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First contact story where aliens are (discovered at the very end to be) anti-matter

Short story - spaceship that crashed and injured pilotShort story about aliens who communicate by smellScience fiction anthology, possibly called Monsters (or Creatures or Dragons)?Cannot find simple first contact “mood” storyScifi short story. Alien makes first-contact with humanity but finds us overly obsessed with sexPlease help identify a first contact with aliens novelLost SF Short-Story, Solitary Human Explorer, too powerful to act. Alien POVNovel/short story with sadistic alien pornography and intense hand torture, maybe called Bird's song or Sparrow's song?Old short story where humans deliberately pick an insane man to lead a contact mission with an alien speciesThat's what's unique about humans among all species—“they die”SF first contact story where it is revealed that it is humanity's destiny to merge with alien

6

1

Does anyone recall the name of a SF first contact story where humans encounter an alien ship, and use the weak force to define left and right. At the very end, as the human and alien space walk out to meet each other, the alien extends its left hand to shake ....

I first read this story in the late 1970's I believe. I recall the style as possibly being similar to Niven's, but cannot swear to that.

story-identification short-stories hard-sci-fi first-contact

share|improve this question

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I ... think I understand why the revelation of the aliens being made of antimatter was made at the very end of the story...
  
  – akaioi
  Sep 22 '17 at 1:14
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

6

1

Does anyone recall the name of a SF first contact story where humans encounter an alien ship, and use the weak force to define left and right. At the very end, as the human and alien space walk out to meet each other, the alien extends its left hand to shake ....

I first read this story in the late 1970's I believe. I recall the style as possibly being similar to Niven's, but cannot swear to that.

story-identification short-stories hard-sci-fi first-contact

share|improve this question

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I ... think I understand why the revelation of the aliens being made of antimatter was made at the very end of the story...
  
  – akaioi
  Sep 22 '17 at 1:14
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Does anyone recall the name of a SF first contact story where humans encounter an alien ship, and use the weak force to define left and right. At the very end, as the human and alien space walk out to meet each other, the alien extends its left hand to shake ....

I first read this story in the late 1970's I believe. I recall the style as possibly being similar to Niven's, but cannot swear to that.

story-identification short-stories hard-sci-fi first-contact

share|improve this question

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

share|improve this question

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

share|improve this question

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

edited Feb 2 '16 at 11:24

SQB

25.5k25145243

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

asked Feb 2 '16 at 11:12

Pieter GeerkensPieter Geerkens

1857

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

9

Could this be a story within Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe? - it was published in 1987 so too late for your given time frame and is non-fiction.

There is a chapter where they are explaining anti-matter and they are talking to aliens that do not understand clockwise, left and right nor up and down.

The humans on the radio explain north through the electrons of Cobolt-60 attracting to the north pole within a magnetic field. From this they understand the concept of clockwise.

Then they say what if we went to meet the aliens?

When the day comes, we meet and stick out our right hands. Suddenly, we notice that the aliens have stuck out their left tentacles. In a flash we realise that there's been a mistake. The aliens are actually made of anti-matter, who conducted an experiment on ticobolt-60 and measered the spin of anitelectrons that went south.

This story itself is based on a story told by the physicist Richard Feynman at Caltech in the 60s to illustrate a point about anti-matter and charge parity

Imagine you were in two-way contact with some alien species, but only by “telegraph” (i.e., light flashes or radio signals). The well known procedures of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), starting with prime numbers and progressing to pictures, physics, and chemistry information could be used to develop a common language and arrive at a good level of communication.

You could tell the alien how tall you are by expressing your height in mutually understood wavelengths of light. You could tell the alien how old you are as some large number of ticks of a light-frequency clock. Now you want to explain how humans shake hands when they meet, and you describe extending your right hand. “Wait a
moment!” says the alien. “What do you mean by ‘right’?”

Feynman also had a punch line to this story.

Suppose, after lots of communication you finally can go into space and meet your alien counterpart. If, as you approach one another, the alien extends its left hand to shake, watch out! He’s made of antimatter!

Here are the full Caltech Lecture Notes from Richard Feynman. Good read if you want to feel really unintelligent.

