Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site oliveb.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!oliveb!jerry From: jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Gravity on an Integral Tree Message-ID: <179@oliveb.UUCP> Date: Wed, 26-Sep-84 18:44:27 EDT Article-I.D.: oliveb.179 Posted: Wed Sep 26 18:44:27 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 28-Sep-84 05:41:47 EDT References: <355@petsd.UUCP> Organization: Olivetti ATC, Cupertino, Ca Lines: 20 Larry Niven wrote another story in which tidal forces were used. It was one of the "known space" series though I don't have the title handy but I think it was "Tidal Stress". It that story the main character was asked to pilot a ship in a sling-shot orbit that took it very near a nutron star. The idea was to collect scientific info during the near pass or something. The reasoning was that since the ship was in free fall there would be no gravitational attraction even at the closest approach to the star. The ship had enough power to make minor course corrections but nowhere near enough to pull out of the orbit. The previous pilots have been found crushed even though the ships hull was still entact. Needless to say the hero finds out that though the center of mass of the ship is in free fall the two ends of it are not. I will leave how he survives a mystery. Jerry Aguirre {hplabs|fortune|idi|ihnp4|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerry