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"The thing that I'm most interested in at the moment is the so-called Infinite Energy solution - the possibility of finding new ways of tapping into virtually limitless sources of energy."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Weightlessness (Kepler) | ||
| The notion that there could be a location with zero effective gravity. |
If Somnium is the first science fiction book (which many people argue is true), then this is probably the first reference to the idea of zero gravity, or weightlessness.
| "...for, as magnetic forces of the earth and moon both attract the body and hold it suspended, the effect is as if neither of them were attracting it..." |
| Technovelgy from Somnium (The Dream),
by Johannes Kepler. Published by Not Known in 1634 Additional resources -
|
Note that the word "gravity" is not used to describe the attraction between masses; Isaac Newton did not describe universal gravitation until 1687.
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Tech news articles related to works by Johannes Kepler
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| The United States Space Academy Is Official |
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Science Fiction
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'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
