Science fiction fans have been peering into the Internet for this device, having been prepared by Frank Herbert's 1965 Dune series. Consider the oil lens:
Oil lens: hufhuf oil held in static tension by an enclosing force field within a viewing tube as part of a magnifying or other light-manipulation system.
(Read more about Herbert's oil lens)
If the Kwisatz Haderach uses them, they've got to be good.
Just for a bonus, here are your Dune binoculars from the 2021 film version of Dune:
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/7/2022)
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 Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'