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
"...the space defense initiative drove the USSR bankrupt, and it originated at my house in Tarzana."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Space-Armor | ||
| Special shielding worn against rays and explosives. |
This is a very early use of this phrase.
| It must have been over two hours later that a huge torpedo set in motion by the forces of the Black Emperor, struck the ship. The explosion rolled her completely over, and tore a jagged though not disabling hole in her side. The air puffed out from the control room compartment, but the men who labored so feverishly there, were clad in heavy space armor, and aside from being badly bruised they were unhurt. |
| From Revolt of the Star Men,
by Raymond Z. Gallun. Published by Wonder Stories Quarterly in 1932 Additional resources -
|
For example, here is how the phrase was used by Doc Smith in his 1934 novel Triplanetary. In the novel, "space armor" is often used interchangably with "suit of space" (space suit); it is also written with a hyphen as "space-armor." Smith does distinguish an "emergency suit" from space armor.
As seen below, space armor does have its limits.
I think that McDermott and Miller deserve a tie for first use of this term, because they use it in The Duel on the Asteroid, which appeared in Wonder Stories, January, 1932:
Compare to vacuum armor from Skylark Three (1930) by Doc Smith,
Osprey space armor from Salvage in Space (1933) by Jack Williamson,
Dirigible Space Armor (Working Space Suits) from Collision Orbit (1941) by Jack Williamson, and
space armor from Cities in Flight (1957) by James Blish.
Through the aperture thus made Costigan could plainly see the pirate in the space-armor of the chief engineer - an armor which was proof against rifle fire and which could reflect and neutralize for some little time even the terrific beam Costigan was employing... The officer touched a trigger, there was a double report, ear-shattering in that narrowly confined space, and the pirate's body literally flew into mist as a half-kilogram shell tore through his armor and exploded.
And he would fall with the same near-weightlessness, would fairly drift through the airless void that surrounded this pocket-planet... Light as he was, the fall jarred him as would a twenty-foot drop in space-armor on Earth or Venus.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Revolt of the Star Men
More Ideas
and Technology by Raymond Z. Gallun
Tech news articles related to Revolt of the Star Men
Tech news articles related to works by Raymond Z. Gallun
Space-Armor-related
news articles:
- NASA's Meteorite-Resistant Fabric Perfect For Space Armor
| Slaughterbot AI KIller Quadcopter Drones |
| Russia Working On Military Exoskeletons |
| TALOS Exoskeleton Development Proceeding |
| Britney Spears And Lynn Minmay - Weapons Of Choice |
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.
|
'With his motor in operation, he moves like a diver, head foremost...'
'I start twelve immensely strong wires--naked, not insulated --from a big dynamo...'
'All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick motion pictures...'
'Some clad in the insulated space-suits, with their transparent glassite helmets.'
'Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that at first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter.'
Propulsion-assisted orbital decay, brought to you by SpaceX.
'He applied the tip of the instrument to the interior of the wound...'
'...what's to keep me from showing face, Man?'
'The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...'
'This is Elmer Schmitz, presenting to you the finalists in our Aviation Quiz Program...'
