(urth) Terminus Est

[Gary]

Jeff Wilson wrote:
> Like the mysterious alien artifact used to make mercury thermometers?
>   

I like the Area 51 thermometer on my deck... I assume the supposed 
"bluebird" decoration is actually the depiction of an alien overlord.


Gwern Branwen wrote:
> It has a channel running down the center but is still strong? Simple, it has an I-beam shape and one void is covered up to make a channel.
>   
I really think the channel needs to be along the centre-of-balance - the 
centre, assuming a symmetrical sword.  Otherwise the channel would make 
it much harder to wield, not easier.  So instead of an I-beam, use a 
tube... or a square rod if you prefer, with the sides being your 
"I-beam" equivalent, and the channel within.

As others have said, although the circular channel (to skip the vaccuum) 
seems appealing, it can't work as well as a vaccuum.  Unless the mercury 
is all on one side (one channel if you will), some of the mercury will 
be working against the rest... it'll never be perfectly balanced, so the 
mercury will certainly be displaced, but not nearly as efficiently as 
with a single channel and a vaccuum.  But it may work well enough to do 
the job.

As Transentient says, Severian may be deceiving us, but I think the way 
he describe's the sword action requires there to be more to the blade 
than just his training.  He clearly feels this blade is unusual, and 
though the mechanism may not really be a "hydragyrum" channel, but 
something is giving an effect akin to this.

Clearly it's not _needed_ in a head-lopper, but it's a cool little 
feature, serving no other purpose than to make the sword more 
interesting to the reader I think.  As one who's never lifted a heavy 
sword, but lifted many other long, heavy things, I can see how it's 
easier to raise without wobbling when the weight is near one's body, and 
how it has greater angular momentum on the downstroke with weight 
redistributed to the tip.  It would take practice to get used to, and 
gain advantage from, the weight shift.