In my post on Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, I discussed the miniature physics lesson the reader gets whether she likes it or not. Here's a great line from that lesson:
Davidson [an astronomer] could not tolerate this sloppy talk. "No such thing as centrifugal force. It's and engineer's phantom. There's only inertia."
This is likely an expression of the frustrations of physics enthusiasts everywhere. (But what about the angular momentum?)
And, having recently moved my own collection of hard copy to a new home, I could really appreciate this line, spoken by Commander Norton.
"You know Jerry Kirchoff, my exec, who's got such a library of real books that he can't afford to emigrate from earth?"
This is not only a sobering reminder of the laws of physics, but also a cautionary soundbite to biblio-gluttons like myself who hope to have a place in the spacefaring far future. Eh, I get carsick enough that I probably wouldn't be able to travel by rocket anyway.
Coming next: My thoughts on A More Perfect Heaven by Dava Sobel
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