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Science Fiction
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"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
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![]() In the book, the Way Station is a galactic transfer point that has been built into an existing building. In this case, an old cabin belonging to a Civil War veteran. The entire exterior surface of the cabin is protected by an impenetrable, frictionless coating.
The concept of a frictionless surface is relatively modern. In the 4th century BC, the natural philosopher Aristotle postulated that, to keep a body in motion, a constant force must be applied. Given our daily experience, this seems to be true - nothing keeps moving forever. Following the work of Newton and others, however, the idea of a frictionless surface or environment (like airless space) came to be widely discussed in science.
What solid has the lowest coefficient of friction? As far as anyone knows, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a polymer of fluorinated ethylene, is the slipperiest solid material. PFTE is better known under its brand name - Teflon. It was discovered in 1938 by Roy J. Plunkett at DuPont; it was made available as a commercial product after WWII in 1946.
Compare to telelubricator from The Exalted (1940) by L. Sprague de Camp. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
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'...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.'
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