Message-ID: <179@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Sep-84 18:44:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: oliveb.179
Posted: Wed Sep 26 18:44:27 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Sep-84 05:41:47 EDT
References: <355@petsd.UUCP>
Organization: Olivetti ATC, Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 20

Larry Niven wrote another story in which tidal forces were used.  It was
one of the "known space" series though I don't have the title handy but
I think it was "Tidal Stress".

It that story the main character was asked to pilot a ship in a
sling-shot orbit that took it very near a nutron star.  The idea was to
collect scientific info during the near pass or something.  The
reasoning was that since the ship was in free fall there would be no
gravitational attraction even at the closest approach to the star.  The
ship had enough power to make minor course corrections but nowhere near
enough to pull out of the orbit.

The previous pilots have been found crushed even though the ships hull
was still entact.  Needless to say the hero finds out that though the
center of mass of the ship is in free fall the two ends of it are not.

I will leave how he survives a mystery.

					    Jerry Aguirre
{hplabs|fortune|idi|ihnp4|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerry