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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 |
| ICE (intrusion countermeasures electronics) Electronic protection for computer databases. |
Neuromancer | Gibson | 1984 |
| Ice Dart A variation on an old locked door mystery idea. |
Nanotime | Kosko | 1987 |
| Iceberg Water Tub An enormous bag or tub that encloses an iceberg used to supply fresh water. |
Oath of Fealty | Pournelle (w/L. Niven) | 1981 |
| Ice-Nine A crystalline form of water so stable that in practical terms it would never melt. |
Cat's Cradle | Vonnegut, Jr. | 1963 |
| Icon Thumbsized Image A very early reference to a screen icon. |
2001: A Space Odyssey | Clarke | 1968 |
| Ideator A computer device specifically made to help model genes and proteins for identification. |
Darwin's Children | Bear | 2003 |
| Ident Darts Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that track individuals. |
The Electric Ant | Dick | 1969 |
| Identification Beacon Radio pulse to identify orbiting craft. |
Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Identification Ring An apparently ordinary ring, which minutely describes and identifies its wearer. |
Sinister Barrier | Russell | 1939 |
| Identificator A hologram projector used to flash door signs. |
The Star King | Vance | 1964 |
| Ident-Key Allows the retrieval of a person's entire history of reading material, allowing the prediction of his future thinking. |
The Penultimate Truth | Dick | 1964 |
| Idoru A virtual person like a video game character; an entity given specific characteristics, existing only in computer networks. |
Idoru | Gibson | 1996 |
| Igloo Inflatable Moon Habitat An inflatable, portable lunar shelter that can be easily moved and set up. |
A Fall of Moondust | Clarke | 1961 |
| Igloo-Shaped Space Shelter Easy to set up on airless asteroids. |
Collision Orbit | Williamson | 1942 |
| Illuminum A metal that glows with its own light. |
Altered Carbon | Morgan | 2003 |
| Illyrion Super-heavy and super-stable elements with atomic numbers greater than 296. |
Nova | Delany | 1968 |
| Ilse The first intelligent ship brain. |
Long Shot | Vinge | 1972 |
| Image-Amps Boost the signal from the eyes to see in the dark. |
Neuromancer | Gibson | 1984 |
| Immersive Home Video Technology lets users interact with home videos. |
Minority Report (Movie) | Spielberg | 2002 |
| Immunocules Very small, lightweight objects able to move in three dimensions; they form a protective shield against airborne devices. |
The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Imp Personal Robot A small 'subtree' robot that is designed for the personal use of astronauts. |
Rocheworld | Forward | 1985 |
| Impact Suit A body suit that is flexible, but upon a hard impact becomes rigid and impenetrable. |
The Flying Sorcerers | Gerrold (w/L, Niven) | 1971 |
| Impactor Determines Composition The use of an impactor to smash into a small celestial body; watching the impact can determine the composition of the small body. |
The Mechanical Monarch | Tubb | 1958 |
| Imperial Handicraft Globe Perfectly crafted globe for planetary governors. |
Dune | Herbert | 1965 |
| Impermite A substance that is impervious to penetration. |
Redmask of the Outlands | Schachner | 1934 |
| Impervium Unique material is impenetrable and indestructible. |
Clash by Night | O'Donnell | 1943 |
| Implanted Comlink Transceiver inserted below the skin. |
Savior | Kress | 2004 |
| Implanted Credit Card A credit card system that could be surgically implanted; uses radio frequency identification to communicate with checkout hardware. |
The Diamond Age | Stephenson | 1995 |
| Implanted Interface With Retinal Nerves Circuitry that provides a 'look' at what the eye sees. |
The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe (The Unsleeping Eye) | Compton | 1973 |
| Implanted Microprocessor Monitor Chips that are implanted in people to ensure compliance with company rules. |
Neuromancer | Gibson | 1984 |
| Implanted Steel Teeth Replacement teeth implanted in the jaw. |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Implanted Tranceiver Device enables two-way communication with needing to carry a device. |
The Godmakers | Herbert | 1972 |
| Implant-Watch Subcutaneous timepiece; uses patterns of colored lights to show the time. |
Cloak of Anarchy | Niven | 1972 |
| Imprint (A Ditto Blank) Impress one's personality upon a 'ditto blank' android. |
Kiln People | Brin | 2002 |
| Improve Memory Help immortals make sense of their memories. |
Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Indestructible Contract Legal document in which can't be easily altered or damaged. |
Dorsai! | Dickson | 1960 |
