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 could imagine a very ascetic sort of life ... where the body is ignored. This is something I've played with in my books, where people hate to be reminded sometimes that they have bodies, they find it very slow and tedious."
- William Gibson
 |
| Geosynchronous Satellite | ||
| A communications satellite that appears to "hover" over one spot on the earth's surface; it goes around the earth in twenty-four hours. |
Herman Potočnik published a book proposing that it was possible to live in space in 1929. In it, he talked about inhabited space stations in geostationary orbit. Clarke expanded on this idea, proposing a trio of devices poised over the earth and able to communicate with each other in direct line of sight.
| An 'artificial satellite' at the correct distance from the earth would make one revolution every 24 hours, i.e., it would remain stationary above the same spot and would be within optical range of nearly half the earth's surface. Three repeater stations, 120 degrees apart in the correct orbit, could give television and microwave coverage to the entire planet. |
| From V2 for Ionospheric Research,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Wireless World in 1945 Additional resources -
|
In the same document, Clarke elaborates on the capabilities of a telecommunications satellite:
The period of revolution of a satellite around the earth is fixed by its distance from the center of the earth. It just so happens that if you put a satellite in orbit 22,300 miles above the earth's surface in the same direction as the earth's rotation, it will appear to stand still above the same spot. Compare this to the International Space Station, only about 250 miles above the surface of the earth, which goes once around the earth every 90 minutes or so.
The first geosynchronous satellite was Syncom 2. Syncom was a program of three experimental, active communication satellites which was started by NASA in 1961.
See also this PDF reproduction of the October, 1945 Wireless World article entitled "Extra-terrestrial Relays: Can Rocket Stations Give World-Wide Radio Coverage?"
A rocket which can reach a speed of 8 km/sec parallel to the earth's surface would continue to circle it for ever in a closed orbit; it would become an ``artificial satellite.'' V2 can only reach a third of this speed under the most favourable conditions, but if its payload consisted of a small one-ton rocket, this upper component could reach the required velocity with a payload of about 100 pounds. It would thus be possible to have a hundredweight. of instruments circling the earth perpetually outside the limits of the atmosphere and broadcasting information as long as the batteries lasted. Since the rocket would be in brilliant sunlight for half the time, the operating period might be indefinitely prolonged by the use of thermocouples and photo-electric elements.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 7 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from V2 for Ionospheric Research
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to V2 for Ionospheric Research
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Geosynchronous Satellite-related
news articles:
- World's Highest Resolution Seamless Display Has 60M Pixels
- Did Arthur C. Clarke Predict GPS?
| Mouth Haptics Invented By Frederik Pohl In 1965, CMU Now Has Prototype |
| True Crime Live Podcasting In Fiction |
| Zoom Adds Real-Time, Live Translation |
| Will The Super Bowl Go To Pay Per View? |
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 some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to 'help them out.'
'... you had your trademark Lucky Dragon Global Interactive Video Column outside.'
'It's an Indian Air Force drone; its solar cells could power an entire farm.'
'... we were supposed to be forming five unit composites first."
'We send our eyes on their appointed rounds, and they can hover or soar or back up...'
'Light from the sun hit those little spheres and bounced.'
'... the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
