There are few giants in this world who have added so much to the world of science and literature as Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Practical science. He invented, among other things, the idea of communications satellites and geostationary orbits.
Sadly, he died this morning in his home in Sri Lanka. He was 90 years old.
I was in grade 6 when I first watched his most famous piece, 2001 – A Space Odyssey (it was actually based on his short story, The Sentinel), and even today, it is a work of art that shows a realistic view of space travel. This is not Star Wars or Starship Troopers; it’s much more Battlestar Galactica.
At some point, for my astronomy class, I might show the movie. It’s worth spending some class time on.
Since grade 6, I’ve read quite a few of his novels, including one that I read in my grade 7 ELA class, Childhood’s End. If you wanted an introduction to his writings, you would do worse than to start with that one, or Rendezvous With Rama, another one I read as a student.
Clarke was truly a pioneer and a visionary. He imagined things that no one else had, and had to put up with a lot of ridicule in the process. No one believed, for example, that there would one day be satellites in orbit around Earth, or that they would play such an important role in our everyday lives.
One of Sir Arthur’s pet projects was the space elevator. Think of a 50 000 km long cable, extending from Earth’s surface to outer space, where Earth’s motion keeps it tight. Attach to this an electric (or solar or nuclear) powered truck, and preto: you have a cheap way of getting things into outer space. You can read more about Clarke’s thoughts on this in his own words.
As I said, he was more than just a writer of science fiction: he was a practicing theoretical scientist.
I’ll leave you with a quote of Clarke’s which is particularly revealing:
I’m sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I’ve had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science populariser. Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer — one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well.
It’s all about imagination.
