Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Generally, the human race avoids doing anything radical until forced into it."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Gravity Well | ||
| If you visualize spacetime as a flat, elastic plane, a planet will deform it, and it sits at the bottom of its own hole. |
| He was the pilot and engineer, the only other Terrestrial on Mercury. When you dove this far down into the sun's monstrous gravitational well, you couldn't take a big crew along. |
| Technovelgy from Life Cycle,
by Poul Anderson. Published by Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1957 Additional resources -
|
This expression quickly became a favorite of veteran sf writers; Heinlein, Clarke and Niven used it within a few years. Here's Niven using it as the subject of a short story, At the Bottom of a Hole (1966):
"The hole." Garner knew enough Belters to have learned a little of their
slang.
"The very one. His first instinct must have been to change course.
Belters learn to avoid gravity wells. A man can get killed half a dozen
ways coming too close to a hole. A good autopilot will get him safely
around it, or program an in-and-out spin, or even land him at the bottom,
God forbid. But miners don't carry good autopilots. They carry cheap
autopilots, and they stay clear of holes."
More recently, Charles Stross uses it in Accelerando (2005):
"He must have been on course for Luna when we found him. Ceres was behind
him with the radar. Our ships were ahead of him, matching course at two
gee. His mining ship wouldn't throw more than point five gee, so
eventually they'd pull alongside him no matter what he did. Then he
noticed Mars was just ahead of him."
“Mars is just dumb mass at the bottom of a gravity well; there isn't even a biosphere there.”
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Life Cycle
More Ideas
and Technology by Poul Anderson
Tech news articles related to Life Cycle
Tech news articles related to works by Poul Anderson
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
| Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution |
| Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri |
| The First Space Warship For Space Force |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
