Wolfean antimatter

Michael Andre-Driussi29 Nov 1999, 12:20original as archived

Wolfean antimatter

We have talked in the past about the curious details surrounding the fliers of Urth, which seem to have features of anti-gravity and anti-matter. This, in turn, seems to fly in the face of facts and theory as we understand them. A new story, "Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?" (in the MOON SHOTS anthology), has a passage that relates directly to our speculations: "It's only theoretical so far. But current theory says that although antimatter would possess mass just as ordinary matter does, it would be repelled by the gravitational field of ordinary matter. It would fall up, in other words" (MOON SHOTS, p. 32). Interesting to see, cut and dry, black and white: the speculations we rolled over and over become starkly validated. Whether the Science be Good or Bad, this is a concept that Wolfe has toyed with and continues to toy with; and I am curious as to where he got the idea.

Jim Henley29 Nov 1999, 19:23original as archived

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-----Original Message----- From: urth-errors at lists.best.com [mailto:urth-errors at lists.best.com]On Behalf Of Michael Andre-Driussi We have talked in the past about the curious details surrounding the fliers of Urth, which seem to have features of anti-gravity and anti-matter. This, in turn, seems to fly in the face of facts and theory as we understand them. <snip> "It's only theoretical so far. But current theory says that although antimatter would possess mass just as ordinary matter does, it would be repelled by the gravitational field of ordinary matter. It would fall up, in other words" (MOON SHOTS, p. 32). Interesting to see, cut and dry, black and white: the speculations we rolled over and over become starkly validated. Whether the Science be Good or Bad, this is a concept that Wolfe has toyed with and continues to toy with; and I am curious as to where he got the idea.

Nice reference, Michael. The larger lesson is surely to be drawn in conjunction with the recent alzabo/memory RNA discussion: every time someone thinks Wolfe is spouting gobbledygook in the series (which would push it in the direction of fantasy) it turns out that there's plausible scientific speculation behind Wolfe's approach. (One might adduce the "white fountain"/wormhole too.) Best, Jim ***************************************** "All God's children got a little bit of soul but not that much . . . " -- Graham Parker, "Obsessed with Aretha"