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Science Fiction Dictionary: Ideas, Terms and Technology
(
3938 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 |
| Fabricow Cattle and other creatures that create gene-designed biomachinery in their wombs. |
Piecework | Brin | 1990 |
| Fabricules Tiny bits of fabric that were self-cleaning; gloves made of this material always stayed clean. |
The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Face Dancer Mimicry enhanced through genetic manipulation. |
Dune Messiah | Herbert | 1969 |
| Face Recognition Sunglasses Sunglasses that connect with a remote database to perform face recognition. |
The Water Knife | Bacigalupi | 2015 |
| Face Seal A dive mask for deep sea diving. |
Starfish | Watts | 1999 |
| Face-Plate The transparent front of a space suit helmet. |
Skylark Three | Smith | 1930 |
| Factory Crawler (or Harvester Crawler) A mobile factory which filtered and processed the sands of Dune for the spice, mélange. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Fairy Digits (Tiny Waldoes) Waldoes used for very fine work. |
Waldo | Heinlein | 1942 |
| Fake-Meter A pocket-sized counterfeit currency detector. |
The Killing Machine | Vance | 1964 |
| False Animal Repairman A specialized roboticist who repaired robotic animals. |
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Dick | 1968 |
| Family Atomics Noble houses had their own atomic weapons. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Famnexdo A set of four simulacra, one adult male, one adult female and two children; the family next door. |
The Simulacra | Dick | 1964 |
| Fan Ray A protective ray screen in the shape of a cone. |
The Onslaught From Venus | Phillips | 1929 |
| Fanmetal High tensile strength material; used in collapsible structures opened by "fanning" them out. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Farcaster A portal for traveling between distant stars; inexpensive, instantaneous travel to remote worlds. |
Hyperion | Simmons | 1989 |
| Farming Trantor Taking apart a vast city, and returning to farming the land. |
Second Foundation | Asimov | 1953 |
| Farside The portion of the Moon's surface that faces away from Earth. |
We Have Fed Our Sea | Anderson | 1958 |
| Faster-Than-Light Describes something that exceeds the usual speed limit on physical objects of 186,282 miles per second in vacuum. |
Islands of Space | Campbell | 1931 |
| Fatline A communications technology that provides immediate communication between star systems; faster-than-light communication. |
Hyperion | Simmons | 1989 |
| Feeding Room An automated child care. |
Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (The World As It Shall Be) | Souvestre | 1846 |
| Feeler-Planes Special sensors that make extremely detailed three-dimensional models. |
The Houses of Iszm | Vance | 1954 |
| Feelies (Feely) Device adds the tactile element to entertainment. |
Brave New World | Huxley | 1932 |
| Femfatalatron A device that reverses an infatuation for a particular woman. |
The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age | Lem | 1965 |
| Fencing Mirror A dummy fighting instructor for the young Kwisatz Haderach-in-training. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Fenton Silencer A device to cancel noise over a broad area. |
Tales from the White Hart | Clarke | 1957 |
| Ferretscope A counter-surveillance tool to detect the presence of listening devices. |
If This Goes On... | Heinlein | 1940 |
| Fido Combination television, news camera and surveillance device. |
Riders of the Purple Wage | Farmer | 1967 |
| Field-Minder An agricultural robot. |
But Who Can Replace A Man | Aldiss | 1958 |
| Field-Projector A device that dematerializes a person and then sends forth a ray that will then rematerialize a person at the end. |
Easy Money | Hamilton | 1938 |
| Fieldstim A device that used stimulation of a large skin area to impart images to the user. |
Freezone | Shirley | 1985 |
| Fight Machine (Boxing Robot) An autonomous boxer. |
Jingle in the Jungle | Giunta | 1957 |
| Filament Paper Book Very small book, made for space travelers in an era when the smallest added weight was costly. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Filing Crystal Part kiosk, part storage system. |
Babel-17 | Delany | 1966 |
| Filling Station Moon The idea that Man could first go to the Moon to obtain fuel or propellant. |
A Daring Trip To Mars | Valier | 1931 |
| Filmag A video magazine. |
Sunward Flight | Zagat | 1943 |
