Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War

218 Pages·2018·5.91 MB·English

by  Andrew May

Andrew May
Rockets
and Ray Guns
The Sci-Fi Science
of the Cold War
Science and Fiction
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ScienceandFiction–ASpringerSeries
Thiscollectionofentertainingandthought-provokingbookswillappealequallytoscience
buffs,scientistsandscience-fictionfans.Itwasbornoutoftherecognitionthatscientific
discoveryandthecreationofplausiblefictionalscenariosareoftentwosidesofthesame
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imaginative ability to invent new or alternative explanations—and even other worlds.
Authored by practicing scientists as well as writers of hard science fiction, these books
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Whetherfiction,fact,orforeverundecidable:theSpringerSeries“ScienceandFiction”
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Its largely non-technical books take several different approaches. Journey with their
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(cid:129) Exploit science fiction for educational purposes and as a means of promoting critical
thinking;
(cid:129) Explore the interplay of science and science fiction—throughout the history of the
genreandlookingahead;
(cid:129) Delveintorelatedtopicsincluding,butnotlimitedto:scienceasacreativeprocess,the
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(cid:129) Tellfictionalshortstoriesbuiltaroundwell-definedscientificideas,withasupplement
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Herejustafewbywayofillustration:
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Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/11657
Andrew May
Rockets and Ray Guns:
The Sci-Fi Science
of the Cold War
AndrewMay
Crewkerne,UnitedKingdom
ISSN2197-1188 ISSN2197-1196 (electronic)
ScienceandFiction
ISBN978-3-319-89829-2 ISBN978-3-319-89830-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89830-8
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Contents
The Super-Bomb
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Secrets of the Atom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Potential Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Deadline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Start of the Arms Race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Nuclear Paranoia.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 29
’
Pandoras Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 37
Journey into Space
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Rocket Scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
The Secret Weapon. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 50
The Race into Orbit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Sputnik Crisis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Next Stop: The Moon... .. .. ... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. ... .. .. ... . 64
Lost in Space. ... .................. .............. ........ 72
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 77
Electronic Brains
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Robot Dreams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Silicon Revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Giant Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Drone Wars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
v
vi Contents
Doomsday Machines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 101
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 106
Star Wars
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Eyes in the Sky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Orbital Warfare.. .. ... .. ... ... .. ... .. ... ... .. ... .. ... ... . 113
Missile Versus Missile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
From Ray Guns to Lasers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
A Shield in Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 140
Mind Games
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
High-Tech Hypnosis.. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. . 143
Something in the Air. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . 148
Hearts and Minds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
War Is Peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Information and Disinformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 165
Weird Science
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Flying Saucers. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Psychic Spies. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . 175
Mutants and Monsters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Super-Soldiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 192
Future Shock
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Welcome to the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
The War That Never Happened. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Cold War SF: Proactive or Reactive?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Beyond the Cold War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
References.. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 213
The Super-Bomb
Inwhichscientistsdiscoverhugeamountsofenergylockedupinsidetheatom,
fi fi
but insist it could never be liberated on a signi cant scale. Science ction
authors, on the other hand, became fascinated with the idea of atomic power
anditspotentialtocreateawesomenewsuper-weapons.Eventuallytherestof
fi
the world caught up, and science ction became science fact when the atom
bombsfellonHiroshimaandNagasaki.Butinsteadofusheringinanewageof
devastatinglydestructivewarfare,thesheerpowerofnuclearweaponsledtoan
— —
uneasy kind of peace the Cold War and even that had been prophetically
anticipated by authors like George Orwell and Arthur C. Clarke.
Secrets of the Atom
fi
