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Groups > rec.arts.sf.written > #660179 > unrolled thread
| Started by | jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) |
|---|---|
| First post | 2026-09-02 10:06 -0400 |
| Last post | 2026-09-07 02:56 +0000 |
| Articles | 20 on this page of 173 — 26 participants |
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(ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-02 10:06 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-02 11:12 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-02 15:30 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-02 15:24 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-02 16:43 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:47 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:13 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-03 04:01 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-03 08:54 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 16:04 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 12:46 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-04 08:46 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-03 08:53 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:36 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 20:18 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 11:59 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:15 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-06 19:53 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-07 14:26 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 02:53 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 02:52 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-08 03:22 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 16:08 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 13:10 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 17:56 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 08:58 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-08 20:02 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 18:22 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 02:33 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 22:35 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-08 20:49 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-09 14:50 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:00 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 15:31 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-09 21:06 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 21:47 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-09 20:36 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-10 15:12 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 21:58 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 18:20 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-09 20:46 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-10 08:51 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-10 08:45 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-03 02:20 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-02 21:45 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 05:00 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-03 21:49 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> - 2026-09-04 12:05 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-04 21:43 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 04:59 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 06:55 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 13:25 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-03 17:46 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 18:06 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:31 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-04 04:02 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:13 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-04 05:13 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 12:04 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 10:12 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-04 13:21 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-05 15:16 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-05 10:04 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-05 15:21 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-05 16:01 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 22:09 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 20:59 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 23:28 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-04 08:50 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-06 20:06 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 20:48 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-07 07:32 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 11:51 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-07 15:01 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 16:13 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-08 13:13 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-08 14:34 -0700
GFC. Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-09 12:41 +1200
Re: GFC. Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 06:01 +0000
Re: GFC. Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:32 -0700
Re: GFC. William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 16:38 -0400
Re: GFC. kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-09 08:56 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:03 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 15:26 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 21:41 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 04:21 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-07 08:49 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-07 14:44 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 12:14 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 11:54 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 22:13 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-07 14:30 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 21:41 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-08 00:05 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-07 14:26 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-07 03:38 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-03 12:45 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 09:34 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> - 2026-09-03 13:43 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 13:34 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:37 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 13:09 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:36 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 19:28 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 17:41 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 22:37 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 03:50 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 21:53 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-05 05:13 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:41 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:29 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2026-09-02 12:36 -0600
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-02 21:21 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:29 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:42 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:36 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-03 04:04 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 05:11 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 09:30 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> - 2026-09-03 08:47 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 13:29 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:14 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-03 21:47 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 23:42 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:33 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-04 00:35 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-06 01:48 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 01:06 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-06 05:46 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 07:21 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:25 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 16:40 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-06 06:41 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 08:07 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 11:14 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:31 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 16:34 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 11:52 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-06 16:12 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:57 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-06 19:20 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-06 16:44 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:32 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:30 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 16:39 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> - 2026-09-14 18:26 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 11:49 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:57 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:36 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-07 14:34 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 03:00 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-08 09:32 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 17:38 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:05 -0700
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-06 14:59 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:11 -0500
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:47 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 04:59 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:22 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 18:57 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Jerry Brown <jerry@jwbrown.co.uk.invalid> - 2026-09-04 07:55 +0100
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas "Gary R. Schmidt" <grschmidt@acm.org> - 2026-09-04 17:47 +1000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:40 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-04 16:45 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-05 16:23 +1200
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 04:31 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-20 19:26 -0400
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-22 12:28 +1200
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-04 22:43 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 08:21 +0000
Vonnegut. Was: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-07 11:37 +1200
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-07 02:25 +0000
Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 02:56 +0000
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| From | ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-03 13:29 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <nftb1pF4uj5U1@mid.individual.net> |
| In reply to | #660207 |
In article <MPG.4503367cf95c833c98a3d4@news.eternal-september.org>, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote: >Garrett Wollman wrote in article <117a41b$1he4$1 >@usenet.csail.mit.edu>: >> In article <1179eck$8uu$1@panix2.panix.com>, >> Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote: >> >> >I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go wrong, >> >like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction >> >mass, or robot brains using positrons. One wrong thought and they might >> >explode into a matter-antimatter explosion, but it never happens in the >> >stories. >> >> To be fair, Asimov did say that he chose "positronic" purely for >> marketing reasons, and he knew it couldn't actually work IRL. >> > >On ST:TNG, Data had a positronic brain as a tribute to Asimov. >It's mentioned several times. > >Come to think of it, when he made himself a daughter, her brain >fell apart quickly. Perhaps Dr. Soong really did figure out a way >to harness positrons, and Data couldn't replicate it properly. > There was a juvenile series about a young robot with "A Genuine Asimov Positronic Brain" (his dog was only semi-positronic, I think). -- columbiaclosings.com What's not in Columbia anymore..
