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

"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov

Human Blood Chlorophyll  
  Replacement of elements of human blood with chlorophyll.  

Early use of biological experimentation in humans.

"The Committee knows very well the history of my work," he began, "and my knowledge of chlorophyll. The only method we have of converting the energy received from the sun is through the use of that substance. Chlorophyll, of course, is the green coloring matter of plants which has the peculiar property of transforming carbon dioxide gas, water, and the sun's energy, into starches and sugars which are available for assimilation by the animal world. All of our food supplies, save those produced in the laboratory by the direct conversion of energy into matter, are derived from this source. The method is round about and very uneconomical. First the energy must be converted into sugars and starches with the waste attendant on all forms of metabolism and then it must be reconverted into animal tissues with another large percentage waste. Sometimes it is allowed to go through still another step, as occurs when we feed plans to animals and then eat the products of the animal life in the form of eggs, milk and meat. In such a case, not over one-half of one per cent of the initial energy taken from the sun ever goes into the animal tissue. It is my hope to remedy this situation and eliminate the waste.

"Chlorophyll is a very complex substance. The Sub-committee is familiar with the work that I did some thirty years ago, when I revolutionized plant husbandry thus enabling five crops of grain a year to be raised on land that formerly produced but only one crop. This was done by substituting for some of the nitrogen atoms in normal chlorophyll, an atom of radium, and by decreasing by four, the number of carbon atoms with corresponding decreases in the oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The result was a substance which is five times as efficient as chlorophyll and which differs from hematin in the location of the double bonds connecting some of the atoms. For the benefit of the members of the Press, I will state that hematin is one of the constituents of hemoglobin, the red coloring matter of the blood which enables the carbon dioxide produced in the body to be eliminated by way of the lungs. Hemoglobin consists of hematin and of globin, a basic protein.

"It is my opinion that it is possible to replace that hematin of the blood by superchlorophyll or some related substance and thus enable mankind to utilize directly the energy derived from the sun. Should my theory be correct, mankind can subsist on water and a small amount of dissolved mineral matter with the aid of sunlight. Agriculture will be unnecessary and the enormous space devoted to raising of plants can be utilized for dwelling space. The food supply of this world will be increased by over five thousand per cent and the danger of a world-wide starvation removed. The idea of realizing the free energy of atoms is idealistic. It has been attempted for the last century and a half without material success. It is improbable that the problem can be solved in time to be of any value in the impending crisis. On the other hand, success has crowned my efforts along the lines of plant biology and I believe that in five years I can solve my problem. I therefore request authority from the Sub-Committee to work on my theory and ask for space, funds and assistants to carry on the work."

Technovelgy from The Murgatroyd Experiment, by S.P. Meek.
Published by Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1929
Additional resources -

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Murgatroyd Experiment
  More Ideas and Technology by S.P. Meek
  Tech news articles related to The Murgatroyd Experiment
  Tech news articles related to works by S.P. Meek

Articles related to Medical
Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
Neuralink Will Allow Humans To Communicate With ... Animals?
3D Printed Organs From Space
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor

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

Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'

Can Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Control The Weather?
'...I saw a nice black heavy-looking cloud sailing by just now, and I can get the electrical machine out in five minutes to draw it down.'

SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.'

Wolfram Alpha Mathematica Predicted by Science Fiction in 1948!
'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'

Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'

NASA Moonbase Update
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'

Neuralink Will Allow Humans To Communicate With ... Animals?
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'

Special Lights For Driverless Cars!
'That light is actually the Anamorphic Equalizer...'

'Old People Began to Cross The Continent In Their Own Cars'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'

Harrison Bergeron, Illustrated And Practiced
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'

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.