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Sense of Gravity Series - 7 books:  What if you could produce the warped space that is called gravity without having any mass at the center of the “gravity well”? Could you build a space drive with this capability? Where would you go if you had such a space drive? Earth: Mathematics leads to a space drive Dr. Chuck Anderson creates an artificial gravity-well. And with the help of Cathy Hall and her parents, Frank and Dot, and their family yacht-building business, he builds a spaceship. However, the dangers of space are nothing compared to the dangers of drug gangs on Earth.  Moon: The space drive leads to a Moon base Chuck and Cathy are married and have fought several battles with a drug cartel. Chuck and Cathy won, but their first spaceship, the Puck, was destroyed. Now, Chuck and Cathy’s company, C&C Space Exploration, is ready to build a new, larger spaceship. Bill and Anna Cooper, scientists at ORNL who are helping with their Moon researches, will be happy to continue research on extraterrestrial bodies when the new spaceship is built. Further, BGen Fred Hughes, who helped Chuck in the final battle with the drug gang, wants to buy a spaceship for testing at the Defense Intelligence Agency. The local drug gang has been demolished, but there are foreign countries who are interested in controlling space.  Mars: Aliens were on Mars before us C&C Space Exploration has mounted several expeditions to the Moon in the Puck 2 and has built a Moon base for the US. Now, Chuck is thinking about building a bigger spaceship and exploring the planets of the Solar System, beginning with Mars. He is also considering other applications of the space warp. However, a European company and the Chinese, in opposition to the US, are set on owning the Moon.  Asteroids: Space wars are matters of minutes C&C Space Exploration has built a fleet of ships for the US; the US has fought off an attack on its Moon base; and the C&C Space Exploration expedition to Mars in the Puck 3 has discovered evidence of an alien race on the Mars moons. Now Chuck is thinking about an expedition to the asteroids. However, China hasn’t given up its lunar ambitions.  Jupiter: An FTL hyperdrive changes things Following the space war with the Chinese, the government wants more C&C spaceships. Opposition from China is quiescent, but Iran is a potential adversary. The commercial installations on the Moon are growing. Moreover, Chuck has invented a faster-than-light (FTL) drive and wants to know if it is safe for humans.   Colonies: Colonizing the Moon and Mars The war with Iran has been concluded; however, North Korea is conducting provocative activities. C&C Space Exploration, together with NASA, has explored the moons of Jupiter; they found more evidence of the mysterious aliens. With the FTL drive, Jupiter is as close as next door and the stars are a possible destination. However, before attempting an interstellar trip, Chuck will be investigating the outer planets. While C&C is selling the modules for lunar hotels and other lunar enterprises, it has also begun work on terraforming and colonizing Mars.  Centauri: The stars are in reach Now, the planning is underway for a visit to Alpha Centauri, with a fleet of four civilian spaceships and a fleet of five military spaceships. However, several other expeditions within the solar system are planned to take place first; in addition to the scientific value, everyone wants to find more about the mysterious aliens who built tunnels in so many moons of the Solar System.  Sciences used and abused:  Physics - gravitation, special relativity, orbital mechanics; mathematics - topology; military science; planetary sciences; astronomy; geology; astrogeology; chemistry.

Chuck and Cathy Frank and Dot Joe and Sophie Bill and Anna Gravity-well representations Plan view of various spaceships Initial situation of space war Snapdragon gambit Ready for second pass

 

Addendum:

These novels are science fiction. That means they are stories with some connection to science, particularly speculative science. 

Physics

Superconductivity is a fact; a current sent through a superconducting loop doesn't lose energy and continues indefinitely.  And because superconducting wire - or tape - can carry much higher currents than conventional wire, superconducting magnets can be much stronger than conventional electromagnets.  Among other things, this fact permits effective magnetic levitation - maglev (see here.)

Gravity is a fact, although how it relates to the other basic forces of nature is currently unknown.  However, all known instances of gravity-wells (see figure below) are connected to masses, leading to the obvious conclusion that they are inseparable.

Mathematics

Euclidean manifolds (things that look like Euclidean n-space locally) come in two varieties, orientable and non-orientable.  The orientable manifolds have unsurprising features; however, the non-orientable manifolds are different.  The simplest example is the Möbius band.  The example on the left shows a single twist, simple example.  It only has one side and one edge!

Fiction

A simple loop of superconducting tape will create a magnetic field.  The science fiction here is that a Möbius band of superconducting tape will create a gravity-well.  And two such loops add control to the creation.  The rest of the fiction follows from this assumption.

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