Clarke, Sir Arthur C.
With work ranging from scientific discovery to science fiction, Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) was an engineer and author who influenced numerous artists, scientists, and engineers working today through his broad body of work. Through organizations like the Clarke Foundation, he continues to inspire future generations around the world.
As a child, Clarke enjoyed stargazing and reading American science fiction magazines, which sparked his lifelong enthusiasm for space sciences. After moving to London in 1936, Clarke was able to pursue his interest further by joining the British Interplanetary Society (BIS). He soon began writing science fiction. After serving in World War II, Clarke published his landmark scholarly paper “Extra-Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give World-wide Radio Coverage?” in 1945 in the British magazine Wireless World. Clarke was awarded a Fellowship at King’s College, London, where he obtained a first class honors degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1948. He also served as the British Interplanetary Society’s president in 1946-47 and 1951-1953.
Clarke set out the first principles of global communication via satellites placed in geostationary orbits (above the equator so that the period of the orbit, or the time it takes the satellite to complete one orbit around the Earth, is the same as the Earth’s rotational period, or the time it takes the Earth to rotate once around its axis). This idea was originally proposed in 1928, but Clarke was the first to suggest that geostationary orbits would be ideal for establishing worldwide telecommunication relays. Over the next decades, Clarke worked with scientists and engineers in the United States in the development of spacecraft and launch systems. After the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957, the discussion of the use of outer space by different nations of the Earth become an important global issue. Clarke was involved in these discussions, addressing the United Nations during their deliberations on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Clarke saw his vision of global telecommunications via satellites start to become reality in 1964 with the launch of the first geostationary communication satellite Syncom 3, which was used to broadcast the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to the United States.
Author of over 70 books of fiction and non-fiction, and recipient of numerous awards for his writing, Clarke strived to engage audiences in different media. In 1964, he started working with the noted film producer Stanley Kubrick on a science fiction movie script. The result of the collaboration was the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Not only were Clarke and Kubrick nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but Clarke simultaneously wrote the screenplay and the novel. Clarke worked for decades in television, bringing scientific and engineering achievements to people’s homes around the world. He worked alongside Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra for the CBS coverage of the Apollo 12 and 15 space missions in the United States. Clarke released 2010: Odyssey Two, sequel to 2001, in 1982, and worked with director Peter Hyams on the movie version, which was released two years later.
Arthur Clarke’s remarkable lifetime of work was recognized by both the country of his birth and his adopted home country of Sri Lanka. In 1988, Queen Elizabeth II honored Clarke with a knighthood, formally conferred by Prince Charles in Sri Lanka two years later. In 2005, Clarke was awarded Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor, Sri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka).
Clarke’s Laws
A series of three rules attributed to science fiction legend Sir Arthur C. Clarke, intended to help define ways to consider claims about the future of scientific developments. These laws do not contain much in the way of predictive power, so scientists rarely have any reason to explicitly include them in their scientific work. Despite this, the sentiments that they express generally resonate with scientists, which is understandable, since Clarke held degrees in physics and mathematics.
Clarke’s First Law
In 1962, Clarke published a collection of essays, Profiles of the Future, which included an essay called “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination.” The first law was mentioned in the essay, although since it was the only law mentioned at the time, it was called just “Clarke’s Law.” It states: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
In the February 1977 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, fellow science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an essay entitled “Asimov’s Corollary,” which offered this corollary to Clarke’s First Law: When, however, the lay public rallies round an idea that is denounced by distinguished but elderly scientists and supports that idea with great fervor and emotion, the distinguished but elderly scientists are then, after all, probably right.
Clarke’s Second Law
In the 1962 essay, Clarke made an observation which fans began calling his Second Law. When he published a revised edition of Profilesof the Future in 1973, he made the designation official.
Clarke’s Second Law states: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. Though not as popular as his subsequent Third Law, this statement really defines the relationship between science and science fiction, and how each field helps to inform the other.
Clarke’s Third Law
When Clarke acknowledged the Second Law in 1973, he decided that there should be a third law to help round things out. After all, Newton had three laws, and there were also three laws of thermodynamics. Clarke’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technologyis indistinguishable from magic. This is by far the most popular of the three laws. It is invoked frequently in popular culture and is often just referred to as “Clarke’s Law.” Some authors have modified Clarke’s Law, even going so far as to create an inverse corollary, though the precise origin of this corollary isn’t exactly clear. The Third Law Corollary states: Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced, or, as expressed in the novel Foundation’s Fear: If technology is distinguishable from magic, it is insufficiently advanced.
