"One moment, Michel," answered Barbicane; "if you wish to play the part of Gulliver, only visit the inferior planets, such as Mercury, Venus, or Mars, whose density is a little less than that of the earth; but do not venture into the great planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune; for there the order will be changed, and you will become Lilliputian."
"And in the sun?"
"In the sun, if its density is thirteen hundred and twenty-four thousand times greater, and the attraction is twenty-seven times greater than on the surface of our globe, keeping everything in proportion, the inhabitants ought to be at least two hundred feet high."
"By Jove!" exclaimed Michel; "I should be nothing more than a pigmy, a shrimp!"
"Gulliver with the giants," said Nicholl.
"Just so," replied Barbicane.
"And it would not be quite useless to carry some pieces of artillery to defend oneself."
"Good," replied Nicholl; "your projectiles would have no effect on the sun; they would fall back on the earth after some minutes."
"That is a strong remark."
"It is certain," replied Barbicane; "the attraction is so great on this enormous orb, that an object weighing 70,000 lbs. on the earth would weigh but 1920 lbs. on the surface of the sun. If you were to fall upon it you would weigh—let me see—about 5000 lbs., a weight which you would never be able to raise again."