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"At its best, SF is the medium in which our miserable certainty that tomorrow will be different from today in ways we can't predict, can be transmuted to a sense of excitement and anticipation, occasionally evolving into awe."
- John Brunner
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| Solar Engine | ||
| A space ship that gets it motive power from the rays of the sun. |
| That the ship had the necessary starting power was already proved by the fact that She had lifted and her acceleration was being maintained. She was of the more recent type that utilized solar rays in transit, and there was therefore no concern over energy once she had got out into the airless void where the sun’s rays shone always burning hot...
 (Ship controls from A Matter of Size) ... the solar motors of the ship were whining faintly but evenly. |
| Technovelgy from A Matter of Size,
by Harry Bates. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1934 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the solar-powered aircraft from The Black Star Passes (1930) by John W. Campbell.
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Tech news articles related to A Matter of Size
Tech news articles related to works by Harry Bates
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| SpaceX Intros Extravehicular Activity Suit |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
