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"Science and science fiction, how do you even distinguish the two?"
- Jerry Pournelle
 |
| Gravity Whip | ||
| A roller coaster designe to provide riders with a 'zero G' experience. |
If you think that roller coasters are extreme now, just wait.
| Snakelike and faroff around the edge of the Park the Gravity Whip coiled, offering a total of thirty seconds of weightlessness via computer-designed parabolic arcs. |
| Technovelgy from Dream Park,
by Larry Niven (w/S. Barnes). Published by Ace Books in 1981 Additional resources -
|
Here's a bit more for today's zero G roller coaster designers to think about:
"...We're going to rework the Whip for total Environment. Redesign the cars, add opticals, sound, texture. We've got a dozen scripts waiting for the special effects program. Think of an 'Alice in Wonderland' where the customer really falls down the rabbit hole, or a space trip where your gravity goes out at selected moments... We're working on ways to stretch that thirty seconds of free-fall time, psychologically."
Like extreme coasters? See this article on RoboCoaster G2 - Extreme Robot Roller Coaster.
Thanks to Erik Glenn for suggesting this item.
"Why redo the Whip? It's still pulling 'em in."
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Dream Park
More Ideas
and Technology by Larry Niven (w/S. Barnes)
Tech news articles related to Dream Park
Tech news articles related to works by Larry Niven (w/S. Barnes)
Gravity Whip-related
news articles:
- Zero Gravity Roller Coaster Coming
| Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79 |
| Flyboard Water Jet Shoes Lift Off |
| Cosplay Style Wings Could Work On Moon |
| Music Not Impossible (MNI) Vibrotactile Wearable Experience |
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'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
