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"I think a lot of kids whose mental growth outruns their maturity gravitate to science fiction."
- Dan Simmons
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| Solar-Powered Electric Helicopter | ||
| An electric helicopter, with sun cells. |
An early mention of this idea, the first I know about.
| Denn stepped on the starter, and began turning over the compact, efficient little sun-engines of the helicopter...
Power fed into the ship’s six lift propellors from hidden photo-cell storage units. Through the glass roof of the cabin he could detect the spinning blur of' the metal “props”, could catch the rising whine of the trembling engines. Then they were in the air, rising straight up from the light-jeweled darkness of the Chicago of A.D. 2163. |
| Technovelgy from Into the Meteorite Orbit,
by James Patrick Kelly. Published by Teck Publications in 1933 Additional resources -
|
Not quite enough power to get to space:
He also mentions "sun-mirrors", writing "Those miles of sun-mirrors south of Capetown..."
Oh, all my life I’ve thought about it, and planned — and dreamed ... To be the first to go out across space! It would be worth living for! And why hasn’t it been done? Because men have always been afraid; afraid to face the thought of going out into infinity alone ! They’ve been contenders with their rocket-ships and their ’copters and their sun-motors...
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More Ideas
and Technology from Into the Meteorite Orbit
More Ideas
and Technology by James Patrick Kelly
Tech news articles related to Into the Meteorite Orbit
Tech news articles related to works by James Patrick Kelly
| The FLUTE Project - A Huge Liquid Mirror In Space |
| 'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol |
| Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes |
| Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin' |
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'Provision had been made to meet the terrific cold which we knew would be encountered the moment we had passed beyond the atmosphere.'
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.'
'It's area, and its consequent light-gathering capacity, was many times greater than any rigid mirror...'
'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
