"
I had nothing to object to these reasonings.
"I admit your calculations, Captain," I replied; "I should be
wrong to dispute them since daily experience confirms them;
but I foresee a real difficulty in the way."
"What, sir?"
"When you are about 1,000 feet deep, the walls of the Nautilus
bear a pressure of 100 atmospheres. If, then, just now you were
to empty the supplementary reservoirs, to lighten the vessel,
and to go up to the surface, the pumps must overcome the pressure
of 100 atmospheres, which is 1,500 lbs. per square inch.
From that a power----"
"That electricity alone can give," said the Captain, hastily.
"I repeat, sir, that the dynamic power of my engines is almost infinite.
The pumps of the Nautilus have an enormous power, as you must have observed
when their jets of water burst like a torrent upon the Abraham Lincoln.
Besides, I use subsidiary reservoirs only to attain a mean depth of 750
to 1,000 fathoms, and that with a view of managing my machines.
Also, when I have a mind to visit the depths of the ocean five or six mlles
below the surface, I make use of slower but not less infallible means.
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