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
"One can see the free software movement as a precusor for a "free hardware" or "free wetware" movement--one that will provide free libraries of designs for biological or nanotechnological products that replicators can be programmed to churn out."
- Charles Stross
 |
| Orbiting Factories | ||
| Manufacturing centers in orbit around the Earth. |
Several engineers are discussing 1D diamond crystals, and how they are produced.
| "...What is it?"
"The result of two hundred years of solid-state physics. For whatever good that does, it is a continuous pseudo-one dimensional diamond crystal - though it's not actually pure carbon. There are several trace elements in carefully controlled amounts. It can be mass-produced only in the orbiting factories, where there's no gravity to interfere with the growth process." |
| Technovelgy from The Fountains of Paradise,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Ballantine in 1978 Additional resources -
|
The first efforts to implement (or at least experiment) with creating materials in orbit occurred in the early 1970's, during the Skylab mission (which was launched in 1973). The station was equipped with a materials processing facility that included a multi-purpose electric furnace, a crystal growth chamber, and an electron beam gun. A bit earlier, in 1969, the Russians experimented with welding in space during the Soyuz missions.
Compare to the automated space factories (1988), from Mona Lisa Overdrive, by William Gibson.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Fountains of Paradise
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to The Fountains of Paradise
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Orbiting Factories-related
news articles:
- The Dawn Of Orbiting Manufacturing In 2020?
- First 3D Printer In Space?
- Students! NASA Wants To 3D Print Your Tool Design In Space!
- Jeff Bezos Wants Orbiting Factories (Clarke-style)
- Archinaut Orbiting Robotic Factory
- Made In Space To Manufacture Optical Fiber In Orbit
- Orbital Manufacturer 'Made in Space' Gets $73 Million NASA Contract
- 3D Printed 'Blisk' Manufactured In Orbit
- Space Construction Tools For Large Structures By OAC
| DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures' |
| Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer? |
| Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing |
| Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories |
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
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
'... 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.'
