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
 |
Moving Whole Planets, Revisited
In 2001, a trio of scientists (D. G. Korycansky, Gregory Laughlin and Fred C. Adams) were thinking ahead about the real global warming threat - the brightening of the sun over the next billion years or so. They proposed moving the Earth.
(Via Astronomical engineering: a strategy for modifying planetary orbits .)
Just recently, Tor put up an interesting article by James Davis Nicholl referencing this idea, with a smattering of science fiction references:
Of course, this raises the question of how to do this without destroying the world. You could just slap rockets on one end of the planet (and at least one author did) but the side effects of that method could well be…undesirable. Authors have wrestled with the problem and come up with answers ranging from the utterly implausible to the somewhat less plausible.
(Via Tor.)
I'd argue that it was really golden age great Edmond Hamilton who had the idea, since he wrote about steering a star in his 1928 classic Crashing Suns.
You could also argue that Jack Williamson gets a piece of this, since he told us how to use an asteroid rocket to move an asteroid in his 1933 story Salvage in Space.
Hamilton also wrote about moving planets in his 1934 story Thundering Worlds, describing planetary propulsion-blasts. His story was just a couple of months behind E.E. 'Doc' Smith, who wrote about moving a planet in his renowned classic Triplanetary.
Robert Heinlein got some good mileage from this idea in one of his earliest short stories; see how to move an asteroid from his 1939 story Misfit.
And while you're thinking about it, don't forget the barytrine field from George O. Smith's 1952 story Troubled Star, as well as the Puppeteer's Kemplerer (Klemperer) Rosette in Larry Niven's 1970 classic Ringworld.
Thanks to @nyrath for tweeting about this article.
The Sun's gradual brightening will seriously compromise the Earth's biosphere within ~ 1E9 years. If Earth's orbit migrates outward, however, the biosphere could remain intact over the entire main-sequence lifetime of the Sun. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of engineering such a migration over a long time period. The basic mechanism uses gravitational assists to (in effect) transfer orbital energy from Jupiter to the Earth, and thereby enlarges the orbital radius of Earth. This transfer is accomplished by a suitable intermediate body, either a Kuiper Belt object or a main belt asteroid. The object first encounters Earth during an inward pass on its initial highly elliptical orbit of large (~ 300 AU) semimajor axis. The encounter transfers energy from the object to the Earth in standard gravity-assist fashion by passing close to the leading limb of the planet. The resulting outbound trajectory of the object must cross the orbit of Jupiter; with proper timing, the outbound object encounters Jupiter and picks up the energy it lost to Earth. With small corrections to the trajectory, or additional planetary encounters (e.g., with Saturn), the object can repeat this process over many encounters. To maintain its present flux of solar energy, the Earth must experience roughly one encounter every 6000 years (for an object mass of 1E22 g). We develop the details of this scheme and discuss its ramifications.
Has this ever happened to you? You’re living on a perfectly good planet in orbit around a perfectly acceptable star—and then suddenly, the neighbourhood goes to crap and you have to move...
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/18/2018)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.' -
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?' - Frank K. Kelly, 1935.
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
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 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
Current News
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
