Edward M. Lerner's Blog: SF and Nonsense, page 23

New stories -- check 'em out

A couple weeks ago in this space I previewed several stories I had pending. Today, two of them made an appearance.

To begin, an online novelette: "The Company Man." This noir/SF mashup is my debut appearance in Grantville Gazette. (But in the "Universe Annex" department. My piece isn't a part of the 1632 / Ring of Fire story line.)

Deep in the electron minesAlso fresh this morning from the electron mines, we have the short story "Nothing to Lose?" Abstractly, I wish this had come out in October...

It's potpourri time all over again

I'm immersed in writing an intriguing (to me, anyway; YMMV) new novelette. So: today's post will be more telegraphic than my usual -- and no, that's not a hint to the nature of the story. But telegraphed or not, several physics and astronomy news items have recently caught my eye. Typical visitors to SF and Nonsense will likely find these of interest, too. So here ya go ...

When giants warped the universe. "The discovery that massive black holes existed billions of years earlier than thought p...

Short and sweet

I haven't posted a short-fiction update in awhile. Tsk on me, because a bunch is on its way ...

Upcoming in Analog:
 July/August issue: "The Pilgrimage." That's a Probability Zero (flash fiction) story.September/October issue: "My Fifth and Most Exotic Voyage." This is an homage to, well, it's best I not spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say the novelette is both hard SF and quite the change from my customary work. Upcoming in Galaxy's Edge:
May issue: "Nothing to Lose?" This short sto...

Post posting

Another year gone by! April 12, 2017 is six years from when I first compiled a list/overview of what were then the most visited posts here at SF and Nonsense. To my continuing surprise, Postscript (or is that post post?) was itself instantly popular. Six years later, it's number three on the all-time list.

Let the annual tradition continue.

Old posts ...Here's the latest all-time top-ten list, which I've assembled from data captured a few days ago. The format is: title/link; posting date; last...

MORE up in the sky

Just to be different, in this space-centric post we'll start far away and work our way back home.

Black-hole jetsTo begin in the distance, consider this truly amazing nursery for stars: "Stars Born Inside Violent Black Hole Jets Spotted for the 1st Time." The takeaway quotes:

"Astronomers have thought for a while that conditions within these outflows could be right for star formation, but no one has seen it actually happening, as it’s a very difficult observation ..."

    &nb...

Look! Up in the sky!

Nope. Not Superman. I have so ODed on superheroes, and there are more interesting things to be seen in the sky (though you may need a Really Big Telescope).

Such as? A planet(s), perhaps?

Pluto closeup (Thank you, New Horizons)How many planets does the Solar System contain? Have you gotten over Pluto's demotion? Are eight planets too few for your taste? Planets being large, is "dwarf planet" an oxymoron? Good questions, all.

Help's on the way -- a new definition of planet has been suggested, the...

It keeps going, and going ...

The Energizer bunny, you say? Sorta kinda. The topic for today's post is my 2012 technothriller Energized. Which is to reveal (dramatic drum roll) ...

Energized has been picked up by Arc Manor, for its Phoenix Pick imprint. This will be my third reissue via Arc Manor, and my fourth book overall with them. (Last year's Dark Secret was also published by them but as its first release.)

The original/2012 Tor Books cover Hence: Energized will be returning to print and all the popular ebook formats....

Stranger than fiction?

Analog has just posted the finalists in its most recent annual readers poll, aka the Analytical Laboratory, aka the Anlabs. Prestige-wise, we're not talking Oscar or Tony Awards here -- but among genre aficionados, to be recognized by readers of the premiere hard-SF magazine is a high honor. So ...

I am delighted to report that all three of my 2016 fact articles, the latest installments in my The Science Behind the Fiction essay series, were among the finalists. They are: 
Human 2.0: Being...

A new spin on things

What goes around, comes around? To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season? A wild game of Twister? This post will have us consider three different sorts of spin -- none, I hasten to add, of the political variety -- but nary a one of today's topics comes from that teaser intro. And every spin to follow is apropos of this blog.

Well? Are you intrigued?

Down a quantum rabbit hole?To begin, consider the quite limited -- one is tempted to say, "toy" -- nature of the few implementations to...

As hard as ... hydrogen?

At sufficiently high pressure, hydrogen liquefies starting at about 33 Kelvin.(*) That's cold. At about 14 Kelvin and yet more pressure, hydrogen will become a solid. And, it has been theorized since 1935, under enough pressure solid hydrogen can take metallic form.

(*) For mysterious reasons, absolute temperatures are shown in units of Kelvin, and not (as every other temperature scale would suggest) degrees Kelvin.

Not quite this easyHow much pressure? In round numbers, call it five million st...