Crazy but romantic science fantasy.
In 1987, the feature TV series "Dinosaur Express" filmed by the Japanese company Marutani was broadcast in China for the first time. The film did not have high ratings in Japan, but it was the first close-up film to be introduced to the mainland, and it won considerable popularity in the environment when domestic science fiction works were still lacking.
Many post-80s and even some post-90s generations still remember the super weapon "Human Cannon" in the film. After being fired by the special device "Human Cannon" of "Kasumitsu No. 1", the male protagonist can transform into superhuman "Kesai" and fight with various aliens and mutant monsters.
"Human" is actually "human" in Japanese, and "human cannon" should be translated as "human cannon". However, the sense of mystery and secondary two sense brought by literal translation is far greater than that of paraphrasing, and since then, "human cannon" has also become a conventional name, specifically referring to those cannons that can fire human beings as cannonballs.
The idea of the cannon as a means of transportation seems crazy, but it is actually one of the thousands of crazy ideas that human beings have really tried, and it is also the enduring theme of countless science fiction works.
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The first to put the concept of "human cannon" into practical application were the acrobats of the circus.
On April 2, 1877, at the Royal Aquarium in London, England, a 17-year-old girl with the stage name "Zazel" performed the first "human cannon" performance recorded in history. A British newspaper at the time roughly recorded the performance:
"The young lady climbed very calmly into a large mortar... We were startled to see a live shell fly through the air and land unharmed into the safety net. The smoke from the cannon muzzle had not yet dissipated, and she had already walked along the safety net, bowing and smiling on the stage. ”
"Zazel", whose real name is Rosa Matilda Richter, began her acting career at the age of 5
Although many of those present must have smelled the smoke of gunfire, Zazel was not ejected by a gunpowder explosion. In the performance, the actual amount of gunpowder is quite small, and the smoke and dust created is only a small trick used to enhance the perception and deceive the audience.
Colorful poster of the Royal Aquarium
The cannon that fired the "Zazère" had a built-in ejection platform controlled by rubber springs. The gun was designed by the Canadian inventor William Leonard Hunt, who, based on the success of the catapult trapeze performance at the time, patented the catapult in the United States in 1871, only to conceive of putting the catapult into a real cannon.
Catapult sketch
Even if the circus is indispensable to the difficult performance of "do not imitate", the danger of "shooting trapeze" is one of the best.
Two years after her first performance, "Zazel" had a performance accident, and the safety net that should have caught her rotted due to wear and tear, leaving her to fall to the ground, and although it was not a big problem, she could not participate in the next day's performance. After the accident, voices accusing the show of being too cruel and inhumane began to emerge, and there was always a desire to ban various circus performances, including "The Flying Man."
Although over the past hundred years, the "Gun Shoot Trapeze" performance has been improved a lot. Circus groups regarded the operation mechanism and internal structure of the cannon as a trade secret, and the caliber of the cannon used was different from the length of the barrel, but it was confirmed that they invariably used compressed air as a driving force to shoot "human shells".
Compressed air pushes the platform inside the barrel into the cannon muzzle, and the "human shells" on the platform will fly into the air under the influence of inertia.
A 2005 performance, image source Wikipedia
It's not hard to launch a person into the air, the difficulty is how to land safely, safety nets, water surfaces, or airbags are all optional landing points. Actors engaged in "human shells" are far more cautious than we think, they will repeatedly calculate the large artillery trajectory before firing, and will use dummies slightly heavier than their own weight for ballistic tests, and if there is a deviation, they will suspend the performance, so as not to take their own lives.
But no improvement and great caution can avoid performance accidents. So far, more than 30 actors have unfortunately been killed in such performances, and the number of active "human shells" does not exceed double digits. The most recent tragedy occurred in 2011 when a 23-year-old British stuntman fell from the air at an altitude of more than 30 feet (about 9.14 meters) before his head landed before his body as the safety net failed.
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Obviously, whether the concept of "human cannon" can be realized depends on how to make the human beings who are fired withstand the toss of cannonballs.
