| Author |
Story Title |
Issue Date |
Type |
Comments |
| Asimov, Isaac |
Science: Milton! Thou Should'st Be Living at This Hour |
1980 AUG |
sces |
science fiction aspects of John Milton's novel, Paradise Lost(1667); has nf books, Asimov's Annotated "Paradise Lost"(1974), The Annotated "Gulliver's Travels"(1980), Asimov on Science Fiction(1981), & Asimov's Galaxy: Reflections on Science Fiction(1989) |
| |
Science: Getting Down to Basics |
1980 SEP |
sces |
atomic particles & the elements; what was thought of as the basic particles of matter through history, beginning with the five elements from Greek philosophy: earth, air, fire, water, ether |
| |
Death of a Foy |
1980 OCT |
vi |
has Norby Chronicles ser. of juvenile sf novels w. wife Janet Asimov, betw. 1983-91, 1st being Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot(1983); also w. wife Janet, has anth. Laughing Space(1982), & coll. Norby Through Time and Space(1988); Asimov W-1986 NEB, Grandmaster |
| |
Science: Word I Invented, The |
1980 OCT |
sces |
robotics, & the Three Laws of Robotics(1st mentioned in his story "Runaround" in ASF 1942 MAR); a question & answer essay on robotics |
| |
Science: Counting the Eons |
1980 NOV |
sces |
age of the Earth & Universe, Part 1 of 4; the age of the Earth; Part 2 in 1980 DEC(#4536), Part 3 in 1981 JAN(#4551), Part 4 in 1981 FEB(#4566) |
| |
Science: Beyond Earth's Eons |
1980 DEC |
sces |
age of the Earth & Universe, Part 2 of 4; the age of the Universe; Part 1 in 1980 NOV(#4519), Part 3 in 1981 JAN(#4551), Part 4 in 1981 FEB(#4566) |
| |
Science: All and Nothing |
1981 JAN |
sces |
age of the Earth & Universe, Part 3 of 4; how the Universe might end; Part 1 in 1980 NOV(#4519), Part 2 in 1980 DEC(#4536), Part 4 in 1980 FEB(#4566); has 15th coll. of F&SF science essays The Sun Shines Bright(1981) |
| |
Science: Nothing and All |
1981 FEB |
sces |
age of the Earth & Universe, Part 4 of 4; the neutrino & the cosmic fate of the Universe, i.e., the closed or open Universe; Part 1 in 1980 NOV(#4519), Part 2 in 1980 DEC(#4536), Part 3 in 1981 JAN(#4551) |
| |
Science: Light As Air? |
1981 MAR |
sces |
pressure, Part 1 of 3; atmospheric pressure in terms of various types of units of measurement; Part 2 in 1981 APR(#4594), Part 3 in 1981 MAY(#4608) |
| |
Science: Too Deep for Me |
1981 APR |
sces |
pressure, Part 2 of 3; atmospheric pressure & oceanic water pressure; the solubility effects of gases in water & how it affects human's breathing mixtures while working at ocean depths; Part 1 in 1981 MAR(#4579), Part 3 in 1981 MAY(#4608) |
| |
Science: Under Pressure |
1981 MAY |
sces |
pressure, Part 3 of 3; scientific experiments using pressure to see how it affects gases, liquids(esp. water), & solids; the internal structure of the Earth & the pressures involved; Part 1 in 1981 MAR(#4579), Part 2 in 1981 APR(#4594) |
| |
Science: Yes! With a Bang! |
1981 JUN |
sces |
dinosaurs; the evidence that a meteor ended the age of the reptiles; has nf book Change!: Seventy-one Glimpses of the Future(1981) |
| |
Science: Runaway Star, The |
1981 JUL |
sces |
stars; Barnard's star, Part 1 of 2; the star & the scientist for whom it was named, Edward Emerson Barnard(1857-1923); its rapid proper motion; Part 2 in 1981 AUG(#4654) |
| |
Science: Dance of the Stars, The |
1981 AUG |
sces |
stars; Barnard's star, Part 2 of 2; its wobble motion, indicating the presence of planets; the wobble of our Sun to the solar system's planets, & the planets wobble in their orbits, too; Part 1 in 1981 JUL(#4641) |
| |
Science: And After Many a Summer Dies the Proton |
1981 SEP |
sces |
proton & subatomic particles; laws of conservation governing the subatomic particles, & their stability, half-lives; is the proton mortal? |
| |
Science: Let Me Count the Days |
1981 OCT |
sces |
calendar system; Joseph Justus Scaliger(1540-1609), the chronologist who developed the Julian day ssystem in 1583 |
| |
Science: Crucial Asymmetry, The |
1981 NOV |
sces |
Big Bang; chronology of the Big Bang & the Universe, & the asymmetrical aspects of it that has allowed life to exist |
| |
Science: Let Einstein Be! |
1981 DEC |
sces |