Manyscienti ctermsarebasedonancientGreekwords,butveryfewofthem
“ ”
actually originated in ancient Greece. Atom is one of the few exceptions. It
fi
was rstused, in close to its modern sense, by the philosopher Democritus in
fi
the fth century BCE.
— fi
Here is what Isaac Asimov best known for his science ction, but also a
fi —
proli cwriteronsciencefact hadtosayaboutDemocritusinhisBiographical
EncyclopediaofScienceandTechnology:
Heisbestknownforhisatomictheory.Hebelievedthatallmatterconsistedoftiny
particles,almostinfinitesimallysmall,sosmallthatnothingsmallerwasconceivable.
Hence they were indivisible; the very word “atom” means “indivisible”.... The
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG,partofSpringerNature2018 1
A.May,RocketsandRayGuns:TheSci-FiScienceoftheColdWar,ScienceandFiction,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89830-8_1
2 A.May
atoms,said Democritus,differedfromeachotherphysically,andin thisdifference
wastobefoundanexplanationforthepropertiesofvarioussubstances....Apparent
changes in the nature of substances consisted merely in the separation of joined
atomsandtheirrejoininginanewpattern.[1]
’
As a philosopher rather than a scientist, Democritus didnt look for any
physical evidence to support his view, so it remained a matter of opinion. It
’
wasnt a widely shared opinion, either, and atomic theory was largely ignored
for more than two millennia. It only really came to the fore in the 19th
century, by which time much more was known about physics and chemistry.
It occurred to the English chemist John Dalton that atoms could be used to
fl
explain the otherwise baf ing differences between, say, carbon dioxide and
carbon monoxide. Here is Asimov again:
ItseemedtoDaltonthatcarbonmonoxidemightbecomposedofoneparticleof
carbon united with one particle ofoxygen (where the oxygen particle was four-
thirds as heavy as the carbon particle) while carbon dioxide was composed of a
particleofcarboncombinedwithtwooxygenparticles....Daltonrecognizedthe
similarityofthistheorytothatadvancedbyDemocritus22centuriesearlierand
thereforecalledthesetinyparticlesbyDemocritus’sownterm,“atoms”.[2]
’
Although Daltons theory had great explanatory power, scientists were still
reluctanttoacceptatomsasrealphenomenaratherthanphilosophicalabstrac-
tions. To quote science writer Brian Clegg:
Aslateastheearly20thcentury,therewasstilldoubtastowhetheratomsreally
existed.Intheearlydaysofatomictheory,atomswereconsideredbymosttobe
useful concepts that made it possible to predict the behaviour of materials
withouttherebeinganytrue,individualparticles.[3]
’
Butthejourneyhadonlyjustbegun.InDaltonstheory,theonlydifference
between atoms of different elements lay in their mass. Hydrogen was the
—
lightest known atom, while the heaviest of the naturally occurring elements
—
knowninthe19thcentury wasuranium.Itwasthelatterwhichprovedtobe
the keythat transformed atomic science fromaneat theoryintosomethingof
enormous practical importance. In the words of journalist Piers Bizony:
Uranium’s more dramatic potentials emerged in 1896, when Becquerel discov-
ered quite by accident that it gave off invisible rays capable of fogging photo-
graphicplateswrappedinlight-proofblackpaper.[4]
TheSuper-Bomb 3
What the French physicist Henri Becquerel had stumbled upon was the
’
phenomenonofradioactivity.ItmeantthatDaltonsatomswerenolongerjust
anabstractwayofdescribingchemicalreactions.Undercertaincircumstances,
theycouldproduceenergyinaformthatwaspreviouslycompletelyunknown.
’
Becquerelsdiscovery,attheveryendofthe19thcentury,triggeredarevolution
fi
in atomic physics that went on to dominate the rst three decades of the 20th
century.ThedrivingforcebehindmuchofthisresearchwasaNewZealandborn
scientistnamedErnestRutherford.Lesswellknownthanhisnear-contemporary,
— — ’
Albert Einstein who we will come to in due course Rutherfords work was
arguably justas important.
Rutherford was a pioneer of modern science in more ways than one. At
fi
the start of his career, scienti c research was largely in the hands of
—
individuals and small teams. But Rutherford particularly after he became
’ —
director of Cambridge Universitys Cavendish Laboratory in 1919 led the
trend away from this, towards the larger, multi-national collaborative pro-
“ ”
jects that we associate with Big Science today.
Togetherwithhisco-workers,Rutherfordunravelledthesubstructureofthe
atom,andshowedhowitwasresponsiblefortheradiationthatBecquerelhad
’ “
discovered. Rutherfords work also opened up the possibility of nuclear
”—
reactions analogous to everyday chemical reactions, but involving much
higher energies.
Rutherford pictured the atom as consisting of a dense, positively-charged
— ’ “ ” —
nucleus thats where the word nuclear comes from surrounded by
smaller, negatively-charged electrons. He originally envisaged these orbiting
fi
aroundthenucleuslikeplanetsaroundtheSun,butthatpicturewasmodi ed
’
by one of Rutherfords colleagues, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. For
consistency with quantum theory, Bohr showed the electrons must be con-
fi
ned to discrete energy shells.
—
Astothenucleusitself by1920,Rutherfordwasconvincedthiswasmade
up of smaller particles, in the form of positively charged protons and
fi
uncharged neutrons. This picture was con rmed in 1932, when his student
fi
James Chadwick found experimental evidence for the neutron. In its nal
“ ”
form, the Rutherford-Bohr model is still considered a good approximation
to the true structure of the atom today (see Fig. 1).
fi
A particular atomic nucleus can be described by just two gures: the
number of protons and the number of neutrons it contains. The number of
protons (which is equal to the number of surrounding electrons) is called the
“ ”
atomicnumber ,whilethetotalnumberofprotonsandneutrons togetheris
“ ”
called the atomic weight . The chemical properties of an element are deter-
minedbyitselectrons,andsodependonlyonitsatomicnumber.However,an