Circus "human cannonball" performances tend to die out, but their ways and methods are worth referencing. In 2006, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) borrowed from circus performances and applied for a patent for a "human cannon." The unit consists of an inclined rail at an 80-degree angle to the ground and an ejection seat on the track. When the cannon is fired, compressed air is quickly released, ejecting the seat along the rails and sending the special forces, police or firefighters on the seats to the roof.
Patent presentation diagram
DARPA claims that they have a computer that can automatically design the correct ascent speed and angle to ensure minimal impact when landing. Theoretically, a 4-meter-tall launcher would be able to catapult a person to the top of a 5-story building in less than 2 seconds.
Coincidentally, the real-time strategy game Red Alert 3, released 2 years later, designed a "bullfrog chariot" for the Soviet camp. In addition to having an anti-aircraft gun, the bullfrog is also equipped with an "army deployment system", which at first glance sounds very tall, and is actually a "human cannon" of a circus.
Bullfrog chariot
In terms of setting, the system also uses compressed air, in order to ensure air tightness, after the soldiers enter the car, the only way to leave is to be fired by the cannon. The cannon does not need to calculate the precise trajectory, but only fires the adult into "thousands of meters", and the soldiers who are fired will use improvised parachutes to deploy to the front line, or some unexpected place.
Whether it's a circus, a DARPA, or a Bullfrog Chariot, the "Human Cannon" is designed for people who have undergone certain training. In the process of firing, the "human shell" needs to withstand the pressure of several times the gravity in a short period of time, and ordinary people who lack muscle strength may lose consciousness under the pressure, unable to control their landing posture, and have no chance to open the parachute.
These ideas are only to bring humanity into sight. If the destination of the "human shell" is set farther away, for example, the moon, it must use a power source that is far more powerful than compressed air.
As early as 1865, "From the Earth to the Moon", created by Jules Verne, the "father of science fiction", fictionalized a "human cannon" that could enable human beings to travel to the moon. In the novel, a cannon club in the United States casts a half-mile(about 800-meter) high "Columbia Cannon" intended to use gunpowder power to send the hollow shells of three adventurers to the moon.
Illustration of a version of the novel
From the Earth to the Moon is quite insightful. The gunpowder equivalent enough to send a cannonball off Earth would also crush humans into minced meat. Therefore, the "hollow shell" is an indispensable part of manned spaceflight: hiding in an indestructible metal skin bag, human flesh and blood can withstand the acceleration of a shell.
But the prophecy of the "Columbia Cannon" has not been fully realized. In the two world wars, the largest caliber gun ever used by humans, the barrel length will not exceed 40 meters. After the war, the idea of "hollow shells" evolved into manned spacecraft and rockets carrying spacecraft, which use jet propulsion engines to provide more stable and sustained acceleration, and will become the only means of manned interstellar navigation for a long time.
The Saturn 5 rocket that escorted the Apollo 11 to the moon
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The "human cannon" lacks a certain degree of versatility and practicality, which is of course a conclusion drawn by scientific practice. However, the "human cannon" does have a certain charm, which makes it difficult for science fiction writers to give up such "wishful thinking", and does not hesitate to quote all future possibilities to prove the value of the "human cannon".
The idea of abandoning thick, long metal barrels and using emerging materials and electromagnetic technologies to create large electromagnetic guns or mass drives is tempting. At present, the technology trees of China and the United States have taken the lead in pointing out electromagnetic catapults, which can already catapult aircraft on aircraft carriers.
Not everyone can fly an airplane, and even ace pilots are at risk of crashing. Therefore, science fiction writers tend to design some "skin bags" that are stronger than airplanes and relatively easy to control, such as mechanical exoskeletons, large mechs, and even energy shields, to reduce the pressure and landing impact of "human shells" when they are out of the chamber as low as possible.
It is not impossible to replace the carrier-based aircraft with the Gundam
For example, Liu Cixin's short science fiction novel "Earth Cannon" written out of tribute to Verne also designed an electromagnetically powered "cannon" that can send humans into space, but it has a different taste.
