Channing said suddenly: "Walt, have you tried the propagation-time of the solar beam on the Anopheles?"
"No. How would we go about doing that?"
"By leaving the controls set for one G, and then starting the ship by swapping the tube energizing voltages from test power to operating power."
"Should that tell us?"
"Sure. As we know, the amount of energy radiated from the sun upon a spot the size of our solar tube is a matter of peanuts compared to the stuff we must get out of it. Ergo, our beam must go to Sol and collect the power and draw it back down the beam. Measure the transit-time, and we'll know."
"That's an idea. I've got a micro-clock in the lab. We can measure it to a hundred-millionth of a second. Anyone like to get shook up?"
"How?" asked Jim.
"Snapping from zero to one G all to oncet-like isn't too gentle. She'll knock your eyes out."
"Sounds like fun. I'm elected."
"So am I," insisted Christine.