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
"But the problem with reincarnation is that it's hard to imagine what the storage medium for past lives would be. Not to mention the input-output device. I hesitate to rule it out completely, but I'd need pretty definite proof."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Chromoplastic Dew Collector | ||
| A small, egg-shaped device that uses a special surface to collect morning dew on the desert planet of Arrakis. |
Used by Arrakeen natives to line concave planting holes where they provide a small but reliable source of water to small plants.
| She glanced back as they passed beyond the arch, said: "They hurry to finish the quota in the plastics shop before we flee. We need many dew collectors for the planting." "Flee?" "Until the butchers stop hunting us or are driven from our land..." "What're dew collectors?" he asked. The glance she turned on him was full of surprise. "Don't they teach you anything in the . . . wherever it is you come from?" "Not about dew collectors." "Hai!" she said, and there was a whole conversation in the one word. "Well, what are they?" "Each bush, each weed you see out there in the erg," she said, "how do you suppose it lives when we leave it? Each is planted most tenderly in its own little pit. The pits are filled with smooth ovals of chromoplastic. Light turns them white. You can see them glistening in the dawn if you look down from a high place. White reflects. But when Old Father Sun departs, the chromoplastic reverts to transparency in the dark. It cools with extreme rapidity. The surface condenses moisture out of the air. That moisture trickles down to keep our plants alive." "Dew collectors," he muttered, enchanted by the simple beauty of such a scheme. |
| Technovelgy from Dune,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1965 Additional resources -
|
The technical description is thoughtfully provided in the glossary to Dune:
Dew really is an excellent source of water; it is pure H2O that has condensed from the atmosphere. Grass covered with dew is an important source of water for grazing animals and insects. To learn more about harnessing the power of dew, see the home page for OPUR (Organisation Pour l'Utilisation de la Rosée), a non-profit organization dedicated to the utilization of dew as a potable water source.
See also the vaporator from the world of Star Wars.
Egg-shaped devices about four centimeters on the long axis. They are made of chromoplastic that turns a reflecting white when subjected to light, and reverts to transparency in darkness. The collector forms a markedly cold surface upon which dawn dew will precipitate.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Dune
More Ideas
and Technology by Frank Herbert
Tech news articles related to Dune
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
Chromoplastic Dew Collector-related
news articles:
- Global Water Crisis
- Namib Desert Beetle-based Dune Dew Collectors
- WatAir Dew-Harvesting 'Web' Kit
- Thermeleon Roof Tiles Change Color To Save Energy
- Chaac Ha Dew Collector ala Dune
- Cool Chaac Ha Dew Collector Video
- Self-Filling Water Bottle Is Beetle-Based
- CloudFisher - Moroccan Fog Farmers Harvest Moisture From The Air
- Dune Fans! Metal-Organic Frameworks Make Science Fiction Real
- Better Than Dune Chromoplastic? This Guy Might Have Done It
- A'Seedbot Autonomous Desert Robot
- Zai Pits (West Sahel) And Dew Collectors (Dune)
| Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse |
| Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It |
| Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years |
| The FLUTE Project - A Huge Liquid Mirror In Space |
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> |
|
|
|
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
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
