The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Classic Clarke; this novel is a great exemplar of his careful, reasoned style. The novel intertwines two stories; the first that of a king long dead and his obsession with his mountain paradise, and the second a modern story of a man who wanted to build a tower to the heavens. Highly recommended; this is also a great place to learn about space elevators.


('Fountains of Paradise' by Arthur C. Clarke)

Select an invention:

1D Diamond Crystal - might be a carbon fullerene molecule
A continuous pseudo-one dimensional diamond crystal- maybe a nanotube?

CORA - Coronary Alarm
An implanted (or worn) ECG monitor that warns the user of coronary events.

Holopad
A small display like an iPad that shows 3D images.

Hyperfilament
A very high tensile strength material structured as a long thin line or ribbon.

Operation Cleanup - remove orbital debris the brute force way
The program that removed space debris in LEO that could harm the space elevator.

Orbiting Factories
Manufacturing centers in orbit around the Earth.

Personal Interest Profile (PIP) - invention of Google Alerts
A set of topics about which you would like to hear the latest news; known today as Google News Alerts.

Space Elevator (Orbital Tower) - best novel reference
A physical link between a point on the surface of the Earth and a satellite in geosynchronous orbit.

Spider Space Elevator Test Vehicle - test the cables
A robotic testing device for the cables of a space elevator.

Spinnerettes - handling nanofibers
A device that will unspool a nanowire filament and then pull it back in.

 

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Science Fiction
in the News

SpaceX Intros Extravehicular Activity Suit
re: Garret P. Serviss
(5/4/2024)

Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
re: Greg Bear
(5/1/2024)

The FLUTE Project - A Huge Liquid Mirror In Space
re: Raymond Z. Gallun
(4/28/2024)

Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment
re: Philip K Dick
(4/26/2024)

CyberCab - Tesla Renames The Robotaxi
re: Michael Swanwick
(4/24/2024)

SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
re: Arthur C. Clarke
(4/22/2024)

Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
re: David Brin
(4/20/2024)

'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
re: Various
(4/18/2024)

Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
re: Robert Castle
(4/18/2024)

Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
re: Robert Heinlein
(4/14/2024)

Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
re: Arthur C. Clarke
(4/12/2024)

Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
re: William Gibson
(4/10/2024)

Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
re: Roger Zelazny
(4/8/2024)

SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
re: L. Ron Hubbard
(4/6/2024)

More SF in the News

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