Urth Net
Hard SF
David Stockhoff · 28 Nov 2012, 22:51
· from 2012-November.txt.gz
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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:51:17 -0500 Subject: (urth) Hard SF In-Reply-To: <CAGB0RZ5ZGYEekefa9EYjb86qMn7VtM5UjjuE2TRuN9mQGwUC1A at mail.gmail.com> References: <SNT123-W51C23DE417511A76E93303CF5D0 at phx.gbl> <CAM0v-i6a1ETBvs_M7XCx1fP4DwuzjMW4Eqb_kbWCRV3ZeVq8ZQ at mail.gmail.com> <CAGB0RZ4RTa7Hq9y_zK1vdOJ9S3+4yQY5BJ73WRn250dkGg_gfQ at mail.gmail.com> <CAJ8=rtinbYV92jM_qEd4V9J8cHRHhs0xuApMWy6rW6FkeOCx6w at mail.gmail.com> <CAGB0RZ5ZGYEekefa9EYjb86qMn7VtM5UjjuE2TRuN9mQGwUC1A at mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <50B69565.7030908 at verizon.net> Well, the cited Jahlee reference has them burning up on reentry if they are dead. So the commingled atmosphere theory is not part of the story. On 11/28/2012 5:48 PM, Daniel Petersen wrote: > Yep, that's what I was worried about, but I have no scientific > training so I didn't know if there were some exquisitely rare > scenarios where this might be just barely plausible. (It's such a > breathtakingly awe-inspiring thought: worthy of a fantasy at least - > if no one has written such a thing, someone needs to!) But come to > think of it: doesn't the passage say rather explicitly that they fly > through /space/? (Does anyone have a page number reference for this?) > > -DOJP > > On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 4:21 PM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <danldo at gmail.com > <mailto:danldo at gmail.com>> wrote: > > Not really -- they both seem to have about one G of surface > gravity, so getting close enough that their atmospheres > meaningfully touched would involve massive tidal effects up to and > including immense tsunami and disastrous earthquakes. > > > On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 8:04 AM, Daniel Petersen > <danielottojackpetersen at gmail.com > <mailto:danielottojackpetersen at gmail.com>> wrote: > > That's a wonderful thought, Antonin! Is this feasible? (Both > generally and in the text?) > > -DOJP > > > On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 3:57 PM, Antonin Scriabin > <kierkegaurdian at gmail.com <mailto:kierkegaurdian at gmail.com>> > wrote: > > Do we have any idea just how close Blue and Green get > during conjunction? I seem to remember that from Blue, > Green is more of a spec than a moon, but perhaps they are > close enough, or have unusually expansive atmospheres, > such that during conjunction their atmospheres merge and > allow the Inhumi to fly from one to another. If they are > this close though, they would most definitely fall under > the sway of one another's gravitational field, which > doesn't seem to be the case. > > > > On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 10:51 AM, Lee Berman > <severiansola at hotmail.com > <mailto:severiansola at hotmail.com>> wrote: > > > >David Stockhoff: We're not talking about hard SF here. > > Just for the sake of discussion, I'll disagree. > Perhaps Wolfe isn't diamond-hard > but I'd give him ruby- or sapphire- on the MOhs scale. > I think he makes a > sincere attempt in most of his work, as the quote > below illustrates. > > Where fantasy writers are content to give us shape > changers without explanation, > Wolfe provides us with a sponge cellular analogy for > Tzadkiel and flexible bones > and muscles, make-up and hypnotic abilities for Inhumi. > > If the Inhumi really fly through space I'd want more > than the skimpy evidence we > are provided (and less evidence for their lying nature). > > >Nick Gevers: Speaking as an engineer, how might the > godling be constructed so as to > >walk as a giant on land, where the undines [submarine > giantesses] cannot? > > >Gene Wolfe: There are a number of ways you could go. > First, get rid of the notion that > >the godling is going to be proportioned like a human > being. Changes in size always mean > >changes in build. (Dr. Crane touches on that.) A man > fifty feet tall, proportioned like > >you or me, would sink into the ground a lot -- had > you thought of that? Take a look at > >the really big dinosaurs. Bone density could be > increased, and the legs and pelvis made > >more massive, and so on > _______________________________________________ > Urth Mailing List > To post, write urth at urth.net <mailto:urth at urth.net> > Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Urth Mailing List > To post, write urth at urth.net <mailto:urth at urth.net> > Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net > > > > > -- > Daniel Otto Jack Petersen > > _______________________________________________ > Urth Mailing List > To post, write urth at urth.net <mailto:urth at urth.net> > Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net > > > > > -- > Dan'l Danehy-Oakes > > _______________________________________________ > Urth Mailing List > To post, write urth at urth.net <mailto:urth at urth.net> > Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net > > > > > -- > Daniel Otto Jack Petersen > > > _______________________________________________ > Urth Mailing List > To post, write urth at urth.net > Subscription/information: http://www.urth.net
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