Clash of the Titans (1981)
In this original 1981 cinematic release, Perseus must battle several creatures, including the Gorgon Medusa, to answer a riddle and win the hand of Andromeda. With a general storyline based on Greek mythology, the film was written by Beverley Cross, directed by Desmond Davis, and featured a cast including Laurence Olivier as Zeus, Harry Hamlin as Perseus, and Ursula Andress. Another feature of the film is the stop-motion camera work of Ray Harryhausen, who also lent his talents to Mighty Joe Young and several Sinbad films between 1958 and 1977.
Class M planet
In the Star Trek universe, Class M planets are said to possess atmospheres composed of nitrogen and oxygen, as well as an abundance of liquid water necessary for sustaining the lives of carbon-based lifeforms. Other features of Class M planets include extensive plant and animal life, and often, the presence of a sentient race. The classification “M” is derived from the Vulcan term “Minshara” (which presumably means “capable of sustaining life”). Planets in the Trek universe under this classification include Earth, Vulcan, Qo’noS, Romulus, Cardassia Prime, Bajor, Betazed, Ferenginar and Nibiru.
Classicist
An expert in ancient Greek and Roman language, literature, art, architecture or culture.
Classics Illustrated
The popular literature-in-comic-form series began publication in 1941, when former book publisher Albert Louis Kantner, worried that classic literature was being overlooked by young readers in favor of the then-new art form of comic books, combined novels with the art of comics. In thirty years, Classics Illustrated (originally called Classic Comics) produced 169 issues, introducing young readers, as well as GIs and Baby Boomers, to classics ranging from Alice in Wonderland and Frankenstein to Les Miserables and Jane Eyre. Employing such noted artists as Jack Kirby and selling 25 million copies per month in its heyday, Classics eventually ceased operations in 1971, due to increasing operation costs and waning demand. However, in 1988, the rights to publish new issues were bought by First Publishing, Berkley Publishing Group and Classics Media Group. New tales were produced beginning in 1990, and Classics Illustrated are now available in online digital form.
Cleese, John
John Marwood Cleese was born in Weston-super-Mare, England on October 27, 1939. A talented comedian, he is most famous for his work with a comedy troupe known as Monty Python, and for such solo projects as the popular British television series Fawlty Towers.
After completing his studies at Clifton in 1958, Cleese returned to his alma mater St. Peter’s as a teacher for two years before heading off to Cambridge University, planning to study law. There, he displayed his comedic talents as a member of the famed Footlights Dramatic Club, which previously had featured the likes of Peter Cook and David Frost. With the Footlights, he performed at the Beyond the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1962, where he befriended Graham Chapman, with whom he would eventually become collaborators. After he earned his degree in 1963, Cleese decided to follow his interest in comedy. He had been in a Footlights show that year which later went to London. Cleese even traveled with the show when it ran on Broadway for several weeks in October 1964.
Cleese soon landed a job writing jokes for BBC Radio. He later made the move to television, becoming a writer and performer on The Frost Report featuring David Frost. Other members of the writing staff included his friend Graham Chapman, as well as future Pythons Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones. He also starred in At Last the 1948 Show with Chapman and Marty Feldman in 1967.
Together with Chapman, Idle, Palin, Jones, and American cartoonist Terry Gilliam, Cleese developed Monty Python’s Flying Circus, an outlandish comedy series featuring off-the-wall sketches and odd animation segments. During the run of the show, Cleese took on such memorable roles as the stuffy representative of the Ministry of Silly Walks and the consumer who attempts to return a dead parrot to a pet shop. Michael Palin was quoted by People magazine as saying, “John’s performances were the linchpin of Python.” In 1972, Cleese left Monty Python’s Flying Circus before its fourth season.
Working with his wife, Connie Booth, Cleese created a new television series, Fawlty Towers. The popular sitcom first aired in 1975 and featured Cleese as the high-strung Basil Fawlty who runs an inn with his wife (Prunella Scales). He worked on Fawlty Towers until 1979. While he had been tired of the Monty Python television series, Cleese did participate in the group’s film projects. He appeared in, and helped write, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983).
