spinward adv.
in the direction that something (as a space station or a galaxy) is rotating
Also as adj., n.
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1966 Lost Perception (1968) xv. 140
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Daniel F. Galouye
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Vega Jumpoff Station was a huge doughnut that rotated serently about its nodular hub in the quiet of space…. ‘Spinward’ and ‘contraspinward’ were curvilinear directions along the ring. ‘Up’ mean towards the hub. [Ibid. 141] There was a slight increase in weight as spinward jets came to life and sent Vega Jumpoff wheeling insignificantly faster about its hub.
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1970 Ringworld (1976) x. 138
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Larry Niven
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They established directions. Spinward was back along the meteoric furrow dug by the Liar’s landing. Antispinward was the opposite direction. [Ibid. xxiii. 315] Across the spinward section of the city lay a cloud of black smoke. [Ibid. xxiv. 330] By now they were almost directly to spinward of the great mountain.
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1978 The Avatar 171
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Poul Anderson
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They retreated spinward from us. The auditorium is antispinward from here. We’ll have a slight jump on them.
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1990 Asteroid Queen in L. Niven et al. Man-Kzin Wars III (1992) iv. 80
S. M. Stirling
Jerry Pournelle
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He passed through the mechanical airlock and into one of the main transverse corridors. It was ten meters by twenty, and sixty kilometers long; three sides were small businesses and shops; on the fourth, spinward, was a slideway.
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1999 Through Alien Eyes (2000) ii. 46
Amy Thomson
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We bought another ten hectares just spinward of Toivo's place.
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2006 Inclination in Asimov’s Science Fiction Apr.–May 29
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William Shunn
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We ride a slidewalk spinward, then crowd into a hubward elevator. [Ibid. 49] The sensation of walking spinward inside a great turning wheel like Netherview Station is a little like walking up an endless inclined plane. Because your feet are borne forward by the rotation a tiny bit faster than your head, you might feel, if you’re attentive enough, as if you’re leaning slightly backward, or walking up the slightest of slopes. By the same token, a counterspinward stroll might feel a bit like a walk downhill.
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2017 To Guard Against the Dark 218
Julie E. Czerneda
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The quality improved spinward, which was why this meeting place was in the opposite direction. [Ibid. 406] Nice address, though, Morgan noted, nothing fancy, but Level 5, spinward.
Research requirements
antedating 1966
Research History
Last modified 2024-08-08 18:59:01
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