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| From | Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-03 21:14 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <117cnve$1e7a$6@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660207 |
On Thu, 3 Sep 2026 08:47:41 -0400, The True Melissa wrote: > On ST:TNG, Data had a positronic brain as a tribute to Asimov. It's > mentioned several times. > > Come to think of it, when he made himself a daughter, her brain fell > apart quickly. Perhaps Dr. Soong really did figure out a way to > harness positrons, and Data couldn't replicate it properly. To stop things from exploding, you wouldn’t need to isolate positrons from *all* matter, just from the electrons. That could be done with magnetic containment (like in fusion reactors) or something. In actual transistor-electronic circuits, the semiconductors come in two types, called “P-type” and “N-type”, depending on the “dopant” (deliberately introduced impurity) used with the silicon. Each silicon atom has four electrons in its outermost shell for bonding to its neighbours to make up a crystal. If you introduce an atom that is close enough to the size of the silicon atom to make up part of the same crystal lattice, but which has five electrons in that outermost shell, then the leftover electron is free to roam around as part of an electric current -- this is “N-type”. But if the impurity atom has only 3 free electrons, then it leaves a “hole” in the lattice which, funnily enough, can also roam around as part of an electric current. Only it goes in the opposite direction to the electrons: it behaves as though it were a positively-charged electron -- like a non-exploding positron. This is “P-type”. (Note that, in both cases, there is no net charge in the material as a whole, it remains electrically neutral.) Interesting things happen at the boundaries between P-type and N-type regions. This is how transistors work.
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| From | Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-03 21:47 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <slrn119jqoe.6uv.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de> |
| In reply to | #660207 |
On 2026-09-03, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote: >> To be fair, Asimov did say that he chose "positronic" purely for >> marketing reasons, and he knew it couldn't actually work IRL. > > On ST:TNG, Data had a positronic brain as a tribute to Asimov. > It's mentioned several times. _Perry Rhodan_ also featured positronic brains from pretty much the very beginning, clearly cribbing the name from Asimov. (Eventually those would be replaced by syntronics, which are somehow in hyperspace bla bla bla.) -- Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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| From | Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-03 23:42 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <117d0km$50l2$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660225 |
On Thu, 3 Sep 2026 21:47:58 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber wrote: > (Eventually those would be replaced by syntronics, which are somehow > in hyperspace bla bla bla.) Supercomputers of the current kind (massive numbers of compute nodes) depend crucially on the speed of the interconnects between their processors for performance. Some designers have decided that interconnections in ordinary three-dimensional space aren’t enough, so they run extra wires to give each node direct connections to its neighbours along four dimensions.
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| From | Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-03 18:33 -0700 |
| Message-ID | <117d753$6pdq$2@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660227 |
On 9/3/2026 4:42 PM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote: > On Thu, 3 Sep 2026 21:47:58 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber wrote: > >> (Eventually those would be replaced by syntronics, which are somehow >> in hyperspace bla bla bla.) > > Supercomputers of the current kind (massive numbers of compute nodes) > depend crucially on the speed of the interconnects between their > processors for performance. > > Some designers have decided that interconnections in ordinary > three-dimensional space aren’t enough, so they run extra wires to give > each node direct connections to its neighbours along four dimensions. O_o How exactly are they doing that? -- I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man.
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| From | Don <g@crcomp.net> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-04 00:35 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <20260903a@crcomp.net> |
| In reply to | #660225 |
Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
> On 2026-09-03, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:
>
>>> To be fair, Asimov did say that he chose "positronic" purely for
>>> marketing reasons, and he knew it couldn't actually work IRL.
>>
>> On ST:TNG, Data had a positronic brain as a tribute to Asimov.
