Blowups Happen
Encyclopedia
"Blowups Happen" is a science fiction
short story
by Robert A. Heinlein
. It is one of two stories in which Heinlein, using only public knowledge of nuclear fission, anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology a few years later. The other story is "Solution Unsatisfactory
" which is concerned with a nuclear weapon, although it is only a radiological "dirty bomb
", not a nuclear explosive device.
The story was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940, before any nuclear reactors had ever been built, and for its appearance in the 1946 anthology The Best of Science Fiction
, Heinlein made some modifications to reflect how a reactor actually worked.
The story made a later appearance in The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein
, a collection of short stories published in 1966. It also appears in his Expanded Universe in 1980, but this version is the way it appeared in Astounding without the modifications: "I now see, as a result of the enormous increase in the art in 33 years, more errors in the '46 version than I spotted in the '40s version when I checked it in '46," he writes in the introduction to the story.
The story is one of the earliest in Heinlein's Future History
chronology, taking place in the late 20th century. But for another story "Life-Line
", which is not particularly relevant to the Future History, it might actually be the earliest.
. Heinlein's concept of a nuclear reactor was one of a barely contained explosion, not the thermal piles developed later. As a consequence the work is dangerous, and the slightest mistake could be catastrophic. All the technical staff are monitored by psychologists who have the authority to remove them from the work at any time lest they crack under the pressure and precipitate a disaster. Needless to say, the monitoring itself is part of the problem.
The supervisor calls up Dr. Lentz, a fictional student of Alfred Korzybski
, to analyze the situation. It turns out that the calculations on the stability of the reactor have greatly underestimated the scale of the reaction should the reactor go out of control. The situation seems hopeless, as the energy produced by the reactor is sorely needed on Earth, oil having been monopolized by the military. Using a method called "calculus of statement," Lentz helps the team to mitigate the pressure harming the plant operators.
Lentz's solution takes into account the social, psychological, physical and economic variables. One of the by-products of the reactor is a more stable nuclear fuel which can also be used as the basis for a rocket engine. Armed with their theories and the new fuel, the protagonists undertake a campaign to have the reactor shut down, moved into space, and used as a source for the fuel, which will supply the needs of Earth and take humanity into space. Their final card is a shame campaign which will subject the trustees of the reactor to public vilification.
The next story sequentially is "The Man Who Sold the Moon
". In that we find that the reactor exploded in space. The actual cause was the detonation of the service rocket's fuel, caused by the effects of cosmic radiation on the supposedly stable nuclear material.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. It is one of two stories in which Heinlein, using only public knowledge of nuclear fission, anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology a few years later. The other story is "Solution Unsatisfactory
Solution Unsatisfactory
"Solution Unsatisfactory" is a 1940 science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It describes the US effort to build a nuclear weapon in order to end the ongoing World War II, and its dystopian consequences to the nation and the world....
" which is concerned with a nuclear weapon, although it is only a radiological "dirty bomb
Dirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
", not a nuclear explosive device.
The story was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940, before any nuclear reactors had ever been built, and for its appearance in the 1946 anthology The Best of Science Fiction
The Best of Science Fiction
The Best of Science Fiction, published in 1946, is the first of more than forty science fiction anthologies edited by Groff Conklin.-Contents:* "Concerning Science Fiction," an essay by John W. Campbell* Introduction by Groff Conklin...
, Heinlein made some modifications to reflect how a reactor actually worked.
The story made a later appearance in The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein
The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein
The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein is a collection of science fiction short stories by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1966.It includes an introduction entitled "Pandora's Box" that describes some of the difficulties in making predictions about the near future...
, a collection of short stories published in 1966. It also appears in his Expanded Universe in 1980, but this version is the way it appeared in Astounding without the modifications: "I now see, as a result of the enormous increase in the art in 33 years, more errors in the '46 version than I spotted in the '40s version when I checked it in '46," he writes in the introduction to the story.
The story is one of the earliest in Heinlein's Future History
Future History
The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...
chronology, taking place in the late 20th century. But for another story "Life-Line
Life-Line
"Life-Line" is a short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein. Published in 1939, it was Heinlein's first published short story.The protagonist, Professor Pinero, builds a machine that will predict how long a person will live. It does this by sending a signal along the world line of a...
", which is not particularly relevant to the Future History, it might actually be the earliest.
Plot
The story describes the tensions amongst the staff of a nuclear reactorNuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
. Heinlein's concept of a nuclear reactor was one of a barely contained explosion, not the thermal piles developed later. As a consequence the work is dangerous, and the slightest mistake could be catastrophic. All the technical staff are monitored by psychologists who have the authority to remove them from the work at any time lest they crack under the pressure and precipitate a disaster. Needless to say, the monitoring itself is part of the problem.
The supervisor calls up Dr. Lentz, a fictional student of Alfred Korzybski
Alfred Korzybski
Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski was a Polish-American philosopher and scientist. He is remembered for developing the theory of general semantics...
, to analyze the situation. It turns out that the calculations on the stability of the reactor have greatly underestimated the scale of the reaction should the reactor go out of control. The situation seems hopeless, as the energy produced by the reactor is sorely needed on Earth, oil having been monopolized by the military. Using a method called "calculus of statement," Lentz helps the team to mitigate the pressure harming the plant operators.
Lentz's solution takes into account the social, psychological, physical and economic variables. One of the by-products of the reactor is a more stable nuclear fuel which can also be used as the basis for a rocket engine. Armed with their theories and the new fuel, the protagonists undertake a campaign to have the reactor shut down, moved into space, and used as a source for the fuel, which will supply the needs of Earth and take humanity into space. Their final card is a shame campaign which will subject the trustees of the reactor to public vilification.
The next story sequentially is "The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon is a science fiction novella by Robert A. Heinlein written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his Future History and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon landing, in 1978, and the schemes of Delos D...
". In that we find that the reactor exploded in space. The actual cause was the detonation of the service rocket's fuel, caused by the effects of cosmic radiation on the supposedly stable nuclear material.