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"If I had to get a new Ph.D. now, I'd get it in polymer engineering - the manipulation of matter."
- Bart Kosko
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| Ion Drive | ||
| A space drive that emits a stream of ions as reaction mass; it starts out slow but builds up to interstellar speeds. |
| It has its own ion drive, a regular crew of six, and plenty of additional space for our party. |
| From Equalizer,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Astounding S-F in 1947 Additional resources -
|
I believe that the T.I.E. fighters from Star Wars also used a form of ion propulsion, but maybe a bit zippier. Also, compare to the sun-powered ionic motor from The Planet Strappers (1961), by Raymond Z. Gallun. The earliest use of this idea is Positive Ray Propulsion from The Prince of Space (1931) by Jack Williamson. See also the use of finely divided dust as propellant from Earthlight (1955) by Arthur C. Clarke.
One popular recent use of the idea of pushing a spacecraft with a fine stream of ions is as a kind of mini-thruster for tiny satellites. Take a look at these stories:
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More Ideas
and Technology from Equalizer
More Ideas
and Technology by Jack Williamson
Tech news articles related to Equalizer
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
Ion Drive-related
news articles:
- SMART-1's Ion Drive Not Science Fiction
- UM Hall Thruster Breaks Records
| Space Construction Tools For Large Structures By OAC |
| Comercial Airlock 'Bishop' Now On ISS |
| Space Station Could Use Some Martian Sawgrass |
| Arches Of Chaos: Jovian Space Manifolds Create A Celestial Autobahn |
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'... with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length of Rama's six artificial suns.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray on its upper surface...'
'the human seats took up two-thirds of the room in each'
'the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits...'
'Over her lacerated right shoulder he sprayed art-derm...'
Now, that was a Pontiac Trans Am with some real style.
'There is a built-in microphone that hears everything you say, and an electric brain that selects a suitable answer.'
