The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
Encyclopedia
The Garin Death Ray also known as The Death Box and The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin is a science fiction
novel by the noted Russia
n author Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
written in 1926–1927. It was one of the first science fiction novels in Russian. Vladimir Nabokov considered it Tolstoy's finest fictional work.
The "hyperboloid" in its title is not a geometrical surface but a "death ray"-laser
-like device (thought up by the author many decades before lasers were invented) that the main protagonist, engineer Garin, used to fight his enemies and try to become a world dictator
. "Hyperboloids" of different power capability differ in their effect. The device uses two hyperbolic mirrors to concentrate light rays in a parallel beam. Most "hyperboloids" can destroy military ships on the horizon, and those of less power can only injure people and cut electric cables on walls of rooms.
A translation of the passage describing the device:
There are two scientific blunders here:
The film adaptations of the novel were released in the Soviet Union
in 1965
(The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
) and 1973
(Failure of Engineer Garin
).
Estonia
n band Vennaskond
has a song "Insener Garini hüperboloid" (1993) (the hyperboloid of engineer Garin in Estonian).
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by the noted Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n author Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy , nicknamed the Comrade Count, was a Russian and Soviet writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels...
written in 1926–1927. It was one of the first science fiction novels in Russian. Vladimir Nabokov considered it Tolstoy's finest fictional work.
The "hyperboloid" in its title is not a geometrical surface but a "death ray"-laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
-like device (thought up by the author many decades before lasers were invented) that the main protagonist, engineer Garin, used to fight his enemies and try to become a world dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
. "Hyperboloids" of different power capability differ in their effect. The device uses two hyperbolic mirrors to concentrate light rays in a parallel beam. Most "hyperboloids" can destroy military ships on the horizon, and those of less power can only injure people and cut electric cables on walls of rooms.
The rays of light, falling on the inner surface of the hyperboloidal mirror, converge in a single point, the focus of the hyperbola. This is a known fact. But here is the novelty: in the focus of the hyperboloidal mirror, I place a second hyperbola (shaped, as it were, inside out) -- a hyperboloid of revolution, made from a refractory, ideally polishable mineral -- shamonite -- endless supplies of which are found in the north of Russia. What, then, becomes of the rays?
The rays, converging in the focus of mirror (A), fall on the surface of hyperboloid (B) and reflect from it in a mathematically parallel fashion -- in other words, the hyperboloid (B) concentrates all the rays into one beam, a "filament of light" of any thickness desired.
There are two scientific blunders here:
- The usage "hyperboloids" is wrong: it is the paraboloidParaboloidIn mathematics, a paraboloid is a quadric surface of special kind. There are two kinds of paraboloids: elliptic and hyperbolic. The elliptic paraboloid is shaped like an oval cup and can have a maximum or minimum point....
that collects parallel rays into its focal pointFocus (optics)In geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge. Although the focus is conceptually a point, physically the focus has a spatial extent, called the blur circle. This non-ideal focusing may be caused by...
, a property exploited in parabolic reflectorParabolic reflectorA parabolic reflector is a reflective device used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is that of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis...
s. - That effect only happens if the incoming light is exactly parallel.
The film adaptations of the novel were released in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1965
1965 in film
The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
(The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (film)
The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin also abberivated as Engineer Garin is a black-and-white 1965 Soviet science fiction film based on Aleksey Tolstoy's novel The Garin Death Ray.-Awards:...
) and 1973
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
(Failure of Engineer Garin
Failure of Engineer Garin
Failure of Engineer Garin is a 1973 Soviet television film in four parts loosely based on a novel Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin by Alexei Tolstoy. Directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze, script written by Sergei Potepalov. Produced by Lenfilm by the order of Gosteleradio of USSR. Total runtime - 247 min...
).
Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n band Vennaskond
Vennaskond
Vennaskond is an Estonian punk rock band founded in 1984. The band has toured in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Romania, Sweden, Germany, France and the USA .-Members:...
has a song "Insener Garini hüperboloid" (1993) (the hyperboloid of engineer Garin in Estonian).
External links
, 1965 movie, 1973 movie- Brief movie info page – in Russian, with pictures
- 2006 DVD release – RUSCICO Offers Russian and English subtitles and various features