Home | Glossary | Timeline | New

Science Fiction in the News Articles related to the works of Hal Clement

Hal Clement is the pseudonym of Harry Clarence Stubbs (b. 1922, d. 2003), an American science fiction writer and Army Air Corps Reserve officer. He received a B.S. in astronomy from Harvard in 1943, an M.Ed. from Boston University in 1946 and an M.S. in chemistry from Simmons College in 1963. (Hal Clement) He flew 35 combat missions as copilot and pilot in B-24 bombers in WWII and retired from service as a full colonel in 1976. He also taught high school science for many years. He published his first short story Proof in 1946. The Science Fiction Writers of America elected him a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1998. Science fiction in the News articles describe real-world events that relate to the ideas and inventions in sf novels and movies. Select a news article:

Lunar Dust Fountains Due To Electrostatic Charges
   A great article on NASA's website points out how science fiction author Hal Clement predicted in a 1956 short story that electrostatically charged lunar dust particles might actually suspend themselves above the surface:
Biofuel From Algae
   Can we improve the ability of algae to produce material we need? Should we?
Dust Movement On The Moon, Saturn's Rings Solved
   '...The dust normally on the surface picks up and keeps a charge.' - Hal Clement, 1956.
Reprogrammed Microbe Makes Butanol From Cellulose
   Clostridium cellulolyticum likes chewing on biomass but does not normally make butanol. Now it does!
LADEE To Investigate Levitating Lunar Dust
   'And what, dear student, happens to particles carrying like electrical charges?'- Hal Clement, 1956.
Bacteria Now Make Biofuel Like Oil
   'They have ... germs that eat pretty near anything, and produce oil as a waste product.'- Hal Clement, 1950.
Engineered Bacteria Produces Gasoline
   'They call 'em culture tanks... [they] produce oil as a waste product.'- Hal Clement, 1950.
NASA's LADEE Enters Lunar Orbit
   '... dust normally on the surface picks up and keeps a charge.' - Hal Clement, 1956.
Oil from Algae - Can It Be Done?
   'We dump everything that's waste into the tanks, pump the oil off the top.' - Hal Clement, 1950.
Mechanical Milking Of Microalgae For Fuel Production
   'They call 'em culture tanks. They have bugs -- germs -- growing in them.' - Hal Clement, 1950.

New on Site