Cleese had another career breakthrough in 1988 with A Fish Called Wanda, in which he appeared and also co-wrote. The screenplay earned Cleese and Charles Crichton an Academy Award nomination. Cleese branched out into legitimate action films as an assistant gadget expert in the James Bond adventure The World Is Not Enough (1999). In 2002’s Die Another Day, he returned as Q, the chief gadget expert. He also appeared in the first two Harry Potter films as a ghost named Nearly Headless Nick. His distinctive English accent was put to good use in the animated projects Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Ever After (2010), in which Cleese voiced King Harold.
Cleese has also enjoyed some success on American television. He won an Emmy Award in 1987 for a guest appearance on the sitcom Cheers, and had a recurring role on the hit comedy Will & Grace from 2003 to 2004.
An author of several books, Cleese contributed to 2005’s The Pythons: Autobiography. He also reunited with the surviving members of Monty Python for several events in 2009 to celebrate the group’s fortieth anniversary, then performed at O2 Arena in 2014, in what the Pythons called their last reunion. Referring cheekily to the loss of Graham Chapman, the shows were called Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five To Go.
Clickbait
An eye-catching, often sensationalized, internet headline that encourages people to read on by clicking a hyperlink. Such links are often paid for by an advertiser or generate income based on the number of clicks.
Client
An individual computer that accesses the information and programs stored on a server as part of a network environment.
Client/server network
A computer network which connects one powerful central computer, called a server, to a group of less powerful personal computers or workstations, called clients.
Cloaking device
A science fiction term coined by writer D. C. Fontana for the 1968 Star Trek episode “The Enterprise Incident” meaning a device that renders a person or thing (such as a spaceship) invisible.
Clockwork Orange, A (film)
Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange, starring Malcom McDowell as Alex DeLarge, the leader of a violent gang of teens, who is put through anti-violent conditioning. A film with one of the strongest anti-violent messages of its time, it was ironically also one of the most violent films of its time. The film became one of the only X-rated (in its original release, due to violent content) films ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Clockwork Orange, A (novel)
Anthony Burgess’ controversial futuristic 1962 novel about violence, conditioning, and the effects of both. Creating its own slang language called Nadsat (complete with glossary), the book follows the exploits of Alex, a violent youth who is put through anti-violent conditioning. It was later adapted into the equally controversial A Clockwork Orange (film) directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Clone
As a noun, an exact copy of something. In science fiction, most often used to refer to a genetic copy of a human being. As a verb, to produce an exact copy of something. In science fiction, most often used to refer to the cloning of a human being.
Club 33
Named for its address at 33 Royal Street, this private club on the grounds of Disneyland was designed by Walt Disney to be a place where he could entertain visiting dignitaries and others. At the 1964 World’s Fair, Walt Disney visited the private VIP lounges of the large corporate sponsors, and this visit allegedly inspired him to begin forming the concept of Disneyland’s own VIP lounge. Not long afterward, the initial development for Club 33 began, headed by artist Dorothea Redmond and renowned decorator Emil Kuri. After years of planning, Club 33 became a reality in May of 1967. Club 33 is comprised of two dining rooms and several adjoining areas, all of which hold a wide array of magnificent antiques and original works of art. Sadly, it was never seen by its creator, due to Walt Disney’s untimely death in December 1966. Today, Club 33 functions as an exclusive private club where members or their guests may enjoy a gourmet meal complemented by the finest wines.
Coalition of Planets
See United Federation of Planets.
Coaxial cable
A type of copper cable used by cable companies to connect the community antenna to user homes and businesses. Coaxial cable was nvented and patented in 1880 by English engineer and mathematician Oliver Heaviside. It is called “coaxial” because it includes one physical channel that carries the signal, surrounded (after a layer of insulation) by another concentric physical channel, both running along the same axis. The outer channel serves as a ground. Coaxial cable provides an interference-free transmission path for high-frequency electrical signals. Once prevalent in computers, but later mostly replaced by digital links such as Ethernet, coaxial cables are used to carry signals from a central office to telephone poles and by cable TV providers for service in communities.
