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

"I never saw why I had to give up science in order to write, or the other way around, so I didn't!"
- Gregory Benford

Sky Ceiling  
  Ceilings that consist of large screens, on which are presented images of the sky.  

This is one of the cooler features of the Hogwarts castle from Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone; however, it appeared in this novel by Stanislaw Lem more than a generation earlier.

These ceilings are intended to solve a problem in a very organized future society; how do you have multi-level cities, while still making sure that everyone has the feeling of being outdoors?

"How do they work it so that the sky is visible at every level of the city?"

She perked up.

"Very simple. Television - that is what they called it, long ago. On the ceilings are screens. They transmit what is above the Earth - the sky, the clouds..."

"But surely the levels are not that high," I said. "Forty-story buildings stand there..."

"It is an illusion," she said, smiling. "The buildings are only partly real; their continuation is an image. Do you understand?" "I understand how it's done, but not the reason."

"So that the people living on each level do not feel deprived. Not in any way."

Technovelgy from Return from the Stars, by Stanislaw Lem.
Published by Not known in 1961
Additional resources -

I'm wondering if there are any earlier examples of this, either in sf or in the design world. The idea of a flat display the size of a wall is present in the parlor walls from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which was published in 1953. I also remember flat panel displays used as 'windows' (with a picture presented from outdoors) within an enormous city-in-a-building (an arcology) from Oath of Fealty, a 1981 novel by Niven and Pournelle.

Compare to Robert Heinlein's simulacrum window from Tunnel in the Sky (1955), the sky ceiling from the 1961 novel Return From The Stars by Stanislaw Lem, the ersatz window from the 1969 novel Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick and the window wavelength from the 1969 novel Super-Toys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 5 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Return from the Stars
  More Ideas and Technology by Stanislaw Lem
  Tech news articles related to Return from the Stars
  Tech news articles related to works by Stanislaw Lem

Sky Ceiling-related news articles:
  - SkyCeiling Big Indoor Sky
  - SkyV SkyCeiling From The Sky Factory
  - Coleus LED 'Skylight' Dispenses Natural Sunlight Indoors
  - SunnyFive 'Window' Has Full Spectrum Angled Natural Light

Articles related to Culture
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties

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

Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'

Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'

'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'

Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!

Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'

Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'

Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'

Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'

Vipera Electric Skis From Frigid Dynamics
'JOAN strapped on her power-skis...'

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.