Hi ya'll...
New here, hope I don't offend inadvertently... seems to be some sophisticated discussions going on here.
I'm looking for the title of a short story by RAH.
Story was about the invention of a transparent force field that could be used to enclose a ship; I think the purpose was to decrease mass, thereby permitting an increase in payload. The "experts" all said that is could not be done; so an engineering technician just went and did it, permanently injuring himself in the process. He did this by toggling the field on and off cyclicly at such a rate that the migration of inside atmosphere to the vacuum of space was virtually eliminated. The point of the story was to that "experts" can get wrapped up in theory so much that the practical applications get lost in the shuffle, at which point the 'technicians,' not being hog tied by theory, can go out and just 'do it!'
Anyone out there have an idea what the name of this story was?
Thanks for taking the time to read...

Dennis

It's not a Heinlein story, although parts of it sound a bit like his gadget tales. I don't recognize it at all. It's not Clarke, either, to the best of my recollection. Maybe Asimov or one of the other hard-science gadgeteers.

Don't be afraid to post anything you like at any level here, as long as it's Heinlein-related. The long-time participants get into some pretty high-falutin' exchanges, but there's always room for newcomers to ask the simple questions, too.

Thank you! No wonder I couldn't find it... had searched the short story collections that I had, no joy. Wish I could remember, but I've got CRS....
I assumed that it was his, as I've read more by RAH than any other author, and it seems a good deal like some of his characters; lone wolf, gonna do it my way, type.

Thanks again..

Isn't that a Niven story?

Bet against it. I am familiar with most of Niven's work, and I don't believe this is his.

The description does ring a faint bell, so I may have read it, but I'm coming up blank.

I am thinking an older author - Piper, Van Vogt, other names escape me (my own form of CRS). Seems like the OP read it in an anthology of some kind; is it possibly a Hugo winner?

It also sounds tailor-made for Campbell's tastes, so an origin in Astounding or Analog is highly plausible.

Actually, this looks like a job for a YASID on rec.arts.sf.written, where stories are usually identified in hours, sometimes in minutes.