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On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
On Sep 25, 2025, James Nicoll wrote
(in article <10b3ign$4lt$1@reader2.panix.com>):
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Pretty much all of the Barrayar books (Bujold) have (lots of) romance, >starting with Shards of Honor. Winterfair Gifts is just a love story... with >DNA and bio-weapons.
Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, RAH, and even Asimov had romance sprinkled across >their work. (Some better sprinkled than others, of course...) Even David >Drake and David Weber would occasionally take a break from covering the >neighborhood in blood and body parts to have a little romance. (Very little, >and usually leading to more blood and body parts.)
And Graydon SaundersrCO Commonweal books are essentially long-running >romances between various characters... and anything involving FOOF being >launched at escape velocity from field artillery should be hard enough SF. >(Memo: do NOT annoy Blossom. Just donrCOt.)
In article <0001HW.2E85CD490366D53D700004F2838F@news.supernews.com>,
WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
On Sep 25, 2025, James Nicoll wrote
(in article <10b3ign$4lt$1@reader2.panix.com>):
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Pretty much all of the Barrayar books (Bujold) have (lots of) romance,
starting with Shards of Honor. Winterfair Gifts is just a love story... with >> DNA and bio-weapons.
Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, RAH, and even Asimov had romance sprinkled across
their work. (Some better sprinkled than others, of course...) Even David
Drake and David Weber would occasionally take a break from covering the
neighborhood in blood and body parts to have a little romance. (Very little, >> and usually leading to more blood and body parts.)
And Graydon SaundersrCO Commonweal books are essentially long-running
romances between various characters... and anything involving FOOF being
launched at escape velocity from field artillery should be hard enough SF. >> (Memo: do NOT annoy Blossom. Just donrCOt.)
Plenty of romance in the Liaden universe, and the Kate Andrews one.
On 9/25/25 5:11 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
In article <0001HW.2E85CD490366D53D700004F2838F@news.supernews.com>,
WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
On Sep 25, 2025, James Nicoll wrote
(in article <10b3ign$4lt$1@reader2.panix.com>):
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Pretty much all of the Barrayar books (Bujold) have (lots of) romance,
starting with Shards of Honor. Winterfair Gifts is just a love story... with
DNA and bio-weapons.
Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, RAH, and even Asimov had romance sprinkled across
their work. (Some better sprinkled than others, of course...) Even David >>> Drake and David Weber would occasionally take a break from covering the
neighborhood in blood and body parts to have a little romance. (Very little,
and usually leading to more blood and body parts.)
And Graydon SaundersrCO Commonweal books are essentially long-running
romances between various characters... and anything involving FOOF being >>> launched at escape velocity from field artillery should be hard enough SF. >>> (Memo: do NOT annoy Blossom. Just donrCOt.)
Plenty of romance in the Liaden universe, and the Kate Andrews one.
Is that the one written by Ilona Daniels? :)
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
And Graydon SaundersrCO Commonweal books are essentially long-running >romances between various characters... and anything involving FOOF being >launched at escape velocity from field artillery should be hard enough SF.
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, RAH, and even Asimov had romance sprinkled across
their work.
On 2025-09-25, WolfFan<akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, RAH, and even Asimov had romance sprinkled across
their work.
Hal Clement? Where?
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience. A good example is "On to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson. I do not remember
much romance in this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience. A good example is "On to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson. I do not remember
much romance in this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.-a A good example is "On to >>> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
-a-a-a-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience. A good example is "On to >>> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson. I do not remember
much romance in this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have. If they say it is so then I believe them.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.-a A good example is "On to >>> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
-a-a-a-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the >rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy.
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience. A good example is "On to >> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson. I do not remember
much romance in this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have. If they say it is so then I believe them.
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.-a A good example is "On to >>> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.-a I do not remember >>> much romance in this book.
-a-a-a-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for
NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy.
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
If you really loved me, you'd let me blender your brain to check your
love RNA to prove it.
--scott
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|e-a A good example is "On to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|e-a I do not remember >>>>> much romance in this book.
|e-a|e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed >>>> drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should >>>> have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude >>>> that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in
physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for
NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.-a A good example is "On to >>> the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
-a-a-a-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
On 26/09/2025 05:58, Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.-a A good example is
"On to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.-a I do not remember >>>> much romance in this book.
-a-a-a-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
Two words: peer review.
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|e-a A good example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|e-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
|e-a|e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed >>>> drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should >>>> have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude >>>> that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs
than I have.|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in
physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for
NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the >> rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief. It's a bit less impossible. It's the kind of thing I
can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough
to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in >diameter).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant >doubts about that).
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an
asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed >>>>>> drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should >>>>>> have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude >>>>>> that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>> than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in
physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for
NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it >>>> in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the >>>> rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy. >>>
That's a relief. It's a bit less impossible. It's the kind of thing I
can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough
to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough
internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in diameter).
