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
 |
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
The Solar Oberth Slingshot is the fastest way to escape the solar system - until FTL travel is invented.
As I recall, that's just what Andy Libbey said to Lazarus Long in "Methuselah's Children" (1941)
— Bill Christensen (@Technovelgy) November 3, 2026
The quote is from Methuselah's Children; Andy Libbey invents (on the spot!) an inertialless drive, and the New Frontiers is kicked away from the sun like a ping pong ball in a firehose!
Assembled from odd bits of other equipment, looking more like the product of a boy’s workshop than the output of a scientist’s laboratory, the gadget which Libbey had referred to as a “space drive” underwent Lazarus’ critical examination. Against the polished and sophisticated perfection of the control room it looked uncouth, pathetic, ridiculously inadequate. Lazarus poked it tentatively. “What is it?” he asked. “Your model?” “No, no. That’s it. That’s the space drive.” Lazarus looked at the younger man critically, but not unsympathetically. “Son,” he asked slowly, “the strain hasn’t been too much for you, has it? You haven’t come unzipped?”“No, no, no!” Libbey sputtered. “I’m as sane as you are. This is a radically new notion. This is why I want you to take us down toward the Sun. If it works, it will work best where light pressure is strongest.”
“And if it doesn’t work,” inquired Lazarus, “what does that make us? Sunspots?”
“...There are three possibilities,” Libbey answered methodically. “In the first place, nothing at all may happen. In the second place, we and the ship may cease to be matter as we know it — ”
“Dead, you mean.”
“Yes, I suppose so. In the third place, if my hypotheses are justified, we will recede from the Sun at a speed just under that of light.” Lazarus eyed the gadget and wiped at his bare shoulders. “It’s getting hotter, Andy. Hook it up — and it had better be good!”
Libbey hooked it up.
“Go ahead,” urged Lazarus. “Finish it. Push the button, throw the switch, cut the beam. Make it march.”
“Go ahead,” urged Lazarus. “Finish it. Push the button, throw the switch, cut the beam. Make it march.”
“I have,” Libbey insisted. “Look at the Sun.”
“Huh? Oh!” The great circle of blackness which had described the relative position of the Sun on the star-speckled surface of the stellarium was shrinking visibly. In a dozen heartbeats it lost half its diameter. Twenty seconds more and it had shrunk to a quarter of its original width.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/7/2026)
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 Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?' - Robert Heinlein, 1941.
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1946.
Cloud Of Space Rubbish From China's Long March Rocket
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
ESA's Draco To Study Heat Of Reentry
'...a synthetic which air-friction would erode.' - EE Doc Smith, 1934.
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
Special Lights For Driverless Cars!
'That light is actually the Anamorphic Equalizer...'
'Old People Began to Cross The Continent In Their Own Cars'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
Harrison Bergeron, Illustrated And Practiced
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
Starfall Manufacturing Drugs In Space
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'Maybe The Woman Of Your Life Is Still Under Production'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
Epirus High-Power Microwave Defeats Drones
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
Cloud Of Space Rubbish From China's Long March Rocket
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
Biomimetic Tendons From Rochu Robotics
'... the curious parallelism to animal motions.'
Living Human Neuron Biological Compute Rack
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
Martha Stewart Approves Ojai 'Living Room On Wheels'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
ESA's Draco To Study Heat Of Reentry
'...a synthetic which air-friction would erode.'
Buy A Galaxy? Maybe Start Smaller
'The sky is the limit' just got higher.
The United States Space Academy Is Official
'Is our orbit to Space Academy clear?'
Is There A Global Problem With Who Is Having Children?
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