I cannot find a fiction story based on this story but hope it might point someone to the actual answer for you.

share|improve this answer

edited Feb 2 '16 at 13:14

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes, I won a copy of those Feynman Lectures while in High School - I still pick them up once or twice a year for fun reading. This phenomenon has been widely known in the Physics community since the 1960's, and is called the Ozma problem (physics.stackexchange.com/questions/61134/…), but I am still sure I first encountered it in the fiction story I am inquiring about:
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:22
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  As I recall, when the ships first approach in orbit there is puzzlement on why the alien ship seems to be glowing slightly. Then only as it extends it's left hand does the reason for the glow occur to everyone on board.
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:26
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I have read the story in question and as I recall each ship sends someone out in a shuttlecraft. A man from the one ship and a woman from the other. They meet. To put it mildly, it does not go well. I am at the moment drawing a complete blank as to the title or author, but will return if it percolates to the surface.
  
  – Emsley Wyatt
  Oct 25 '17 at 1:27
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

0

I was looking for the same story and another user (Mike Stone) helped me identify it. The story is "Chance Encounter" by A. Bertram Chandler. It was first published in New Worlds of Science Fiction #81 (March 1959). I must have come across it in Starships (1983), a short story collection edited by Asimov, et al.

share

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

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9

Could this be a story within Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe? - it was published in 1987 so too late for your given time frame and is non-fiction.

There is a chapter where they are explaining anti-matter and they are talking to aliens that do not understand clockwise, left and right nor up and down.

The humans on the radio explain north through the electrons of Cobolt-60 attracting to the north pole within a magnetic field. From this they understand the concept of clockwise.

Then they say what if we went to meet the aliens?

When the day comes, we meet and stick out our right hands. Suddenly, we notice that the aliens have stuck out their left tentacles. In a flash we realise that there's been a mistake. The aliens are actually made of anti-matter, who conducted an experiment on ticobolt-60 and measered the spin of anitelectrons that went south.

This story itself is based on a story told by the physicist Richard Feynman at Caltech in the 60s to illustrate a point about anti-matter and charge parity

Imagine you were in two-way contact with some alien species, but only by “telegraph” (i.e., light flashes or radio signals). The well known procedures of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), starting with prime numbers and progressing to pictures, physics, and chemistry information could be used to develop a common language and arrive at a good level of communication.

You could tell the alien how tall you are by expressing your height in mutually understood wavelengths of light. You could tell the alien how old you are as some large number of ticks of a light-frequency clock. Now you want to explain how humans shake hands when they meet, and you describe extending your right hand. “Wait a
moment!” says the alien. “What do you mean by ‘right’?”

Feynman also had a punch line to this story.

Suppose, after lots of communication you finally can go into space and meet your alien counterpart. If, as you approach one another, the alien extends its left hand to shake, watch out! He’s made of antimatter!

Here are the full Caltech Lecture Notes from Richard Feynman. Good read if you want to feel really unintelligent.

I cannot find a fiction story based on this story but hope it might point someone to the actual answer for you.

share|improve this answer

edited Feb 2 '16 at 13:14

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes, I won a copy of those Feynman Lectures while in High School - I still pick them up once or twice a year for fun reading. This phenomenon has been widely known in the Physics community since the 1960's, and is called the Ozma problem (physics.stackexchange.com/questions/61134/…), but I am still sure I first encountered it in the fiction story I am inquiring about:
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:22
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  As I recall, when the ships first approach in orbit there is puzzlement on why the alien ship seems to be glowing slightly. Then only as it extends it's left hand does the reason for the glow occur to everyone on board.
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:26
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I have read the story in question and as I recall each ship sends someone out in a shuttlecraft. A man from the one ship and a woman from the other. They meet. To put it mildly, it does not go well. I am at the moment drawing a complete blank as to the title or author, but will return if it percolates to the surface.
  
  – Emsley Wyatt
  Oct 25 '17 at 1:27
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

9

Could this be a story within Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe? - it was published in 1987 so too late for your given time frame and is non-fiction.

There is a chapter where they are explaining anti-matter and they are talking to aliens that do not understand clockwise, left and right nor up and down.

The humans on the radio explain north through the electrons of Cobolt-60 attracting to the north pole within a magnetic field. From this they understand the concept of clockwise.

Then they say what if we went to meet the aliens?

When the day comes, we meet and stick out our right hands. Suddenly, we notice that the aliens have stuck out their left tentacles. In a flash we realise that there's been a mistake. The aliens are actually made of anti-matter, who conducted an experiment on ticobolt-60 and measered the spin of anitelectrons that went south.

This story itself is based on a story told by the physicist Richard Feynman at Caltech in the 60s to illustrate a point about anti-matter and charge parity

Imagine you were in two-way contact with some alien species, but only by “telegraph” (i.e., light flashes or radio signals). The well known procedures of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), starting with prime numbers and progressing to pictures, physics, and chemistry information could be used to develop a common language and arrive at a good level of communication.

