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"I received a nice letter the other day from the Dalai Lama. He had read 'The Nine Billion Names of God'. It is about a computer at a Tibetan monastery."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Color Generator | ||
| A variable spectrum light source |
Problems with metamerism provide clues during an investigation in this quote.
| '...There's been no mistake; I took great pains.' Gersen studied the tiles. '...what color light will bring the tiles to the same color as the sketch?'
...Mankinello put the tiles under a color generator. 'Presumably you're interested in standard incandesence?' 'Standard star-light. I presume that's close to the same thing.' 'Somewhat different due to the stellar atmospheres. But I can easily code for the stellar progression. Let's start with about 4,000 degrees.' He turned a wheel, flicked a switch, checked with a comparator. 'Close' He turned the wheel. 'There it is. 4,350 degrees.' He glanced through a port. 'See for yourself.' Gersen peered through the opening. The tiles were now identical to the colors of the sketch. 'Color temperature, 4,350 degrees: Class K?' 'I'll tell you exactly.' Mankinello consulted a reference. 'Class G8.' |
| From The Killing Machine,
by Jack Vance. Published by Fantastic Fiction (?) in 1964 Additional resources -
|
The letters refer to stellar spectral types - O B A F G K M R N S.
Thanks to R. Probert for contributing this item.
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