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 what scientists would do if they could - if they had enough grant money, enough time, and enough brains to do the wonderful things they would like to do."
- Greg Bear
 |
| Weightlessness (Godwin) | ||
| This appears to be the first description of the idea of weightlessness in space. |
In 1638, Bishop Francis Godwin published a story in which strange birds called Gansas migrated annually to the moon. In this passage, his protagonist hitches a ride.
| It was now the season that these Birds were wont to take their flight away, as our Cuckoes and swallowes doe in Spaine towards the Autumne. They (as after I perceived) mindfull of their usuall voyage, even as I began to settle my selfe for the taking of them in, as it were with one consent, rose up, and having no other place higher to make toward, to my unspeakeable feare and amazement strooke bolt upright, and never did linne towring upward, and still upward, for the space, as I might guesse, of one whole hower, toward the end of which time, mee thought I might perceive them to labour lesse and lesse; till at length, O incredible thing, they forbare moving any thing at al ! and yet remained unmoveable, as stedfastly, as if they had beene upon so many perches; the Lines slacked; neither I, nor the Engine moved at all, but abode still as having no manner of weight.
I found then by this Experience that which no Philosopher ever dreamed of, to wit, that those things which wee call heavie, do not sinke toward the Center of the Earth, as their naturall place, but as drawen by a secret property of the Globe of the Earth, or rather some thing within the same, in like sort as the Loadstone draweth Iron, being within the compass of the beames attractive. |
| From The Man in the Moone,
by Francis Godwin. Published by Unknown in 1638 Additional resources -
|
Here is a brief description of part of the trip made with Gansas:
During the 19th century, Jules Verne probably influenced more people with his description of weightlessness, in his novel From The Earth To The Moon.
Not many howers after the departure of that divelish company from me, my
Gansa's began to bestir themselves, still directing their course toward the
Globe or body of the Moone: And they made their way with that incredible
swiftnesse, as I thinke they gained not so little as Fifty Leagues in every
hower. In that passage I noted three things very remarkeable: one that the further we
went, the lesser the Globe of the Earth appeared unto us; whereas still on the contrary
side the MOONE shewed her selfe more and more monstrously huge.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Man in the Moone
More Ideas
and Technology by Francis Godwin
Tech news articles related to The Man in the Moone
Tech news articles related to works by Francis Godwin
| Russian Space Garden |
| Make Space Tools On The Spot (Like Moties) |
| Bacteria Behave Differently In Space |
| SpaceX Spacesuit Design Transmitted By Elon Musk |
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.
|
'Household Automata received an urgent task to develop production units of бытовые тканевые разглаживатели - a household fabric smoother.'
'...what's to keep me from showing face, Man? I'm showing a voice this instant... I can show a face the same way.'
'It was cheaper to pay the refugees to go without up-to-the-minute equipment.'
'...a 2045 convertible with a Hennis-Carleton positronic motor and an Armat chassis.'
'You can hook a Thorsen tube into a control circuit... and the tube will "remember" what was done and can direct the operation...'
Nature is a master of fabricating structured materials consisting of living and non-living components.
'The tiny devices chirped their impulse codes at one another...'
Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to "help them out."