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant doubts about that).
Robert Woodward wrote:And if one of them walks out because they are currently in a snit?
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|e-a A good example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|e-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
|e-a|e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>>>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed >>>>>>> drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>>>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should >>>>>>> have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude >>>>>>> that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>>> than I have.|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>> physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it >>>>> in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the >>>>> rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how >>>>> fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy. >>>>
That's a relief. It's a bit less impossible. It's the kind of thing I
can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough
to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough
internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in
diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant
doubts about that).
I see. Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an >earth-impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme
prejudice if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the >approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
On Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:40:31 -0400, William Hyde
<wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do not remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>>>>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the installed >>>>>>>> drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>>>>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would preclude >>>>>>>> that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>>>> than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>>> physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real. Maybe if they wrote it >>>>>> in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation. It's easy enough to calculate the >>>>>> rotational kinetic energy of the earth. Do that. Now figure out how >>>>>> fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that energy. >>>>>
That's a relief. It's a bit less impossible. It's the kind of thing I >>>> can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough >>>> to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough >>>> internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in >>> diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were >>> in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant >>> doubts about that).
I see. Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an
earth-impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme
prejudice if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the
approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
And if one of them walks out because they are currently in a snit?
The Korean War was fought as a UN war because the USSR did precisely
that. No USSR present, no veto applied.
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
-a-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good >>>>>>>> example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do not >>>>>>>> remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-
Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>>>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the
installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>>>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it >>>>>>> should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would
preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>>> than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>> physics,-a chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real.-a Maybe if they
wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation.-a It's easy enough to
calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth.-a Do that.-a Now figure out how >>>>> fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that
energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief.-a It's a bit less impossible.-a It's the kind of thing I >>> can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough
to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough
internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in
diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant
doubts about that).
I see.-a Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an earth- impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme prejudice
if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
William Hyde
William Hyde wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
William Hyde wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
William Hyde wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
James Nicoll wrote:Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about it). >>>>>>>> That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the
On Writing Romance as Hard Science FictionIs there a book mentioned in this article ?
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science-fiction/ >>>>>>>>>
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience. A good
example is "On to the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and
Les Johnson. I do not remember much romance in this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-Taylor/dp/148148267X >>>>>>>>
installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision course on >>>>>>>> Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it >>>>>>>> should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would
preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>>>> than I have. If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>>> physics,-a chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real.-a Maybe if they
wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation.-a It's easy enough to
calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth.-a Do that.-a Now figure out how >>>>>> fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that
energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief.-a It's a bit less impossible.-a It's the kind of thing I >>>> can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough >>>> to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough >>>> internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in >>> diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were >>> in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant >>> doubts about that).
I see.-a Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an earth-
impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme prejudice
if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the
approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
Including the space alien invaders who are slowly moving rocks into
place to drop on us ? Lots of books project that scenario.
On 9/28/2025 4:40 PM, William Hyde wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
-a-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science- >>>>>>>>>> fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good >>>>>>>>> example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do not >>>>>>>>> remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-
Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about >>>>>>>> it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the
installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision
course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, it >>>>>>>> should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would >>>>>>>> preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more PhDs >>>>>>> than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them.
How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>>> physics,-a chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real.-a Maybe if they
wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation.-a It's easy enough to
calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth.-a Do that.-a Now figure out how >>>>>> fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that
energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief.-a It's a bit less impossible.-a It's the kind of thing I >>>> can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which
grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between
the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough >>>> to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough >>>> internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+ meters in >>> diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks were >>> in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have significant >>> doubts about that).
I see.-a Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an earth-
impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme prejudice
if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the
approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
William Hyde
Including the space alien invaders who are slowly moving rocks into
place to drop on us ?-a Lots of books project that scenario.
Lynn
On 30/09/2025 02:04, Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/28/2025 4:40 PM, William Hyde wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
-a-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with PhDs in >>>>>>> physics,-a chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work for >>>>>>> NASA, who tell you that climate change is real.-a Maybe if they >>>>>>> wrote it
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics >>>>>>>>>>> of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science- >>>>>>>>>>> fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good >>>>>>>>>> example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do >>>>>>>>>> not remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-
Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think about >>>>>>>>> it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the >>>>>>>>> installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision
course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, >>>>>>>>> it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would >>>>>>>>> preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the asteroid >>>>>>>>> (Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more >>>>>>>> PhDs
than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them. >>>>>>>
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation.-a It's easy enough to
calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth.-a Do that.-a Now figure out >>>>>>> how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that >>>>>>> energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief.-a It's a bit less impossible.-a It's the kind of
thing I
can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which >>>>> grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between >>>>> the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be enough >>>>> to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess enough >>>>> internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description.
IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+
meters in
diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had been >>>> an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision
course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops
working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks
were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have
significant
doubts about that).
I see.-a Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an
earth- impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme
prejudice if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without the
approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or nuclear
armed state in the solar system.
William Hyde
Including the space alien invaders who are slowly moving rocks into
place to drop on us ?-a Lots of books project that scenario.
Lynn
I expect we can make our feelings understood
when that's the prospect.
On 9/30/2025 2:33 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
On 30/09/2025 02:04, Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/28/2025 4:40 PM, William Hyde wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b9iu0$1uqs0$1@dont-email.me>,
-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Robert Woodward wrote:
In article <10b6ukt$1a089$1@dont-email.me>,
-a-a William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
Lynn McGuire wrote:
On 9/25/2025 11:44 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:How odd then, that you do not trust the many scientists with
In article <10b4d3u$jl8k$1@dont-email.me>,
|arCU|e-a Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/25/2025 9:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and >>>>>>>>>>>> physics
of falling in love.
https://reactormag.com/on-writing-romance-as-hard-science- >>>>>>>>>>>> fiction/
Is there a book mentioned in this article ?
Hard science fiction is rare in my experience.|arCU|e-a A good >>>>>>>>>>> example is "On
to
the Asteroid" by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson.|arCU|e-a I do >>>>>>>>>>> not remember
much romance in this book.
|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a|arCU|e-a https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Travis-S-
Taylor/dp/148148267X
Hard science?! Let's see now; the Earth is hit by debris from an >>>>>>>>>> asteroid when its spin was reduced to zero (really? think >>>>>>>>>> about it).
That asteroid was being maneuvered into Earth orbit when the >>>>>>>>>> installed
drive stopped working leaving that asteroid on a collision >>>>>>>>>> course on
Earth (that is a rather low probability event; besides, IMHO, >>>>>>>>>> it should
have been possible to plan an acceleration program that would >>>>>>>>>> preclude
that from happening). BTW, that debris arrived before the >>>>>>>>>> asteroid
(Really?? Let's think more about it).
Thanks, I'll trust the two NASA rocket scientists with way more >>>>>>>>> PhDs
than I have.|arCU|e-a If they say it is so then I believe them. >>>>>>>>
PhDs in
physics,-a chemistry, mathematics, engineering, some of whom work >>>>>>>> for
NASA, who tell you that climate change is real.-a Maybe if they >>>>>>>> wrote it
in an SF novel you'd agree?
As for stopping the earth's rotation.-a It's easy enough to
calculate the
rotational kinetic energy of the earth.-a Do that.-a Now figure >>>>>>>> out how
fast the asteroid in question must be moving to negate all that >>>>>>>> energy.
It was the asteroid that was de-spun.
That's a relief.-a It's a bit less impossible.-a It's the kind of >>>>>> thing I
can read and shrug off, if the book is good enough.
Perhaps if it was a very slow moving, slowly rotating, asteroid which >>>>>> grazed the atmosphere and bounced off. The differential force between >>>>>> the planet-side and space-side of the asteroid would have to be
enough
to stop the spin, and the asteroid itself would have to possess
enough
internal strength to resist coming apart from this stress, or
differential heating.
The problem is you are trying to make sense of my brief description. >>>>> IIRC, the process was as follows:
1) a probe rendezvoused with an asteroid. The asteroid was de-spun,
ejecting rocks (really? BTW, at least one of the rocks was 50+
meters in
diameter).
I assume there is a solid core asteroid with some loosely bound
detritus. It must be rotating very slowly.
2) the probe then started pushing the asteroid into what would had
been
an orbit about Earth.
3) the probe engine stopped working with the asteroid on a collision >>>>> course with Earth (note for space regulatory agencies - don't allow
asteroid relocations that could collide with Earth if the drive stops >>>>> working at the wrong time).
4) Several of the ejected rocks hit Earth before the arrival of the
asteroid (really? - BTW, I did think of a handwave today, the rocks >>>>> were
in fairly distant orbits around the asteroid - though I have
significant
doubts about that).
I see.-a Very different.
I agree with your comments, but at least this is far more plausible.
Though personally if anyone intends to move an asteroid into an
earth- impacting orbit I'm in favour of stopping them, with extreme
prejudice if necessary.
In fact, don't allow any asteroid relocations of any kind without
the approval of, and participation of, every space faring and/or
nuclear armed state in the solar system.
William Hyde
Including the space alien invaders who are slowly moving rocks into
place to drop on us ?-a Lots of books project that scenario.
Lynn
I expect we can make our feelings understood
when that's the prospect.
I highly doubt that we have any deep space weapons.
Lynn