 |
Glossary
of Science Fiction Ideas, Technology and Inventions
(
3049 Inventions Available)
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
| Device Name | Book/Story | Author | Date |
| Ablative Heat (Reentry) Shield - very early reference | Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| A-Bomb | Sixth Column | MacDonald | 1941 |
| Absolute Black - so dark, you can't see it | Restaurant at the End of the Universe | Adams | 1980 |
| Accelerated Schooling | Cities in Flight | Blish | 1957 |
| Accelerated Schooling Helmet | Cities in Flight | Blish | 1957 |
| Acceleration Chair | The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Acceleration Couch | The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Acceleration Hammock | Pioneer - 1957 | Gade | 1939 |
| Acceleration Shell | The Forever War | Haldeman | 1974 |
| Acceleration-tank - very early reference | Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Accu-Terrain Floor | Natulife | Brin | 1994 |
| Acoustic Apparatus (Osophone) - original patent filing | Acoustic Apparatus | Gernsback | 1923 |
| Actinoscope | Ralph 124c 41 + | Gernsback | 1911 |
| Adam Selene | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | Heinlein | 1966 |
| Adiabatic Pods - personal cold sleep | The Lady Who Sailed The Soul | Smith | 1960 |
| Adjustable Television | The Simulacra | Dick | Ace |
| Adnix | Contact | Sagan | 1985 |
| Advertising Airship | Blade Runner | Scott | 1982 |
| Aerial Telegraph | Edison's Conquest of Mars | Serviss | 1898 |
| Aeriduct (Rain Maker) - watch for showers | A Journey In Other Worlds | Astor IV | 1894 |
| Aerocar - first use of idea? | The Abduction of Alexandra Seine | Smale | 1900 |
| Aeromuse Pillow | The Human Blend | Foster | 2010 |
| Aerostat Monitor - a small flying platform | The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Aether Cannon | Storm Thief | Wooding | 2006 |
| Agfom Potent-Shot - picture the future | Clans of the Alphane Moon | Dick | 1964 |
| Aggressive-Response Service | The Golden Globe | Varley | 1998 |
| Agile Recording Robot | Solar Lottery | Dick | 1955 |
| Agony Box - testing for humans | Heretics of Dune | Herbert | 1984 |
| Agricultural Robot Pest Controller - picking off the pests | Runaway | Crichton | 1985 |
| Agricultural World | Foundation | Asimov | 1951 |
| Air Blast - the first air dryer | Coventry | Heinlein | 1940 |
| Air Renewal | From the Earth to the Moon | Verne | 1867 |
| Air Tunnel | Through the Air Tunnel | Vincent | 1929 |
| Airbag Jacket - instant Michelin Man | Snow Crash | Stephenson | 1992 |
| Air-Blanket | Hollywood on the Moon | Kuttner | 1938 |
| Airboarding | Halting State | Stross | 2007 |
| Aircab | Time Crime | Piper | 1955 |
| Air-Car - a flying taxi | A Matter of Size | Bates | 1934 |
| AIRE - reverse engineering software | Mother of Storms | Barnes | 1994 |
| Airjeep | Uller Uprising | Piper | 1952 |
| Airlock | Skylark of Space | Smith | 1928 |
| Airmaker - breathe it | Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Airmakers | The Big Rain | Anderson | 1954 |
| Air-o-Stat | Satellite Five | Barnes | 1938 |
| Airplane Window Ads - ads on clouds | The Space Merchants | Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth) | 1952 |
| Air-Propelled Train - silent mass transit | Fahrenheit 451 | Bradbury | 1953 |
| Air-Restorer Capsule | The Planet Strappers | Gallun | 1961 |
| Air-Ship (VTOL Airship) | The Angel of the Revolution | Griffith | 1893 |
| Air-Taxi - hail the skies | Prelude to Foundation | Asimov | 1988 |
| Air-Tight Suit - air-tight dress | Edison's Conquest of Mars | Serviss | 1898 |
| Airtight Tent | Asteroid of Fear | Gallun | 1951 |
| Air-to-Surface Missile - first use of concept | The Angel of the Revolution | Griffith | 1893 |
| Alcodote | Space Viking | Piper | 1962 |
| Alcoholic Reliever | Bad Medicine | Sheckley | 1956 |
| Alcohol-Sensing System | The Game Players of Titan | Dick | 1963 |
| Alderson Point - a wormhole to the stars | The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Alibi Archive - personal recording | Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax) | Sawyer | 2003 |
| Alien Life Form | The Hothouse Planet | Barnes | 1937 |
