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The Borderland Of Sol (story)
"The Borderland of Sol" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Larry Niven. It is the fifth in the ''Known Space'' series of stories about Crashlander II, crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The story was originally published in ''Analog'', January 1975, printed in the collection ''Tales of Known Space'', Niven, Del Ray, reissued 1985 (), and reprinted in ''Crashlander'', Larry Niven, New York: Ballantine, 1994, pp. 160–207 (). The story won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1976 and was nominated for the Locus Award, Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette in 1976. It is one of the earliest works of fiction to feature a Black holes in fiction, black hole. Segments of the novel ''Fleet of Worlds'' serve as a prequel to the story. Plot summary A rash of spaceship disappearances around Earth results in a dearth of available transit, stranding Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer on Jinx (Known Space), Jinx away from his love, Sharrol Janss. While visiting the Institute of Knowledge he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borderland Of Sol
A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border. Borderland or borderlands may refer to: Places * Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia * Borderland (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Manitoba. * Borderland State Park, one of Massachusetts' state parks, located in the towns of Easton and Sharon *Borderlands (United Kingdom), area of Great Britain Books * ''Borderland'' (magazine), a spiritualism and psychical research magazine founded and edited by William Thomas Stead * ''Borderlands'' (novel), a 1991 children's historical novel by author Peter Carter * Borderland (book series), urban fantasy novels and stories created for teenage readers by Terri Windling * '' Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'', influential work on Chicana issues by Gloria E. Anzaldúa * " Up the Country" (originally "Borderland"), an 1892 popular poem by iconic Australian writer and poet He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole. The boundary (topology), boundary of no escape is called the event horizon. Although it has a great effect on the fate and circumstances of an object crossing it, it has no locally detectable features according to general relativity. In many ways, a black hole acts like an ideal black body, as it reflects no light. Moreover, quantum field theory in curved spacetime predicts that event horizons emit Hawking radiation, with thermal radiation, the same spectrum as a black body of a temperature inversely proportional to its mass. This temperature is of the order of billionths of a kelvin for stellar black holes, making it essentially impossible to observe directly. Obje ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planet Nine
Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet in the outer region of the Solar System. Its gravitational effects could explain the peculiar clustering of orbits for a group of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs), bodies beyond Neptune that orbit the Sun at distances averaging more than 250 times that of the Earth. These ETNOs tend to make their closest approaches to the Sun in one sector, and their orbits are similarly tilted. These alignments suggest that an undiscovered planet may be shepherding the orbits of the most distant known Solar System objects. Nonetheless, some astronomers question this conclusion and instead assert that the clustering of the ETNOs orbits is due to observational biases, resulting from the difficulty of discovering and tracking these objects during much of the year. Based on earlier considerations, this hypothetical super-Earth-sized planet would have had a predicted mass of five to ten times that of the Earth, and an elongated orbit 400 to 800 times as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times the mass of Earth, and slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus. Neptune is denser and physically smaller than Uranus because its greater mass causes more gravitational compression of its atmosphere. It is referred to as one of the solar system's two ice giant planets (the other one being Uranus). Being composed primarily of gases and liquids, it has no well-defined "solid surface". The planet orbits the Sun once every 164.8 julian year (astronomy), years at an average distance of . It is named after the Neptune (mythology), Roman god of the sea and has the astronomical symbol , representing Neptune's trident. Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and is the only planet in the Solar System found by mathematical prediction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is slightly less massive than Eris (dwarf planet), Eris. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the inner planets. Compared to Moon, Earth's moon, Pluto has only one sixth its mass and one third its volume. Pluto has a moderately orbital eccentricity, eccentric and inclined orbit, ranging from from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (). Pluto's eccentric orbit periodically brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance prevents them from colliding. Pluto has moons of Pluto, five known moons: Charon (moon), Charon, the larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juggler Of Worlds
