Kulcin’s Law series now available on OffWorlders.com

EuropaScratchesWhat started as an exercise in writing, became a sci-fi series on OffWorlders.com – one that I began to really enjoy.  I was not sure where this was going, until Part III and the timely reading of a post on what life in the sub-ice oceans of Europa might be like.  You can view the series by going to OffWorlders.com, or clicking on the links below.

While on Offiworlders, enjoy other sci-fi authors contributing their talents to this upcoming popular sci-fi slice of the universe.

Q & A about Kulcin’s Law:

Q: Where did the name Kulcin’s Law come from?

A: I am embarrassed to say, but I saw a leading Yahoo post on Macaulay Culkin, and thought, What an odd name.  So I warped it into Kulcin’s Law.. yes, it’s true.  I needed a name and that seemed as good as any.

Q: Why did you start this series:

A:  Not often, getting long periods of time to write during the week, shorts are a great way to hone one’s skills.    I entered a one page sci-fi competition, on-line, that had to involve Jupiter’s moon Europa.   I had one reviewer say he wanted more, and that is all it took.

Q: Do you see this evolving into something more?

A: Probably, but it will need to stay a short story for now.  I have so many great ideas waiting for me, on the shelf,  but need to get out what I promised, Silversides.

Q: Where did the storyline idea come from?

A: This will sound like B.S, but I just start writing and the character leads me; sometimes into an alley with no perceivable way out and trouble a short distance behind.  “Well?  where do we go from here?”  the protagonist says to me– and that’s where I earn my keep.  “Seriously?  I was following you.”  at that point, we both turn to see trouble blocking the other end of the alley….. “You owe me one.” I say…..

www.OffWorlders.com

 

 

Calculators for Sci-Fi Writers – Time Dilation to Parsecs

As a Hard core Sci-Fi writer, I want to get the science, at least near, right for my readers.  When it comes to space travel, this is where your seasoned, educated readers will pick your work apart.  Yes, there is a certain artistic licensing an author will use to get through space and time, but your readers want you to have some sense or rightness.

So here are some calculators I have come across for my own work, which have helped me in my timelines.

http://www.easysurf.cc/cnver15.htm – This is a great site that contains all sorts of distance calculators from Astrological Units to Kilometers, light seconds to miles to Parsecs to light years.

http://www.1728.org/reltivty.htm – Relativity Calculator, usually referred to as Speed Dilation.  The concept of time passage relative to the speed of light.

http://nathangeffen.webfactional.com/spacetravel/spacetravel.php  – Space Travel Calculator (Takes some knowledge of Astrophysics)

http://www.calculatoredge.com/civil%20engg%20calculator/speed%20Distance%20Time.htm – Another set of speed calculators for practical speeds.   This site also has calculators for a wide range of studies (i.e. Chemical, Physics, Optical, etc.).

This is just plain weirdly beautiful, if you are a visual kind of writer.

New MetaMaterials to build your interstellar crafts from

_81396248_81396110A good friend, great thinker and NASA Software Engineer has been a terrific resource for my writing (Ray B.) sent me an article about new materials being thought of for space exploration vehicles.  He has helped me so much with the real physics of space flight to make space travel plausible in my Sci-Fi.  Here is yet another great article (posted on the BBC Future site) to help hard-core sci-fi writers describe the mechanics of their ships, shuttles, rovers, etc.

Excerpt from article: ‘Prof Wegener works on cloaking, but his aim is not to make things invisible. He wants to hide them from physical forces, and last year his lab produced a honeycomb-like material that made an object beneath it unfeelable [sic].’ 

The information in this article will help me fine tune the materials of my shuttle, used to land on an alien planet.  I have always felt that if I believe it, so will my readers.

To read the full article, please refer to the link below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31725045

 

Surfing 1/3 the speed of light on the crest of a black hole

_81144398_pia18919_hires

Here is another Tech Tip for the hard core sci-fi writer to make your space travel, plausible.  And don’t forget, you need the ability to slow down, so using the concept, you can sail into the solar wind.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31556326

You can read the full abstract in Science Magazine.

http://m.sciencemag.org/content/347/6224/860