| Alien Tarantula | Engine City | MacLeod | 2003 |
| Alien Trojan | Out of the Dark | Webber | 2010 |
| Alien Zoo | The Dosadi Experiment | Herbert | 1977 |
| Allswell | Anathem | Stephenson | 2008 |
| Alohydrolium | Ralph 124c 41 + | Gernsback | 1911 |
| Alpha Insert | Exiles of the Moon | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Alpha Plus | Brave New World | Huxley | 1932 |
| Alterable License Number | Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Alternate Computer Personality | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | Heinlein | 1966 |
| AM - an Agressive Menace | I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream | Ellison | 1967 |
| AM-280 Needle Rifle | A Matter For Men | Gerrold | 1983 |
| Ampek F-a2 Recording System | The Simulacra | Dick | Ace |
| Amphibious Skimmer | Storm Thief | Wooding | 2006 |
| Anabolic Protoplaser | Spock, Messiah! | Cogswell (w/C. Spano) | 1976 |
| Anacronopete (Time Machine) | El Anacronopete | Gaspar | 1887 |
| Analogue - devolution through chemistry | The Stars My Destination | Bester | 1956 |
| Android | The Cometeers | Williamson | 1936 |
| Android Safety Mechanism | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Dick | 1968 |
| Androide - the original | Cyclopaedia | Chambers | 1727 |
| Andy - an artificial human | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Dick | 1968 |
| Angel Music Player | Flood | Baxter | 2008 |
| Angel Teeth | Freedom | Suarez | 2010 |
| Animal-tissue Culture Vat | Uller Uprising | Piper | 1952 |
| Annihilator Beam | The Conquest of Gola | Stone | 1931 |
| Ansible - the ultimate long distance phone | Rocannon's World | LeGuin | 1966 |
| Answerboard - good name for it | Rainbows End | Vinge | 2006 |
| Anti-agathic drugs | Cities in Flight | Blish | 1957 |
| Anti-Gerasone - drink and look younger | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Vonnegut, Jr. | 1954 |
| Antigrav Boots | The Day We Celebrate | Bond | 1941 |
| Antigravity - first use | The Vanguard of Neptune | Walsh | 1932 |
| Anti-Gravity Belt | Armageddon: 2419 A.D. | Nowlan | 1928 |
| Antigravity Globe Arena | Babel-17 | Delany | 1966 |
| Anti-Heptant | To Live Forever | Vance | 1956 |
| Antiholo Generator | The Ophiuchi Hotline | Varley | 1977 |
| Antimatter | Collision Orbit | Williamson | 1941 |
| Anti-Onc Cream - cancer remedy | Earth | Brin | 1990 |
| Anti-Spying Device | Foundation | Asimov | 1951 |
| Antithermal Shield | The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Anti-Tri-D Shot | The Morning of the Day They Did It | White | 1950 |
| Anti-Virus Design Software | Super-Cannes: A Novel | Ballard | 2000 |
| Apergy (Apergion) - antigravity substance | Across the Zodiac | Greg | 1880 |
| Arachnofiber Uniforms - Spidey delivers pizza | Snow Crash | Stephenson | 1992 |
| Architectural Coral - build to any shape | A Gift From Earth | Niven | 1968 |
| Arctic Signal Light | A Journey In Other Worlds | Astor IV | 1894 |
| Argento-Platinoid Dispatch Box | Venus Mines, Incorporated | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Armor Cloth | The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Armored Clothing - modern armor | The Dosadi Experiment | Herbert | 1977 |
| Art-Derm - spray-on skin | Dr. Futurity | Dick | 1960 |
| Arteria Portal | The Algebraist | Banks | 2004 |
| Artificial Atmosphere Machine | Venus Mines, Incorporated | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Artificial Brain | The Metal Giants | Hamilton | 1926 |
| Artificial Butterfly | Changeling | Zelazny | 1980 |
| Artificial eye - first use of this idea? | Galactic Patrol | Smith | 1937 |
| Artificial Eye Drone | Glimpse | Wellman | 1938 |
| Artificial Food | The World Set Free | Wells | 1914 |
| Artificial Gill Outfit | We Can Remember It For You Wholesale | Dick | 1966 |
| Artificial Gravity - first mention | Brigands of the Moon | Cummings | 1930 |
| Artificial Gravity System | Last and First Men | Stapledon | 1930 |
| Artificial Gravity-Assisted Childbirth | Time Enough For Love | Heinlein | 1973 |
| Artificial Intelligence Device (AID) | A Hymn Before Battle | Ringo | 2000 |
| Artificial Island | Between Earth and Moon | von Hanstein | 1930 |
