Robert Heinlein:
Science Fiction Technology and Ideas
Robert Anson Heinlein was born in Missouri in 1907; he died in 1988. He entered the Naval Academy in 1925 and was commissioned in 1929; his career as a naval officer was cut short by ill health. He studied engineering and mathematics at UCLA.

Heinlein also wrote as Anson MacDonald and Lyle Monroe. He wrote his first short story (Lifeline) in 1939. He wrote many well-known novels (see below). He received the Nebula Grand Master award in 1975.

Invention/Technology Source Work (Publication Date)

Camden Speedster - compare this to an SUV
A super sports utility vehicle (SUV); it drives on the highway, the water and jumps into the air for short periods.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Capillotomer
An automatic shaving machine

Beyond This Horizon (1942)

Car Sound Tape - what does a hybrid sound like?
Otherwise silent vehicle uses a recorded engine sound.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)

'Chatterbox' News-Receptor
An appliance for listening to the news that lacked content controls.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Chin Plates - hands-free controls
A means of control within a space suit helmet; switching between options with the chin.

Have Space Suit - Will Travel (1958)

Chin Window
An aperture that allows an astronaut to see his own feet (greater field of view).

Have Space Suit - Will Travel (1958)

Chronovitameter - your birth and death revealed
Device that can determine a person's date of birth - and the date on which he or she will die.

Lifeline (1939)

Cider Press - acceleration made bearable
Device used to make acceleration above 1 gravity more tolerable for groundhogs.

Double Star (1956)

Cold-Rest - reduced temperature somnolence
Lowering body temperature and metabolic levels, as in hibernation; also called reduced temperature somnolence.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Cold-Sleep - hibernation between the stars
A form of induced suspended animation, in which a person enters a state like hibernation.

Between Planets (1951)

Cold-Sleep - hibernation for humans
A state of hibernation, created by lowered temperature and metabolism.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Computer Humorist
A computer acquires the ability to tell original jokes.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

Control Natural
A person who is allowed to have an unmodified genetic makeup.

Beyond This Horizon (1942)

Controlway
An automated highway system that takes full operational control of vehicles traveling upon it.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Copter Harness
A single person flying machine.

The Star Beast (1954)

Cyborg Pilot - man plus machine
A combination of a human being (at least the thinking part) and a machine.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

Delayed Action Stereoscopic Principle
Distinguishing far off space craft by relative speed against the fixed stars.

Methuselah's Children (1941)

Delivery Robot
A small autonomous device that will bring goods directly to a person or place.

Podkayne of Mars (1962)

Desert Cabbage
A giant plant that regulates its internal temperature even on Mars.

Red Planet (1949)

Dirtside
The surface of a planet.

Starman Jones (1953)

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