3/2/2023 0 Comments Antimatter bomb![]() ![]() A specialist in nuclear fusion, his activities within the International Academy of Astronautics (he was a founder) and the International Astronautical Federation (he was its president) were legion, but this morning I turn to “Interstellar Flight,” a Shepherd paper from 1952. Shepherd isn’t as well known as he should be to the public, but within the aerospace community he is something of a legend. Because even as Sänger labored over the idea, one he had been pursuing since the 1930s, Les Shepherd was looking at the antimatter prospect, and coming up with aspects of the problem not previously identified. With that in mind, and in a ruminative mood anyway, let me turn back to the 1950s, as I did yesterday in our look at Eugen Sänger’s attempt to create the design for an antimatter rocket. Hawking’s name will, of course, continue to resonate in these pages - he was simply too major a figure not to be a continuing part of our discussions. How on Earth did he live so long with an illness that should have taken him mere years after it was identified? In my family’s case, the ALS diagnosis turned out to be mistaken, but there was no doubt about Hawking’s affliction. ![]() I want to finish up my thoughts on antimatter from the last few days, but I have to preface that by noting how stunning Hawking’s non-scientific accomplishment was. My family has had a closer call with ALS than I would ever have wished for, so the news of Stephen Hawking’s death stays with me as I write this morning. ![]()
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