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Ember, issue 28, January 13, 1947
Page 4
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Norman Stanley writes Ember a six page letter, much of it consisting of mathematical formulae, which will have to be spread out over several issues. But let's start: "Dr. Richardson's notes on R.W.Wood were most interesting to me, particularly his mention of the story,"The Man Who Rocked the Earth", which Wood wrote in collaboration with Arthur Train. This story has always been one of my top favorites ever since it fired my youthful imagination when I first read it, in book form, around 1928. I reread it for the third or fourth time just recently, and to me it still seems wonderful. Though, as Richardson says, the story's now dated, historically and scientifically, it has turned out that, mostly by coincidence, some of the ideas in it came pretty close to present-day fact. In the story a ray was devised which when directed on a mass of uranium would cause the uranium to disintegrate and shoot off particles of the disintegration products (helium it was in the story) at a velocity approaching that of light. The reaction from the stream of particles produced a thrust against the uranium mass, in accordance with Newton's third law. In the story this was used to propel a spaceship. ( ( More of this phase next issue---) ) To Wood's other talents it may be added that he appears to be a fairly competent illustrator. My copy of "The Man Who Rocked the Earth" has end papers which illustrate an episode in the story, and the drawing is signed "R.W.Wood". By the way, does anybody know if the book has a sequel? I think it has, but I've been trying to run it down for years, but without success. The ending of the story fair shrieks 'sequel"'. R.D.Swisher said he thought a sequel subsequently appeared in the SEP, but didn't know about book publication. Unger never heard of it. About the only clue was an ad I ran on in the Sat. Rev. of Lit., oh, at least ten years ago, in which somebody wanted to obtain copies of two Train books, one entitled "The Ring", which surely sounds like the sequel, since the [TTMWRTW?] involved a ring-shaped vehicle. (Though I suppose that "The Ring" might have some other significance --e.g., it may be a sequel to Dr. Keller's story, "The Doorbel"!) Wonder if Richardson couldn't supply us with more anecdotes about R.W.Wood, like the green cheese one? I recall an article about wood which mentioned how he used to clean cobwebs out of the 60 foot tube of one of his high-dispersion grating spectrographs by sending a cat through it! Stefnews Fanzines from Rusty Hevelin, [illegible] 3761 Third st, Riverside, Cal #73, this 5¢; weekly newsheet continues giving straight news in sober unexcited fashion. Fantasys Illustrated, #4, from Bob Stein 514 W.Vienne Ave, Midw 12 Wis. He is trying, and so is it... [postmark MILWAUKEE WIS. Postage stamp 1 1/2 cents, Martha Washington stamp] James Hevelin 3761 -3rd St Riverside, California
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Norman Stanley writes Ember a six page letter, much of it consisting of mathematical formulae, which will have to be spread out over several issues. But let's start: "Dr. Richardson's notes on R.W.Wood were most interesting to me, particularly his mention of the story,"The Man Who Rocked the Earth", which Wood wrote in collaboration with Arthur Train. This story has always been one of my top favorites ever since it fired my youthful imagination when I first read it, in book form, around 1928. I reread it for the third or fourth time just recently, and to me it still seems wonderful. Though, as Richardson says, the story's now dated, historically and scientifically, it has turned out that, mostly by coincidence, some of the ideas in it came pretty close to present-day fact. In the story a ray was devised which when directed on a mass of uranium would cause the uranium to disintegrate and shoot off particles of the disintegration products (helium it was in the story) at a velocity approaching that of light. The reaction from the stream of particles produced a thrust against the uranium mass, in accordance with Newton's third law. In the story this was used to propel a spaceship. ( ( More of this phase next issue---) ) To Wood's other talents it may be added that he appears to be a fairly competent illustrator. My copy of "The Man Who Rocked the Earth" has end papers which illustrate an episode in the story, and the drawing is signed "R.W.Wood". By the way, does anybody know if the book has a sequel? I think it has, but I've been trying to run it down for years, but without success. The ending of the story fair shrieks 'sequel"'. R.D.Swisher said he thought a sequel subsequently appeared in the SEP, but didn't know about book publication. Unger never heard of it. About the only clue was an ad I ran on in the Sat. Rev. of Lit., oh, at least ten years ago, in which somebody wanted to obtain copies of two Train books, one entitled "The Ring", which surely sounds like the sequel, since the [TTMWRTW?] involved a ring-shaped vehicle. (Though I suppose that "The Ring" might have some other significance --e.g., it may be a sequel to Dr. Keller's story, "The Doorbel"!) Wonder if Richardson couldn't supply us with more anecdotes about R.W.Wood, like the green cheese one? I recall an article about wood which mentioned how he used to clean cobwebs out of the 60 foot tube of one of his high-dispersion grating spectrographs by sending a cat through it! Stefnews Fanzines from Rusty Hevelin, [illegible] 3761 Third st, Riverside, Cal #73, this 5¢; weekly newsheet continues giving straight news in sober unexcited fashion. Fantasys Illustrated, #4, from Bob Stein 514 W.Vienne Ave, Midw 12 Wis. He is trying, and so is it... [postmark MILWAUKEE WIS. Postage stamp 1 1/2 cents, Martha Washington stamp] James Hevelin 3761 -3rd St Riverside, California
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