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"...being predictive, being right about the future, is not the point of any given story or novel. The point is about exploring as wide a range of possibilities as possible."
- Peter Watts
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| Laser Rifle | ||
| A laser weapon shaped (and fired) like a traditional rifle. |
As far as I know, this is the first reference to the term "laser rifle." Obviously, there were many precursors in the form of pistols (like Raymond Gallun's 1937 proton pistol) or rifles that fired an energy beam.
| The Iranian reached back into the locker and got a pair of laserifles. |
| Technovelgy from Door to Anywhere,
by Poul Anderson. Published by Galaxy Magazine in 1966 Additional resources -
|
You might be interested in several other early "energy weapons" - the Electric rifle from Tom Swift and the leyden ball from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Take a look at a modern-day laser rifle (as well as a nice picture of a sixties "phaser rifle" in the article Military sets PHASR on stun.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Door to Anywhere
More Ideas
and Technology by Poul Anderson
Tech news articles related to Door to Anywhere
Tech news articles related to works by Poul Anderson
Laser Rifle-related
news articles:
- ZKZM-500 LASER Assault Rifle
| Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets |
| Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier? |
| Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran? |
| We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces |
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