| Filmbook A storage medium for information, both text and video. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Filter Program Using programs to filter Internet results; a person need see only what they want to see. |
Earth | Brin | 1990 |
| Filter Wheel A device for filtering liquid or gas to obtain a pure sample of a selected molecule. |
The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Filterable Virus A special virus that is instantly carcinomatous. |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Filter-Mask Perfect for dystopian future air pollution. |
The Sheep Look Up | Brunner | 1972 |
| Filt-Plug A nose plug worn to collect moisture from exhaled air. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Finely Divided Dust Propellant Reaction mass to drive spacecraft. |
Earthlight | Clarke | 1955 |
| Finger Jet Bath The ultimate in luxury tubs. |
The Houses of Iszm | Vance | 1954 |
| Finger Watch A ring that contains a working timepiece and a display. |
Key Decision | Fyfe | 1951 |
| Fire Storm When clouds of antimatter dust encountered ordinary matter spaceships. |
Collision Orbit | Williamson | 1942 |
| First Contact The initial encounter with a non-human race. |
Proxima Centauri | Leinster | 1935 |
| Fixed Star Advertising In which the positions of the fixed stars are changed to form advertising. |
Pi in the Sky | Brown | 1945 |
| Flame Barrier A form of protective force field. |
The Storm | van Vogt | 1943 |
| Flame Disintegrator Ravening flames from a hand-held device. |
The Eternal Wanderer | Schachner | Astounding |
| Flame Pistol A hand-held weapon that incinerates opponents. |
Invisible Ships | Vincent | 1931 |
| Flame Projector Handheld device shoots flame. |
Water-Bound World | Vincent | 1932 |
| Flash Crowd (Flash Mob) What you call a group of people who suddenly appear at an interesting location. |
Flash Crowd | Niven | 1972 |
| Flash Suit Special suit for practice battles. |
Ender's Game | Card | 1985 |
| Flashlight Laser Small cylindrical device that generates a green beam of variable intensity and focal length; can illuminate or cut. |
Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Flat Cat A nearly two-dimensional furry little beast. |
The Rolling Stones | Heinlein | 1952 |
| Flat Photo A two-dimensional pictorial representation of a three-dimensional real space. A picture. |
Hyperion | Simmons | 1989 |
| Flatscreen Movie Like holographic or three-dimensional recordings, but showing only two dimensions. |
Orbital Resources | Barnes | 1991 |
| Flavor-Capsule A small pill used to turn ordinary water into a flavored beverage. |
Foundation and Empire | Asimov | 1952 |
| Flavor-Fix Rheostat Technology makes sure that the flavor of automatically-produced food is perfect. |
The Jester | Tenn | 1951 |
| Flesh Gun A weapon that burns the skin and meat off the victim. |
The Computer Connection | Bester | 1974 |
| Flesh Men Thinking beings that are not mechanical robots - human beings. |
Robots of the World! Arise! | Wolf | 1952 |
| Flesh Putty A flesh replacement, good for putting in bullet holes. |
Titanium Noir | Harkaway | 2023 |
| Flexible Armor Suit A pressure suit that, while flexible, becomes rigid like armor upon impact. |
Neutron Star | Niven | 1966 |
| Flexible Car Map A nonrigid map that extrudes from the dashboard of a car when needed. |
Heavy Weather | Sterling | 1994 |
| Flexible Frank An all-purpose household robot. |
The Door Into Summer | Heinlein | 1956 |
| Flexible Metal Arms (Tentacles) An interesting description of how mechanical tentacles might function. |
The Metal Giants | Hamilton | 1926 |
| Flexible Sprung Boots Boots designed to be flexible when walking, but upon a hard step, will have a spring characteristic. |
Inherit the Stars | Hogan | 1977 |
| Flexible Stem A long flexible tube that can expand and contract its length quickly. |
The Killing Machine | Vance | 1964 |
| Flexible Wall Sheet Display A large clear sheet that displays information. |
The Mechanical Monarch | Tubb | 1958 |
| Flexitime A work system that actually tells you when you've put in your time. |
Master of Space and Time | Rucker | 1984 |
| Flex-Wheels Special wheels designed for getting around on the Moon. |
2001: A Space Odyssey | Clarke | 1968 |
| Flexy (or Flexies) A flexible, quasi-living computer. |
Pushing Ice | Reynolds | 2005 |
| Flicker Drive A space ship drive that allows instantaneous travel across the galaxy. |
Fremder | Hoban | 1996 |
| Flickercladding A covering that allowed robots to absorb incident light or emit light, as needed. |
Wetware | Rucker | 1988 |
| Flight Stick A personal flying vehicle, stripped down to the basics. |
