# SF story ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780 "2017-10-25T02:53:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/1 "2017-10-25T02:53:50Z")
Trying to help out on another board with answering a story ID question. “Does anyone recall the name of a SF first contact story where humans encounter an alien ship, and use the weak force to define left and right. At the very end, as the human and alien space walk out to meet each other, the alien extends its left hand to shake …” and they’re made out of antimatter. I know that I’ve read that story myself and fairly recently but am drawing a complete black on author and title. Anybody got any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/2 "2017-10-25T03:03:36Z")
I think that’s not a story; I think Martin Gardner used it as an illustration of the idea of parity and parity violation in his “The Ambidextrous Universe” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/3 "2017-10-25T03:11:17Z")
This is why you need to start by defining “positive charge” using the decay of the long-lived neutral kaon (which very slightly violates CP symmetry). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/4 "2017-10-25T03:12:06Z")
Or possibly a memory of this poem [Edward Teller | In the Dark](https://telescoper.wordpress.com/tag/edward-teller/) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/5 "2017-10-25T03:17:07Z")
Here’s an excerpt from Feynman’s “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces” [Six Not-So-Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time - Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, Matthew Sands - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=8AIIHo4riSEC&pg=PT62&dq=%22antimatter%22+%22shake+hands%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv7eTE54rXAhWL6iYKHRKfDoMQ6AEIWzAJ#v=onepage&q=%22antimatter%22%20%22shake%20hands%22&f=false) - it sounds quite close. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/6 "2017-10-25T03:19:54Z")
As I said in the opening post: It _is_ a story and I did read it recently. I’ve had no exposure to the Feynman. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/7 "2017-10-25T03:25:35Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > As I said in the opening post: It _is_ a story and I did read it recently. I’ve had no exposure to the Feynman. Sorry about that. I missed the part about you having read the story yourself. The Feynman example is also mentioned in “The Physics of the Impossible” [Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of ... - Michio Kaku - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=ube-MQcFFZQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=physics+of+the+impossible&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdtvqg6YrXAhXMRyYKHQ3SDksQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=shake%20hands&f=false) ; unfortunately, any number of SF writers might have picked up the idea. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/8 "2017-10-25T03:44:03Z")
It’s also in _Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest For The Theory Of The Universe_. > [@](#): > > Frustrated, we say “Do you know the meaning of up and down?” They reply “Yes, up means away from the center of our planet, and down means toward the center.” … “I’ve got it. Get a chunk of cobalt-60, put it in a magnetic field, and the electrons it emits will head for the North Pole.” … When the day comes, we meet and stick out our right hands. Suddenly, we notice that the aliens have stuck out their left tentacles. In a flash, we realize that there’s been a mistake. The aliens are actually made of antimatter. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sf-story-id/799780/9 "2019-04-02T13:31:48Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Trying to help out on another board with answering a story ID question. > > “Does anyone recall the name of a SF first contact story where humans encounter an alien ship, and use the weak force to define left and right. At the very end, as the human and alien space walk out to meet each other, the alien extends its left hand to shake …” and they’re made out of antimatter. > > I know that I’ve read that story myself and fairly recently but am drawing a complete black on author and title. > > Anybody got any ideas? “Chance Encounter” by A. Bertram Chandler [Variety SF: A Bertram Chandler's "Chance Encounter" (short story, first contact, free): Even friendly encounter with aliens can be deadly](http://variety-sf.blogspot.com/2008/08/bertram-chandler-chance-encounter-short.html)