| Indirect Cold Light Apparently source-less lighting, highly efficient, with no waste heat. |
The Silent Destroyer | Juve | 1929 |
| Individual Flyer Personal antigravity and wing unit. |
Asteroid Pirates | Heckman | 1938 |
| Individualized Clothing Manufacture A device that will produce suits of clothing based on measurement data gathered. |
When the Sleeper Wakes | Wells | 1899 |
| Indoor Stadium An entirely enclosed baseball stadium. |
Flamingo: A Drama of A.D. 1950 | Heller | 1930 |
| Indoor Weighted Belt Device to stay grounded in low gravity on the Moon. |
Blood of the Moon | Cummings | 1936 |
| Inert Resin A special coating that eliminates maintenance on marine structures. |
Islands in the Net | Sterling | 1988 |
| Inertia Screen A device that canceled out the law of inertia to help decelerating space craft occupants. |
Space Rating | Berryman | 1939 |
| Inertia Tank A device that protected its delicate contents by cushioning. |
Masson's Secret | Gallun | 1939 |
| Inertial Bracelet Device to still hand tremors. |
Psychohistorical Crisis | Kingsbury | 2001 |
| Inertialess Drive Faster-than-light travel achieved! |
Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Inertron Material with all the properties of heavier metals, but lighter. |
Armageddon: 2419 A.D. | Nowlan | 1928 |
| Inert-Wear Clothing made of dead fibers; clothing that is unmoving, static. |
Say Goodby to the Wind | Ballard | 1970 |
| Infiltrators Surveillance devices, small and insectile. |
Vulcan's Hammer | Dick | 1960 |
| Infinite Improbability Drive Generates a field in which anything, no mater how improbable, can exist. |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Adams | 1979 |
| Inflatable Air Lock Air lock making use of inflatable side walls to achieve large size. |
Space Tug | Leinster | 1953 |
| Inflatable Church A church using an inflatable projection screen as an altar. |
The Shockwave Rider | Brunner | 1975 |
| Inflatable Expansion Bubble Inflatable chamber to provide temporary additional space for cramped space craft. |
Crashlander | Niven | 1994 |
| Inflatable Living-Globe An inflatable bubble in space, suitable for human habitation. |
The Beat Cluster | Leiber | 1961 |
| Inflatable Lunar Resort An inflatable structure on the moon, intended to provide rest and relaxation to lunar residents. |
Solar Lottery | Dick | 1955 |
| Inflatable Roofed Valley A habitat on an asteroid created by placing a tent-like roof over a natural valley or depression, and then inflating it. |
Misfit | Heinlein | 1939 |
| Infowar Operation Making use of various means to disrupt the enemy's military and civilian information networks. |
Distraction | Sterling | 1998 |
| Ingestible Communication Capsule A tiny transmitter that can be swallowed, which makes possible voice communication. |
Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Inorganic Evolution A process by which robots could alter their own structure, or the ways that they interact with other robots, to adapt to a changing world. |
The Invincible | Lem | 1954 |
| Insosuit A space suit specially designed to resist extreme heat. |
Runaround | Asimov | 1942 |
| Instant Customized Clothing A machine that produced a selected item of clothing, on the spot, based on customer demand. |
Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Instant Photography A photograph that develops immediately inside the camera. |
The Silent Destroyer | Juve | 1929 |
| Instantaneous Kodaks (Traffic Control) Use of cameras to help police officers enforce speed limits. |
A Journey In Other Worlds | Astor IV | 1894 |
| Integral Calculator A device that accepts complex equations and solves them. |
Exiles of the Moon | Schachner (w. AL Zagat) | 1931 |
| Intellectual Cell A smart lymphocyte; a cell with enhanced capacity for memory, understanding and communication. |
Blood Music | Bear | 1984 |
| Intelligent Trash Sorting Robots sort the garbage - almost completely. |
The Velvet Glove | Harrison | 1956 |
| Interactive Blackboard Early description of an interactive display device for lectures and demonstrations. |
Vulcan's Hammer | Dick | 1960 |
| Interactive Map A small book with a 'touch-screen' paper interactive map. |
Return from the Stars | Lem | 1961 |
| Interactive Suicide Note A last message for the people you are leaving behind - that encourages their participation. |
Press Enter | Varley | 1984 |
| Interactive Video Column A video display in a chain convenience store that shows random scenes from other stores in the chain around the world. |
All Tomorrow's Parties | Gibson | 1999 |
| Interchangeable Hands Specialized manual extremities. |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Interests Profile An intelligent agent; a software program with your personal tastes on file. |
