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
"Science fiction has gotten more accurate as we've gotten closer to the present, because science fiction stories have not only attracted, but also generated current scientists."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Suspensor | ||
| An energy field that can nullify gravity for small objects. |
I sometimes wonder if this term originated as a pun on the word "suspender." The obese Baron Harkonnen uses suspensors to hold his weight.
| The Baron moved out and away from the globe of Arrakis. As he emerged from the shadows, his figure took on dimension - grossly and immensely fat. And with subtle bulges beneath folds of his dark robes to reveal that all this flesh was sustained partly by portable suspensors harnessed to his flesh. He might weigh two hundred standard kilos in actuality, but his feet would carry no more than fifty of them. |
| From Dune,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1965 Additional resources -
|
Described in the glossary at the end of Dune as a secondary (low-drain) phase of a Holtzman field generator. It nullifies gravity within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption."
Suspensor technology was used for all manner of lifting tasks; here's a suspensor litter sling for the wounded from Heretics of Dune:
The bobbing motions of the dark shapes around him suggested they were descending uneven terrain. A trail? The litter sling rode smoothly on its suspensors. He could sense the faint humming from the suspensors when his party stopped to negotiate the turn of a difficult passage.
Miles Teg awoke in darkness to find himself being carried on a litter sling supported by suspensors. By their faint energy glow, he could see the tiny suspensor bulbs in an updangling row around him...
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
| Seabreacher, H.G. Winter's 1939 Torpoon |
| Project Soli Radar Gesture Chip Now FCC Approved |
| Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale |
| ODYSSEUS Solar-Powered Stratospheric Plane Flies Forever |
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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'... there was enough flexibility to allow for wide variation.
'...a man carried a white rectangular sign, blank on both sides.'
'... electronic, private cash, unbacked by any government, untraceable, completely anonymous.'
'Your Dip digs back into antiquity. Rome. Greece. Dust and old volumes.'
'Then it appeared to make up its mind, and trundled over to a wall socket...'
'... The biological robots were not living creatures.'
'The surveillance cameras can all see it, but then they forget they’ve seen it.'
