| "Critical Factor" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hal Clement |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Published in | Star Science Fiction Stories No.2 |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Publication date | 1953 |
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"Critical Factor" is a science fiction short story by American writer Hal Clement, published in 1953.
The story describes the existence and scientific discoveries of a race of sentient rock-dwelling liquid organisms. These creatures literally live within certain types of rock and travel "as ink travels through a blotter". In the course of the plot, the creatures study the nature of air (which they call "the void"), liquids, and gravity from their limited perspective. The creatures can only eat rock that has not been exposed to oxygen. They consider melting the polar ice caps to increase the level of the ocean water, and protecting their edible rock by covering each continent with magma. They ultimately postpone the plan (which would destroy all human life) since they cannot be certain that the ocean levels will rise uniformly due to their limited understanding of non-solid states of matter.
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Nauru is a tiny phosphate rock island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean south of the Marshall Islands in Oceania. It is only 53 kilometres (33 mi) south of the Equator at coordinates 0°32′S166°55′E. Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean—the others are Banaba in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia.
The Marathon Trilogy is a science fiction first-person shooter video game series from Bungie, originally released for Classic Mac OS. The name Marathon is derived from the giant interstellar colony ship that provides the setting for the first game; the ship is constructed out of what used to be the Martian satellite Deimos. The three games in the series—Marathon (1994), Marathon 2: Durandal (1995), and Marathon Infinity (1996)—are widely regarded as spiritual predecessors of Bungie's Halo series.
Mean sea level (MSL) is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earth's bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datum – a standardised geodetic datum – that is used, for example, as a chart datum in cartography and marine navigation, or, in aviation, as the standard sea level at which atmospheric pressure is measured to calibrate altitude and, consequently, aircraft flight levels. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is instead the midpoint between a mean low and mean high tide at a particular location.
Supersaturation occurs with a chemical solution when the concentration of a solute exceeds the concentration specified by the value equilibrium solubility. Most commonly the term is applied to a solution of a solid in a liquid. A supersaturated solution is in a metastable state; it may be brought to equilibrium by forcing the excess of solute to separate from the solution. The term can also be applied to a mixture of gases.
An evaporite is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments.
The underwater environment refers to the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature, such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the underwater environment are universal, but many depend on the local situation.
Hydro-Man is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man. Once an ordinary crewman, Morris Bench was accidentally knocked overboard while stationed on his ship during a battle between Spider-Man and Namor, and fell into the ocean, where a powerful experimental generator was being tested. This led to his transformation into Hydro-Man who, blaming Spider-Man for what happened to him, turned to a life of crime while seeking revenge against the web-slinger.
Radiata Stories is an action role-playing video game. It was developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was released on January 27, 2005, in Japan and September 6, 2005, in North America. The game was well received in Japan but received a more mixed reception in North America. It sold over 413,000 copies worldwide. Noriyuki Iwadare composed the soundtrack.
In geomorphology, a knickpoint or nickpoint is part of a river or channel where there is a sharp change in channel slope, such as a waterfall or lake. Knickpoints reflect different conditions and processes on the river, often caused by previous erosion due to glaciation or variance in lithology. In the cycle of erosion model, knickpoints advance one cycle upstream, or inland, replacing an older cycle.
Compatibility is a term used by geochemists to describe how elements partition themselves in the solid and melt within Earth's mantle. In geochemistry, compatibility is a measure of how readily a particular trace element substitutes for a major element within a mineral.
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a 2007 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007. The game is a direct sequel to the 1999 game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and takes place roughly seventeen years after the game's expansion pack Firestorm, in which Tiberium has grown to become a considerable threat to the planet, leading to the world's political borders and territories being remade into zones denoting the level of contamination by the alien substance. The game's story sees the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod engage in a new global conflict, this time as major superpowers, only for the war to attract the attention of a new extraterrestrial faction known as the Scrin, which attacks both sides while harvesting Tiberium for its own purpose.
An ocean world, ocean planet, water world, aquaplanet, or panthalassic planet is a type of terrestrial planet that contains a substantial amount of water as hydrosphere on its surface or as a subsurface ocean. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid or thalassogen, such as lava, ammonia or hydrocarbons like on Titan's surface.
Close to Critical is a science fiction novel by American writer Hal Clement. The novel was first serialized in three parts and published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine in 1958. Its first hardcover book publication was in July 1964.
Left 4 Dead is a series of cooperative first-person shooter survival horror video games published by Valve. Set in the days after a pandemic outbreak of a viral strain transforming people into zombie-like feral creatures, the games follow the adventures of four survivors attempting to reach safe houses and military rescue while fending off the attacking hordes.
Fossil is a science fiction book by American writer Hal Clement, as part of the Isaac's universe series. It was first printed in November, 1993. Copyright was reserved to him under his real name, Harry C. Stubbs and the company he associated himself with, Tomorrow, Inc..
The economy of Nauru and Ocean Island has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on these islands, with 80% of the nations’ surface having been strip-mined. The islands’ phosphate deposits were virtually exhausted by 2000 although some small-scale mining is still in progress on Nauru. Mining ended in 1979 on Banaba.
Marine habitats are habitats that support marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea. A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species. The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats. Marine habitats can be divided into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal habitats are found in the area that extends from as far as the tide comes in on the shoreline out to the edge of the continental shelf. Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf.
"In the Abyss" is a short story by English writer H. G. Wells, first published in 1896 in Pearson's Magazine. It was included in The Plattner Story and Others, a collection of short stories by Wells first published in 1897. The story describes a journey to the ocean bed in a specially-designed metal sphere; the explorer within discovers a civilization of human-like creatures.
Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2017 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard, in collaboration with Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, and Virtual Basement. In the game, players must survive being stranded on an island filled with roaming dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players.