


Life at Sea in the Old and New Time Lines, Part 5: Creature Comforts
A ship is home to its crew for weeks, months, even years. And like a home, a ship should provide air that is fresh and of a comfortable temperature and humidity. It also should provide sanitation facilities. **** Ventilation According to Sir Walter...
Photography in the 1632 Universe, Part I: Silver Shadows
Author’s Introduction I began writing nonfiction for the Grantville Gazette with issue 4, and fiction with issue 6. I doubt that I would ever have written any fiction were it not for Eric Fling and the Grantville Gazette. My article “Photography in the...
Hunting for Helium in the 1632 Universe
In the 1632 universe, helium is mentioned repeatedly as an alternative to hydrogen as a lift gas for airships. While providing slightly (7%) less lift, it has the advantages of being non-flammable and having about half the permeation rate of hydrogen (so it leaks out...
Photography in the 1632 Universe: Part 3, Light in a Box
Unless you are content with a mere photoprint (which captures silhouettes of opaque objects and filtered images of translucent ones placed upon illuminated film), you also need an optical system for creating an image of the scene at the "film plane." Typically, that...
Photography in the 1632 Universe: Part 2: Touching the Rainbow
Color Imagery The sine qua non for color photography is a panchromatic film—that is, one sensitive to the entire visible spectrum. Chances are that it will not be equally sensitive to all wavelengths, and that can be corrected by filtration of the more...
Photography in the 1632 Universe: Part 1, Silver Shadows
Let there be light. For without light, there can be no photography. Photography is the art of capturing an image of a scene in such a manner that it can be viewed in the absence of that scene. The sine qua non is a visible light-sensitive material (call it "film" for...
Portable Power
There are numerous portable electronic devices in Grantville that will be very handy to keep in operation in the new time line. However, many of those devices run only on battery power. If the batteries are non-rechargeable, then the point will be reached when they no...