Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 47 — page 87: what you’re looking at

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

| Oy ae - - my mas ~ . * * have been used as a large scale source of experimental material at the research labs. Then, continuous processes have been tried in pilot scale equipment. These have con- sisted of a number of flat pans, fed from a reservoir of the growing medium. As the alge grow they are run out of the pans into a continuous centrifuge, where the plants stay while the liquid runs off and is pumped back to the reservoir. Another method has been tried on a small scale, and that has used a kind of cell. It is made from plastic, is only a few inches thick, but has a considerable width and length. ’ The alge grow in the medium while carbon dioxide is bub- bled through and light and temperature are carefully con- trolled. Another thing which has helped these plants to yield greater crops is to have the light flashing on and off so that they do not get a steady glare. One can imagine plastic . AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION cells of the type indicated above, pivoted and revolving in the wind so that alternate sides of the unit would be turned towards the sun. An alge farm, with a forest of these flattish revolving cells gently whirling round, would be a sight worth seeing. The facts are known about these plants, and it only remains te hE? seal methou vo nvuiudi, No doubt ina few years there will be several of these food fac- tories turning out their harvest all the year round, and then when we get out to the planets it should not be difficult to find one, say Mars, with the ideal conditions, the carbon dioxide content in the atmos- phere, and the amount of sunlight to make it worth our while to start the first planet farm. A regular stream of supply ships shuttling round the solar system would feed a well spread out human population, and one much larger than that on Earth at the moment. Watch out for details of our New Competition in next month’s AUTHENTIC comicloooks.comn