Neutron Tide
"Neutron Tide" is a short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1970 in Galaxy Science Fiction.[1] 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. The story was reprinted later that year in the 1970 Starlord summer special.
| "Neutron Tide" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Published in | Galaxy Science Fiction |
| Publication date | May, 1970 |
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.
See also
- Neutron Star, a 1966 science fiction short story by Larry Niven
- Feghoot, a short story designed to end with a pun
External links
- Neutron Tide title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database