Remembering

    For me it was Arthur C. Clarke’s 1979 novel “The Fountains of Paradise.”. I read it when I was in my early teens; old enough to understand the concepts of the science and technology of a space elevator as laid out in the book and at the same time young and impressionable enough to be fully enthralled by the story and its implications. I will never forget that book.

    It was one of the first SciFi novels I ever read, and afterwards I developed a voracious appetite for anything Science Fiction. I quickly discovered the other two masters of the Golden Age of SciFi and Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke became my new heroes, quickly followed by many others. To this day when I have the time to sit down and read it will be Science Fiction.

    In later years what struck me is that the advancing science turned the originally fictional idea of the space elevator into a real possibility. In the novel Clarke envisions a hyper filament; a form of a one-dimensional diamond crystal, being the only material strong enough to be used for a cable some 36000 kilometers long, linking Earth with a space station in geosynchronous orbit. These days thousands of scientists around the world are experimenting with carbon nanotubes, and commenting on its remarkable tensile strength. Now the concept of a Space Elevator is actively being investigated by NASA.

    This was hardly the first time Arthur C. Clarke envisioned the future. He started back in 1945 by publishing an article outlining the concept of the geosynchronous communication satellite. In his 1973 novel “Rendezvous with Rama” he predicted “Project Spaceguard”, an organization dedicated to tracking potential Earth-threatening asteroids. Project Spaceguard became reality in 1995.

    Earlier today, March 19th 2008 Arthur C. Clarke passed away at the Apollo Hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. One of the sharpest minds ever to roam this Earth, with one of the gentlest hearts, the last of the Masters of SciFi has gone. Remember him, and the Fountains of Paradise will be forever flowing.

 

You decide for yourself. See the video.