Cosmic Whales and Transparent Aluminum

Jan 28, 2023

Those of you who are Star Trek fans will remember the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where Kirk and his crew travel back in time to retrieve humpback whales that are extinct in Kirk’s time. To facilitate the whale’s transport, Scotty provides the formula for transparent aluminum to an engineer in 1986.
At the time of the movie, this just seemed another instance where science fiction was coming up with far-fetched ideas. This turns out not to be the case.
Aluminum oxynitride is a transparent ceramic composed of aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen is almost as transparent as glass and is being manufactured by Massachusetts-based Surmet Corporation under the name ALON®. It is three times harder than steel, and 85% harder than sapphire. Refer to the comments to see what transparent aluminum looks like. 
Art by Shaun Doogan, Photo by Surmet Corp.

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All Roads Lead to Amber

Jan 20, 2023

“Amber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows.” From the Nine Princes of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
Long before the Game of Thrones was a twinkle in George R. R. Martin’s eye, I read Nine Princes of Amber, the first book of the ten book Chronicles of Amber series. It initially follows the prince of Amber suffering from amnesia and awaking on our Earth and beginning his journey to find his truth. The series is full of alternate worlds, magic, swordplay, and court intrigue, along with murderous rivals. 
The reason I mention it now is that the Chronicles of Amber is to be made into a television series. Spartina Production joins Skybound Entertainment and Vincent Newman Entertainment (VNE) to make the series version of the beloved fantasy novels. I am looking forward to seeing it and hope that they do the fabulous stories justice. Keep an eye on my posting for more information as it becomes available.
 Art by Jeffrey Catherine Jones

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Ringworld for Real

Jan 13, 2023

Last year I posted a musing on the classic science-fiction book Ringworld by Larry Niven and hopefully the movie that might be in the works by Amazon Prime Video. For those that are unfamiliar with the book, Ringworld is about the journey to and exploration of a massive rotating ring in space that is populated with incredible flora and fauna residing on its inner surface.
It seems that not only are people working on creating a movie about the fictional world, but they are also attempting to create an actual ring world. Scientist at the University of Rochester have devised a plan to turn asteroids into rotating habitats in space with their own gravity.
The research proposes to rotate a debris asteroid sending the rock fragments onto the outer-inside of a surrounding carbon nanotube mesh bag creating an approximate 20 square mile living space. It may seem farfetched, but the researchers claim that the engineering behind it, at the very least, obeys the laws of physics. That is a very solid place for the project to start. What’s you option? 
Illustration by Michael Osadciw
For more information visit:
www.rochester.edu/newscenter/cities-on-asteroids-it-could-work-in-theory-543862/

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Do No Harm

Jan 6, 2023

Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics are a famous part of the genre. The first law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Can you think of how many stories have creatively circumvented this law?
Even though this law is a work of fiction, it is none-the-less extremely important as robots become more self-sufficient. This brings the Boston Dynamics robots to mind. They are able to navigate a variety of terrains and interact in a very human way. Have these robots been programmed with human protection fail safes or will they just ignore a human hindering them from performing their assigned tasks? Or, will they perhaps react with something even more direct? 
What do you think about the rule and its significance in literature and in real life? 
Art by FacySedated “¿Who needs who?”

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