Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 80: what you’re looking at

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

there is a question as to what must provide the pressure. The usual answer iS an air-tight suit—an old idea divers have been using for generations. Practical but unimaginative, say some scientists. These men suggest some kind of tight binding—like surgical binding for sprains. The advantages would be that it’s less complicated, therefore less likely to get out of commission, more flexible and comfortable, and less expensive. The material would be semi-porous to allow natural body perspiration. We perspire in hot weather because that way our bodies can expose liquid to the air and evaporation take place; evaporation is basically a cooling process. Space is not hot, but very cold—theoretically as cold as anything can be, since there is a complete absence of heat in the natural proper- ties of a vacuum. Heat travels through space, however, as light waves— radiant energy. If you’ve ever got as bad a sunburn as I have, you know sunlight can be hot enough, even through a protective layer of atmos- phere. Without that air protection, it is even hotter. An elastic-binding spacesuit would be white—as any spacesuit would have to be—to refiect as much sunlight as possible. The natural process of per- spiration and evaporation would have to cool the spacemen off—a hard task if he was a hot-headed Irishman! Such suits wouldn’t be much pro- tection from passing meteors, but it’s argued that a meteor is like an atom bomb—a direct hit would be fatal, anyway. The more familiar type of spacesuit —the one we most often read about in science fiction—is the armour suit similar to the one proposed by Pratt. Usually writers allow for the develop- ment of some kind of gauntlets for the hands and a transparent helmet. The human hand is the most efficient tool the human race has ever had, and heads must be visible so that we can recognise the heroes from the villains. eet, < y : : ae | i Comichooks,. com