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"We [science fiction writers] always wanted to believe in "private sector" space -- hucksters make better characters than a government does."
- Larry Niven
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| Tiny Atomic-Power Drive Unit | ||
| A very small power generator that is atomic powered. |
In the future, those tiny atomic-power units will be everywhere... Well, maybe not. But in this story, you can at least read about them.
The atomic-power drive units were used to provide power for a special kind of space suit used on planets with gravity greater than that of the earth.
| Presently he was deeply engrossed in the delicate task of readjusting the tiny atomic-power drive units he had fixed in the space suits...
Slowly he turned up the lift-control at his belt. A slow creaking of straps and an unhappy wriggling on [his] part attested to the increasing power of the atomic drive mounted on his suit... "I can't even stand up without the aid of this thing. Let's go." |
| Technovelgy from The Brain Pirates,
by John W. Campbell. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1938 Additional resources -
|
In the early 1960's, I read books like "Our Friend the Atom" that insisted that atomic power would be used in cars and small planes.
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
