Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 54 — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION to say that we shall make them as we need them. Nor will the particles streaming out behind us consist entirely of electrons. There are equally small par- ticles, such as positrons and neutrinos, and maybe our propellent tail will include many such and others yet undiscovered. We shall take, not a load of chemicals to make chemical energy, but a very much smaller load of fissionable material. That is to say, we shall take elements made of atoms which can be broken down. I am not for one moment suggesting that we know now exactly how to split which large atoms into which smaller ones, nor how to avail our- selves of the energy thereby released to break them down still further. Immediately we should be brought up against even bigger problems of heat loss. Atoms as we know them consist of a nucleus composed more or less equally of pro- tons and neutrons surrouaded by electrons. Even if we could separate all our outside elec- trons from each atom and use them for discharge at high velocities we shouid have made no advance in solving our problem. We should have to carry a load of thousands of tons of protons and neu- trons for each ton of electrons. | I am suggesting the possi- bility of splitting the split atom. An idle dream? So was the splitting of the atom in my boyhood. Protons and neutrons are small things indeed, but we know of several that are much smaller, and one day maybe we'll think of light itself as the next thing to get down to splitting. For the present, practical planning of space travel must be in terms of three stage rockets using the powers we know we can produce and handle, but who knows what progress we shall make by the continuance of “old men dreaming dreams and young men seeing visions.” comicloooks.comn