COBOL
A well-known acronym for “COmmon Business-Oriented Language,” COBOL was the first widely-used high-level programming language for business applications, and the second-oldest high-level programming language (after FORTRAN). It evolved in the 1940s from the pioneering work of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, who felt it was important to have a programming language that resembled natural English, so it could be easy to write and read. Further developed in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, COBOL was designed by The Short Range Committee for exclusive use in mainframe computers in business applications. While programs written in COBOL tended to be much longer than the same programs written in other languages, they were also easier to understand. Despite being disparaged by many programmers as outdated, COBOL is still the most widely used programming languagein the world. Like any other programming language, COBOL uses keyword and construct syntax based on natural language. Three primary versions of COBOL were approved by American National Standards Institute (ANSI): COBOL-68 (composed of basic language with keywords and constructs), COBOL-74 (which included additional features not present in 68), and COBOL-85 (composed of user-defined and object-oriented extensions to COBOL-74). The subsequent COBOL-2002 edition varied largely from its predecessors. Designed for business and financial applications, this high-level programming language evolved from three main languages: FLOW-MATIC, COMTRAN and FACT. COBOL programs are highly portable, and can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of hardware and software packages. Despite the growing popularity of more modern programming languages such as Java, C++ and .NET, a majority of payroll, accounting and other business application programs still use COBOL, which has more existing lines of programming code still in use today than any other programming language.
Collins, Barnabas
The central character in the 1966-71 daytime serial Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins is a vampire, born in 1770 in the town of Collinsport, Maine. In the early 1790s, he was cursed by a witch, and told that he would never rest. Shortly after her curse, a large bat attacked him, and Barnabas soon died, only to awaken with the cursed soul of a vampire. He was put into a coffin that was chained shut, then hidden in a secret room, so that he could not harm anyone else, and there he stayed until 1967, when he was accidentally released. Barnabas donned modern clothing and introduced himself to the current family living at Collinwood as a descendant of the original Barnabas Collins. Unable to resist his unholy appetites, but repentant of them, he soon worked tirelessly to seek a cure for his affliction. Intelligent and manipulative, yet charismatic and passionate, Barnabas was well liked by his family and friends. Although capable of great kindness, he could also be quite vindictive.
Collins was portrayed in the original soap opera by Jonathan Frid, in a short-lived 1991 weekly TV revival series by Ben Cross, and in a 2012 motion picture by Johnny Depp.
Comics Code Authority
A strict code of content guidelines for comic book writers, created in the 1950s by publishers who were seeking to diffuse negative publicity against the comic book industry. After World War II, readership dwindled for popular superhero titles such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Spirit, and many comic lines turned to gory true-life stories or tales of horror and the supernatural. Citing “immoral” content such as scantily clad women and the glorification of criminals, protestors rallied against the industry on the grounds that comics were negative influences on children. Dr. Fredric Wertham, a noted New York City psychiatrist, campaigned to ban the sales of comics to children, arguing that children imitated the actions of comic book characters and that the content desensitized children to violence. The 1954 publication of his book Seduction of the Innocent prompted the U.S. Senate to hold hearings on comic books’ influences, after which the Senate called for the comics industry to develop a system of self-regulation, in order to keep violent titles out of young hands. The Code’s 41 provisions purged sex, violence and any other questionable content. The imposition of the Comic Book Code bankrupted many of the horror and crime publishers, and many of the artists and writers left the business for good. The most notable failure was E.C. Comics, which lost every title but one, MAD, which Gaines republished as MAD Magazine to avoid the Code.
In 1971, Marvel Comics defied the Comics Code Authority, publishing a Spider-Man story arc about drug abuse. According to CMAA files, Marvel had asked for permission to publish the special issues, but was denied. The request, however, triggered a review of the code. Revisions were crafted in December 1970, and publishers agreed the new code would go into effect on Feb. 1, 1971. Representing Marvel. Charles Goodman promised that after publication of the Spider-Man issues (cover-dated May-July 1971), the company would not publish any comics without obtaining the Seal of Approval. The 1971 code relaxed the restrictions on crime comics and lifted the ban on horror comics. Still, DC Comics indicated it was considering eliminating the Seal of Approval from its books, arguing the 1971 code was an embarrassment and a hindrance to the creative talent of artists and writers. As a result, the CMAA drafted a two-part document that met DC’s demands for broad guidelines. The “Principles of the Comics Code Authority” contained general statements about violence, language and other areas of concern. The second part, “Editorial Guidelines,” listed specific rules for each of the content areas. The CMAA forbade the release of this internal document to the public.
