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
"We'd have most of what we predicted of the conquest of space, if we hadn't ignored parasite control."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Alpha Insert | ||
| A special compound used to seal punctures in space craft. |
Very handy stuff.
| The Arcturus almost collided with us, just skimmed by, slicing a long sliver from our outer skin. You should have heard the air rushing out... I took a gang out to repair her...
We got her sealed up, though, with Alpha Insert, enough to finish the trip.* Her air was gone, and we had to put all the passengers and crew in space suits..." * Alpha Insert is a compound possessing a remarkable affinity for metals of all kinds; its molecules hooked up in close union almost instantaneously, hardening to a toughness comparable with that of beryllium-steel itself. |
| From Exiles of the Moon,
by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat). Published by Wonder Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
Here's what it's like to plug a small hole in the hull:
Garry was explaining that a tiny meteor had drilled through the air-lock.
He scooped some Alpha Insert out of its canister, deftly rolled a little pellet, whipped away the coat [which had been stuffed into the hole], clapped the highly agglutinated alloy into the round hole. It spread immediately into a smooth, perfect plug.
Compare to the tagalongs from Gentlemen, Be Seated (1948), by Robert Heinlein.
"Here, Dore, get some Alpha plugging compound..."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Exiles of the Moon
More Ideas
and Technology by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
Tech news articles related to Exiles of the Moon
Tech news articles related to works by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
| Unrolling The Filmy Materials Of Space Tech |
| Bake in Space Bake-Off... In Space! |
| Free-Floating Planet Capture Not Rare, Says Paper |
| Spider Flyer Walker Space Suit For Mars Astronauts |
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.
|
'Do I know protocol? Why, it's my primary function.'
'When unfolded and unrolled... it became a tough, gleaming film.'
