Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"In 1977, it took about eight months for a slightly faster more refined mechanism to put punk in the window of Holt Renfrew. It's gotten faster ever since."
- William Gibson

Barytrine Field  
  Very large scale stasis field.  

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Earth was demolished because it stood in the way of galactic progress. The superintelligent race in Troubled Star, however, was a bit nicer; they offered to tow the Earth to a new star.

"...We put a barytrine field around Earth and tow the planet to some star similar to Sol. The barytrine field is a sort of time stasis - we don't know all about them yet but we're learning - which will make it seem as though there was a sudden cosmic wink...

"...You won't notice it. We've got maybe a half-dozen planets in the barytrine field right now... It stops all time - not dead-still but damned near... I assure you that if you drop a marble just before the barytrine field goes on , it will land after the field is off and you will have traversed a thousand years."

Technovelgy from Troubled Star, by George O. Smith.
Published by Better Publications in 1952
Additional resources -

Compare this item to the Slaver stasis field from Larry Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld and the nullentropy bin from Frank Herbert's 1984 novel Heretics of Dune.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Troubled Star
  More Ideas and Technology by George O. Smith
  Tech news articles related to Troubled Star
  Tech news articles related to works by George O. Smith

Articles related to Engineering
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'

Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'

Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'

Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.

Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'

Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'

AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'

Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'

Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.