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"One could imagine a very ascetic sort of life ... where the body is ignored. This is something I've played with in my books, where people hate to be reminded sometimes that they have bodies, they find it very slow and tedious."
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Wells was not only the first person to use the phrase "atomic bomb", he even directly inspired Leo Szilard, the first person to think about the idea of a sustained nuclear chain reaction resulting in an atomic bomb.
An even earlier (although less specific) reference to this idea can be found in the 1895 novel The Crack of Doom, by Robert Cromie; see the article on atomic energy.
Wells clearly spelled out the idea of a sustained atomic reaction:
Always before in the development of warfare the shells and rockets fired had been but momentarily explosive, they had gone off in an instant once for all, and if there was nothing living or valuable within reach of the concussion and the flying fragments then they were spent and over. But Carolinum, which belonged to the beta group of Hyslop's so-called 'suspended degenerator' elements, once its degenerative process had been induced, continued a furious radiation of energy and nothing could arrest it. Of all Hyslop's artificial elements, Carolinum was the most heavily stored with energy and the most dangerous to make and handle.
Wells also predicted the moral and ethical horror that people felt upon the use of atomic bombs:
Wells also predicted the radioactive ruin that lasted long after an atomic bomb was used:
Compare to the magnetic shell from The Great Stone of Shardis (1897) by Frank Stockton, the atomic shell from Buck Rogers: 2430 AD (1929) by Nowlan and Calkin, the roving bomb from Lost Rocket (1941) by Manly Wade Wellman, the
Wabbler from The Wabbler (1942) by Murray Leinster, the planet-busting bomb from Testing (1956) by JJ Ferat and the smart bullet from Runaway (1985) by Michael Crichton. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
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'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
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Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
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Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
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