The Projectile, its situation, its direction, the incidents possible to occur, the precautions necessary to take in order to break the fall on the Moon's surface--these and many other subjects furnished endless food for constant debate and inexhaustible conjectures.
For instance, at breakfast that morning, a question of Ardan's regarding the Projectile drew from Barbican an answer curious enough to be reported.
"Suppose, on the night that we were shot up from Stony Hill," said Ardan, "suppose the Projectile had encountered some obstacle powerful enough to stop it--what would be the consequence of the sudden halt ?" "But," replied Barbican, "I don't understand what obstacle it could have met powerful enough to stop it." "Suppose some obstacle, for the sake of argument," said Ardan.
"Suppose what can't be supposed," replied the matter-of-fact Barbican, "what cannot possibly be supposed, unless indeed the original impulse proved too weak.

In that case, the velocity would have decreased by degrees, but the Projectile itself would not have suddenly stopped." "Suppose it had struck against some body in space." "What body, for instance ?" "Well, that enormous bolide which we met." "Oh!" hastily observed the Captain, "the Projectile would have been dashed into a thousand pieces and we along with it." "Better than that," observed Barbican; "we should have been burned alive." "Burned alive!" laughed Ardan.

"What a pity we missed so interesting an experiment! How I should have liked to find out how it felt!" "You would not have much time to record your observations, friend Michael, I assure you," observed Barbican.

"The case is plain enough.
Heat and motion are convertible terms.

What do we mean by heating water?
Simply giving increased, in fact, violent motion to its molecules." "Well!" exclaimed the Frenchman, "that's an ingenious theory any how!" "Not only ingenious but correct, my dear friend, for it completely explains all the phenomena of caloric.