>> It's mentioned several times.
>
> _Perry Rhodan_ also featured positronic brains from pretty much the
> very beginning, clearly cribbing the name from Asimov.
>
> (Eventually those would be replaced by syntronics, which are somehow
> in hyperspace bla bla bla.)
The best thing about Websters (der Gänger des Netzes) is Eirene. Johnny
Bruck made it easy to fall a little in love with Eirene:
<https://www.perrypedia.de/mediawiki/images/thumb/f/f9/PR1500Illu.jpg/655px-PR1500Illu.jpg>
Bliss [1] ain't bad. But, she's such a user. The murderous look on
Perry's face reminds me of the look Frank Turek gave Pastor Hibbs:
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HRTQx-gWcAA_8KC.jpg>
after the Paster disclosed how he arranged for his brother, Butch Hibbs,
to join Charlie Kirk for the first time ever on that fateful day.
Pastor Hibbs spoke of his bro Butch's Military Intelligence and
Mossad connections. Then Turek threw that murderous look, and Pastor
promptly pivoted to how his bro was really just a mountain man who
enjoyed the mountains.
Note.
[1] Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is
coincidental.
Danke,
--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. veritas _|_
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. liberabit |
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' vos |
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| From | quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 01:48 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <6a9cc3a5.4547375@news.eternal-september.org> |
| In reply to | #660180 |
On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote: >I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go wrong, >like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction >mass, Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket. In fact, that idea predates Goddard and Tsiolkovsky. And, for that matter, even Isaac Newton. However, the vimanas in the Ramayana and the Mahabarata are not, in fact, described as being propelled this way; instead, one has to go to the 11th century, and the Samarangana Sutradhara for the first mention of mercury in association with the vimana. A book with more comprehensive detail on how the vimana worked, the Vimanika Shastra, was written in India in the very early 20th Century, before even the Wright Brothers, and this is the one that is the source for many pseudoscience works on the secrets of the flying saucers. John Savard
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| From | Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 01:06 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117isd5$23bme$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660293 |
On 9/5/2026 9:48 PM, John Savard wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
> Dorsey) wrote:
>
>> I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go wrong,
>> like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction
>> mass,
>
> Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first
> person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket.
In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed.
It apparently went as far as static tests.
They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant.
The {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
Both are discussed (along with several other spicy fuel
combos) in one of Scott Manley's videos:
"The Most Dangerous Rocket Fuels Ever Tested"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wLk2j7_KB0
pt
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| From | ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 05:46 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <ng4d1fF8pq8U1@mid.individual.net> |
| In reply to | #660294 |
In article <117isd5$23bme$1@dont-email.me>,
Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 9/5/2026 9:48 PM, John Savard wrote:
>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
>> Dorsey) wrote:
>>
>>> I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go wrong,
>>> like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction
>>> mass,
>>
>> Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first
>> person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket.
>In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed.
>It apparently went as far as static tests.
>
>They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant.
>The {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>
>Both are discussed (along with several other spicy fuel
>combos) in one of Scott Manley's videos:
>
>"The Most Dangerous Rocket Fuels Ever Tested"
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wLk2j7_KB0
>
>pt
Is Mooseberry fudge cake included?
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
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| From | Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 07:21 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117jibf$2a6tq$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660295 |
On 9/6/26 1:46 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <117isd5$23bme$1@dont-email.me>,
> Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 9/5/2026 9:48 PM, John Savard wrote:
>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
>>> Dorsey) wrote:
>>>
>>>> I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go wrong,
>>>> like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction
>>>> mass,
>>>
>>> Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first
>>> person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket.
>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed.
>> It apparently went as far as static tests.
>>
>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant.
>> The {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>
>> Both are discussed (along with several other spicy fuel
>> combos) in one of Scott Manley's videos:
>>
>> "The Most Dangerous Rocket Fuels Ever Tested"
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wLk2j7_KB0
>>
>> pt
>
> Is Mooseberry fudge cake included?
Ha! Excellent.
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| From | Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 14:25 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117kb79$2jpv2$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660297 |
On 9/6/2026 7:21 AM, Tony Nance wrote:
> On 9/6/26 1:46 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
>> In article <117isd5$23bme$1@dont-email.me>,
>> Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 9/5/2026 9:48 PM, John Savard wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
>>>> Dorsey) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go
>>>>> wrong,
>>>>> like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction
>>>>> mass,
>>>>
>>>> Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first
>>>> person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket.
