Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 51 — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION two and a half G’s and they have survived. On the other hand such dives have lasted for only very short periods because air resistance rapidly brings about an even velocity, and velocity by itself produces no complications in the body. ““Black-out”” is a frequent occurrence in high speed air- craft. High acceleration causes the skull to exert pressure on the brain, blood distribution is disturbed, and for one reason or another uncon- sciousness is produced. If the pilot is young and healthy, as soon as acceleration ceases he recovers awareness and his total period of blackout is so short that he is often unaware that it has happened. In some cases it was necessary to put a camera in the cockpit so modified that high accelera- tion would open the shutter and photograph the pilot slumped over to convince him that, like other men, he could stand just so many G’s and no more. Obviously we can at present do no more than face up to the difficulties that gravita- tional forces will make for the navigator in space. Apart from the gravitational forces of the large masses of matter in space, there will be the forces due to acceleration of the ship itself. Centrifugal forces will also produce similar effects. It will be possible in many situations in space to make one of these offset another and it may be possible for man to reach all manner of situations which on first consideration may seem impossible, although he may have to keep moving. Special clothing has been found helpful at high ac- celeration in aircraft and no doubt similar devices will be used in the true space suits. It has also been suggested that fields of force may yet be devised that wiJl put counter gravitational forces available to enable a man to be at rest on Jupiter, but as yet no source is available. The space-man will not be an optimist, rushing into uncharted perils ill-prepared. What I have written is an indication of his awareness of the dangers, coupled with suggestions as to how they may be met, and eventually man will travel secure in the kind of faith that every man has who rides in a bus, or a train, or a stratosphere air- craft—faith in the knowledge of trained personnel of physical forces and the mathe- matical ability of the vehicles’ designers. 123 comicloooks.conm f