|
Foundation And Earth
''Foundation and Earth'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the ''Foundation'' series and chronologically the last in the series. It was published in 1986, four years after the first sequel to the ''Foundation'' trilogy, which is titled ''Foundation's Edge''. Plot introduction Several centuries after the events of ''Second Foundation'', two citizens of the Foundation search for Earth, the legendary planet where humans are said to have originated. Even less is known about Earth than was the case in ''Foundation'', when scholars still seem to know the location of 'Sol'. The story follows on from ''Foundation's Edge'', but can be read as a complete work in itself. (It does, however, give away most of the mysteries around which ''Foundation's Edge'' is built.) Plot summary Part I: Gaia Councilman Golan Trevize, historian Janov Pelorat, and Blissenobiarella of the planet Gaia (introduced in ''Foundation's Edge'') set out on a journey t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robots And Empire
''Robots and Empire'' is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's ''Robot'' series, which consists of many short stories (collected in ''I, Robot'', ''The Rest of the Robots'', ''The Complete Robot'', ''Robot Dreams'', ''Robot Visions'', and ''Gold'') and five novels (including ''The Positronic Man'', ''The Caves of Steel'', ''The Naked Sun'', and ''The Robots of Dawn''). ''Robots and Empire'' is part of Asimov's consolidation of his three major series of science fiction stories and novels into a single future history: his ''Robot'' series, his ''Galactic Empire'' series and his ''Foundation'' series. (Asimov also carried out this unification in ''Foundation's Edge'' and its sequel.) In the novel, Asimov depicts the transition from his earlier Milky Way Galaxy, inhabited by both human beings and positronic robots, to his Galactic Empire. The galaxy of his earlier trilogy of ''Robot'' novels is do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robot Series (Asimov)
The ''Robot'' series is a series of 37 science fiction short stories and six novels by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring positronic robots. Later, Asimov would merge the ''Robot'' series with his ''Foundation'' series. Robot novels and stories The series started in 1940, with the story "Robbie" in the September 1940 ''Super Science Stories'' (appearing under the title "Strange Playfellow", which was not Asimov's title). Although it was originally written as a stand-alone story, the following year Asimov published a series of additional robot stories, which fit together into a narrative that was then put together as the book ''I, Robot''. List of works in the Robot series, in chronological order by narrative # ''I, Robot'' (1950) and later collections: ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), ''Robot Dreams'' (1986), ''Robot Visions'' (1990), and ''Gold'' (1995). #* In 1964, ''The Rest of the Robots'' was published - all of the short stories in that collection are found in '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Positronic Brain
A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans. When Asimov wrote his first robot stories in 1939 and 1940, the positron was a newly discovered particle, and so the buzz word "positronic" added a scientific connotation to the concept. Asimov's 1942 short story " Runaround" elaborates his fictional Three Laws of Robotics, which are ingrained in the positronic brains of nearly all of his robots. Conceptual overview Asimov remained vague about the technical details of positronic brains except to assert that their substructure was formed from an alloy of platinum and iridium. They were said to be vulnerable to radiation and apparently involve a type of volatile memory (since robots in storage required a power source keeping their brains "alive"). The focus of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire. It was first introduced in the four short stories (1942–1944) which would later be collected as the 1951 novel ''Foundation''. In-universe Axioms Psychohistory depends on the idea that, while one cannot foresee the actions of a particular individual, the laws of statistics as applied to large groups of people could predict the general flow of future events. Asimov used the analogy of a gas: An observer has great difficulty in predicting the motion of a single molecule in a gas, but with the kinetic theory can predict the mass action of the gas to a high level of accuracy. Asimov applied this concept to the population of his fictional Galactic Empire, which numbered one quintillion. The character responsible for the science ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elijah Baley
Elijah "Lije" Baley is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series. He is the main character of the novels '' The Caves of Steel'', '' The Naked Sun'' and ''The Robots of Dawn'', and of the short story " Mirror Image." He is seen in flashbacks several times and talked about frequently in '' Robots and Empire'', which is set roughly 160 years after his death. He is further mentioned in passing in "Foundation and Earth" as a "Culture Hero". Besides Asimov's works he appears in the '' Foundation's Friends'' story "Strip-Runner" by Pamela Sargent, and "Isaac Asimov's 'The Caves of Steel'" poem by Randall Garrett."Takeoff!" a book by Randall Garrett. Biography He is a plainclothesman, a homicide detective in the New York City Police Department 3,000 years in the future. He is a doleful character with a quick temper. Like Sherlock Holmes, he is a pipe-smoker, a habit he fights against in ''The Robots of Dawn''. He has a strong sense of duty and loyalty and is very protect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paternalism
Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy and is intended to promote their own good. Paternalism can also imply that the behavior is against or regardless of the will of a person, or also that the behavior expresses an attitude of superiority. Paternalism, paternalistic and paternalist have all been used as a pejorative for example in the context of societal and/or political realms and references. Some such as John Stuart Mill think paternalism to be appropriate towards children, saying: Paternalism towards adults is sometimes thought of as treating them as if they were children. Etymology The word ''paternalism'' derives from the adjective ''paternal'', which entered the English language in the 15th century from Old French ''paternel'' (cf. Old Occitan ''paternal'', as in Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese), itself from Medieval Latin ''paternalis''. The classical Latin equivalent was ''paternus'' "fatherly", from ''pater'' "father". Types ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth (Foundation Universe)
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only place in the universe known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of the Earth, deflecting destructive solar winds. The atmosphere of Earth consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds that cover most of the planet. More solar energy is rece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stellar Classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the Continuum (spectrum), rainbow of colors interspersed with spectral lines. Each line indicates a particular chemical element or molecule, with the line strength indicating the abundance of that element. The strengths of the different spectral lines vary mainly due to the temperature of the photosphere, although in some cases there are true abundance differences. The ''spectral class'' of a star is a short code primarily summarizing the ionization state, giving an objective measure of the photosphere's temperature. Most stars are currently classified under the Morgan–Keenan (MK) system using the letters ''O'', ''B'', ''A'', ''F'', ''G'', ''K'', and ''M'', a sequence from the hottest (''O'' type) to the coo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pebble In The Sky
''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but ''Foundation'' was not published in book form until 1951. The original ''Foundation'' books are also a string of linked episodes, whereas this is a complete story involving a single group of characters. Publication history ''Pebble in the Sky'' was originally written in the summer of 1947 under the title "Grow Old with Me" for '' Startling Stories'', whose editor Sam Merwin, Jr. had approached Asimov to write a forty thousand word short novel for the magazine. The title was an adaption of Robert Browning's ''Rabbi ben Ezra'', the first few lines of which (starting "Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be...") were included in the final novel. It was rejected by ''Startling Stories'' on the basis that the magazine's emphasis was more on adventure than sci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centauri B (officially Toliman) and Alpha Centauri C (officially Proxima Centauri). Proxima Centauri is also the closest star to the Sun at 4.2465 light-years (1.3020 pc). Alpha Centauri A and B are Sun-like stars ( Class G and K, respectively), and together they form the binary star system Alpha Centauri AB. To the naked eye, the two main components appear to be a single star with an apparent magnitude of −0.27. It is the brightest star in the constellation and the third-brightest in the night sky, outshone only by Sirius and Canopus. Alpha Centauri A has 1.1 times the mass and 1.5 times the luminosity of the Sun, while Alpha Centauri B is smaller and cooler, at 0.9 times the Sun's mass and less than 0.5 times its luminosity. The pair or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha (planet)
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which is the West Semitic word for " ox". Letters that arose from alpha include the Latin letter A and the Cyrillic letter А. Uses Greek In Ancient Greek, alpha was pronounced and could be either phonemically long ( ː or short ( . Where there is ambiguity, long and short alpha are sometimes written with a macron and breve today: . * = ' "a time" * = ' "tongue" In Modern Greek, vowel length has been lost, and all instances of alpha simply represent the open front unrounded vowel . In the polytonic orthography of Greek, alpha, like other vowel letters, can occur with several diacritic marks: any of three accent symbols (), and either of two breathing marks (), as well as combinations of these. It can also combine with the iota subscript () ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Earth (Foundation Universe)")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Alpha Centauri")