The Flight of the Horse | Niven | 1969 |
| Flip to Brake Maneuver to put the tail end (with rocket output) in the forward direction of travel to use for lowering velocity. |
Murder on the Asteroid | Binder | 1933 |
| Flitter A small craft used for short-range journeys. |
Vortex Blaster | Smith | 1941 |
| Flitterboat A one-man cargo space craft. |
A Spaceship Named McGuire | Garrett | 1961 |
| Floater A device that allows the user to literally float in the air |
Armageddon: 2419 A.D. | Nowlan | 1928 |
| Floater (Vehicle) A conveyance distinguished primarily by antigravity power. |
The Machine | Campbell | 1935 |
| Float-home Living entity genetically designed for use as a houseboat. |
Whipping Star | Herbert | 1969 |
| Floating Booths Comfortable bar booths that float around and come together for conversation. |
Handicap | Niven | 1967 |
| Floating Building An apartment building that floats a few feet off the ground. |
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said | Dick | 1974 |
| Floating Castle A vast building floating freely above the land surface of Ringworld. |
Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Floating Island Large artificial islands floating on Earth's seas. |
Saturn's Race | Niven (w/S. Barnes) | 2000 |
| Floating Lunar Dust Electrostatically charged particles that float above the surface of the Moon. |
Dust Rag | Clement | 1956 |
| Floating Robot A robot that floats in mid-air. |
The Floating Robot | O'Brien | 1941 |
| Floating Spherical Pool Control of gravity permits mid-air pools of water. |
One Against The Legion | Williamson | 1939 |
| Floating Villa An artificial island several acres in extent. |
Doom Over Venus | Hamilton | 1940 |
| Fluid Metal Letters A smooth metal display able to display words. |
Vulcan's Hammer | Dick | 1960 |
| Fluor Strips Lighting long narrow devices. |
Sacred Martian Pig (Idris' Pig) | St. Clair | 1949 |
| Flycycle Combination flying motorcycle, kitchen and autodoc. |
Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Flying Car Flying police car has VTOL. |
Blade Runner | Scott | 1982 |
| Flying Crowbars Kinetic energy weapons deployed from space. |
Footfall | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1985 |
| Flying Eye A remote-controlled device for surveillance overflight. |
The Repairman | Harrison | 1959 |
| Flying Harness Device allows free movement in the air. |
Skylark of Space | Smith | 1928 |
| Flying Platform Simple black squares that fly and hover. |
Locked Worlds | Hamilton | 1929 |
| Flying Robot Drone Probe A remote-controlled flying drone used for remote investigation and surveillance. |
The Man in the Maze | Silverberg | 1969 |
| Flying Saucer Spacecraft flown by the androgynes of Titan - under control of the Puppetmasters. |
The Puppet Masters | Heinlein | 1951 |
| Flying Wing A V-shaped plane capable of flight to the edge of the atmosphere. |
Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Flywheel Cycle A motorcycle powered by a flywheel. |
The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge | Harrison | 1970 |
| Flywheel Launcher Gigantic flywheels that build up enough power to launch a spacecraft - hurl it into the heavens! |
The Brick Moon | Hale | 1869 |
| Foam Station Sprayer A device that stills the stormy Great Red Spot on Jupiter. |
Red Storm on Jupiter | Long, Jr. | 1936 |
| Focusing Psychoactive microbe improves the attention-focusing ability of those infected. |
A Deepness in the Sky | Vinge | 1999 |
| Fold Box A chest that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. |
Glory Road | Heinlein | 1963 |
| Folding Computer Terminal A foldable pocket computer. |
The Merchants of Souls | Barnes | 2002 |
| Folding Terminal A computer that unfolds itself for use. |
The Mountain in the Sea | Naylor | 2022 |
| Fontema A strange two 'wheeled' animal. |
First Lensman | Smith | 1950 |
| Food Brick Appropriate manufactured food for any species. |
Ringworld | Niven | 1970 |
| Food Factory Mechanized production of food by entirely artificial means. |
Exiles of the Moon | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Food Pellets Sustenance in a concentrated form. |
The Republic of the Future | Dodd | 1887 |
| Food Pills A substitute for ordinary nutrition. |
A Strange Trip | Hopkins | 1885 |
| Food Preparation Machine An automated device for the production of complete meals. |
Unto Us A Child Is Born | Keller | 1933 |
| Food Tablet All of your nutrients in one easy-to-swallow form factor. |
John Jones's Dollar | Keeler | 1915 |
| Foot Loops Hold yourself down in zero gravity situations with this low-tech device. |
