HMS Polyphemus (1881) HMS Polyphemus (1881) The third HMS "Polyphemus" was a Royal Navy torpedo ram, serving from 1881 until 1903. A shallow-draft, fast, low-profile vessel, she was designed to penetrate enemy harbours at speed and sink anchored ships. Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby primarily as a protected torpedo boat, the ram was provided very much as secondary armament. It has been suggested that H. G. Wells’ fictional HMS "Thunder Child" from his novel "The War of the Worlds" may have been based on this ship, in part because he described "Thunder Child" as an ironclad torpedo ram, and "Polyphemus" was the only ship
Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible filming for the second season of "Sci Fi Science", consisting of 12 new episodes. It started broadcasting on September 1, 2010. Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible (also called Science of the Impossible) is an American documentary television series on Science which first aired in the United States on December 1, 2009. The series is hosted by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and is based on his book "Physics of the Impossible". In each episode, Dr. Kaku addresses a technological concept from science fiction and designs his own theoretical version of the technology