Einstein's universe & theory of relativity; non-common sense Einstein's theories vs. common sense Euclidean geometry & Newtonian physics |
| |
Science: Long Ellipse, The |
1982 JAN |
sces |
comets; Halley's & Kohoutek's comets, Part 1 of 2; Part 2 in 1982 APR(#4777); see book, James Gunn: Isaac Asimov, The Foundation of Science Fiction(1982; N-1983 LOC) |
| |
Science: Circle of the Earth, The |
1982 FEB |
sces |
Bible; does the Bible say that the Earth is flat?; answer - yes; has books about the Bible - Words in Genesis(1962), Words from the Exodus(1963), Asimov's Guide to the Bible, vol.I(1968), Vol.II(1969), Animals of the Bible(1978), In the Beginning(1981) |
| |
Science: Whatzisname's Orbit |
1982 MAR |
sces |
geosynchronous, or Clarke's orbit; the possibility of placing communications satellites in 'geosynchronous' orbits was first postulated by Arthur C. Clarke in a 1948 scientific paper |
| |
One Night of Song |
1982 APR |
ss |
1st story overall & 1st in F&SF in Azazel the pocket demon ser.; ser. coll. in Azazel(1988), & Azazel Fantasy Stories(1990); has colls. The Union Club Mysteries(1983), The Alternate Asimovs(1986), The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov(1989) |
| |
Science: Change of Time and States |
1982 APR |
sces |
comets; the Comet Halley, Part 2 of 2; its 32 recorded appearances, from 467 B.C.; Part 1 in 1982 JAN(#4729) |
| |
Science: Read Out Your Good Book in Verse |
1982 MAY |
sces |
electromagnetic radiation, Part 1 of 4; light waves & infrared; Part 2 in 1982 JUN(#4809), Part 3 in 1982 JUL(#4825), Part 4 in 1982 AUG(#4840) |
| |
Science: Four Hundred Octaves |
1982 JUN |
sces |
electromagnetic radiation, Part 2 of 4; ultraviolet radiation & the spectrum; Part 1 in 1982 MAY(#4794), Part 3 in 1982 JUL(#4825), Part 4 in 1982 AUG(#4840) |
| |
Science: Three Who Died Too Soon, The |
1982 JUL |
sces |
electromagnetic radiation, Part 3 of 4; radio astronomy & radar - radio waves, beyond infrared; James Clerk Maxwell(1813-1879), Karl Guthe Jansky(1905-1950), Heinrich Rudolf Hertz(1857-1894); Part 1 in 1982 MAY, Part 2 in 1982 JUN, Part 4 in 1982 AUG |
| |
Science: X Stands for Unknown |
1982 AUG |
sces |
electromagnetic radiation, Part 4 of 4; cathode rays, X-rays, alpha, beta & gamma rays - the shorter wavelengths past the ultraviolet; Part 1 in 1982 MAY(#4794), Part 2 in 1982 JUN(#4809), Part 3 in 1982 JUL(#4825) |
| |
Science: Big Brother |
1982 SEP |
sces |
elements; carbon, & the chemistry of life, Part 1 of 4; carbon, silicon & oxygen; why is carbon the basis of life & not silicon?; Part 2 in 1982 OCT(#4876), Part 3 in 1982 NOV(#4891), Part 4 in 1982 DEC(#4904) |
| |
Science: Bread and Stone |
1982 OCT |
sces |
elements; carbon, & silicon, & the chemistry of life, Part 2 of 4; Part 1 in 1982 SEP(#4860), Part 3 in 1982 NOV(#4891), Part 4 in 1982 DEC(#4904) |
| |
Smile That Loses, The |
1982 NOV |
ss |
2nd & last story in F&SF in Azazel ser.; has anth. The New Hugo Winners(1989), II(1991); novels w. Robert Silverberg, Child of Time(1991), The Positronic Man(1992), The Ugly Little Boy(1992), exp. of Asimov stories; coll. The Complete Stories(1990) |
| |
Science: Difference of an "E", A |
1982 NOV |
sces |
elements; carbon, & silicon, & the chemistry of life, Part 3 of 4; three essays demonstrate that silicon atoms do not serve as a basis for life, as carbon does; Part 1 in 1982 SEP(#4860), Part 2 in 1982 OCT(#4876), Part 4 in 1982 DEC(#4904) |
| |
Science: Silicon Life After All |
1982 DEC |
sces |
elements; carbon, & silicon, & the chemistry of life, Part 4 of 4; properties of silicon that make it useful in the making of computer chips; robots - the silicon life-form; Part 1 in 1982 SEP(#4860), Part 2 in 1982 OCT(#4876), Part 3 in 1982 NOV(#4891) |
| |
Science: To Ungild Refined Gold |
1983 JAN |
sces |
numbers; playing with numbers; square roots, algebraic equations, reciprocals, the Fibonacci series; has 16th coll. of F&SF science essays, Counting the Eons(1983); has nf book The Roving Mind(1983) |
| |
Science: Ready and Waiting |
1983 FEB |
sces |
stars; novas and supernovas through history; how 'new stars,' or novas were first viewed & regarded by early astronomers, beginning with Hipparchus in 130 B.C. |
| |
Science: Armies of the Night, The |
1983 MAR |
sces |
