tight-beam n.
a highly focused energy beam, esp. one that conveys communications; a device that sends such a beam; a message sent by such a device
Communications
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1930
page image
Edward E. Smith
bibliography
He’s putting it on a tight beam—that’s fine, we can chase it up.
Skylark Three in Amazing Stories Oct. 617/2 -
1934
page image
Edward E. Smith
bibliography
‘Observation Officer of the Z12Q, attention!’ snapped from the tight-beam headquarters communicator. ‘Cut off those spy rays and report yourself under arrest for treason!’
Skylark of Valeron in Astounding Stories Aug. 29/2
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1940
page image
Milton A. Rothman
bibliography
This came on our own private, tight[-]beam, scrambled phone hook-up, just before the interference broke it up.
Flight to Galileo in Astonishing Stories Oct. 92/2 -
1951
Katherine MacLean
bibliography
‘It’s not exactly code. All you need to do is record it and slow it down. They're not broadcasting at us. If a star has planets, inhabited planets, and there is broadcasting between them, they would send it on a tight beam to save power.’ He looked for comprehension. ‘You know, like a spotlight. Theoretically, a tight beam can go on forever without losing power. But aiming would be difficult from planet to planet. You can’t expect a beam to stay on target, over such distances, more than a few seconds at a time. So they'd naturally compress each message into a short half-second or one-second-length package and send it a few hundred times in one long blast to make sure it is picked up during the instant the beam swings across the target.’
Pictures Don’t Lie in Galaxy Science Fiction Aug. 105/2
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1970
Anne McCaffrey
bibliography
I need to use your tight beam.
Ship who Sang (1991) ii. 32
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2020
Elizabeth Bear
bibliography
There was a snap of connection. No crackle of old-fashioned static this time. Sally had given me a tightbeam laser cluster.
Machine v. 80
Research requirements
antedating 1930
Earliest cite
E.E. Smith, 'Skylark Three''
Research History
Fred Galvin submitted a cite from a 1950 reprint of E. E. Smith's 1937 "Galactic Patrol".Fred Galvin submitted a 1956 cite from Randall Garrett's "The Saboteur".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1947 cite from Murray Leinster's "Skit-Tree Planet".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1951 cite from Katherine MacLean's "Pictures Don't Lie".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1940 cite from Lee Gregor's "Flight to Galileo".
Fred Galvin submitted a cite from the Gutenberg etext edition of E.E. Smith's "Triplanetary"
Fred Galvin submitted cites from a 1984 reprint of E.E. "Doc" Smith's "Skylark of Valeron": Mike Christie verified them in the original magazine serial.
Fred Galvin submitted a September 1930 cite from the magazine serialization of E.E. Smith's "Skylark Three".
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2020 cite from Elizabeth Bear.
Last modified 2022-09-14 15:08:16
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