(urth) Terminus Est

[Gary]

Lane Haygood wrote:
> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0312890176/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link>
> Except of course it has the mercury channel, which I ran by some 
> swordsmith friends of mine who told me that it wouldn't be possible to 
> actually make a mercury channel and fill it with mercury and have the 
> sword retain enough strength.  The spine of the sword is actually what 
> gives it its strength.

One of Clarke's laws of prediction should apply to swordsmiths as well 
as scientists, eh?
"When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is 
possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is 
impossible, he is very probably wrong."

Unquestionably it may be weaker than a solid-core sword, but this 
doesn't mean it can't be engineered to be sufficiently strong - as 
others have pointed out we do for bridge girders.  This is especially 
true if it's built around a mercury-and-vaccuum-filled tube of 
unobtanium - I'm sure it's true that it can't be done to give the 
wonderful combination of properties seen in Terminus Est using current 
techniques & materials.  And I'm very willing to assume they can make a 
"perfect" seal around a sufficient vaccuum using some arcane machine.

Gary.