Scent on an Airless Planet
Scent seems to have all the disadvantages and none of the advantages, as a long-range sense. However, under special circumstances even a modified nose may fill the need. In a story of my own some years ago ("Uncommon Sense," Astounding Science Fiction, September 1945), I assumed an airless planet, so that molecules could diffuse in nearly straight lines. The local sense organs were basically pinhole cameras, with the retinal mosaic formed of olfactory cells. Since the beings in question were not intelligent, the question of what sort of universe they believed in did not arise.
Notes:
An species of space whale could smell over long distances, but scent would get swirled and pooled by gravity wells along the way.
Folksonomies: physics speculation perception senses
Taxonomies:
/religion and spirituality/buddhism (0.405658)
/technology and computing/consumer electronics/camera and photo equipment/cameras and camcorders/cameras (0.378969)
/law, govt and politics (0.376429)
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Entities:
Astounding Science Fiction:PrintMedia (0.992805 (positive:0.406440))
Concepts:
Olfaction (0.956445): dbpedia | freebase
Universe (0.543365): dbpedia | freebase
DNA (0.536031): website | dbpedia | freebase | yago
Odor (0.526322): dbpedia | freebase
Taste (0.500917): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Sense (0.496456): dbpedia | freebase
Robert A. Heinlein (0.489384): yago | opencyc | geo | dbpedia | freebase
Pulp magazine (0.474234): dbpedia | freebase
The Creation of Imaginary BeingsSchemas
Terrestrials
Notes for the books. Quotes, memes, things to include.
