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 think crypto will slowly percolate its way up and people will adopt it gradually as user friendly, cheap products, become available."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Selective Television | ||
| A special kind of 'television' that let the user choose any scene around the world. |
Hilton Fore is described as "an easy-going fellow, with merry eyes, a fighter's heart, an insatiable ambition - and two million dollars." He constructed on a mountain in southern California no mere telescope, but a Televisor.
| Fore smiled complacently to himself as his fingers played with one of the rheostats of his Televisor. He was certain that if radio waves could encircle the Earth, so could the vision of man, if properly curved and guided.
"...you snap a switch - twirl a few dials - and instantly you can bring to view any scene in North America on one of the screens here. Selective television, with the elimination of a transmitter. The scientists stood side by side, staring at the great panels which reached from the floor of the vast circular room, atop Helix, to some eight feet above it. Above the top of the panels, which were television screens, the dome began, made of fused quartz... Floods, fires, holdups, sport events - nothing escaped the all-seeing powers of the telescreens. |
| Technovelgy from The Challenge of Atlantis,
by Arthur J. Burks. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1938 Additional resources -
|
There were at least 77 different telescreens in the device; the individual screens were each focused on a different area of the country.
Eventually, Fore starts to use a "cosmic ray beam that should have a greater spanning power than the wavelength carrier we have been using." When it's ready, he begins to look beneath the surface of the Earth!
SF fans should note that this is a very early (perhaps the first) use of the word "telescreen." However, I've given that article over to the writer who made it most famous. See telescreen from George Orwell's 1984. Also, see the entry for televisor from The Phantom Televisor (1938) by Bob Olsen.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Challenge of Atlantis
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur J. Burks
Tech news articles related to The Challenge of Atlantis
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur J. Burks
| I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display |
| Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large |
| iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen! |
| Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG |
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 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
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
