Earthlings, Meet Venus” Informational Text and Questions
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The Imagined Wests of Kim Stanley Robinson in the "Three Californias" and Mars Trilogies
Portland State University PDXScholar Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Publications and Presentations Planning Spring 2003 Falling into History: The Imagined Wests of Kim Stanley Robinson in the "Three Californias" and Mars Trilogies Carl Abbott Portland State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/usp_fac Part of the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Citation Details Abbott, C. Falling into History: The Imagined Wests of Kim Stanley Robinson in the "Three Californias" and Mars Trilogies. The Western Historical Quarterly , Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring, 2003), pp. 27-47. This Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Falling into History: The ImaginedWests of Kim Stanley Robinson in the "Three Californias" and Mars Trilogies Carl Abbott California science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson has imagined the future of Southern California in three novels published 1984-1990, and the settle ment of Mars in another trilogy published 1993-1996. In framing these narratives he worked in explicitly historical terms and incorporated themes and issues that characterize the "new western history" of the 1980s and 1990s, thus providing evidence of the resonance of that new historiography. .EDMars is Kim Stanley Robinson's R highly praised science fiction novel published in 1993.1 Its pivotal section carries the title "Falling into History." More than two decades have passed since permanent human settlers arrived on the red planet in 2027, and the growing Martian communities have become too complex to be guided by simple earth-made plans or single individuals. -
"Is There Life on Venus?" Pdf File
Home / Space / Specials Is there life on Venus? We call them "Martians" because, in science fiction, Mars has always been the natural home of extraterrestrials. In fact, of all the planets in the solar system, Mars is the prime candidate to host life, after Earth, of course. Indeed, Mars is on the outer edge of the habitable zone, that area around the Sun that delimits the space where the temperature is low enough to ensure that the water remains in a liquid state. And where there's water, it is well known, there's probably life. Yet it's cold on Mars today, and so far, all the probes and rovers we have sent to the surface of the red planet have found no signs of life. Planet Venus At the opposite end of the habitable belt there is Venus, similar in size and "geological" characteristics to our planet – that is, like Earth, it is a rocky planet. However, unlike Earth, Venus is probably one of the most inhospitable places in the Solar System: the temperature on the ground is about 500°C, higher than that recorded on Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, so the Sun is not directly responsible for that infernal climate. The blame lies with the very extreme greenhouse effect on Venus. We know that the greenhouse effect is due to the presence of gases that trap solar radiation and heat the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, water vapour and nitrogen oxides. On Earth we are rightly concerned because the amount of carbon dioxide is increasing due to human activities and with the increase in CO2, temperatures are rising. -
![Dyson Spheres Around White Dwarfs Arxiv:1503.04376V1 [Physics.Pop-Ph] 15 Mar 2015](https://docslib.b-cdn.net/cover/7808/dyson-spheres-around-white-dwarfs-arxiv-1503-04376v1-physics-pop-ph-15-mar-2015-597808.webp)
Dyson Spheres Around White Dwarfs Arxiv:1503.04376V1 [Physics.Pop-Ph] 15 Mar 2015
Dyson Spheres around White Dwarfs Ibrahim_ Semiz∗ and Salim O˘gury Bo˘gazi¸ciUniversity, Department of Physics Bebek, Istanbul,_ TURKEY Abstract A Dyson Sphere is a hypothetical structure that an advanced civ- ilization might build around a star to intercept all of the star's light for its energy needs. One usually thinks of it as a spherical shell about one astronomical unit (AU) in radius, and surrounding a more or less Sun-like star; and might be detectable as an infrared point source. We point out that Dyson Spheres could also be built around white dwarfs. This type would avoid the need for artificial gravity technol- ogy, in contrast to the AU-scale Dyson Spheres. In fact, we show that parameters can be found to build Dyson Spheres suitable {temperature- and gravity-wise{ for human habitation. This type would be much harder to detect. 1 Introduction The "Dyson Sphere" [1] concept is well-known in discussions of possible in- telligent life in the universe, and has even infiltrated popular culture to some extent, including being prominently featured in a Star Trek episode [2]. In its simplest version, it is a spherical shell that totally surrounds a star to intercept all of the star's light. If a Dyson Sphere (from here on, sometimes \Sphere", sometimes DS) was built around the Sun, e.g. with same radius (1 AU) as Earth's orbit (Fig. 1), it would receive all the power of the Sun, 3:8 × 1026 W, in contrast to the power intercepted by Earth, 1:7 × 1017 W. -
Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy & Physics
Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy & Physics: A Topical Index Compiled by Andrew Fraknoi (U. of San Francisco, Fromm Institute) Version 7 (2019) © copyright 2019 by Andrew Fraknoi. All rights reserved. Permission to use for any non-profit educational purpose, such as distribution in a classroom, is hereby granted. For any other use, please contact the author. (e-mail: fraknoi {at} fhda {dot} edu) This is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use reasonably accurate science and can be used for teaching or reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. The titles of short stories are given in quotation marks; only short stories that have been published in book form or are available free on the Web are included. While one book source is given for each short story, note that some of the stories can be found in other collections as well. (See the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, cited at the end, for an easy way to find all the places a particular story has been published.) The author welcomes suggestions for additions to this list, especially if your favorite story with good science is left out. Gregory Benford Octavia Butler Geoff Landis J. Craig Wheeler TOPICS COVERED: Anti-matter Light & Radiation Solar System Archaeoastronomy Mars Space Flight Asteroids Mercury Space Travel Astronomers Meteorites Star Clusters Black Holes Moon Stars Comets Neptune Sun Cosmology Neutrinos Supernovae Dark Matter Neutron Stars Telescopes Exoplanets Physics, Particle Thermodynamics Galaxies Pluto Time Galaxy, The Quantum Mechanics Uranus Gravitational Lenses Quasars Venus Impacts Relativity, Special Interstellar Matter Saturn (and its Moons) Story Collections Jupiter (and its Moons) Science (in general) Life Elsewhere SETI Useful Websites 1 Anti-matter Davies, Paul Fireball. -
No Guidance Lyrics
No Guidance Lyrics Before I die I'm tryna f_ck you, baby Hopefully we don't have no babies I don't even wanna go back home Hopefully, I don't leave you on your own Ayy Trips that you plan for the next whole week Bands too long for a nigga so cheap And your flex OD, and your s_x OD You got it, girl, you got it (Ayy) You got it, girl, you got (yeah) Pretty lil' thing, you got a bag and now you wilding You just took it off the lot, no mileage Way they hittin' you, the DM lookin' violent Talkin' wild, you come around and now they silent Flew the coop at seventeen, no guidance You be staying low but you know what the vibes is Ain't never got you nowhere being modest Poppin' shit but only 'cause you know you're popping You got it, girl, you got it (Ayy) You got it, girl, you got it Lil' baby in her bag, in her Birkin No nine to five put the work in Flaws and all, I love 'em all, to me, you're perfect Baby girl, you got it, girl, you got it, girl You got it, girl, you got it, girl (Ooh) I don't wanna play no games, play no games F_ck around, give you my last name Know you tired of the same damn thing That's okay 'cause, baby, you You got it, girl, you got it (Ayy) You got it, girl, you got it You the only one I'm tryna make love to, Picking and choosing They ain't really love you, runnin' games, usin' All your stupid exes, they gon' call again Tell 'em that a real nigga steppin' in Don't let them niggas try you, test your patience Tell 'em that it's over, ain't no debating All you need is me playin' on your playlist You ain't gotta be frustrated -
The Science of Science Fiction.‖
Big and Small: How Big is Big, and How Small is Small? Science Facts that are Stranger than Science Fiction . Kamel M. Refaey Community Services INTRODUCTION While talking with a friend, he asked me the following question: how did Max Planck come up with such a small number? He was referring to 6.63x10-34 named after Planck as Planck’s constant. I could not answer him because I didn’t remember the facts related to that number. The more I thought about the question, the more I became interested in small as well as large numbers. Planck’s constant is so small such that if we divide the Earth into pieces that small, each piece would be smaller than a grain of sand. I began to wonder about other numbers in science such as Avogadro’s number, the electron mass and charge, the size and age of the universe and many more. When I was told about the Institute, I thought I could use the seminar to express my interest in numbers, big and small, and eventually relate that to the seminar title ―The science of science fiction.‖ Fiction comes true ―Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars, and let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars‖ (Howard). A fantasy song by Tony Bennett and the fantasy became a reality when we landed on the moon in 1969. What was fiction then is now reality, and what is fiction now, may become reality tomorrow. Definition of Science Fiction Before we go much further, I like to give four of the 52 definitions of science fiction. -
