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"The best fuzzy rules, the best knowledge, deal with the turning points of the system. If a race-car driver teaches you how to drive, you don't need him to show you how to drive on the straightaway. It's how he handles the curves that matters."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Windtrap | ||
| A device which precipitates water from the air for use by people. |
In the desert planet of Dune, the inhabitants are in a constant battle to obtain water to live. One way to get water was from a windtrap, described as a device placed in the path of a prevailing wind and capable of precipitating the moisture from the air. This was accomplished by a sharp drop in temperature within the trap.
| Stilgar stopped at a yellow rock wall. He pressed an outcropping and the wall swung silently away from him, opening along an irregular crack. He led the way through past a dark honey-comb lattice that directed a cool wash of air across Paul when he passed it. "That air felt damp." A man behind them said "Plenty of air in the trap tonight." |
| Technovelgy from Dune,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1965 Additional resources -
|
The native inhabitants of Dune hid thousands of these devices across the surface of the planet in their quasi-religious quest to make the surface of their planet a fit place for humans to live.
Be sure to read the comments below for some excellent material on ancient sources for windtraps in the Middle East.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Dune
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Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
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'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
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‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
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