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Template:Did you know nominations/Leslie Shepherd (physicist)

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 (talk) 08:33, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

DYK toolbox

Leslie Shepherd (physicist)

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  • ... that nuclear physicist Leslie Shepherd published groundbreaking papers on the use of nuclear technology for interplanetary and interstellar space travel in 1948 and 1952? Source: He shared his enthusiasm for interstellar travel with Arthur C Clarke, whom he succeeded in 1954 as chairman of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), shortly after publishing two groundbreaking papers. Both of these married (like Shepherd himself) the infectious excitement of a science-fiction devotee with the number-crunching exactitude of the rational, peer-reviewed scientist. The first, in 1948-49, was The Atomic Rocket (with AV Cleaver, then chief rocket engineer at Rolls-Royce) in which Shepherd discussed the possibility of harnessing nuclear detonations (whose power had been vividly demonstrated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki only three years earlier) to propel spacecraft towards other solar systems. The second, published in 1952, considered step-by-step the other principal barriers to mankind establishing outposts on planets light years from Earth." ([1])

Created by Hawkeye7 (talk). Self-nominated at 21:57, 19 May 2020 (UTC).

  • Article is new enough, policy compliant, and not a COPYVIO. Hook is interesting, within length requirements, and support by a reliable source. QPQ done. Good to go on this one. Hog Farm (talk) 02:26, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
    • Hawkeye7 could you use a less peacocky term than "groundbreaking", or perhaps reword the hook? Thanks, Yoninah (talk) 13:32, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
      It is the same word used in the source, and WP:PEACOCK does not apply to DYK hooks. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 21:18, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
  • @Hawkeye7: okay, so you prefer that "groundbreaking" be put in quotes in the hook? That will look weird. Yoninah (talk) 19:34, 6 June 2020 (UTC)
ALT0b ... that in 1948 and 1952, nuclear physicist Leslie Shepherd published the first scientific papers on the use of nuclear technology for interplanetary and interstellar space travel?
@Hawkeye7 and Yoninah: Does that work? The Squirrel Conspiracy (talk) 20:31, 23 June 2020 (UTC)
The problem is that they were not the first. During World War II, some scientists at the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, including Stan Ulam, Frederick Reines and Frederic de Hoffmann, speculated about the development of nuclear-powered rockets, and in 1947, Ulam and Cornelius Joseph "C. J." Everett wrote a paper in which they considered using atomic bombs as a means of rocket propulsion. This became the basis for Project Orion. In December 1945, Theodore von Karman and Hsue-Shen Tsien wrote a report on nuclear rocket propulsion for the United States Army Air Forces. All these reports were classified though, so Shepherd's papers had greater influence. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 21:04, 23 June 2020 (UTC)
Hawkeye7 Would a source support "published the first unclassified scientific papers"? The Squirrel Conspiracy (talk) 21:45, 23 June 2020 (UTC)
The quote above? Don't think so. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 21:53, 23 June 2020 (UTC)
@Hawkeye7 and The Squirrel Conspiracy:, it's been almost three weeks since any comment. What's going on here folks? Flibirigit (talk) 12:28, 17 July 2020 (UTC)
The main hook is okay. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 19:06, 17 July 2020 (UTC)
@Hawkeye7:, the question by @Yoninah: to have "groundbreaking" put into quotes has not been answered. Please address the concern or propose another hook. Flibirigit (talk) 00:29, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
If you have a better hook, propose one. Otherwise, run the hook that has already been approved. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 01:18, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
I have struck ALT0 as both myself and Yoninah have issues with its neutrality. Flibirigit (talk) 02:53, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
ALT1 ...that in 1949, Leslie Shepherd determined that nuclear technology might be able to apply to interplanetary space travel?
  • ALT2 ... that in 1948 and 1952, nuclear physicist Leslie Shepherd published scientific papers on the use of nuclear technology for interplanetary and interstellar space travel?
Hawkeye7 (discuss) 19:20, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
  • I have struck ALT1 since there is no specific date mentioned as to when he determined the technology's application. ALT2 is properly mentioned inline, cited and verified with the sources provided. Flibirigit (talk) 01:15, 21 July 2020 (UTC)
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