| Artificial Life | Across Space | Hamilton | 1926 |
| Artificial Muscles - for cyborgs | Cyborg | Caidin | 1972 |
| Artificial Planet | Star Maker | Stapledon | 1937 |
| Artificial Planet - before the Death Star | Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Artificial Telepathy | We All Died At Breakaway Station | Meredith | 1969 |
| Artificial Transparent Element - see through it | Last and First Men | Stapledon | 1930 |
| Artificial Womb - very early use of concept | Brave New World | Huxley | 1932 |
| Artificially Grown Organs | A Gift From Earth | Niven | 1968 |
| Artificially Pulsating Star | The Cosmic Blinker | Binder | 1953 |
| Artiforg | Ubik | Dick | 1969 |
| Artif-Org - mechanical replacement organ | Cantata 140 | Dick | 1964 |
| Artigraft | Solar Lottery | Dick | 1955 |
| Asbestos Sunshade | The Achilles Heel | Gallun | 1940 |
| A-Som (Antisomnolence Drugs) | Shuteye for the Timebroker | Di Filippo | 2006 |
| Assassin Bird - genetically engineered | Sparrowhawk | Easton | 1990 |
| Assault Ship | The Forever War | Haldeman | 1974 |
| Asterite | Collision Orbit | Williamson | 1941 |
| Asteroid Claim Law | Jurisdiction | Schachner | 1941 |
| Asteroid From Outside Solar System | Brigands of the Moon | Cummings | 1930 |
| Asteroid Garden | Asteroid of Fear | Gallun | 1951 |
| Asteroid Homesteaders' School | Asteroid of Fear | Gallun | 1951 |
| Asteroid Lanes | Jurisdiction | Schachner | 1941 |
| Asteroid Mine - ore from space | Love Among The Robots | McDowell | 1946 |
| Asteroid Mining | Edison's Conquest of Mars | Serviss | 1898 |
| Asteroid Mining (Blasting) | Asteroid of Gold | Simak | 1932 |
| Asteroid Mining Robot | Catch That Rabbit | Asimov | 1944 |
| Asteroid Rocket | Salvage in Space | Williamson | 1933 |
| Asteroid-Metal - raw materials from space | The Mechanical Monarch | Tubb | 1958 |
| Astrogation (to Astrogate) - steer to the stars | Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Astrogator | The Conquest of Space | Lasser | 1931 |
| Astronaut | Across the Zodiac | Greg | 1880 |
| Asymptotic Drive | Imperial Earth | Clarke | 1976 |
| Atlotl/Gibiril Regimen - regrow and rejuvenate | The Godmakers | Herbert | 1972 |
| Atmosphere Control | The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Atmosphere Tester | The Emperor of the Stars | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Atmospheric Advertising - write it on the clouds | In the Year 2889 | Verne | 1889 |
| Atmospheric Braking | Space Cadet | Heinlein | 1948 |
| Atom Compactor (Metal Earthworm) | Death Dives Deep | Ernst | 1936 |
| Atom-Driven Drill | Asteroid of Fear | Gallun | 1951 |
| Atom-Gun | Revolt on the Tenth World | Hamilton | 1940 |
| Atomic Automatic | Revolt on Io | West | 1940 |
| Atomic Blast Weapon | The Achilles Heel | Gallun | 1940 |
| Atomic Bomb - very early reference | The World Set Free | Wells | 1914 |
| Atomic Energy - very early reference. | The Crack of Doom | Cromie | 1895 |
| Atomic Microscopy | The Crack of Doom | Cromie | 1895 |
| Atomic Pistol | Mutiny on Mercury | Simak | 1932 |
| Atomic-Powered Lifting Suits | The Brain Pirates | Campbell | 1938 |
| Atomics | Nerves | del Rey | 1942 |
| Atom-Shifter | The Worlds of Tomorrow | Wellman | 1940 |
| Attraction Ray | Pirates of the Gorm | Schachner | 1932 |
| Attractive Ray - first use of idea? | Crashing Suns | Hamilton | 1928 |
| Attractor - come hither and stay still | The Conquest of Gola | Stone | 1931 |
| Audio Relay - personal RFID transceiver | The Puppet Masters | Heinlein | 1951 |
| Audiphone | Blood of the Moon | Cummings | 1936 |
| Auto Course-Finding Pilot | Clans of the Alphane Moon | Dick | 1964 |
| Auto Shovel | The Simulacra | Dick | Ace |
| Autocab | Between Planets | Heinlein | 1951 |
| Auto-Car | The Revolt of the Pedestrians | Keller | 1928 |
| Autodoc - automated medical device | Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Auto-Driven Auto (Spinner) - it drives itself | The Dream Master | Zelazny | 1966 |
| Autofac (Nanorobots) - a factory that can replicate itself | Autofac | Dick | 1955 |
| AutoM8 | Daemon | Suarez | 2009 |
| Automated Apartment Maintenance | Ubik | Dick | 1969 |
