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"The germinal societies like Singapore and communist Hong Kong may give us a mutant capitalism that is both virulent and efficient. This is a significant cultural danger."
- Gregory Benford
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| Windtrap | ||
| A device which precipitates water from the air for use by people. |
In the desert planet of Dune, the inhabitants are in a constant battle to obtain water to live. One way to get water was from a windtrap, described as a device placed in the path of a prevailing wind and capable of precipitating the moisture from the air. This was accomplished by a sharp drop in temperature within the trap.
| Stilgar stopped at a yellow rock wall. He pressed an outcropping and the wall swung silently away from him, opening along an irregular crack. He led the way through past a dark honey-comb lattice that directed a cool wash of air across Paul when he passed it. "That air felt damp." A man behind them said "Plenty of air in the trap tonight." |
| Technovelgy from Dune,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1965 Additional resources -
|
The native inhabitants of Dune hid thousands of these devices across the surface of the planet in their quasi-religious quest to make the surface of their planet a fit place for humans to live.
Be sure to read the comments below for some excellent material on ancient sources for windtraps in the Middle East.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Dune
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Tech news articles related to Dune
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
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news articles:
- Aqua Sciences Water From Atmospheric Moisture
- Burj al-Taqa Dubai Energy Tower - High Tech Badgir
- Fog Harvesting For Fresh Water
| Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram |
| Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable |
| Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship |
| DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available |
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'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
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'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
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'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