The essence of the cannon is a tunnel through the center of the earth, through a "new solid material" to collect current in the core of the earth, creating a magnetic field in the barrel. Humans need to wear a sealing suit equipped with a superconducting coil, and the current in the coil generates a magnetic field in the opposite direction, which in turn generates thrust. Because the barrel length of the "Earth Cannon" is equivalent to the diameter of the Earth, the "human shell" fired from it can enter space with the help of a "gentle acceleration", which can be described as solving the problem from the source.
Excerpts from the novel
From Verne to Liu Cixin, the different interpretations of the theme of "human cannon" in countless science fiction works reflect the charm of "science fiction" itself to some extent. Some science fantasies are more scientific-oriented, similar to predictions about the future, and are likely to become a reality with the help of science; Other, more eccentric fantasies, which may never materialize, have chic romantic overtones that provide a space for latecomers to imagine.
Since the 21st century, with the progress of science and technology and the popularization of domestic advocating scientific concepts, science fiction works in various fields have also moved from a small minority to the public, and more and more authors and works are willing to embrace science fiction themes.
For example, "Peace Elite" has been trying to change its style and seek breakthroughs, and its interest and participation in the creation of science fiction themes has become increasingly strong.
This summer, Peace Elite launched a new version of the "Wheel of Science", launched a variety of fresh props, vehicles, while updating the gameplay with the times, trying to turn the imagination and creativity of the predecessors into interactive models that are seen and believed.
Combined with some of our common sci-fi ideas, this version has updated a number of means that facilitate the rapid transfer of players, which is eye-catching. One of them is the electromagnetic powered "tactical catapult cannon", a short and tough "human cannon" that can transport the player across any terrain, eject the player hundreds of meters and make it land smoothly, which is an unprecedented strategic mobile weapon in the game.
Tactical catapults
The other is the tandem bobo car. The bobo's body is a transparent sphere with a unique shape, resembling a walking ball or hamster ball on the water, but far stronger than it looks, and if necessary, the player can hide inside and block a few deadly bullets.
Because of its unique spherical appearance, the Bobo car can move in any direction in the horizontal dimension. At the same time, it has a certain degree of vertical maneuverability, using a unique jump function, you can jump to the roof area that cannot be reached by conventional vehicles.
In order to allow players to get an immersive futuristic style experience, Peace Elite modified the original island map, rebuilt the original "mine" and upgraded it to a new landmark "Creation Paradise". The park not only has complex terrain, but also contains a variety of unique gameplay and dynamic objects:
Display cards with the largest number of eliminated players in the game in real time; Similar to a wind tunnel, a blower that sends the player to a high place; Conveyor belts and patrol cars that move at any time, forcing the player to constantly shift their positions... And this time, the "imagination" of "Peace Elite" is far more than the game, in addition to the game, the game also starts from the grounded content, creating a "brain hole come true conference", inviting many players familiar with the "old friends" to lead everyone to perceive the new gameplay and new features of the version.
For example, "Peace Elite" invited science fiction film director Guo Fan to serve as the "chief architect" of island technology; It also invited technology review blogger @ film and television hurricane Tim, "Tan Talk Traffic" host Tan Qiao, and four e-sports professional players from PEL to lead players to explore the "Chuangyuan" together.
These "fantastic lineups" of talents from different circles such as technology, entertainment and e-sports will explore the various brain holes on the island from their own unique perspectives and offer suggestions.
Previously, the contents of several versions of Peace Elite, such as "anti-gravity motorcycle" or linkage with the Gundam series, have turned many imaginary romances into realities beyond the imagination of players. Now, with singular ideas like "Human Cannon" getting another interpretation in the game, the new version of the "Wheel of Science" has also made a good start for the "Science Theme Race Year" of Peace Elite.
And the existing content may be just the tip of the iceberg of inspiration for the production staff. Considering the countless similar brain holes waiting to be explored and discovered in the science fiction genre, the future of the world of Peace Elite is also full of infinite possibilities - a more open and free competitive world, still waiting for developers and players to explore together.