A glass of water sat on St. Peter’s gold-trimmed marble desk. On the
surface of the water sat a small box-like structure, made by folding up
the sides of a piece of ordinary window screen. Eyes a-goggle, St.
Peter stared in wonderment as the screen boat lazily floated across the
water.

“I give up, Don,” St. Peter finally laughed. “Why
doesn’t it sink? I mean, the thing’s full of holes! And it’s made of
metal! What gives, huh? What gives?”

The new arrival
smiled. “You see, all matter is made up of tiny particles called
molecules. Molecules are all attracted to other molecules, some more
strongly than others, and this attraction is called adhesion. The
adhesion of the water molecules to each other forms a kind of ‘skin’ on
the water’s surface, which is strong enough to hold up the screen
without breaking. This is called ‘surface tension.’ Now, er, if you’ve
seen enough, maybe I can go on through the gates-”

St.
Peter waved a hand impatiently. “In a minute, in a minute. What’s the
hurry, right? Eternity isn’t going anywhere.” With an eager flourish,
the white-bearded saint produced a glass milk bottle, a hard-boiled
egg, a strip of newsprint, and a match from beneath his gossamer robes.
“First, how about the egg-in-the-bottle trick? Please? I’ve never seen
this one in person.”

Don sighed a weary sigh. “OK, but take a picture. I’m not going to do this every time you want to see it.”

“One
step ahead of you there.” St. Peter turned on his Vivitar 8600s 8.1MP
Digital Camera. “Check this Vivitar out – an 8 MP sensor, a 2.8” LCD,
and a 6x optical zoom. That’s twice the zoom of your standard camera.
Pretty scientific, huh, Don? Ooh, I know! I’ll take a video! The 8600s
takes VGA mpeg4 video at 30fps!”

Keeping
his opinions about the Vivitar brand to himself, Don started the
experiment. He’d done it a thousand times before. Light the strip of
paper on fire. Drop it in the bottle. Set the egg on the open neck of
the bottle. SHLUP! In goes the egg,
fully intact. He couldn’t believe he was running through this banal
stunt once again, while all the delights of Heaven waited for him just
beyond the gates. But Don’s impatience turned into delight when he saw
the awed grin on St. Peter’s face. This was what he’d lived for. So what if I’m dead?, Don thought. Life is temporary. Science is forever.

Warranty:
One Year

Features:

• 8.1 megapixel CCD
• 6x optical zoom
• Macro mode
• 2.8” LTPS-TFT LCD
• MPEG4 audio & video supported

Specifications:

• Image sensor: 8.1 megapixels 1/1.8 inch CCD
• Image resolution: 3264×2448, 2560×1920, 1600×1200, 640×480
• Movie resolution: 640×480 /30fps MPEG4 
• Lens: Auto focus lens
• Zoom: 6x optical, 8.5x digital
• Exposure: Manual: 1/3EV step. -2.0 – +2.0 EV
• White balance: Auto, manual: daylight, incandescent, fluorescent 1, fluorescent 2, cloudy
• LCD: 2.8” color LCD (230K resolution)
• Internal memory: 28MB
• Accepts Secure Digital cards up to 1GB
• File format: JPEG (EXIF 2.2), DCF, DPOF, AVI, TIFF
• Flash: Built-in: auto, forced, off, red-eye reduction
• Self-timer: 10 sec, 2 sec, 10+2 sec
• Operating environment: Windows 98SE/2000/XP; Mac: OS 9.0 or later
• Software: PC/Mac drivers, Photo Explorer 8.0 and Photo Express 5.0
• Language support: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese
• Connectors: AC adapter port, USB 2.0 terminal, A/V output (NTSC/PAL selectable)
• Power: Li-on rechargeable battery, AC-DC adapter (5V, 3A)
• Weight: 5.8oz
• Dimensions: 3.7 x 2.2 x 1.1