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
"It is change ... that is the dominant factor in society today... the world as it will be. This means that ... every man must take on a science fictional way of thinking.""
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Nanomachine Swarm (Black Cloud) | ||
| A cloud of tiny machines, able to work together autonomously. |
A huge black cloud seems to attack an airship. The ship's sensors report that the cloud seems to be made of iron. How could such a thing exist?
"It is made up of tiny metal particles. A remote-controlled emulsion, as it were, with uniform center," answered Jazon.
Further speculation is made upon the gathering of additional evidence.
"What is the nature of this cloud? What is your opinion?" he asked without any introductory remarks.
| "Two types of systems were successful in this evolutionary pattern: first, those that made the greatest progress in miniaturization and then those that became settled in a definite place. The first type were the beginning of these 'black clouds.' I believe them to be very tiny pseudo insects that, if necessary, and for their common good, can unite to form a superordinate system. This is the course taken by the evolution of the mobile mechanisms." |
| Technovelgy from The Invincible,
by Stanislaw Lem. Published by Poland in 1954 Additional resources -
|
It is difficult to believe that a large mass of machines can operate without a central command mechanism:
"No, I don't think it's anything like that. It could be that these microorganisms themselves form such a center when they combine in a certain manner - a kind of inanimate brain. They exist in loose swarms, which permits them to be constantly exposed to the sunlight, or even to chase after thunderclouds, for they probably obtain energy from these atmospheric discharges."
The earliest take on this idea that I know about is the living metal cubes from the 1920 story The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt.
See a more structured version of this idea, the Robot Cells (Crystal-Shaped Modules) from work by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.
Compare also to mechanical birds from Klara and the Sun (2021) by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Check out pseudo-insects (synsects) from One Human Minute (1984) by Stanislaw Lem.
"...do you believe, then, that the clouds have some kind of command center at either the surface or the interior of this planet?"
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Invincible
More Ideas
and Technology by Stanislaw Lem
Tech news articles related to The Invincible
Tech news articles related to works by Stanislaw Lem
Nanomachine Swarm (Black Cloud)-related
news articles:
- Swarm-Bots Take Small Children Away
- Smart Dew Sensor Monitoring
- Nanowire Transistors For Smallest Computers
- Directing Microrobot Swarms
- Robot Swarm Obeys Commands
- Swarming Intelligent Aquatic Surface Robots Ahoy!
- Swarm Of Mindless Robots Works Together
- DNA Controls Swarms Of Molecular Robots
| Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones |
| Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners |
| The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel |
| Transporting Antimatter |
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
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
