Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction

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Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction Page 39

by Adler, Charles L.


  “Not Long before the End” (story), and energy crisis, 289

  nuclear pulse drive. See Orion drive

  nuclear war, 276–278

  Oberth, Hermann, 61–62, 73

  Odd John (novel), 261

  “On Being the Right Size” (essay), 39

  Once and Future King, The (novel), and owl post, 54

  O’Neill colony, 87–88, 95–96

  On the Beach (novel), 276

  “On Thud and Blunder” (essay), 3

  Operation Chaos (novel), and conservation of mass, 15

  orbit: geosynchronous, 20, 103, 113, 116–117, 119, 124, 127; low Earth, 80, 103, 117, 119, 131, 293

  orbital speed, 82, 117, 120, 121; of a planet, 236, 247, 339–340; of a star, 247

  Orion drive, propulsion system, 80, 151–157

  owl post, possibility of, 54

  payload, rocket, 77–78, 80, 137, 146, 151, 154–155, 159–160, 169, 265

  perihelion, 135–136, 232

  photons, rocket propulsion by, 167, 173, 262–263

  photosynthesis: alien, 251–253; efficiency of, 108–109, 111; for terraforming, 299–301

  Picard, Captain Jean-Luc: tea made in stupidest way possible by, 333; and transporter malfunction, 20

  Planck’s constant, 17, 19, 63

  planetary temperature. See temperature, planetary

  Poincaré, Henri, 349

  positron, 166–168

  potential energy: chemical, 147–148; forms of, 6; gravitational, 124, 144n4, 309

  Pournelle, Jerry, 153, 192, 197, 257, 262, 326

  power: of an antimatter rocket, 173; of blackbody emitter, 32; definition of, 8; extraction of from black holes, 344–345; and Kardashev scale, 328–330, 332–334

  powered slingshot maneuver, 140–141

  power requirements: to destroy a planet, 310; for flying, 51–53, 67–68; for generating antimatter, 172; for ideal computer, 64; to move a planet, 341; for space elevator climbers, 123, 126; for space station agriculture, 109

  Prime Directive, 259

  principle of mediocrity. See Copernican principle

  Project Daedalus, 158–159

  proton, 7, 30, 150, 356; proton-antiproton reaction, 168; proton-proton cycle, 158, 164, 224

  proton decay, 346

  public key encryption, 212

  pulsars, and alien contact, 244

  Purcell, Edward, and interstellar travel, 173–174

  quantum mechanics: and antimatter, 166; and black hole evaporation, 346–347; and faster-than-light travel, 189, 202, 210, 212; and teleportation, 17

  radio telescope, for detecting alien intelligence, 244, 265

  range equation, 68

  Rayleigh resolution criterion, 245

  reference frame: and faster-than-light travel, 189, 191–193, 200, 202, 203, 206, 210–211, 319; in relativity, 177; in rotating coordinate system, 96, 99; and teleportation, 20

  relativity, 4, 7, 157, 174, 211–212, 244; Ehrenfest’s paradox and (see Ehrenfest’s paradox); general theory of, 190–196, 202, 206; of simultaneity, 192; special theory of, 160, 166, 176–177, 179–185, 187, 189

  respiration cycle, 110, 236, 295–296, 299

  retinal cells, wavelength sensitivity of, 29

  Ringworld, 311; Ehrenfest’s paradox and, 318–320; instability of, 306, 320–323; parameters of, 311–317; structural strength of, 316; and Type II civilizations, 333

  Road Runner, cartoon physics of, 91

  Roadside Picnic (novel), and alien contact, 266

  rocket equation, 73, 78–79, 82, 85n1, 113, 119, 137, 144n2; relativistic, 160, 173, 265

  Rocket Ship Galileo (novel), and NERVA program, 72, 152

  “Rotating Cylinders and the Possibility of Global Causality Violation” (paper), 198; (short story), 198–199

  Rowling, J. K.: science and magic in Harry Potter novels of, 4, 14, 25–26, 37, 54; and time travel paradoxes, 210

  RSA algorithm, and time travel information paradox, 207

  Sagan, Carl: and alien contact, 242, 244, 265; and Contact (novel), 190, 199; and Kardashev scale, 327; and terraforming Mars, 297

  Sagan problem, definition of, 292

  Saturn’s rings, stability of, 321–322

  scaling law(s), 40, 43, 45, 51

  Schiaparelli, Giovanni, and life on Mars, 228

  scrith, properties of, 314, 316, 317, 323

  SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), 244, 257

  shape-changing, and conservation of mass, 14

  Shermer, Michael, and lifetime of alien civilizations, 269–270

  Shoemaker-Levy 9, 337

  shuttle, space, 62; free fall on, 93; fuel-payload mass ratio of, 79, 80; mission costs of, 80–84; orbit of, 74–77, 117

  singularity, 196, 198–199

  skyhook, geosynchronous. See elevator, space

  Smith, E. E. “Doc,” and “inertialess drive,” 189

  Smith, Cordwainer, and galactic civilizations, 326

  Smith, George O., and space colonies, 86, 110

  solar constant, value of: above Earth’s atmosphere, 108–109, 264; on Mars, 296, 300