You could tell the alien how tall you are by expressing your height in mutually understood wavelengths of light. You could tell the alien how old you are as some large number of ticks of a light-frequency clock. Now you want to explain how humans shake hands when they meet, and you describe extending your right hand. “Wait a
moment!” says the alien. “What do you mean by ‘right’?”

Feynman also had a punch line to this story.

Suppose, after lots of communication you finally can go into space and meet your alien counterpart. If, as you approach one another, the alien extends its left hand to shake, watch out! He’s made of antimatter!

Here are the full Caltech Lecture Notes from Richard Feynman. Good read if you want to feel really unintelligent.

I cannot find a fiction story based on this story but hope it might point someone to the actual answer for you.

share|improve this answer

edited Feb 2 '16 at 13:14

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes, I won a copy of those Feynman Lectures while in High School - I still pick them up once or twice a year for fun reading. This phenomenon has been widely known in the Physics community since the 1960's, and is called the Ozma problem (physics.stackexchange.com/questions/61134/…), but I am still sure I first encountered it in the fiction story I am inquiring about:
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:22
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  As I recall, when the ships first approach in orbit there is puzzlement on why the alien ship seems to be glowing slightly. Then only as it extends it's left hand does the reason for the glow occur to everyone on board.
  
  – Pieter Geerkens
  Feb 2 '16 at 13:26
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I have read the story in question and as I recall each ship sends someone out in a shuttlecraft. A man from the one ship and a woman from the other. They meet. To put it mildly, it does not go well. I am at the moment drawing a complete blank as to the title or author, but will return if it percolates to the surface.
  
  – Emsley Wyatt
  Oct 25 '17 at 1:27
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Could this be a story within Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe? - it was published in 1987 so too late for your given time frame and is non-fiction.

There is a chapter where they are explaining anti-matter and they are talking to aliens that do not understand clockwise, left and right nor up and down.

The humans on the radio explain north through the electrons of Cobolt-60 attracting to the north pole within a magnetic field. From this they understand the concept of clockwise.

Then they say what if we went to meet the aliens?

When the day comes, we meet and stick out our right hands. Suddenly, we notice that the aliens have stuck out their left tentacles. In a flash we realise that there's been a mistake. The aliens are actually made of anti-matter, who conducted an experiment on ticobolt-60 and measered the spin of anitelectrons that went south.

This story itself is based on a story told by the physicist Richard Feynman at Caltech in the 60s to illustrate a point about anti-matter and charge parity

Imagine you were in two-way contact with some alien species, but only by “telegraph” (i.e., light flashes or radio signals). The well known procedures of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), starting with prime numbers and progressing to pictures, physics, and chemistry information could be used to develop a common language and arrive at a good level of communication.

You could tell the alien how tall you are by expressing your height in mutually understood wavelengths of light. You could tell the alien how old you are as some large number of ticks of a light-frequency clock. Now you want to explain how humans shake hands when they meet, and you describe extending your right hand. “Wait a
moment!” says the alien. “What do you mean by ‘right’?”

Feynman also had a punch line to this story.

Suppose, after lots of communication you finally can go into space and meet your alien counterpart. If, as you approach one another, the alien extends its left hand to shake, watch out! He’s made of antimatter!

Here are the full Caltech Lecture Notes from Richard Feynman. Good read if you want to feel really unintelligent.

I cannot find a fiction story based on this story but hope it might point someone to the actual answer for you.

share|improve this answer

edited Feb 2 '16 at 13:14

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

share|improve this answer

edited Feb 2 '16 at 13:14

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

answered Feb 2 '16 at 12:51

Cearon O'FlynnCearon O'Flynn

13k55485

0

I was looking for the same story and another user (Mike Stone) helped me identify it. The story is "Chance Encounter" by A. Bertram Chandler. It was first published in New Worlds of Science Fiction #81 (March 1959). I must have come across it in Starships (1983), a short story collection edited by Asimov, et al.

share

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

0

I was looking for the same story and another user (Mike Stone) helped me identify it. The story is "Chance Encounter" by A. Bertram Chandler. It was first published in New Worlds of Science Fiction #81 (March 1959). I must have come across it in Starships (1983), a short story collection edited by Asimov, et al.

share

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

I was looking for the same story and another user (Mike Stone) helped me identify it. The story is "Chance Encounter" by A. Bertram Chandler. It was first published in New Worlds of Science Fiction #81 (March 1959). I must have come across it in Starships (1983), a short story collection edited by Asimov, et al.

share

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835

New contributor

Dr. T is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 2 mins ago

Dr. TDr. T

835