Spindizzy
Encyclopedia
The Dillon-Wagoner Graviton Polarity Generator, known colloquially as the spindizzy is a fictitious anti-gravity
device imagined by James Blish
for his series Cities in Flight
. This device grows more efficient with the amount of mass being lifted, which was used as the hook for the stories—it was more effective to lift entire cities than it was something smaller, such as a classic spaceship
. This is taken to extremes in the final stories, in which an entire planet is used to cross the galaxy in a matter of hours using the spindizzy drive.
According to the stories, the spindizzy is based on principles contained in an equation coined by P.M.S. Blackett, a British physicist of the mid-20th century. Several other Blish stories involving novel space drives contain the same assertion. Blackett's original formula was an attempt to correlate the known magnetic fields of large rotating bodies, such as the Sun, Earth, and a star in Cygnus
whose field had been measured indirectly. It was unusual in that it brought Isaac Newton
's gravitational constant
and Coulomb's constant together, the one governing forces between masses, the other governing forces between electric charges. However it was later disproved by more accurate measurements, not to mention new discoveries such as magnetic field reversals
on Earth and the Sun, and the lack of a field on bodies such as Mars, despite its rotation being similar to Earth's.
Blish's extrapolation was that if rotation + mass produces magnetism via gravity, then rotation + magnetism could produce anti-gravity. The field created by a spindizzy is described as altering the magnetic moment of any atom within its influence.
The spindizzy was also used in at least two novels by Jesse Franklin Bone, The Lani People and Confederation Matador and appears as the nickname for fictional Heim Theory
devices in Ken Macleod
's The Execution Channel
.
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
device imagined by James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
for his series Cities in Flight
Cities in Flight
Cities in Flight is an omnibus volume of four novels written by James Blish, originally published between 1955 and 1962, which became known over time collectively as the 'Okie' novels. The novels feature entire cities that are able to fly through space using an anti-gravity device, the spindizzy...
. This device grows more efficient with the amount of mass being lifted, which was used as the hook for the stories—it was more effective to lift entire cities than it was something smaller, such as a classic spaceship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
. This is taken to extremes in the final stories, in which an entire planet is used to cross the galaxy in a matter of hours using the spindizzy drive.
According to the stories, the spindizzy is based on principles contained in an equation coined by P.M.S. Blackett, a British physicist of the mid-20th century. Several other Blish stories involving novel space drives contain the same assertion. Blackett's original formula was an attempt to correlate the known magnetic fields of large rotating bodies, such as the Sun, Earth, and a star in Cygnus
Cygnus (constellation)
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...
whose field had been measured indirectly. It was unusual in that it brought Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
's gravitational constant
Gravitational constant
The gravitational constant, denoted G, is an empirical physical constant involved in the calculation of the gravitational attraction between objects with mass. It appears in Newton's law of universal gravitation and in Einstein's theory of general relativity. It is also known as the universal...
and Coulomb's constant together, the one governing forces between masses, the other governing forces between electric charges. However it was later disproved by more accurate measurements, not to mention new discoveries such as magnetic field reversals
Geomagnetic reversal
A geomagnetic reversal is a change in the Earth's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are interchanged. The Earth's field has alternated between periods of normal polarity, in which the direction of the field was the same as the present direction, and reverse...
on Earth and the Sun, and the lack of a field on bodies such as Mars, despite its rotation being similar to Earth's.
Blish's extrapolation was that if rotation + mass produces magnetism via gravity, then rotation + magnetism could produce anti-gravity. The field created by a spindizzy is described as altering the magnetic moment of any atom within its influence.
The spindizzy was also used in at least two novels by Jesse Franklin Bone, The Lani People and Confederation Matador and appears as the nickname for fictional Heim Theory
Heim theory
Heim theory is a physics theory, initially proposed by a German physicist, the late Burkhard Heim, that attempts to develop a theory of everything. Heim theory's six dimensional model was later extended to eight and twelve dimensions, in collaboration with W. Dröscher...
devices in Ken Macleod
Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod , is a Scottish science fiction writer.MacLeod was born in Stornoway. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
's The Execution Channel
The Execution Channel
The Execution Channel, a science fiction novel by Ken MacLeod, focuses on the early decades of the 21st century. The military of the United States of America and some of its allies have conducted a war on terror for some time and terrorist atrocities have continued, including an unspecified one at...
.