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"We [science fiction writers] always wanted to believe in "private sector" space -- hucksters make better characters than a government does."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Solar Yacht | ||
| A space craft whose motive power is light pressure on a solar sail. |
| But Merton knew better: though his body could feel no thrust, the instrument board told him that he was no accelerating at almost one thousandth of a gravity. For a rocket, that figure would have been ludicrous - but this was the first time any solar yacht had ever attained it...
 (Sunjammer from Boy's Life) |
| Technovelgy from Sunjammer,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Boy's Life in 1963 Additional resources -
|
Here's a bit more:
The cloud of electrified gas would probably miss the Earth completely... Spaceships could protect themselves with their powerful magnetic screens; but the lightly built solar yachts, with their paper thin walls, were defenseless against such a menace...
The autopilot, tensioning the rigging like a busy little spider, kept the great sail trimmed to the Sun more accurately than any human pilot.
The idea for a solar yacht probably came from scientist JD Bernal, who wrote the following in 1929:
Earlier efforts to describe solar sailing in science fiction include the light sail from Jack Vance's 1962 short story Sail 25 (see this article for more on the subject) and the starlight sail from The Lady Who Sailed The Soul (1960) by Cordwainer Smith. The first use of the phrase is from Think Blue, Count Two (1962) by Cordwainer Smith; see light-sail ship.
Compare to the world of high-powered rocket racing from Habit (1939) by Lester del Rey.
...a solar flare.
"A form of space sailing might be developed which used the repulsive effect of the Sun's rays instead of wind. A space vessel spreading its large, metallic wings, acres in extent, to the full, might be blown to the limit of Neptune's orbit. Then, to increase its speed, it would tack, close-hauled, down the gravitational field, spreading full sail again as it rushed past the Sun."
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Sunjammer
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Sunjammer
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Solar Yacht-related
news articles:
- LightSail Solar Sail Deploys
| Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message |
| China Wants To Build Mega Space Ships |
| Dream Of Building Your Own Rocket? |
| Used Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Will Fly Again |
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"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
