Analog Essays on Science

296 Pages·1990·15.846 MB·English

by  Stanley Schmidt

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Edited by --
Stanley Schmidt
Editor, ANALOG Magazin
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Includest John Gribbin'* Poul 4
Anderson * Tony Rothman
L. Sprague de Camp ¢ David
Brin * Arthur C. Clarke *
K. Eric Drexler ¢ Gordon R.
Woodcock * :
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The premier science-fiction monthly
on planet Earth, ANALOG has long
played a uniquely interactive role in
the world scientific community.
Edited and largely written by scien-
tists and engineers, ANALOG has,
since its founding in the 1930s,
worked to foster a symbiosis between
science fiction and science. For over
sixty years, ANALOG has fired the
imaginations of readers around the
world with fiction offerings by such
luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Robert
Heinlein, and Gregory Benford. At
the same time, it has brought layper-
sons to the cutting edge of science
fact and technology with the timely
essay (or essays) contained in each
issue.
ANALOG Essays on Science brings
together the best of ANALOG’s
science-fact offerings of the past dec-
ade. Selected by editor Stanley
Schmidt, they comprise important
contributions from some of the most
respected science writers of our time,
including Arthur C. Clarke, Poul
Anderson, John Gribbin, and K. Eric
Drexler.
Covering a broad sweep of scientific
knowledge, subject areas range from
new attitudes about human evolu-
tion, past and future, to the origins
of the universe; recent scientific
breakthroughs and technological in-
novations and the search for extrater-
restrial life; cybernetics and bionics;
future possibilities for extended
space flight, and even alien sex.
Scientists and general readers alike
will be delighted and stimulated by
the essays contained in ANALOG
Essays on Science. Offering a view to
a world of ideas and fertile possibili-
ties, it is a source of inspiration that
readers will return to for many years
to come.

ANALOG
ESSAYS ON.
5G LEWIGNE
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The Body In Time, by Kenneth Jon Rose
Clouds in a Glass of Beer, by Craig Bohren
The Complete Book of Holograms,. by Joseph Kasper and Steven Feller
The Scientific Companion, by Cesare Emiliani
Starsailing, by Louis Friedman
Mirror Matter, by Robert Forward and Joel Davis
Gravity's Lens, by Nathan Cohen
The Beauty of Light, by Ben Bova
Cognizers: Neural Networks and Machines that Think, by Colin Johnson and
Chappell Brown
Inventing Reality: Physics as Language, by Bruce Gregory
Planets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System, by Mark Littmann
The Starry Room, by Fred Schaaf
Ozone Crisis: The 15-Year Evolution of a Sudden Global Emergency,
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The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer’s Guide to Interstellar Travel,
by Eugene Mallove and Gregory Matloff
ANALOG
Ee oA Yo ON
5 Cre NiGe
ee Davlek:D is wBoy,
Stanley Schmidt
WILEY
WEL BY) oc, WEN Bo Bau OLIN S
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
New York ¢ Chichester * Brisbane
Toronto * Singapore
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to
the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should
be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A
COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF
PUBLISHERS.
Copyright © 1990 by Davis Publications, Inc.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by section 107
or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright
owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to
the Permission Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Analog essays on science/ edited by Stanley Schmidt.
- cm. -- (Wiley science editions)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-471-50839-X
ips1.o Sc ience. 2. Technologgy.y I.S chhmmiid t, Stan] ey. II. Analog.
Q158.5F763 1990 89-37010
500--dc20
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
90 9110987654321
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
(Gs acknowledgment is made to the fol-
lowing for permission to reprint their copy-
righted material:
Base Eight Arithmetic, Meteors and Man by John Gribbin, copyright © 1981
by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Science &
Creation by Poul Anderson, copyright © 1983 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted
by permission of Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc.; The Long Stern Chase: A
Speculative Exercise by Rick Cook, copyright © 1986 by Davis Publications, Inc.,
reprinted by permission of the author; Advanced Machining in Ancient Egypt? by
Christopher P. Dunn, copyright © 1984 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by
permission of the author; A Little More Pollution, Please! by George W. Harper,
copyright © 1986 by Davis Publications, Inc. , reprinted by permission of the author;
Demythologizing the Black Hole by Richard Matzner, Tsvi Piran, and Tony Roth-
man, copyright © 1980 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the
authors; Death Risk by Milton A. Rothman, copyright © 1980 by The Condé Nast
Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Hot Rocks & Water by
Richard Patrik Terra, copyright © 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by
permission of the author; Memetics and the Modular Mind by H. Keith Henson,
copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author;
Man’s Biological Future by L. Sprague deCamp, copyright © 1980 by Davis
Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Xenology: The New Science
of Asking ‘‘Who’s Out There?’’ by David Brin, copyright © 1983 by Davis Pub-
lications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Alien Sex by Robert A. Freitas,
Jr., copyright © 1982 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the
author; New Communications Technologies and the Developing World by Arthur
C. Clarke, copyright © 1982 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission
of Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc.; Huntington’s Handle by Mark E. Peeples,
copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author;
Space Tourism: The Door into the Space Age by Patrick Collins, copyright © 1988
by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Exploring the
Asteroids by Joel A. Davis, copyright © 1982 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted
by permission of the author; The Postdiluvian World by Stephen L. Gillett, copyright
© 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author; Nano-
technology by Chris Peterson and K. Eric Drexler, copyright © 1987 by Davis
Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the authors; 24th Century Medicine
by Thomas Donaldson, copyright © 1988 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted
by permission of the author; To the Stars! by Gordon R. Woodcock, copyright ©
1983 by Davis Publications, Inc., reprinted by permission of the author.