Don't forget
the music!

Dune by Frank Herbert:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Now an exciting new movie by director Denis Villeneuve! An exceptional novel, but not for everyone. This is one of those books that people either worship or can't finish. Remarkable attention to every detail of life on Arrakis, the desert planet, should appeal to the scientist; social and religious philosophy appeal to the humanist. The villains are more vile, the heroes are more heroic; great action make this a memorable book.

Select an invention:

Amtal Rule
Testing to destruction

Battle Language
A special-purpose language designed for both clear communication of information related to war, and difficulty of translation.

Carryall - giant ornithopter
A flying wing (aircraft); used to pick up a sandcrawler (harvester factory)

Catchpocket
A small container in a stillsuit that stored reclaimed water.

Chromoplastic Dew Collector - when every drop counts
A small, egg-shaped device that uses a special surface to collect morning dew on the desert planet of Arrakis.

Communinet
A public data network.i

Crysknife - knife from a sandworm's tooth
A knife blade ground from the tooth of a giant sandworm of Dune.

Cutteray - mining laser
A laser used in a range of tools - including mining equipment.

Dew Gatherers
Devices used to gather morning dew as a source of drinking water.

Dispensing Tooth - remember the tooth!
A device shaped like a tooth that dispenses gas.

Distrans - talk to the animals
Device produces a temporary neural imprint on the nervous system of Chiroptera or birds.

Doorseal - retain moisture
A portable plastic seal used in temporary camps to keep moisture from escaping from dwelling places.

Ego-Likeness - a true portrait
An extremely detailed portrait played through a shigawire projector; capable of reproducing minute movements said to convey the ego essence of a person.

Factory Crawler (or Harvester Crawler) - sift the sands of Arrakis
A mobile factory which filtered and processed the sands of Dune for the spice, mélange.

Family Atomics
Noble houses had their own atomic weapons.

Fanmetal - build temporary shelters
High tensile strength material; used in collapsible structures opened by "fanning" them out.

Fencing Mirror - fencing instructor
A dummy fighting instructor for the young Kwisatz Haderach-in-training.

Filament Paper Book - small for space travel
Very small book, made for space travelers in an era when the smallest added weight was costly.

Filmbook
A storage medium for information, both text and video.

Filt-Plug - lose no moisture
A nose plug worn to collect moisture from exhaled air.

Glowglobe - the original track lighting
Floating spherical light bulb with organic energy source.

Golden Lights - track lighting without the track
Another unusual use of the suspensor field; lights are suspended in it.

Gom Jabbar
A needle with deadly poison, used to test for humans.

Heighliner
Enormous starship used by the Spacing Guild for interstellar travel.

Hunter-seeker - floats like a butterfly…
An assassination device that floats in mid-air; kills by entering the body and following nerve pathways to vital organs.

Hypno-Ligation
A means of psychological control over an individual.

Imperial Handicraft Globe
Perfectly crafted globe for planetary governors.

Jubba Cloak
An all-purpose garment in common use on Arrakis

Krimskell Fiber - better than zip strips
A "claw" fiber which will rubs against itself in such a way that, the tighter the rope is pulled, the stronger the knot becomes.

Lasgun - laser weapon
A continuous-wave laser projector; can be used as a weapon or as a cutting tool.

Maula Pistol
A spring-loaded projectile device.

Mentat
A person who has been specially trained and conditioned for excellence in

Message Cylinder - locked capsule
A small metal object containing some form of message media and a mechanism for either playing or extruding the medium; secured communication device.

Minimic Film one micron thick recording medium
Very fine message medium.

Mnemonic Pulse
A feature of filmbook recordings that helps imprint knowledge on the mind of the user.

Oil Lens - infinitely adjustable lens
Oil held in tension in an enclosing force field, used as an optical component.

Ornithopter - flies like a bird
Also called a 'thopter, it had adjustable wings and was jet-powered. Describes any plane capable of wing-beat flight in the manner of birds.

Pain Box - testing for humans
A small box which induced pain into the nerves of the hand.

Palm Lock - uses more than a fingerprint
A lock or seal which can be opened only by contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed.

Paracompass - detects local magnetic anomalies
A very specialized compass that makes use of local magnetic anomalies.

Plasteel - tough metal for tough times
Extremely tough form of steel, stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its crystal.

Poison Snooper - be careful, my Duke
A device that checked food and drink for poisons.

Rachag
A caffeine-style stimulant.

Remote-Cast Snooper
A small, easily concealed poison snooper.

Residual Poison
A poison that, once administered, resides in the body; only regular intake of the antidote keeps the person alive.

Sandsnork - breathe under sand
A device like a snorkel that would provide air to a tent buried by a sand storm.

Sapho Juice - juice of Mentats
Unique substance enhanced the cognitive performance of Mentats.

Semuta - eerie music
A combination of a specific drug and music, which penetrated to the deepest levels of consciousness.

Servok
An 'automatic' or clock-set mechanism to perform simple tasks.

Shigawire - high tensile strength wire
A very fine wire, used as a recording medium (among other things).

Sietch
A cave warren designed to protect a tribal community, with a population of thousands, with its own water supply in an endless desert.

Slow Pellet Stunner
A projectile device that throws darts in a manner calculated to get past a force shield.

Solido Projector - envy of presenters
Projects 3-dimensional images.

Spice (Melange)
The spice must flow.

Stillsuit - when you want water retention
It covers almost the entire body, provides cooling and ensures that almost no moisture is lost.

Stilltent - a tent that distills water
A small, sealable enclosure which reclaimed moisture from the breath of occupants.

Suspensor - suspend gravity
An energy field that can nullify gravity for small objects.

Suspensor Chair - ultimate office chair
A chair that suspends itself above the floor.

Suspensor Lamp - descendant of the lava lamp
A lamp that will float in mid-air, and will stay where you put it.

'Thopter - wing-beat plane
Describes any plane capable of wing-beat flight in the manner of birds.

Thumper - rhythmic vibration
A short stake with a spring-driven clapper at one end; used to call sandworms.

Voice
Combines exceptional insight into personalty with voice modulation to achieve control over individuals.

Wakeshot
An injection designed to bring a person out of sleep to full wakefulness.

Water Repellent Surface - non-wetting surface
A surface that water flows over without sticking at all.

Watertube
Carries water to and from the catchpockets in a Fremen stillsuit.

Windtrap - pure water source
A device which precipitates water from the air for use by people.

 

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