Morphology and Dynamics of the Venus Atmosphere at the Cloud Top Level As Observed by the Venus Monitoring Camera
Morphology and dynamics of the Venus atmosphere at the cloud top level as observed by the Venus Monitoring Camera Von der Fakultät für Elektrotechnik, Informationstechnik, Physik der Technischen Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften (Dr.rer.nat.) genehmigte Dissertation von Richard Moissl aus Grünstadt Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar. 1. Referentin oder Referent: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Blum 2. Referentin oder Referent: Dr. Horst-Uwe Keller eingereicht am: 24. April 2008 mündliche Prüfung (Disputation) am: 9. Juli 2008 ISBN 978-3-936586-86-2 Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau Druck: Schaltungsdienst Lange, Berlin Printed in Germany Contents Summary 7 1 Introduction 9 1.1 Historical observations of Venus . .9 1.2 The atmosphere and climate of Venus . .9 1.2.1 Basic composition and structure of the Venus atmosphere . .9 1.2.2 The clouds of Venus . 11 1.2.3 Atmospheric dynamics at the cloud level . 12 1.3 Venus Express . 16 1.4 Goals and structure of the thesis . 19 2 The Venus Monitoring Camera experiment 21 2.1 Scientific objectives of the VMC in the context of this thesis . 21 2.1.1 UV Channel . 21 2.1.1.1 Morphology of the unknown UV absorber . 21 2.1.1.2 Atmospheric dynamics of the cloud tops . 21 2.1.2 The two IR channels . 22 2.1.2.1 Water vapor abundance and cloud opacity . 22 2.1.2.2 Surface and lower atmosphere . -
Colonization of Venus
Conference on Human Space Exploration, Space Technology & Applications International Forum, Albuquerque, NM, Feb. 2-6 2003. Colonization of Venus Geoffrey A. Landis NASA Glenn Research Center mailstop 302-1 21000 Brook Park Road Cleveland, OH 44135 21 6-433-2238 geofrq.landis@grc. nasa.gov ABSTRACT Although the surface of Venus is an extremely hostile environment, at about 50 kilometers above the surface the atmosphere of Venus is the most earthlike environment (other than Earth itself) in the solar system. It is proposed here that in the near term, human exploration of Venus could take place from aerostat vehicles in the atmosphere, and that in the long term, permanent settlements could be made in the form of cities designed to float at about fifty kilometer altitude in the atmosphere of Venus. INTRODUCTION Since Gerard K. O'Neill [1974, 19761 first did a detailed analysis of the concept of a self-sufficient space colony, the concept of a human colony that is not located on the surface of a planet has been a major topic of discussion in the space community. There are many possible economic justifications for such a space colony, including use as living quarters for a factory producing industrial products (such as solar power satellites) in space, and as a staging point for asteroid mining [Lewis 19971. However, while the concept has focussed on the idea of colonies in free space, there are several disadvantages in colonizing empty space. Space is short on most of the raw materials needed to sustain human life, and most particularly in the elements oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. -
ISSUE 134, AUGUST 2013 2 Imperative: Venus Continued
Imperative: Venus — Virgil L. Sharpton, Lunar and Planetary Institute Venus and Earth began as twins. Their sizes and densities are nearly identical and they stand out as being considerably more massive than other terrestrial planetary bodies. Formed so close to Earth in the solar nebula, Venus likely has Earth-like proportions of volatiles, refractory elements, and heat-generating radionuclides. Yet the Venus that has been revealed through exploration missions to date is hellishly hot, devoid of oceans, lacking plate tectonics, and bathed in a thick, reactive atmosphere. A less Earth-like environment is hard to imagine. Venus, Earth, and Mars to scale. Which L of our planetary neighbors is most similar to Earth? Hint: It isn’t Mars. PWhy and when did Earth’s and Venus’ evolutionary paths diverge? This fundamental and unresolved question drives the need for vigorous new exploration of Venus. The answer is central to understanding Venus in the context of terrestrial planets and their evolutionary processes. In addition, however, and unlike virtually any other planetary body, Venus could hold important clues to understanding our own planet — how it has maintained a habitable environment for so long and how long it can continue to do so. Precisely because it began so like Earth, yet evolved to be so different, Venus is the planet most likely to cast new light on the conditions that determine whether or not a planet evolves habitable environments. NASA’s Kepler mission and other concurrent efforts to explore beyond our star system are likely to find Earth-sized planets around Sun-sized stars within a few years. -
The Milky Way: Science and Fiction Many Inventions, from Buck Rogers’ Backpack Rocket to Robots, Lasers, and Computers, Have First M
