I read a Science Fiction book series in the early 1980's when I was in
elementary or Jr. High that was a take-off from the "Danny Dunn" (by
Jay Williams) series of the 1960s and 1970s.  This series was based in
the future (rather than the present used in the earlier series), and I
think the main character was called "Danny Dunn" as well.  The first
book explained an orbital space station colony that was a large
cylinder a few miles long.  The boy had a robot he named "Aristotle",
and in the first book I think he also was in a space ship race where
he was the first to test a fusion engine used on a space ship, where
all the rest of the space ships were using ion propulsion.  In later
books in the series he ended up on a planet orbiting Alpha Cenatauri,
and in another he redirected a miniature black hole that was going to
collide with the sun using a superconductor magnet.  Yet another book
was about how he had to rescue the sun from going supernova from
someone using a space portal to siphon energy directly off the surface
of the sun to earth for cheap power.  I would love to share this
series with my son, as I enjoyed it immensely.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 09 May 2005 13:14 PDT

Could this be your series? It features a revamped, futuristic Tom
Swift and a robot named Aristotle:

http://tomswift.bobfinnan.com/ts3.htm

---

Clarification of Question by bcontario-ga on 09 May 2005 14:07 PDT

Yes, that is it!  Too much confusion with the whole "Danny Dunn"
series.  That is the answer I was looking for.  Thank you!

I'm pleased to have been able to help you identify your series as the
third "Tom Swift" series. I'm reposting the link from my previous
comment, with a bit of extra material that I hope you'll find useful.

The Unofficial Tom Swift Home Page
http://tomswift.bobfinnan.com/ts3.htm

"The third Tom Swift series was issued by Wanderer between 1981 and
1984. This series, set in outerspace, consists of 11 books and one
phantom title that was never published. Volumes one through nine were
also published in hardcover with dust jackets."

Series Books: Tom Swift III
http://www.seriesbooks.com/swiftwanderer.htm

"In 1981, the third series of Tom Swift books appeared with the
release of 'Tom Swift: The City in the Stars'. This series seems to
loosely follow in the first two series footsteps and the new Tom
Swift, while never directly stated as such, could be the original's
grandson, great-grandson, or possibly his great-great-grandson. The
new Swift seems prepared to spend most of his time off Earth in
spaceships, space stations and on other planets and such. This series
lasted only three short years and, sadly, ended in 1984."

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRONIC WEB
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/6058/tomswift.html

"Tom Swift III by Victor Appleton
 Published by Wanderer Books (A division of Simon & Schuster)
 1981-1984

1.  The City in the Stars (1981)
2.  Terror on the Moons of Jupiter (1981)>
3.  The Alien Probe (1981)
4.  The War in Outer Space (1981)
5.  The Astral Fortress (1981)
6.  The Rescue Mission (1981)
7.  Ark Two (1982)
8.  Crater of Mystery (1983)
9.  Gateway to Doom (1983)
10. The Invisible Force (1983)
11. Planet of Nightmares (1984)
12. Chaos on Earth (1984) (Never Released)
13. The Microworld (1984) (Never Released)"

Tom Swift III - Series 3 Book List
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/6058/swift3.html

Here's a search link that will help you to find online merchants who
are offering copies of the books (this may be slow in loading, but
it's worth the wait):

Addall Rare, Used, and Out of Print Book Search
http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submitRare.cgi?author=appleton&title=tom+swift&keyword=wanderer&isbn=&order=TITLE&ordering=ASC&dispCurr=USD&binding=Any+Binding&min=&max=&timeout=20&match=Y&StoreAbebooks=on&StoreAlibris=on&StoreAntiqbook=on&StoreBiblio=on&StoreBibliology=on&StoreBiblion=on&StoreBibliophile=on&StoreBibliopoly=on&StoreBooksandcollectibles=on&StoreChoosebooks=on&StoreHalf=on&StoreILA
B=on&StoreMaremagnum=on&StorePowells=on&StoreStrandbooks=on&StoreZVAB=on

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "robot aristotle"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22robot+aristotle%22

Google Web Search: "tom swift" "third series"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22tom+swift%22+%22third+series%22

I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll gladly
offer further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreu

Exactly what I was looking for.  Thank you!

Thank you for the five stars and the tip! I hope your son will enjoy
the Tom Swift books.

~pinkfreud