The Age of The Pussyfoot | Pohl | 1966 |
| Intergalactic Going between galaxies. |
Invaders From The Infinite | Campbell | 1932 |
| Internal Body Power Pack A tiny battery used to power implants. |
The Stars My Destination | Bester | 1956 |
| International Fantasy Gaming Society (IFGS) A group dedicated to playing live action role-playing games. |
Dream Park | Niven (w/S. Barnes) | 1981 |
| Internet Addiction A state in which human beings experience addiction to computer access and data streams. |
Hyperion | Simmons | 1989 |
| Interplanetary Clearance Bureaucratic red tape associated with busy space ports. |
Methuselah's Children | Heinlein | 1941 |
| Interplanetary Communications Center The backbone for a solar system-wide communications system. |
QRM - Interplanetary | Smith | 1942 |
| Interplanetary Passport Required document for space travelers. |
Murder in the Void | Hamilton | 1938 |
| Interplanetary Radiograph Station Network of communication in the solar system. |
On The Martian Way | Bishop | 1907 |
| Interplanetary Restaurant An eatery and watering hole designed for use by a variety of space-faring races. |
Asteroid Pirates | Heckman | 1938 |
| Interplanetary Union Of Spacemen An organized union of people who work in space. |
Old Fireball | Schachner | 1941 |
| Interplanetary-Liner A vast passenger ship in space. |
Liners of Space | Vanny | 1930 |
| Interstellar Express Car Uses anti-gravitation metal to achieve terrific speeds in space. |
In the Deep of Time | Lathrop | 1897 |
| Interstellar Laser Propulsion System A means of traveling to the stars, using a Sol-based laser system and light sail-equipped ship. |
Rocheworld | Forward | 1985 |
| Inter-Universal Messenger A device intended to travel to another dimension. |
Cities in Flight | Blish | 1957 |
| Inter-Vehicle Communication The ability to talk car-to-car directly. |
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | Dick | 1965 |
| Interway Computer-controlled highway. |
The Tels | Black | 2003 |
| IntruGrab A system designed to capture intruders. |
The Hunch | Anvil | 1961 |
| Inurbanity (Inurbane) Criminal penalties for persons who are unable to behave properly in crowded cubic cities. |
The Cubic City | Tucker, D.D. | 1929 |
| Invasion Gate For Aliens Using alien instructions to create a gate for alien invasion. |
Monsters of Mars | Hamilton | 1931 |
| Inviolability Field A kind of field of force built into a robe, to protect an individual person. |
Gather, Darkness! | Leiber | 1943 |
| Invisibility The idea that it is possible to make a person invisible using some sort of optical technology to alter the body. |
The Invisible Man | Wells | 1897 |
| Invisibility Magnets They can cloak a space ship by bending light around it. |
Redmask of the Outlands | Schachner | 1934 |
| Invisibility Shield A means of concealing a physical object to the naked eye. |
Triplanetary | Smith | 1934 |
| Invisible Cloak A cloak that renders the wearer invisible. |
Brigands of the Moon | Cummings | 1930 |
| Invisible Watchmen Automated 'home security' sentry system that targets and eliminates intruders. |
Murder in the Void | Hamilton | 1938 |
| Invulnerable Wall A material created by insects that grew stronger as it was compressed. |
Jackpot | Simak | 1956 |
| Ion Cannon Fires blasts of charged particles. |
Star Wars | Lucas | 1976 |
| Ion Drive A space drive that emits a stream of ions as reaction mass; it starts out slow but builds up to interstellar speeds. |
Equalizer | Williamson | 1947 |
| Iridium Spirals (Street Lights) Streetlights provide sunlight at night. |
Ralph 124c 41 + | Gernsback | 1911 |
| Iridium-Sponge Brain A human-like metal brain for robots. |
Adam Link's Vengeance | Binder | 1940 |
| Iron Fingers Special metal manipulators set on the hull of a space craft, and manipulated from the inside. |
The Death's Head Meteor | Jones | 1930 |
| Iron Inlay Plates Works perfectly with an electromagnetic table to maintain place settings. |
A Daring Trip To Mars | Valier | 1931 |
| Iron Man Robot With Human Brain A huge robot with a tub containing a human brain. |
Iron Man | Ernst | 1933 |
| Ironing Robot A robot that smooths the wrinkles out of clothing. |
Iron (утюг) | Mikheev | 1972 |
| Isolation Barrage Device prevents eavesdropping. |
Wandl, The Invader | Cummings | 1932 |
| Ixian Probe A device that looks at brain tissue so carefully that memories can be seen. |
Heretics of Dune | Herbert | 1984 |
| Ixian Sight Mask Device to allow the blind to see. |
Children of Dune | Herbert | 1976 |
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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