equivalent to Newton's Law of Gravity. It was proposed by Gabriele at the beginning of Waxon's Renaissance.
Laws of Motion, Gabriele's: The scientific laws equivalent to Newton's Laws of Motion. They were proposed by Gabriele at the beginning of Waxon's Renaissance
Life, Definition: Life is a persistent, homeostatic, nonspontaneous system. For an extensive discussion of this definition, based on a post in my former blog, please click here.
Lime Rickey: A carbonated lime-flavored soft drink.(The Tartian Egg) Lime Rickey was popular in West Haven, Connecticut, in the 1970s'
Loose teleportation net:
(Don't Cross the Ls in Tortilla) A loose teleportation net is one application of subspace travel.
Computers using successive approximation techniques can make the calculations required for moving matter short space-time distances so that we can teleport matter from one location to another. If the exact location of an object is specified, the object (and a small amount of the medium surrounding it) can be teleported from that location to another. However, the location of an object may not be well known. A loose teleportation net can be used in this instance.
The "loose" part of the name refers to the fact that the volume of space to be affected is easily adjusted by the user and may be affected by motion of the target. "Net" indicates that, like a fishing net, much of the medium can be left behind and only the material specified will be retrieved.
The nature of the material to be netted was initially limited to specifying elements and compounds. At that time, the loose teleportation net was used for "mining"--pure gold could be extracted from a mountain without the need for a mine and the production of large amounts of tailings. Likewise, petroleum, natural gas, or water could be extracted from the ground without the need for a well.
Advances in technology made possible the specification of more complicated mixtures and, eventually, the species of living organism to be netted could be specified. For the fishing industry, this meant that only individuals of the target species would be brought on board while undesired species were left untouched.
This technology was quickly adopted by police forces for the apprehension of criminals and their transfer to a secured destination. Just as multiple individuals of a fish species could be netted, multiple individuals of the criminal's specified species could be netted. This could include other members of the gang and/or innocent bystanders. So the net must be used with some caution. However, since the net leaves the medium (air, clothes, anything that the individuals were holding) behind, individuals captured will arrive at the secured site nude and unarmed.
Unfortunately, as part of the medium, the air surrounding the person would normally be left behind. To avoid the dangers of decompression in the absence of air pressure, since transfer is not instantaneous, nets used for these captures are programmed to bring back the air within the net. Other teleportation technologies exchange the air from the source and destination, but to save time and computer power, the air at the net's destination is randomly teleported into the upper atmosphere and replaced by the air in the volume netted. This leaves a potentially large space at the capture site containing a vacuum. Air pressure forces the surrounding air to implode to fill this void. If the volume netted is large, a very loud sound is produced--like a thunder clap or sonic boom, either of which can cause damage in the vicinity. The implosion produces little heat, but may excite the electrons of the air imploded, producing a bright flash of light spectrally similar to an aurora.
Damage which might be caused by the implosion, by a runaway escape vehicle, or potential harm to bystanders captured along with a criminal are some of the factors which must be weighed against the benefits when the use of a loose teleportation net is considered.
Page updated: 07 May 2022
Page created: 19 January 2012
