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"I went back to science fiction to try a few experiments …and my first experiment was a disaster…"
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Marooned on Neptune (the icy part that the planetary engineers had not remade into usable farmland), Bob Star and his companions seem lost. But are they?
How might this amazing device be constructed without a network of GPS satellites? Williamson was probably thinking about using intertial guidance systems to indicate position; I haven't read about anyone who had thought of providing a read-out of path.
The basic idea behind inertial guidance systems is simple. Take a set of gyroscopes and set them in a known direction; if left to float freely, they will continuously indicate true direction. Then, use accelerometers to determine motion. These systems have the advantage of not relying on outside signals (which could be jammed); however, they are prone to cumulative errors.
Gyroscopes have been used to indicate direction on ships since the early 1900's. Rocket scientist Robert Goddard theorized that they would be useful in rocketry. The first successful inertial guidance systems were used in V2 rockets in the mid-1940's by German scientists. Read more about inertial guidance systems. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'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?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...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.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
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