The Milky Way: Science and Fiction Many inventions, from Buck Rogers’ Backpack rocket to robots, lasers, and computers, have first M. Moreno been described in SF stories. But the literature owes Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering an equal debt to science, from which it drew not only Polytechnic University of Catalonia inspiration but many of its ideas. James Gunn, The Science in Science Fiction (2005)[1] [email protected] Abstract In this work certain concepts of the relationship, not very flowing, between the Milky Way and modern science fiction are analyzed. We focus on the scientific goals of GAIA mission: the structure and components of our Galaxy (My Stepmother is an Alien; Starship Troopers; Independence Day; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy); the galaxy stellar component (The Black Hole); exoplanets (Interstellar; Les mondes d’Aldébaran; Valérian); Andromeda galaxy (Tumannost’ Andromedy) and others. Introduction In 2001, ESA presented a study entitled Innovative Technologies from Science-Fiction (SF) for Space Applications [2]. The main objectives were to review the genre of SF (literature, artwork and films) "in order to identify and assess innovative technologies and concepts described therein which could possibly be developed further for space applications." SF are full of descriptions of space technologies and physical and astronomical concepts. Usually, authors describes space concepts based on the scientific knowledge available at the time. Often are pure imagination, sometimes based on some semblance of fact. Misconceptions and mistakes are also unfortunately habitual [3][4]. Following the original idea of ESA's study, we focus on aspects related with our Galaxy not considered there. -
The Big Urban Game, Re-Play and Full City Tags Art Game Conceptions in Activism and Performance
The big urban game, re-play and full city tags Art game conceptions in activism and performance MARGARETE JAHRMANN The practice of technological tagging of locations in contemporary urban spaces can be seen in relation to the concept of the ‘Re-Play’ of urban space and urban life using performance practices. The performance of technological play with mobile technologies in everyday life serves as the starting point for a new inter- pretation of modern cities as a positive utopia. Re-Play is introduced in this pa- per as an idea of staging knowledge. In my approach to performance, I consider play a method to identify topographies of cultural or historic interest in urban spaces and to frame potential inter-action on such sites. Play consequently ena- bles the extraction of new stories and new knowledge concerning narratives of the urban. The idea of Re-Play draws on the Situationist principle developed in the 1960s (Constant 1972), of a playful and open society living in a ‘New Baby- lon’ that offers zones of play and relaxation as a basis for creativity and a self- determined life – in relation to and through the constructivist use of technolo- gies. Contemporary activist play and performative urban games have to deal with a specific precondition: the electronic, electromagnetic and logic topography of the modern city, which is marked through ‘tags’. Tagging can be understood in two ways, first as an expression of an urban sub-culture of graffiti arts and sec- ondly as a technological term to indicate a virtual-reality marker in physical space. -
The Origin of Titan's Atmosphere: Some Recent Advances
The origin of Titan’s atmosphere: some recent advances By Tobias Owen1 & H. B. Niemann2 1University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 2Laboratory for Atmospheres, Goddard Space Fight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA It is possible to make a consistent story for the origin of Titan’s atmosphere starting with the birth of Titan in the Saturn subnebula. If we use comet nuclei as a model, Titan’s nitrogen and methane could easily have been delivered by the ice that makes up ∼50% of its mass. If Titan’s atmospheric hydrogen is derived from that ice, it is possible that Titan and comet nuclei are in fact made of the same protosolar ice. The noble gas abundances are consistent with relative abundances found in the atmospheres of Mars and Earth, the sun, and the meteorites. Keywords: Origin, atmosphere, composition, noble gases, deuterium 1. Introduction In this note, we will assume that Titan originated in Saturn’s subnebula as a result of the accretion of icy planetesimals: particles and larger lumps made of ice and rock. Alibert & Mousis (2007) reached this same point of view using an evolutionary, turbulent model of Saturn’s subnebula. They found that planetesimals made in the solar nebula according to their model led to a huge overabundance of CO on Titan. We obviously have no direct measurements of the composition of these planetes- imals. We can use comets as a guide, always remembering that comets formed in the solar nebula where conditions must have been different from those in Saturn’s subnebula, e.g., much colder.