The Power Planet | Leinster | 1931 |
| Force Pencil Device straps to forearm, projects a force beam. |
Gather, Darkness! | Leiber | 1943 |
| Forced Scholars Hothouse intellectuals. |
Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (The World As It Shall Be) | Souvestre | 1846 |
| Force-Field A barrier to objects, created by projected forces. |
A Subterranean Adventure | Bauer | 1930 |
| Force-Field Penknife A pocket-sized knife, the blade of which is a force-field. |
Foundation | Asimov | 1951 |
| Force-Ray A large, hand-held spear of force. |
Buck Rogers, 2430 AD | Nowlan (w/D. Calkins) | 1929 |
| Force-Screen A variation on the force shield idea. |
The Dweller in Outer Darkness | Long, Jr. | 1939 |
| Fornixation Electrical stimulation of the pleasure centers of the brain. |
Riders of the Purple Wage | Farmer | 1967 |
| Forward Warehousing Using the trunks of cars as little warehouses. |
Stealing Worlds | Schroeder | 2019 |
| Fossil Shell Coin The use of rare natural shells of an extinct species, for money. |
The Coming Race | Bulwer-Lytton | 1871 |
| Fottengill Process An early mention of the idea that energy can be derived from random noise. |
Gypped | Biggle, Jr. | 1956 |
| Fractal Knife The blade uses a fractal geometry to increase its cutting surface. |
Virtual Light | Gibson | 1993 |
| Free Fall Phrase describing how bodies move in orbit. |
Islands of Space | Campbell | 1931 |
| Free Play (The Mind Game) A computer simulation that presents an enjoyable game for young people that is also used for psychological evaluation. |
Ender's Game | Card | 1985 |
| Free Return Trajectory The idea that it would be possible for a projectile to go around the Moon and then return to Earth. |
From the Earth to the Moon | Verne | 1867 |
| Free Robot A robot without a master. |
Robot Unwanted | Keyes | 1952 |
| Free Telephone Call All telephone calls are free - in exchange for short commercials. |
The Subliminal Man | Ballard | 1963 |
| Freedom ID A chip inserted into the hand for identification (and surveillance) purposes. |
Spark | Twelve Hawks | 2014 |
| Freedom Machine A birth control device developed using nanotechnology. |
The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Free-fall Couch Furniture that achieves the comfort of free-fall, the weightless condition normally achieved only in space. |
Hyperion | Simmons | 1989 |
| Freeside Orbital Resort A resort that orbits the Earth. |
Neuromancer | Gibson | 1984 |
| Freezebox A chamber for long term sleep between the stars. |
Think Blue, Count Two | Smith | 1962 |
| Freezone A vast floating island in international waters. |
Freezone | Shirley | 1985 |
| Fresher Short for "refreshing chamber,", it is the future of personal hygiene technology. |
Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Frictionless Cups Cups with a special surface to which liquid does not adhere. |
Protector | Niven | 1973 |
| Frictionless Toilet A toilet bowl that does not require water, because its surface is frictionless. |
The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
| Fruit-Picking Machine An humanoid machine for automatic fruit picking. |
The Hidden Colony | von Hanstein | 1935 |
| FTL Abbreviation for "faster than light". |
The Enchanted Forest | Leiber | 1950 |
| Fuel Tree Plants raised as fuel. |
Anathem | Stephenson | 2008 |
| Fulgurator An 'autopropulsive projectile'. |
Facing The Flag | Verne | 1896 |
| Fuligin A material the color of which is blacker than black. |
The Shadow of the Torturer | Wolfe | 1980 |
| Full-Motion Building Advertising Facade An advertising display that covers an entire skyscraper; it provides full-motion video to onlookers. |
Blade Runner | Scott | 1982 |
| Full-Shift Set Variable Infinite possibilities built into a game machine. |
Return Match | Dick | 1967 |
| Funnel-Shaped Landing Framework A special purpose landing dock area that is wider at the top until the craft is captured toward the bottom. |
Evans of the Earth-Guard | Hamilton | 1930 |
| Fur Pressure-Suit A warm pressurized suit for use in the airless void of space. |
Skylark of Space | Smith | 1928 |
| Fusion Power Creating energy from nuclear fusion reactions. |
The Judas Valley | Vance | 1956 |
| Fusion Sunlight Tube Central light source for a spun cylinder space station. |
At the Bottom of a Hole | Niven | 1966 |
| Fyunch(click) An alien assigned to become an expert in just one person. |
The Mote in God's Eye | Niven (w/J. Pournelle) | 1974 |
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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