Tachypomp
Encyclopedia
"The Tachypomp" is a short story
by Edward Page Mitchell
originally published January 1874 anonymously in The Sun
, a New York
daily newspaper.
's Fantasia Mathematica
(1958). In 1973, "The Tachypomp" and other stories were reprinted in The Crystal Men: Stories by Edward Page Mitchell, edited by Sam Moskowitz
(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1973) .
. The narrator turns to his tutor, and is able to find the solution in the tachypomp. Eventually the professor agrees to allow Mr. Furnace to marry his daughter.
The tutor tells Furnace about several scientific discoveries. These include:
dictates that the speed of light in a vacuum is absolute and represents an ultimate speed limit for the universe (at least locally
). If a Tachypomp were constructed, relativistic principles such as length contraction
and time dilation
would prevent any component of the system from achieving or exceeding the speed of light.
It is worth noting that the story "The Tachypomp" was written and published before these relativistic effects were laid out by Albert Einstein
in 1905. Therefore, the final line of the story, "Still I can see no reason why the Tachypomp should not have succeeded. Can you?" was likely meant in earnest by the author.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Edward Page Mitchell
Edward Page Mitchell
Edward Page Mitchell was an American editorial and short story writer for the New York Sun, a daily newspaper. He became that newspaper's editor in 1897, succeeding Charles Anderson Dana. Mitchell retired in 1926, a year before dying of a cerebral hemorrhage...
originally published January 1874 anonymously in The Sun
New York Sun (historical)
The Sun was a New York newspaper that was published from 1833 until 1950. It was considered a serious paper, like the city's two more successful broadsheets, The New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune...
, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
daily newspaper.
Publishing information
After the original publication in The Sun, the story was reprinted in Clifton FadimanClifton Fadiman
Clifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
's Fantasia Mathematica
Fantasia Mathematica
Fantasia Mathematica is an anthology published in 1958 containing stories, humor, poems, etc., all on mathematical topics, compiled by Clifton Fadiman. A companion volume was published as The Mathematical Magpie . The volume contains writing by authors including Robert Heinlein, Aldous Huxley, H. G...
(1958). In 1973, "The Tachypomp" and other stories were reprinted in The Crystal Men: Stories by Edward Page Mitchell, edited by Sam Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz was an early fan and organizer of interest in science fiction and, later, a writer, critic, and historian of the field.-Biography:...
(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1973) .
Plot synopsis
The plot revolves around Mr. Furnace’s (the narrator) quest to marry his math professor’s daughter. Unfortunately, the math teacher does not approve of him, as he does not excel in mathematics. The professor sets him a challenge: to discover the principle of infinite speedSpeed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
. The narrator turns to his tutor, and is able to find the solution in the tachypomp. Eventually the professor agrees to allow Mr. Furnace to marry his daughter.
The tutor tells Furnace about several scientific discoveries. These include:
- an android capable of computing vulgar fractions and composing sonnets;
- a hollow tube leading through the earth to the Kerguelen IslandsKerguelen IslandsThe Kerguelen Islands , also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean constituting the emerged part of the otherwise submerged Kerguelen Plateau. The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands and the Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands are part of...
(where a Dutch navigator Rhuyghens is said to have found an "abysmal pit"); - a solution to squaring the circleSquaring the circleSquaring the circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge...
; - a perpetual motionPerpetual motionPerpetual motion describes hypothetical machines that operate or produce useful work indefinitely and, more generally, hypothetical machines that produce more work or energy than they consume, whether they might operate indefinitely or not....
machine; - the tachypomp.
Tachypomp, a machine
The term "tachypomp" refers to a fictional device theoretically capable of attaining infinite speed. The machine itself is a series of trains (or any train-like vehicle) each half the length of the first, stacked vertically. The trains would thus move in tandem, and their speeds would be added to find the speed of the train on top. For instance, if the bottom train were moving 40 miles an hour and the train above that 40 miles an hour, then the speed of the higher train would be 80 miles an hour.Tachypomp, in reality
Though an interesting idea in theory, the special theory of relativitySpecial relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
dictates that the speed of light in a vacuum is absolute and represents an ultimate speed limit for the universe (at least locally
Principle of locality
In physics, the principle of locality states that an object is influenced directly only by its immediate surroundings. Experiments have shown that quantum mechanically entangled particles must violate either the principle of locality or the form of philosophical realism known as counterfactual...
). If a Tachypomp were constructed, relativistic principles such as length contraction
Length contraction
In physics, length contraction – according to Hendrik Lorentz – is the physical phenomenon of a decrease in length detected by an observer of objects that travel at any non-zero velocity relative to that observer...
and time dilation
Time dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
would prevent any component of the system from achieving or exceeding the speed of light.
It is worth noting that the story "The Tachypomp" was written and published before these relativistic effects were laid out by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
in 1905. Therefore, the final line of the story, "Still I can see no reason why the Tachypomp should not have succeeded. Can you?" was likely meant in earnest by the author.