Re: Blame FORBIDDEN PLANET

In article <p-WdnRZUUdUInNXenZ2dnUVZ_tGdnZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
Paul F. Dietz <dietz@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>James Nicoll wrote:
>
>> It seems to me that it wasn't just U and Th but a number of
>> useful metals as well. Some of those might be common in the meteorite
>> samples available in 1950 or whenever Earthlight was written but for
>> some reason Clarke's SF seemed to see asteroids mainly as naviagational
>> impediments. I don't recall a mention of asteroid mining in his fiction
>> until the 1970s.
>
>
>Wow. In that case, he was right (about these two elements) for the
>wrong reason. They are common in the Earth's crust because they
>segregate preferentially into light minerals (feldspar, for example)
>that accumulates near the Earth's surface above the denser mantle.
>This fact is independent of their density, and indeed elements like
>aluminum (quite light) are also enriched on the Earth.
>
Flipping through my copy of EARTHLIGHT, he explains that
Earth enjoys an unusually plentiful supply of elements like mercury,
lead, uranium, thorium, platinum and tungsten in its crust due to
its density and due to

locate your tylenol now

the tides of the Moon in the early days, when it was close in
and the tides could stir the planet up more. Other worlds are either
less rich in heavy elements overall or (in the case of Venus) lacked
a giant moon. A quick flip doesn't turn up any mention of chemisty
at all.

Hmmm. There's a thread: THINGS THE MOON IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: "Britains most hated civil servant"
    ... man, who was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was a common ... an inclined plane into a tunnel, which forms the entrance to the ... introduced to the little engine which was to drag us along the ... below the surface of the earth, I felt as if no fairy tale was ...
    (uk.railway)
  • Re: Ancient appeance not equal deception
    ... very center of the universe, was Hell. ... I think that that was a common ... i.e. the earth and its atmosphere. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Re: Ben Stein: Win His Career
    ... All life on Earth is related. ... A creationist could believe that an intelligent designer ... of a common designer. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Blame FORBIDDEN PLANET
    ... I don't recall a mention of asteroid mining in his fiction ... They are common in the Earth's crust because they ... >segregate preferentially into light minerals ... I will reread EARTHLIGHT or at least enough of it ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Do you think?
    ... Surely one of the most common bits of information passed down in most ... cultures is that the Earth stands still and the Sun moves around it. ... Greg Guarino ... Joshua 10:13 is saying time stood still. ...
    (talk.origins)