In 2001, Marvel withdrew from the Comics Code Authority in favor of an in-house rating system. By 2011, only the Archie and DC lines printed the Seal of Approval on their covers. DC announced in January 2011 it was dropping the Seal of Approval, and Archie soon followed.
Commodore VIC-20
One of the first computer lines sold on television for home use, and the first computer to sell over 1 million units, the Commodore VIC-20 plugged into a home television set. Original sold for under $300, the VIC-20 would eventually become first color home computer for under $100. From today’s standards, the computer’s capacity is a bit comical: the amount of free memory (3,583 bytes) was roughly equivalent to the number of characters a user could type on one sheet of paper! Still, the VIC-20 was advanced for its time, with a cartridge drive that gave it a plug-and-play usability that was much faster than loading software from the tape drive. The “VIC” in the name stood for “Video Interface Chip,” which was originally designed to be used in arcade machines. When it didn’t sell, the computer was built around the chip. No one is exactly sure what the “20” stood for, or if it just sounded good to the manufacturer.
Common Business-Oriented Language
See COBOL.
Common Era (C.E./CE)
Used interchangeably with “Annus Domini” (“year of the Lord”) or “A.D.,” the calendar term is preferred by many because it removes any religious points of reference. It has been found in English writings as far back as 1708. The Latin term “vulgaris aerae” (“vulgar era”) was used interchangeably with “Christian era” as far back as in the 1600s.
Communicator
The standard shore-to-ship and crew-to-crew communications device when away from the Enterprise and other starships, the communicator was a mainstay of Starfleet in the Star Trek universe. Somewhat of a precursor to the modern “flip-style” cellular phone, the original design featured an antenna grille, frequency dials, and a central combination speaker/microphone. With the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which took place approximately 100 years after the events of the original series, the hand-held model had been replaced by a touch-activated chest badge.
Computer
At the simplest level, a computer can be defined as an electronic machine that can store and manipulate or work with large amounts of data. Over the years, there have been many types of computers with a broad range of capabilities and differences. As the name reveals, it is a machine to be used to compute, or calculate, mathematical problems (and in fact, a calculator is a computer by this definition), but modern computers, also called “word processors,” are mainly used as storage-and-retrieval units for information, and the production of written work. With the advent of the internet, personal computers are now commonly used for the gathering of information from sources all over the world.
Conan
The character of Conan, created by Robert E. Howard, made his first appearance in December 1932, in an issue of the magazine Weird Tales. Howard sold quite a number of stories to Weird Tales and other publications before he committed suicide in 1936, but Conan was his most enduring creation. During Howard’s lifetime, he sold 17 Conan stories to Weird Tales (“Red Nails,” the final Conan story to appear in Weird Tales, was published posthumously), and in the years that followed, a number of his unpublished Conan stories found their way to print, and several authors – most notably L. Sprague de Camp – completed Howard’s unfinished tales and brought those to print. Since then, Conan has appeared in books, comics, black-and-white illustrated magazines, comic strips, movies, live-action TV, cartoons, video games, RPGs, and figurines. The character is still going strong today, all thanks to some 17 stories published by Howard in the space of four years.
While there’s no debating his barbarian aspect, Conan is far from stupid, as written in Howard’s original tales. In his first published Conan tale, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” Conan is in his forties, and has already become king of Aquilonia, the greatest nation of The Hyborian Age. In the first scene of this premiere tale, Conan is filling in the missing spaces on a map.
A barbarian who kills, drinks, wenches and carouses, before becoming king, Conan was also general of this country’s armies, the greatest fighting force in that known world. He still has the military mind that led the revolt which allowed him to wrest the jeweled crown of Aquilonia from the mad king Numedides. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft exchanged a series of renowned letters that debated the virtues of barbarism vs. civilization, and Howard’s predominant theme of the triumph of barbarism over civilization shows the reader a certain noble beauty in the simple ways of the barbarian, which are presented in certain ways as superior to the decadence of the civilized world.
Conn
As heard and read in Star Trek series and books, the military term has two meanings:
- As a verb, to steer a ship.
- As a noun, the action of conning a ship, or the physical post where conning occurs.
