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're about 20 minutes away from the point where Clarke's law kicks in and technology becomes indistinguishable from magic."
- Peter Watts
 |
| Molecular Sieve | ||
| A device that can extract any element from seawater. |
Clarke begins the story by pointing out that a cubic mile of sea water contains millions of tons of dissolved minerals - how best to get at them, when there are only about fifty pounds of gold per cubic mile?
| I put some of my young men to work and they have made what we call a 'molecular sieve.' ... It depends on very advanced wave-mechanical theories for its operation, but what it actually does is absurdly simple. We can choose any component of sea water we like, and get the sieve to take it out. With several units, working in series, we can take out one element after another. The efficiency's quite high, and the power consumption negligible. |
| From Tales from the White Hart,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Ballantine Books in 1957 Additional resources -
|
This device comes from the short story The Man Who Ploughed The Sea, which was published in 1957 with the publication of Clarke's third collection of short stories Tales From The White Hart.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Tales from the White Hart
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Tales from the White Hart
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
| Jet-Powered Flying Suits Tested By Navy |
| Pub Installs Electrified Fence Around Bar |
| Armano Remote Control Excavator |
| Metalenses Now Reconfigurable With Liquid Crystal |
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.
|
'With his motor in operation, he moves like a diver, head foremost...'
'I start twelve immensely strong wires--naked, not insulated --from a big dynamo...'
'All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick motion pictures...'
'Some clad in the insulated space-suits, with their transparent glassite helmets.'
'Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that at first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter.'
Propulsion-assisted orbital decay, brought to you by SpaceX.
'He applied the tip of the instrument to the interior of the wound...'
'...what's to keep me from showing face, Man?'
'The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...'
'This is Elmer Schmitz, presenting to you the finalists in our Aviation Quiz Program...'