popular beliefs; the 'armies of the night,' being the purveyors of rubbish such as astrology, "intellectual junk food," & whose ranks are swelled by those ignorant of science & its methods; for reason, against irrationality |
| |
Science: Dead Center |
1983 APR |
sces |
centricity, Part 1 of 2; from centrocentric, egocentric, geocentric, & heliocentric universes, to the systemocentric universe; Part 2 in 1983 MAY(#4980); see similar essay, but from a different perspective, "Smashing the Sky," in 1990 MAR(#6142) |
| |
Science: Out in the Boondocks |
1983 MAY |
sces |
centricity, Part 2 of 2; the location of our solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy; where the center of our galaxy is located(in the constellation of Sagittarius); Part 1 in 1983 APR(#4966) |
| |
Science: Properties of Chaos, The |
1983 JUN |
sces |
photosynthesis, Part 1 of 2; the discovery of the components of air, & the process of respiration; Part 2 in 1983 JUL(#5013) |
| |
Science: Green, Green, Green, Is the Color |
1983 JUL |
sces |
photosynthesis, Part 2 of 2; the effort to isolate & determine the structure of chlorophyll; could a synthetic compound be made to do the same job?; Part 1 in 1983 JUN(#4999) |
| |
Science: What Truck? |
1983 AUG |
sces |
Moon; Part 1 of 2, Ernest Green Dodge article "Can Men Visit the Moon?" in Munsey Magazine, 1903 OCT; how does his article compare with today?, did he miss anything?, did he get his facts(of 1903) straight?, is the article outdated?; Part 2 in 1983 SEP |
| |
Science: Where All the Sky Is Sunshine |
1983 SEP |
sces |
Moon; Part 2 of 2, Ernest Green Dodge 1903 article "Can Men Visit the Moon?"; he asks(& answers), "What is the moon good for ...?" - how has his answers & opinions stood the test of time? |
| |
Science: Updating the Satellites |
1983 OCT |
sces |
satellites; an update of new information we have learned about the satellites of Mars, Jupiter, etal; update of essays on the satellites in 1963 MAY, 1967 AUG, 1968-69 DEC-JAN, 1977-78 NOV-JAN; this is Asimov's 300th essay, his 25th year at F&SF |
| |
Science: More Thinking About Thinking |
1983 NOV |
sces |
intelligence & the brain; follow-up to 1975 JAN essay(#3609), "Thinking About Thinking"; physical properties of the brain that aid intelligence; answers the question, "Has artificial intelligence research illuminated human thinking?" |
| |
Science: Arm of the Giant |
1983 DEC |
sces |
stars; Betelgeuse, Part 1 of 2; the 2nd apparent largest star in the sky; its type, structure, & physical properties; Part 2 in 1984 JAN(#5098); see correction of Jupiter's diameter following the essay "The Two Masses" on p.143 in 1984 JUN |
| |
Science: World of the Red Sun, The |
1984 JAN |
sces |
stars; Betelgeuse, Part 2 of 2; title of essay taken from Clifford D. Simak's 1st pub. story in WON 1931 DEC; can there be a world with Earth-like life on it, orbiting the red giant Betelgeuse?; Part 1 in 1983 DEC(#5083) |
| |
Science: Subatomic Monster, The |
1984 FEB |
sces |
Grand Unified Theory, magnetic monopole, & sub-atomic forces; how energy is measured, leading to subatomic forces, the Grand Unified Theory, & the detection of the magnetic monopole(the subatomic monster) |
| |
Science: Love Makes the World Go Round |
1984 MAR |
sces |
stars; rapidly spinning pulsars, in particular, 4C21.53(PSR1937+214) or the millisecond pulsar; a follow-up to essays on pulsars in 1977 APR-JUN(#3946, 3959, 3972) |
| |
Science: E Pluribus Unum |
1984 APR |
sces |
Grand Unification Theories; unifying the forces of nature: light, heat, gravitation, magnetism, & electricity; "action at a distance," from the beginning; has 17th coll. of F&SF science essays, X Stands for Unknown(1984) |
| |
Science: Up We Go |
1984 MAY |
sces |
flight; man's desire to fly, from the beginning, the discoveries that led to flight; the first aeronauts - Pilatre de Rozier & the Marquis d'Arlandes, on Nov. 20, 1783 |
| |
Science: Two Masses, The |
1984 JUN |
sces |
Einstein's Special & General Relativity Theories, Part 1 of 2; gravitational & inertial mass of an object are "apparently" equal; Part 2 in 1984 JUL(#5182); followed by a correction of Jupiter's diameter as given in "Arm of the Giant" essay in 1983 DEC |