''Juggler of Worlds'' (2008) is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner, a sequel to their ''Fleet of Worlds''. It is set in the Known Space universe. Most of the book revisits earlier stories (the Beowulf Shaeffer stories in ''Crashlander'' and ''Neutron Star'' from the points of view of Sigmund Ausfaller and several Pierson's Puppeteers; "The Soft Weapon", another story in ''Neutron Star''; and parts of the previous novel in the series, ''Fleet of Worlds'', from the point of view of Nessus). The novel also severely revises the established knowledge of the Outsider race. The final quarter of the book returns to the setting of and is a sequel to ''Fleet of Worlds ''Fleet of Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner, part of Niven's Known Space series. The Fleet of Worlds (sub)series, consisting of this book and its four sequels, is named for its opening book ...''. References 2008 Ame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Slaver Weapon
"The Slaver Weapon" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Animated Series''. It first aired on NBC on December 8, 1973, and was written by Larry Niven. It was based on his original short story "The Soft Weapon". This episode was expanded to become the first half of a full-length novel by science-fiction author Alan Dean Foster as ''Star Trek Log Ten''. Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (voiced by William Shatner) and the crew of the Starfleet starship ''Enterprise''. In this episode, while traveling by shuttlecraft, several ''Enterprise'' crew members are captured and have to use their individual strengths to prevent a powerful alien weapon from falling into the wrong hands. Plot On stardate 4187.3, the ''Enterprise'' shuttlecraft ''Copernicus'', carrying Science Officer Spock (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), Communications Officer Lt. Uhura (voi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Soft Weapon
"The Soft Weapon" is a science fiction short story by the American writer Larry Niven, set in his ''Known Space'' universe. It was first published in the February 1967 issue of '' If''.- - - The story introduces the character of Nessus, a Puppeteer who later became one of the main characters of the novel ''Ringworld''. The story is retold, from the point of view of Nessus, in ''Juggler of Worlds''. "The Soft Weapon" was first published in ''If'' in 1967 and has since been included in the short story collections ''Neutron Star'' (1968) and ''Playgrounds of the Mind'' (1991). Plot Nessus is returning from a diplomatic mission to the Outsiders, having purchased what is apparently a Thrint stasis box, on a passenger ship run by a human couple, Jason and Anne Marie Papandreou. They stop at Beta Lyrae to sight-see where they unexpectedly discover, by deep-radar, another stasis box. However, the box had been placed there as a trap by Kzinti pirates. The rogue Kzinti are using a dum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Animated Series
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon's Egg
''Dragon's Egg'' is a 1980 hard science fiction novel by American writer Robert L. Forward. In the story, Dragon's Egg is a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth, and inhabited by cheela, intelligent creatures the size of a sesame seed who live, think and develop a million times faster than humans. Most of the novel, from May to June 2050, chronicles the cheela civilization beginning with its discovery of agriculture to advanced technology and its first face-to-face contact with humans, who are observing the hyper-rapid evolution of the cheela civilization from orbit around Dragon's Egg. As is typical of the genre, ''Dragon's Egg'' attempts to communicate unfamiliar ideas and imaginative scenes while giving adequate attention to the known scientific principles involved. Plot summary The neutron star Half a million years ago and 50 light-years from Earth, a star in the constellation Draco turns supernova, and the star's remnant becomes a neutr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Forward
Robert Lull Forward (August 15, 1932 – September 21, 2002) was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His literary work was noted for its scientific credibility and use of ideas developed from his career as an aerospace engineer. He also made important contributions to gravitational wave detection research. Biography Forward earned his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1965, with a thesis entitled ''Detectors for Dynamic Gravitational Fields'', for the development of a bar antenna for the detection of gravitational radiation. Career and research He then went to work at the research labs of Hughes Aircraft, where he continued his research on gravity measurement and received 18 patents. He took early retirement in 1987, to focus on his fiction writing and consulting for such clients as NASA and the U.S. Air Force. In 1994, he co-founded the company Tethers Unlimited, Inc. with Robert P. Hoyt, where he served as Chief Scientist and Chairman until 2002. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playgrounds Of The Mind
''Playgrounds of the Mind'' is a collection of short stories by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1991. It is the sequel to ''N-Space (short story collection), N-Space''. Many of the stories are set in Niven's Known Space universe. There are also excerpts from his ''The Magic Goes Away'' novel series, as well as several stories from his ''The Draco Tavern'' setting (an alien bar) and other sources. Contents * "Thraxisp: A Memoir" * "A Teardrop Falls" * From Inferno (Niven and Pournelle novel), ''Inferno'' (with Jerry Pournelle) * From ''A World Out of Time'' * "Rammer" * From "The Ethics of Madness" * "Becalmed in Hell" * "Wait It Out" * "A Relic of the Empire" * From ''Lucifer's Hammer'' (with Jerry Pournelle) * "The Soft Weapon" * "The Borderland of Sol" * From ''The Ringworld Engineers'' * "What Good Is a Glass Dagger?" * From ''The Magic Goes Away'' * "The Defenseless Dead" * From ''The Patchwork Girl'' * "Leviathan!" * From ''Oath of Fealty (novel), Oath of Fealty'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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