Science Fiction Dictionary
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

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"There was a time when one old eccentric guy with a notebook could do something important to science. Now even the resources of a major university are often not enough."
- Jerry Pournelle

Boring Heat Machine  
  Takes tunnel boring material and turns it into building material.  

In digging their volcanic shafts it would be no impossible task for them to adapt their wonderful machines for fashioning the lava product into underground corridors and chambers instead of the castles or fortresses they had first built above ground...

Then I noticed that the character of the earth flowing from the boring machine was changing. In a few minutes molten lava was pouring out of the broad-lipped spouts. There ensued unusual activity on the part of the shovel-handed machines, whose operators, with a skill that held me enthralled, manipulated the liquid stone, absorbing the heat from it with accessory apparatus, and shaping it as it hardened.

Technovelgy from The Onslaught From Venus, by Frank Phillips.
Published by Science Wonder Stories in 1929
Additional resources -

From the cover description:


(Heat machine from 'The Onslaught From Venus' by Frank Phillips)

"Here we see ... one of their heat machines is turning out molten lava made from rock and earth, and which later will be used to make building blocks for these invaders."

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Onslaught From Venus
  More Ideas and Technology by Frank Phillips
  Tech news articles related to The Onslaught From Venus
  Tech news articles related to works by Frank Phillips

Boring Heat Machine-related news articles:
  - Boring Company Bricks Predicted In 1929
  - Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch

Articles related to Engineering
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

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 Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'

US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'

Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'

Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'

Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'

Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'

Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'

Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'

Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'

I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.