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Really enjoyed Dragon's Egg about life on a neutron star. > The adults of the star's most intelligent species, called cheela (no flexion for gender or number),

Really enjoyed Dragon's Egg about life on a neutron star. > The adults of the star's most intelligent species, called cheela (no flexion for gender or number), have about the same mass as an adult human. However, the extreme gravity of Dragon's Egg compresses the cheela to the volume of a sesame seed,[2] but with a flattened shape about 0.5 millimeters (0.020 inches) high and about 5 millimeters (0.20 inches) in diameter. Their eyes are 0.1 millimeters (0.0039 inches) wide. Such minute eyes can see clearly only in ultraviolet and, in good light, the longest wavelengths of the X-ray band > By humans' standards, a "day" on Dragon's Egg is about 0.2 seconds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg

farrelle25 5y ago
Yes I thought "Dragons Egg" was a classic. I remember reading it as a child and getting interested in Physics. I read it's an example of the "hard" science fiction genre - I think the author Robert Forward was actually a physicist...
- gizmo686 5y ago
  Since I happen to have Dragons Egg on my desk, from the "About the Author" section: > Dr. Robert L. Forward is a senior scientist at the Hughes Research Labs in Malibu, California. Dr. Forward is one of the pioneers in the field of gravitational astronomy, participating at Maryland University in the construction of te first antenna for detection of gravitational radiation from supernovas, black holes and neutron stars. (The antenna now resides in the Smithsonian Museumm.) At Hughes, Dr. Forward constructed the first laser gravity antenna and invented the rotating gravitational mass sensor. ... Fun fact, the start of Dragons Egg (copyright 1980) is April 2020
Causality1 5y ago
A classic indeed. I seem to recall that jumping off a high cliff or from a hovering vehicle was deadly to them because without the crushing gravity their bodies exploded into a cloud of "regular" matter.
- gizmo686 5y ago
  They even have an entire field dedicated to "expanded matter physics".
klank 5y ago
In a similar vein, I recommend Stephen Baxter's "Flux". It takes place in a civilization that evolved inside of a neutron star. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_(novel)

farrelle25 5y ago

Yes I thought "Dragons Egg" was a classic. I remember reading it as a child and getting interested in Physics. I read it's an example of the "hard" science fiction genre - I think the author Robert Forward was actually a physicist...

gizmo686 5y ago
Since I happen to have Dragons Egg on my desk, from the "About the Author" section: > Dr. Robert L. Forward is a senior scientist at the Hughes Research Labs in Malibu, California. Dr. Forward is one of the pioneers in the field of gravitational astronomy, participating at Maryland University in the construction of te first antenna for detection of gravitational radiation from supernovas, black holes and neutron stars. (The antenna now resides in the Smithsonian Museumm.) At Hughes, Dr. Forward constructed the first laser gravity antenna and invented the rotating gravitational mass sensor. ... Fun fact, the start of Dragons Egg (copyright 1980) is April 2020

Causality1 5y ago

A classic indeed. I seem to recall that jumping off a high cliff or from a hovering vehicle was deadly to them because without the crushing gravity their bodies exploded into a cloud of "regular" matter.

gizmo686 5y ago
They even have an entire field dedicated to "expanded matter physics".

klank 5y ago

In a similar vein, I recommend Stephen Baxter's "Flux". It takes place in a civilization that evolved inside of a neutron star. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_(novel)