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"I identify with the weak person; this is one reason why my fictional protagonists are essentially antiheroes."
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![]() Most of the tools that you buy in hardware stores are designed to not hurt anyone, rather than to be the most powerful or effective tools they could be. Not so in the world of Ringworld, were tools stay close to their roots.
Now that's a digging tool.
Some interesting cutting tools came out of WWII, when metal parts for airplanes and tanks were being mass-produced. Better methods for cutting metal were needed. A new method of welding was invented that used an inert gas fed through an electric arc. Charging the gas with an electric current formed a barrier around the weld. Decades later, it was found that temperatures could be raised by speeding up the gas flow and making the release hole smaller. This plasma arc created such high temperatures that it cut through metal easily.
Learn more about it at How Plasma Arc Cutters Work.
Compare to nuclear shears from Foundation (1951) by Isaac Asimov, the
toaster from Accidental Flight (1952) by WF Wallace, the
Lasgun from Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert, and the
atomic torch from One Against the Legion (1939) by Jack Williamson. Comment/Join this discussion ( 3 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
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'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
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