| Automated DNA Typing - from one drop | Gattaca | Niccol | 1997 |
| Automated Drone Probes | The Man in the Maze | Silverberg | 1969 |
| Automated Factory | The Hidden Colony | von Hanstein | 1935 |
| Automated Hotel Reservation | Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Automated Restaurant - food from robots | A Princess of Mars | Burroughs | 1912 |
| Automated Search For Habitable Planets | Cosmic Quest | Hamilton | 1936 |
| Automated Sentry - automatic face recognition | Darwin's Children | Bear | 2003 |
| Automated Space Factories | Mona Lisa Overdrive | Gibson | 1988 |
| Automated Surface Measurement - 100 years before cgi needed it | When the Sleeper Wakes | Wells | 1899 |
| Automated Taxi | Sagramanda | Foster | 2006 |
| Automated Travel Bureau | Friday | Heinlein | 1982 |
| Automated Wake-Up Call - the hotel wakes you up | The Kokod Warriors | Vance | 1952 |
| Automatic Air Mail Plane | The Living Machine | Keller | 1935 |
| Automatic City | The Man in the Maze | Silverberg | 1969 |
| Automatic Commercial Deletion - no more commercials | Satellite Five | Barnes | 1938 |
| Automatic Companion Robot - better than a puppy | The Midas Plague | Pohl | 1954 |
| Automatic Control Car | Imperial Earth | Clarke | 1976 |
| Automatic Cultivators | Piracy Preferred | Campbell | 1930 |
| Automatic Door - like a roll top desk | When the Sleeper Wakes | Wells | 1899 |
| Automatic Factory | Autofac | Dick | 1955 |
| Automatic Gun - targets without human intervention | The Andromeda Strain | Crichton | 1969 |
| Automatic Hotel (Hotel Hendrix) - the hotel is your host | Altered Carbon | Morgan | 2003 |
| Automatic Light Switch | The Man Who Sold The Moon | Heinlein | 1950 |
| Automatic Massager - robot masseuse | Far Centaurus | van Vogt | 1944 |
| Automatic Navigator | A Matter of Size | Bates | 1934 |
| Automatic Ore Cart | Autofac | Dick | 1955 |
| Automatic Pilot - a brief history | The Space Merchants | Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth) | 1952 |
| Automatic Refueling Screen | Biddiver | Sturgeon | 1941 |
| Automatic Reversed Memory - EEG in reverse | Brain Control | Cummins | 1937 |
| Automatic Shell | The Great Stone of Sardis | Stockton | 1897 |
| Automatic Speeding Fine | Old Fireball | Schachner | 1941 |
| Automatic Ticket Machine - your ticket to the stars | Second Foundation | Asimov | 1953 |
| Automatic Toll Payment | The Living Machine | Keller | 1935 |
| Automatic Truck | Mechanocracy | Breuer | 1932 |
| Automatic Vein Finder | The Andromeda Strain | Crichton | 1969 |
| Automatic-Electric Packing Machine | Ralph 124c 41 + | Gernsback | 1911 |
| Automatized Factory | The Tunnel Under The World | Pohl | 1955 |
| Automatobile | Sally | Asimov | 1953 |
| Automatobus | Sally | Asimov | 1953 |
| Automaton Chessplayer - the first chess-playing computer | Moxon's Master | Bierce | 1910 |
| Auto-Navigation | The Dream Master | Zelazny | 1966 |
| Autonomic Cab - all on its own | The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Autonomic Food-Processing System - untouched by humans | Cantata 140 | Dick | 1964 |
| Autonomic Interviewer - pape's proxy | The Zap Gun | Dick | 1965 |
| Autonomic Plow | Clans of the Alphane Moon | Dick | 1964 |
| Autonomous Car Intercommunication | Sally | Asimov | 1953 |
| Autonomous Truck | Autofac | Dick | 1955 |
| Autonomously Recharging UAV | Changeling | Zelazny | 1980 |
| Autoporter - personal baggage handler | The Shockwave Rider | Brunner | 1975 |
| Auto-Scan | This Moment of the Storm | Zelazny | 1966 |
| Auto-Seal | Stand on Zanzibar | Brunner | 1968 |
| Autosecretary (Autosec) - clipping service for the net | Earth | Brin | 1990 |
| Autosurgeon - doctor's robot helper | Altered Carbon | Morgan | 2003 |
| Auto-Treadmills (Needle-Gym) | Natulife | Brin | 1994 |
| Ava - she wants to be taught | The Calcutta Chromosome | Ghosh | 1995 |
| Avatar - godlike poseurs | Snow Crash | Stephenson | 1992 |
| Avatar Construction Set - build your virtual self | Snow Crash | Stephenson | 1992 |
| Axolotl Tank - device for regeneration | Dune Messiah | Herbert | 1969 |
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
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