According to author Kurt Vonnegut, Langmuir was the inspiration for his fictional scientist Dr. Felix Hoenikker in the novel Cat's Cradle. The character's invention of ice-nine eventually destroyed the world by seeding a new phase of ice water (similar in name only to Ice IX). Langmuir had worked with Vonnegut's brother, Bernard Vonnegut at General Electric on seeding ice crystals to diminish or increase rain or storms.Bernard Vonnegut, 82, Physicist Who Coaxed Rain From the Sky, NY Times, April 27, 1997.
