Authentic Science Fiction, No. 23 — page 57: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

110 projectiles (2) CRY FROM SING. For a long time I have been seeking a lady pen pal; she must however be an sf reader. I haven’t had any luck so far, and there must be plenty of my fellow readers in the same spaceship, so to dias Can you help? (J am oils | R.M.9487 MNE. R. WATKINS, Y TRP. 40 Commando R.M., C/O G.P.O., Singapore. Ve don’t usually go in for this sort of thing, but in view of reader Watkins’ obviously limited opportunities, we make an excep- tion. AND ONE FROM AUK. I would appreciate it if you would print my name as I am anxious. to correspond with a young fan (I am 17), with the intention of exchanging notes and books. The science fiction movement is still in its infancy out here. FRANK DODD, 72 John St., Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand. Thats about all we can print from_ your interesting letter, Frank. But let’s hear from you again, KITCHEN DREAMS I beg to assure you that the (physically but not mentally) weaker sex is not immune from sf. My ma-in-law, an American in her sixties, has just gone off to Belgium—with her usral stock-pile of sf. I have three fine sons and three equally fine daughters, but when the days are long and arduous I think of the time when my sons will ‘stand by for blast-off? to some far planet, and my day becomes in- terwoven with the dreams of the future. By this time I have either got all the dishes washed and away or else the water’s cold, and I have to come down _ to Earth and get on with it. Good luck to AUTHENTIC and all its readers, MRS. M, HOLLAND, Medstead, Hants, A lovely letter, Mrs. Holland. We could see you quite plainly at the sink! Believe us, we are cer- tain that women are as great sfans as men. A while back we offered to sponsor a Women’s In- terplanetary Society, but we got no encouragement from the ladies. NEW FANZINE If you have space to spare, how about mentioning our new fan- zine: STRAIGHT UP, 5/- per year, 12 issues in a year. Edited by Fred. J. Robinson at 37 Wil- lows Avenue, Tremorfa, Cardiff, Glam. Fans in this area wishing to get together can contact Fred Or me. T, H. GRIFFTHS, 8 Vaughan Street, Pwllewaun, Pontypridd, Glam. Come on, you Welsh, fans, here’s your chance to start your own club and put Cardiff on the sf map! s-f handbook Terms of interest to science-fictioneers Dark nebulae —_ Obscuring clouds in the Milky Way consist- ing of myriads of dust particles. Deimos—Mars’ smallest moon, five miles in diameter, Diffuse nebulae — Formless masses of cloudy luminosity, a3 seen in Orion, for example. Deliquescent—The property of picking up water from the en- vironment and dissolving in it. A deliquescent substance he- comes liquid on exposure to air. Desiccation—The process of ‘drying; removal of water. Deuterium—Isotope of hydro- gen obtained by fractional elec- trolysia of water. In combination with oxygen gives heavy water. Digit—One half the diameter of the Sun or Moon. Used in measuring the extent of eclipses. Diode—Thermionic valve con- taining two electrodes in the form of anode and cathode, Diurnal—An action or process occurring every twenty-four hours. Man and other animals who sleep at night are said to have a diurnal rhythm. Ductility—A metal is said to be perfectly ductile when it is cap- able of being pulled out into a wire of indefinite length. Duralumin—A hard aluminium alloy containing 4 per cent. cop- per and traces of manganese, mag- nesium and silicon. Dynamite—Nitroglycerine _ ab- sorbed in kieselguhr. Kiesel- guhr is an inactive earth con- sisting of the siliceous skeletal re- mains of diatoms. Dyne—The absolute unit of force. A dyne, acting on a mass of one gram will give it an ac- celeration of one centimetre per second ver second, Escape velocity—The velocity required to be reached before an object will follow a path away from the primary body and not return without the application of force. In the case of Earth, this is 25,000 m.p.h. To calculate the escape velocity for any primary, multiply the surface gravity by the radius, double it, and then. find the square root of the answer. Equinoxes—The two points at which the Sun crosses the celestial equator. Excited atom—An atom in which an electron has been lifted to a higher orbit. H.J.C. HYPNOTISM se this strange, mysterious power, that charms and fascinates ea Peran bets Pepeaee desires... make YOU iran pe of ond | situation ! Life is full of alluring possibilites for these Wie aaa secrets of HYPNOTISI, PERSONAL MAGNETISM, and AUTO-S nv: New methods enable youto develop these amazing ona boot oat y rapidly | Complete, Three-in-one Cours, by expert, 5/-, post free. ‘SPEEDWELL’ (Publications/FSA), Albert Stract, Leckwoed, Huddersfieid. comicbooks,com