Science Wonder Stories

The notion of radium-filled caverns creating precious jewels and metals by transmutation seems to have been a fixture in science fiction stories of the period. The 1929 novella The Radium Pool, first published in Science Wonder Stories by Ed Earl Repp, also features a radium pool that transmutes a cave into precious metals and jewels, acts as a fountain of youth, and provides telepathic and death ray abilities to Jovians who have come to appropriate its radium for Jupiter, the most powerful planet in the universe. 

Kateley, Walter. 1929. The Gold Triumvirate. Science Wonder Stories 1 6 (November 1929) 514-21, 557. 

Even seasoned novelists use memetic ticklers to give a good story even more sparkle and more life. Just as an example, renowned science fiction writer Harlan Ellison in Partners in Wonder describes how, early in his writing career, he frequently used the device-image of someone shoving his fist in his mouth to demonstrate being overwhelmed by pain or horror. Similarly, S. R. Donaldson, best-selling author of the Thomas Covenant fantasy series, makes frequent use of pet words. For instance, the relatively obscure word cynosure (a center of attraction) appears at least once, and usually more often, in most of the books in the series. 

The timescale of scientific and technological advance is becoming shorter and shorter in modern society, partly as a consequence of the rapid advance of technology and improving information transfer. It is no wonder then that the time has come to look back and discuss the future of fullerene science after less than a decade since its discovery by Kroto et al. (1985) and after only two years since it was isolated by Kratchmer et al. (1990). The purpose of this paper is to recount the story of original early proposal of the football-shaped C60 molecule back in 1970, and refer to other interesting prehistoric events and analyse the process of scientific discovery. 

As in all history, the story of chemicals recalls past events and makes an attempt to explain them. But it can neither create them nor prevent them from recurring. While such history, therefore, teaches us the essential facts that have taken place within two richly endowed centuries, it does not tell us which major facts will form the threads of the next years. It is this unknown factor which makes up the spice of our professional life. We can at least hope that if we conform to reason, to ethics, and to scientific and economic laws for all that is within our scope, each of us will have served this wonderful science that is chemistry to the best of our capacities and in the interests of the greatest number of people. 

He called in his research students. Their number had doubled since he had been put m charge of the laboratory. Nearly every afternoon they met in his room for tea. J. J. was at his best at these informal gatherings He was wonderfully human. Science was not the only subject discussed. Thomson s vigorous radical utterances were very warmly discussed and often among the cosmopolitan collection of students political discussions became very animated The conversation would often turn to less serious matters. The gossip of the laboratory went round and a story had to be a pretty tall one if he did not manage to cap it. John Zeleny, professor at Yale... 

Abstract Chemistry is a central science because all the processes that sustain life are based on chemical reactions, and all things that we use in everyday life are natural or artificial chemical compounds. Chemistry is also a fantastic world populated by an unbelievable number of nanometric objects called molecules, the smallest entities that have distinct shapes, sizes, and properties. Molecules are the words of matter. Indeed, most of the other sciences have been permeated by the concepts of chemistry and the language of molecules. Like words, molecules contain specific pieces of information that are revealed when they interact with one another or when they are stimulated by photons or electrons. In the hands of chemists, molecules, particularly when they are suitably combined or assembled to create supramolecular systems, can play a variety of functions, even more complex and more clever than those invented by nature. The wonderful world of chemistry has inspired scientists not only to prepare new molecules or investigate new chemical processes, but also to create masterpieces. Some nice stories based on chemical concepts (1) show that there cannot be borders on the Earth, (2) underline that there is a tight connection among all forms of matter, and (3) emphasize the irreplaceable role of sunlight. 

With stories and anecdotes about scientists in their historical periods, a teacher can add personal flavour to the lessons in his field of science. In this respect, Hermaim Staudinger and Hermaim F. Mark are wonderful examples Not only their essential factual contributions, but also their enthusiasm, zeal, tenacity, conflicts and devotion in their times shaped our modem understanding of macromolecules. 

---