Crayon Physics is lots of fun; you can draw objects that immediately behave like they would in the real world.
(Crayon physics video)
If you like, you can get the download from Kloonigames and try it out yourself.
When I thought about this, I immediately remembered Sketch Furniture Ultra Rapid Prototyping. A computer system watched you draw in space with your "magic crayon" and then immediately fabricated your drawing out of actual plastic.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'