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Science Fiction
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"Science fiction operates a little bit like science itself, in principle. You've got thousands of people exploring ideas, putting forth their own hypotheses. Most of them are dead wrong; a few stand the test of time; everything looks kind of quaint in hind"
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![]() How would you capture a large ferrous asteroid flashing by your ship? As you note, Eshbach made a common mistake, referring to asteroids in space as meteors.
What was it like to snatch an asteroid from the void?
When all were ready, Mott released them one by one, and under their own power, each towing a huge iron bar, wound with insulated wire, they darted into the void...
Watching the screens, old Steve Anders saw them speed into the swarm, find iron meteors, and begin the struggle to check their flight...
Suddenly the iron bar leaped out against the meteor as the crew sent a current through its coils, transforming it to an electro-magnet. The cable tautened; and the car and the meteor sped along side by side.
Slowly the men reduced their pace, arresting the speed of the spatial missile. Slower, steadily slower — and the thing was accomplished. With the mass of Meteoric iron held fast to the steel bar, they moved on, searching for a second victim. One, or possibly two more meteors they’d secure, depending upon their size, then they’d return to the Atlas.
That was the life !
Compare to the first reference to asteroid mining from Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898) by Garrett P. Serviss. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
'He carried on his person a triggering mechanism sensitive to his heartbeat.'
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
Warp Drive Tech Back On The Menu
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
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