- Neutron Tide
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"Neutron Tide" Author Arthur C. Clarke Country United Kingdom Language English Genre(s) Science fiction Published in Galaxy Science Fiction Publication date May, 1970 "Neutron Tide" is a short story written by Arthur C. Clarke. It is among his shortest pieces of writing, consisting solely of a 2-page, detailed description of a futuristic scenario in order to use a pun as a punch-line.
Plot summary
Clarke describes a space battleship flying too close to the gravitational field of a neutron star, and subsequently being torn to bits by the high tidal forces. A military commander revealing this in a meeting says the only identifiable piece of debris was from an engineer's toolkit, resulting in the pun, "star-mangled spanner": a play on the title of the United States' national anthem.
Categories:- 1970 short stories
- Short stories by Arthur C. Clarke
- Neutron stars
- Works originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction
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