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"Fuzzy logic tries to get machines to think like people do, with inexact fuzzy terms."
- Bart Kosko
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| Steering Shot Pistol | ||
| The simplest way to move in space, where every action has an equal and opposite reaction. |
I don't know of an earlier use of this idea, which as you see below, has many appearances in science fiction stories.
| The ship looked like a gigantic winged egg, a strange gleaming monster, in its course through space. At the blunt end a brightly shining white trail of mist was coming out.
“How do we get back?” asked Sam, after he had satisfied himself as to the shortening of the Geryon. “In the pocket of your pneumatic suit you will find a small repeating pistol,” was the reply. “Shoot it, and the recoil will put you in motion. You could also pull yourself back by means of the wire.”
 (The Steering Shot Pistol from 'The Shot into Infinity' by Otto Willi Gail) Sam followed this advice, and in a short time he was back at the ship. Reassured by the success of the “steering shot”, he began to circle about... |
| Technovelgy from The Shot Into Infinity,
by Otto Willi Gail. Published by Science Wonder Quarterly in 1929 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the propulsion gun from Venus Mines, Incorporated (1931) by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat), the Reaction Pistol from Gordon A. Giles 1937 story Diamond Planetoid, the Personal Jet Thrust from Robert Heinlein's 1948 novel Space Cadet, the Pistol 'Rocket' (1931) from Buck Rogers: 2430 AD (1931) by Nowlan and Calkin and the very clever Electrical Tether from Garrett P. Serviss' 1898 story Edison's Conquest of Mars.
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Shot Into Infinity
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and Technology by Otto Willi Gail
Tech news articles related to The Shot Into Infinity
Tech news articles related to works by Otto Willi Gail
| Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars |
| Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris |
| Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand |
| Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space |
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'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
