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"None of us, no matter what continent or island or ice cap, asked to be born in the first place, and that even somebody as old as I am, which is 80, only just got here."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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| Thermatite | ||
| Pure energy fuel mined on asteroids. |
| "It isn't a big one - not over five miles - but she's loaded with thermatite."
"Thermatite!" Kerry and Jem looked at each other. "What percentage alloy?"
 ('Jurisdiction' by Nat Schachner) "No percentage. It's the pure alloy. And a vein as thick as a spaceship." There's been nothing like it found in the solar system. I think this asteroid must have come from outside. The head of a comet, possibly, caught by Jupiter." Kerry whistled softly. Thermatite was almost pure energy. It would undergo atomic disintegration without giving off gamma rays - hence could be used in very cheap, very light portable atomic engines that required no shielding. |
| Technovelgy from Jurisdiction,
by Nat Schachner. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1941 Additional resources -
|
This cool-sounding material probably derives its name from thermite, invented in 1893 (and patented in 1895) by German chemist Hans Goldschmidt. Thermite reactions are used in welding and in incendiary devices used by the military.
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Tech news articles related to works by Nat Schachner
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| GNoME AI From DeepMind Invents Millions Of New Materials |
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