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

"Fuzzy logic tries to get machines to think like people do, with inexact fuzzy terms."
- Bart Kosko

Nothing  
  A super-hard substance created by carefully removing material.  

... if, in these special cases, the substance becomes stronger when a small part of it is removed, it would seem logical to assume that if still more were removed, the substance would be stronger still. And carried to its logical conclusion, it would seem reasonable to hypothesize that by removing more and more material, the resulting substance would become stronger and stronger until at last we would produce a substance composed of nothing at all - which would be indestructible!

...

...the little weapon went off with a short, explosive hiss. The little needle it threw disintegrated in midair. "There's a sheet of just plain Nothing between us and it's impenetrable."

Still holding his weapon, Mr. Brown rose and backed away - and brought up sharply against some Nothing behind him...

Technovelgy from It was Nothing - Really!, by Theodore Sturgeon.
Published by Knight in 1969
Additional resources -

Thanks to Winchell Chung (aka @nyrath) at Project Rho for contributing this item.

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

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from It was Nothing - Really!
  More Ideas and Technology by Theodore Sturgeon
  Tech news articles related to It was Nothing - Really!
  Tech news articles related to works by Theodore Sturgeon

Nothing-related news articles:
  - Super Bainite Armor Steel

Articles related to Material
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
Nano-Chainmail 2D Mechanically Interlocked Polymer
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
GNoME AI From DeepMind Invents Millions Of New Materials

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

Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'

Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'

Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'

SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'

Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'

Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.

Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'

Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!

Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...'

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.