>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed.
>>> It apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>
>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant.
>>> The {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>>
>>> Both are discussed (along with several other spicy fuel
>>> combos) in one of Scott Manley's videos:
>>>
>>> "The Most Dangerous Rocket Fuels Ever Tested"
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wLk2j7_KB0
>>>
>>> pt
>>
>> Is Mooseberry fudge cake included?
>
>
> Ha! Excellent.
'Rocket Candy' comes pretty close:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUYxk-y-tU8
pt
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| From | Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 16:40 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117kj4k$2mhhf$2@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660315 |
On 9/6/26 2:25 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
> On 9/6/2026 7:21 AM, Tony Nance wrote:
>> On 9/6/26 1:46 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
>>> In article <117isd5$23bme$1@dont-email.me>,
>>> Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 9/5/2026 9:48 PM, John Savard wrote:
>>>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:12:20 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
>>>>> Dorsey) wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I was thinking more of stories with terrible ideas that don't go
>>>>>> wrong,
>>>>>> like Heinlein's ships taking off from earth using mercury as reaction
>>>>>> mass,
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, mercury is heavy. But Robert Anson Heinlein wasn't the first
>>>>> person to get the idea of using mercury for reaction mass in a rocket.
>>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed.
>>>> It apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>>
>>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant.
>>>> The {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>>>
>>>> Both are discussed (along with several other spicy fuel
>>>> combos) in one of Scott Manley's videos:
>>>>
>>>> "The Most Dangerous Rocket Fuels Ever Tested"
>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wLk2j7_KB0
>>>>
>>>> pt
>>>
>>> Is Mooseberry fudge cake included?
>>
>>
>> Ha! Excellent.
>
> 'Rocket Candy' comes pretty close:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUYxk-y-tU8
>
> pt
Nice!
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| From | Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 06:41 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <117j1v6$24qgq$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660294 |
On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
> apparently went as far as static tests.
>
> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
explosives.
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| From | BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 08:07 -0700 |
| Message-ID | <117jvk6$2fadc$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660296 |
On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>
>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>
>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>
> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>
> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
> explosives.
I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a rocket
engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage through the
engine which was apparently lined with enriched fissionable material
and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
was the rocket's exhaust.
i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
came up empty.
Recently in the last few years Mr.Putin claimed to have a hyper-sonic
rocket bearing multiple warheads which was powered in a similar
fashion but it was likely an idle boast.
bliss
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| From | Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 11:14 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117k019$2f2mb$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660302 |
On 9/6/26 11:07 AM, BobbieSellers wrote:
> On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>
>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>
>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>
>> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
>> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
>> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>>
>> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
>> explosives.
>
> I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a
> rocket engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage through
> the engine which was apparently lined with enriched fissionable material
> and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
> was the rocket's exhaust.
> i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
> came up empty.
>
Is this maybe Clarke's Prelude to Space?
- Tony
> Recently in the last few years Mr.Putin claimed to have a hyper-
> sonic rocket bearing multiple warheads which was powered in a similar
> fashion but it was likely an idle boast.
>
> bliss
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| From | BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 09:31 -0700 |
| Message-ID | <117k4hd$2h70m$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660303 |
On 9/6/26 08:14, Tony Nance wrote:
> On 9/6/26 11:07 AM, BobbieSellers wrote:
>> On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>>
>>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>>>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>>
>>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>>>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>>
>>> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
>>> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
>>> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>>>
>>> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
>>> explosives.
>>
>> I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a
>> rocket engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage through
>> the engine which was apparently lined with enriched fissionable material
>> and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
>> was the rocket's exhaust.
>> i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
>> came up empty.
>>
>
> Is this maybe Clarke's Prelude to Space?
> - Tony
I believe you have it Tony Nance.
Thank you...
bliss
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| From | Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 16:34 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117kinr$2mhhf$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660307 |
On 9/6/26 12:31 PM, BobbieSellers wrote:
> On 9/6/26 08:14, Tony Nance wrote:
>> On 9/6/26 11:07 AM, BobbieSellers wrote:
>>> On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>>>>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>>>
>>>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>>>>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>>>
>>>> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
>>>> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
>>>> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>>>>
>>>> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
>>>> explosives.