Cookie
A small amount of data generated by a website and saved by the web browser on your computer, in order to remember information about you. While cookies serve many functions, their most common purpose is to store log-in information for a specific site, saving a user’s username and/or password. Cookies are also used to store user preferences for a specific site. If a website needs to store a lot of personal information, it may use a cookie to remember who you are, but will load the information from the web server. This method, called “server-side storage,” is often used when you create an account on a website.
There are two types of browser cookies: “session” and “persistent.” Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when the browser is closed. These types of cookies are often used by e-commerce sites to store items placed in your shopping cart, and can serve many other purposes, as well. Persistent cookies are designed to store data for an extended period of time. Each persistent cookie is created with an expiration date, which may be anywhere from a few days to several years in the future. Once the expiration date is reached, the cookie is automatically deleted. Persistent cookies are what allow websites to “remember you” for two weeks, one month, or any other amount of time.
Cool World
Four years after the release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, this similar-looking Ralph Bakshi live-action/animated film was released in 1992. In it, World War II vet Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) is inexplicably transported to Cool World, a rough-and-tumble animated city. Forty-seven years later, cartoonist-turned-convict Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) creates the highly acclaimed comic book series Cool World – featuring the femme fatale Holli Would (Kim Basinger) – while behind bars. Once he’s released, Holli summons Jack into the real Cool World in an effort to become human.
Coon, Gene L.
Referred to as “the spirit and soul of Star Trek,” the creator of the Klingons, Khan Noonien Singh and The Prime Directive was born Gene Lee Coon on January 7, 1924 in Nebraska. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific (1942-46) and in Korea (1950-52), then, after leaving the service, Coon worked as a radio newscaster before getting into freelance writing in Hollywood. From 1956 to 1962, he worked on scripts for Dragnet, Wagon Train, Maverick and Bonanza. In the early ‘60s, he turned McHale’s Navy from a one-hour drama into a successful 30-minute sitcom. Joining the Star Trek production team after the first 13 episodes, Coon is credited with adding a great deal of fun and humor to a series that some felt creator Gene Roddenberry was taking too seriously. While creating the now-famous Spock-McCoy banter, Coon also injected timely (and timeless) messages on serious topics like racism into scripts for the show’s first two seasons. He contributed uncredited rewrites for the latter half of the second season, then contributed some scripts to its third season under the pen name Lee Cronin. He penned the script for the episode “The Devil in the Dark” in the course of a single weekend, and worked as a writer or line producer on many episodes, including “Arena,” “Space Seed,” “A Taste of Armageddon,” “The City of the Edge of Forever,” “Mirror, Mirror” and “The Doomsday Machine.” He left Star Trek in March 1968 to work as writer/producer on It Takes A Thief, but continued to write several more Trek episodes under the pseudonym “Lee Cronin” in order to fulfill his contract with Paramount. In the meantime, he also founded one of the first “cartridge TV” video companies, UniTel Associates. Coon passed away in Los Angeles on July 8, 1973.
Copernicium
Discovered by S. Hofmann, V. Ninov and F.P. Hessberger in 1996, Copernicium (symbol Cn, atomic number 112 on the Periodic Table of Elements) was derived from a fusion of zinc and lead atoms. Before this transition metal (with atomic weight 277) was named for Nicolaus Copernicus, who proposed the heliocentric (sun-centered) solar system, it was known as “Ununbium” for its atomic number 112, or “un” “un” “bi.”
Coriolanus
Shakespearean drama centered around war hero Caius Martius, who treats the downtrodden Roman citizens with contempt. When Martius plays a major role in capturing the Volsce city of Corioles, he is given the honorary title of Coriolanus. Returning to Rome, he finds himself nominated for a consulship, but a few senators portray him as the people’s enemy, and the citizens retract their support for him. Instead, he is accused of treason and banished. Coriolanus offers his services to his former enemy Aufidius, and he is made welcome by the Volsces. When Coriolanus’ popularity grows among the Volscians, Aufidius meets with a group of conspirators, and Coriolanus is once again called a traitor. He is killed by Aufidius, who immediately regrets his actions, and prepares a noble funeral. A big-screen adaptation of Coriolanus was released in 2011 starring Ralph Fiennes (who also directed) and Gerard Butler.
Covalent bond
A chemical bond formed by the sharing of one or more electrons, and especially pairs of electrons, between atoms.
CPU
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