Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"Cyberpunk worked when the Internet was in its hand-wound crystal radio phase, when you had to be a sort of hobbyist to do e-mail, and it all had a very steep learning curve. Those days are over."
- William Gibson

Light Beam Propulsion (Light-Ship)  
  Use of brilliant light as motive power for a space ship.  

"Deimos dead ahead!" I shouted wildly. "Prepare for landing! Forward beams reverse half power! Aft beams cut off! Crew to landing stations! Move!"

Below me, the thirst-mad crew wrestled insanely with the ponderous manuals of the forward photon beams. Compressors throbbed a sullen song of power, groaning under the overlord of hard straining engines. The steelite shell of the ship, triple-braced as it was, quivered gently with the vibration.

And above in the control-room, I watched fierce streamers of released photons burst hotly from liquid captive light into free energy. The gigantic recoil slowed the ship perceptibly in her eager rush toward the approaching satellite.

I hesitated, hardly daring to use full power with the forward engines half-crippled from Jupiter warp. But the Sprite's velocity was far too great for safe landing.

“Full power to all forward beams!“ I shouted into the tube, casting caution to the wind.

The trembling black needles of the pressure gauge swung far over. Hot light gushed from the beam nozzles, backrushed soundlessly into the engine room, filled the control cabin with the indefinable acrid sweetness of bursting light. Bright glowing plumes reached out far ahead of the quivering Sprite.

The light ship dropped slowly down upon the scarred face of the dead satellite.

Technovelgy from The Radium World, by Frank K. Kelly.
Published by Wonder Stories in 1932
Additional resources -

Compare to Light Pressure Propulsion from From the Earth to the Moon (1867), by Jules Verne.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Radium World
  More Ideas and Technology by Frank K. Kelly
  Tech news articles related to The Radium World
  Tech news articles related to works by Frank K. Kelly

Articles related to Space Tech
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'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.'

Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'

Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'

When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'

China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'

Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'

Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'

Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'

Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.

Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.