>>>
>>> I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a
>>> rocket engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage
>>> through the engine which was apparently lined with enriched
>>> fissionable material
>>> and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
>>> was the rocket's exhaust.
>>> i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
>>> came up empty.
>>>
>>
>> Is this maybe Clarke's Prelude to Space?
>> - Tony
>
> I believe you have it Tony Nance.
> Thank you...
>
Oh cool - glad to know that's the one.
- Tony
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| From | kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 11:52 -0400 |
| Message-ID | <117k281$7q4$1@panix2.panix.com> |
| In reply to | #660302 |
BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote: > > Recently in the last few years Mr.Putin claimed to have a hyper-sonic >rocket bearing multiple warheads which was powered in a similar >fashion but it was likely an idle boast. I believe the story is that it failed under test, killing some engineers. Nothing has been heard since then. It's probably not that bad an idea if you're going to be dropping bombs since radioactive contamination will be guaranteed anyway. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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| From | jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 16:12 +0000 |
| Message-ID | <117k3e4$sks$1@reader1.panix.com> |
| In reply to | #660302 |
In article <117jvk6$2fadc$1@dont-email.me>,
BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
>On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>
>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>
>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>
>> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
>> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
>> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>>
>> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
>> explosives.
>
> I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a rocket
>engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage through the
>engine which was apparently lined with enriched fissionable material
>and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
>was the rocket's exhaust.
> i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
>came up empty.
>
> Recently in the last few years Mr.Putin claimed to have a hyper-sonic
>rocket bearing multiple warheads which was powered in a similar
>fashion but it was likely an idle boast.
>
Are you familiar with Project Pluto?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto
Or the old film The Lost Missile?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Missile
--
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| From | BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-09-06 09:57 -0700 |
| Message-ID | <117k61a$2hptf$1@dont-email.me> |
| In reply to | #660306 |
On 9/6/26 09:12, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <117jvk6$2fadc$1@dont-email.me>,
> BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:
>> On 9/5/26 23:41, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 01:06:44 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>>>
>>>> In "Ignition!" by John D Clark, *the* book on liquid rocket fuels,
>>>> injecting mercury into a rocket ignition chamber is discussed. It
>>>> apparently went as far as static tests.
>>>>
>>>> They also discussed using Dimethyl Mercury as a propellant. The
>>>> {un}safety aspects of that are mindblowing.
>>>
>>> One common fallacy from the early part of the 20th century involved
>>> looking at the power of available explosives, and concluding that they
>>> couldn’t produce enough thrust to lift a rocket into space.
>>>
>>> The fallacy lay in the fact that fuels hold a lot more energy than
>>> explosives.
>>
>> I remember an excellent story from the 1950s or earlier where a rocket
>> engine was a nuclear ramjet. Air was heated by passage through the
>> engine which was apparently lined with enriched fissionable material
>> and the hot air which might be loaded with radioactive contamination
>> was the rocket's exhaust.
>> i searched at length yesterday for the title and author but
>> came up empty.
>>
>> Recently in the last few years Mr.Putin claimed to have a hyper-sonic
>> rocket bearing multiple warheads which was powered in a similar
>> fashion but it was likely an idle boast.
>>
>
>
> Are you familiar with Project Pluto?
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto
Actually I was not familiar with it by that name.
nor by its results as that was during the high security
time of the Cold War.
It could be revived as a nuclear rocket engine
using water as the material to be heated and steam to
be the exhaust but should be confined to extra-terrestrial
expeditions.
However I think that Earth may be room enough so
such nuclear rockets should be used for robotic exploration
of material sources such as the asteroid belt and the
collection of very cold objects at the outer rim of
the Solar System.
>
> Or the old film The Lost Missile?
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Missile
Never heard of it before. Sounds like typical
1950s era film with non-science elements intruding
to no good reason but the drama of the protagonist
dying in pursuit of saving NYC. I was about 15 yoa
when it came out.
I remember stories of lost A/H bombs accidentally
dropped from bombers but not armed. Those came later.
Thanks though for the URLs James Nicoll.
I found both interesting.
bliss
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