  Solaris (novel), and alien contact, 267

  Solar System: comet and asteroid impacts in, 338; Earth-like planets in, 269, 293; eccentricities of planets in, 232–233; in high-temperature interstellar “bubble,” 164; life in, 4, 178, 244; planetary distances in, 177; planet mass in, 118, 308, 312; types of planets in, 218–220

  sound, speed of, in Ringworld structural material, 317

  Space:1999 (TV show), and lack of attention to relativity, 189

  Space Adventures, 74, 81–82

  Space Cadet (novel): artificial gravity in, 93; atmosphere generation in, 111; size and cost of space station in, 112

  space elevator. See elevator, space

  space tourism, 73–74, 81, 87

  space travel, 1, 4, 154, 335; costs of, 61, 71, 74, 80, 82–83; energetics of, 6, 61; examples of in science fiction, 72–73; manned, 60, 143; and space warfare, 260

  SpaceX Dragon, 84

  special relativity. See relativity: special theory of

  specific impulse, 79–80, 155

  spectral class: correlations with mass of, 248; definition of, 222

  speed of light. See light, value of speed of

  spin: and artificial “gravity,” 93, 311; and Coriolis effect, 94–99; quantum mechanical, 210–212; and rotation of water in toilet, 114n

  Stapledon, Olaf, 4, 61, 257; and advanced civilizations, 330; and alien life, 260, 275–276; and Dyson sphere, 305; and long-term future history of the universe, 342

  Star Maker (novel), 257, 275–276, 330, 342; and Dyson sphere, 305

  Starman Jones (novel): aliens in, 38; interstellar travel in, 199

  Star Trek (TV show): and alien life, 256, 259; and artificial gravity, 89; and galactic civilizations, 327, 333; and lack of attention to relativity, 189; and manned spaceflight, 143; and transporter issues, 16, 20

  “Star Wars” (Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI), 60

  Star Wars: Episode IV (movie), 61, 256, 327

  Stefan-Boltzmann formula, 32, 223

  Stirling, Bruce, 331

  Stirling, S. M.: and life on Mars and Venus, 228; and nuclear pulse drive, 153

  Stranger in a Strange Land (novel), 228

  Strategic defense initiative (SDI). See “Star Wars”

  stress: on Dyson sphere, 306; on large space structure’s 307–308, 324; in Ringworld structure, 316–317; in space elevator, 121–123, 129

  superconductivity, 17–18

  superfluidity, 17

  supernova, 221, 343; and acceleration of the universe 342, 348; and galactic habitable zone, 240

  surface temperature: of Mars, 228, 231, 296–297; of stars, 220–223; of Venus, 229

  suspension bridge: compared to space elevator 120, 125; Ringworld as, 315

  swallow, airspeed velocity of unladen, 49

  tachyon, 189

  Tau Zero (novel): and Big Bang
theory, 342; and Bussard ramjet, 161, 165; and relativity, 177

  Taylor, Ted, 153

  teleportation, 3, 16–17, 19–20; quantum, 18

  temperature, blackbody, 32–34

  temperature, planetary: atmospheric composition and, 230, 237, 280–281; energy balance and, 226; for life, 218

  terraforming, 161, 231, 292–296, 298–299, 331; economics of, 301–302

  terrestrial planet: definition of, 219; variety of conditions on, 220, 238

  tesseract, 190, 213n2

  thermodynamics: first law of, 65; second law of, 14, 21–22, 66

  Thorne, Kip, 190, 197, 199, 204, 292; and exotic matter, 200–201; and time-travel paradoxes, 205

  three-body problem, 103, 138

  thrust, of rocket, 78–80, 151–152, 154–155, 162–163

  tidal force, 196, 203, 307

  Time for the Stars (novel), and relativity, 176, 182, 192, 204

  time machine, 26, 198–199, 204–209, 213n5

  time travel: and entropy, 25, 209; equivalence to faster-than-light travel of, 4, 190–191; and Kerr black holes, 198; logical paradoxes of, 205–209; and use by magicians, 26; and wormholes, 204

  trajectory: ballistic, 68–69; on rotating space station, 97–99

  transfer orbit. See Hohmann transfer orbit

  tritium, for fusion reactions, 158–159

  Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin: and space elevator, 116, 121; and space exploration, 61–62, 73, 88

  twin paradox, 176, 191, 204

  Ulam, Stanislaw: and gravity slingshot, 144n3; and Project Orion, 153

  unobtainium, 265

  urban fantasy, 4, 8n1, 27

  vacuum fluctuations, 204

  Venus, 218; distance from Earth of, 131; greenhouse effect and planetary temperature of, 220, 229–231; life on, 226, 260; atmospheric composition of, 233; and terraforming, 293–294

  War of the Worlds (novel): and interplanetary war, 260; and Martian life, 228

  wave, electromagnetic. See wave, light

  wave, light, 29–31

  wavelength: blackbody spectrum peak, 33; definition and formula for, 31; Rayleigh criterion and, 245; of visible light, 31–32

  weightlessness. See free fall

  Wells, H. G.: and life on Mars, 228, 243; and information paradox, 206; and interplanetary war, 260; and spaceflight, 72

  “What Good Is a Glass Dagger?” (story), 15

  Wiley Coyote, and cartoon physics, 91

  Wiley Coyote trajectory, 99, 101

  wormhole, 190, 198, 200–204, 206, 208

  World out of Time, A (novel), 161, 177

  Wrinkle in Time, A (novel), and the tesseract, 190

  Ythrians, 53

  Zelazny, Roger, 1

  zero-G. See free fall

  zone of life, 225, 227, 238, 293

 

 

 


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