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those 2 wands with the current arcing up between them in laboratory scenes: do/did these ever have any scientific use, or are they just there to look nifty?
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That highpitched electronic instrument that sounds something like a singing saw: was it played by twisting dials, or was it some device that reacted to the player moving his hands near it?
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Who was the illustrator who made all those paintings of rocket ships and space stations, often with rows of big spherical chambers (I think he also had the first donut-shaped space station)?
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Who would win in a fight - a samurai with a katenga or a ghurka with a kurki? (not a science fiction question, but not worth its own thread)
Re (2), the instrument is a THERAMIN. It has no physical controls (apart from the on/off switch, maybe). It responds to the placement of the performer’s hands near its antennae. You can still buy them.
One is called a Jacob’s Ladder and no, I don’t think it has any real purpose other than being that “BZZZZ” thing.
Two is called a Theramin and was the first electronic musical instrument. It is played by moving your hands around in space above it. Has a cult following to this day.
Three I used to know and is on the tip of my tounge…
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dunno
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a theremin – you made sounds moving your hands toward and away from two antennas. One hand controlled pitch, and the other controlled volume. Very cool. I have a friend that made one at home.
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Probably Chesley Bonestell . One of the best of the early artists.
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Dunno.
1.) The two wands with the arcing current is a Jacob’s Ladder, and its sole function is to look neat. A friend built one using a piece of wood, a bent-up clothes hanger, and a model train transformer. It’s not hard – but read up on it and be careful, lest you electrocute yourself.
2.) On the theremin, see the movie Theremin – an Electronic Odysset: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0108323 I understand there’s a book out, now. Probably websites as well.
The highpitched instrument is called a theremin, and was indeed played by waving your hands near it.
on preview: Ah blin, two others beat me to it. but I have a link!
4: Depends on who is the better Samurai or ghurka. (but Lone Wolf would win any fight…)
If that means a samurai with a katana and a gurkha with a kukri, then the samurai starts with a clear advantage, having a longer reach. However, if the gurkha can get in close, he’s got a good chance.
(3) I’m not sure who your illustrator is, from the description, but take a look at the work of (Frank) Kelly Freas, Ed Emshwiller (Google for him, there are a bunch of his covers illustrating Websites on various other topics), Hannes Bok, andFrank R. Paul (perhaps the classic artist of the pulp era). Chesley Bonestell, linked to above, was perhaps the master of realistic SF – actual landscapes, starscapes, etc., as they would likely be seen from the places specified (e.g., Saturn and rings as they would be seen from an outer moon).
There’s a short article (1 page) in the Feb 2003 issue of National Geographic Magazine about the theremin. Was new to me.
Put 'em in a dojo, give them a clear sight of each other and a few yards of clear space before they start, and my money’s on the guy with the katana. It’s got the reach, it’s a nice quick weapon (probably too quick for the Gurkha to get behind its guard) and if the samurai knows his business, one hit will be enough to kill or disable - that’s pretty much the whole point of kendo.
However…
This encounter, or something like it, must have happened many times under battlefield conditions in Burma and suchlike - a largely Brit/Empire theatre of war, Errol Flynn notwithstanding - and both Japanese and Gurkhas were notoriously fond of their edged weapons at close quarters. George MacDonald Fraser (yes, the Flashman author) reports seeing Gurkhas attached to the infantry unit he was in going into an enemy-held village, and tossing their rifles aside as useless encumbrances. It’s doubtful they’d have persisted in these tactics if the Japanese were regularly cutting them to pieces, so I suspect they were winning often enough for it to seem like a good idea.