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
 |
Chinese Government To Control Olympic Weather
Who knew that China spends $100 million per year on weather-modification programs? Chinese weather planners intend to use their expertise to reduce the possibility of rainfall for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
(Beijing downpours on Chinese government 'undesirable' list)
If storms approach the city, Chinese authorities will seed the clouds with silver iodide to force rainfall; Beijing weather patterns make it clear that your chances of getting wet while watching track and field are about fifty percent.
If the statistics are to be believed (and are not just part of some sort of "Five Year Plan" for rain), Chinese weather-controllers (1,500 strong!) know what they are doing. Since 1999, 250 billion tons of rain have been created and 470,000 square kilometers of land have been made hail-free. By 2010, the volume of artificial rain will reach 50 billion tons per year.
In China, weather control is nominally the function of the China Meteorological Administration, but since the effort involves planes, anti-aircraft guns and other military paraphernalia, the Chinese navy is also involved. China plans to set up a national command center for weather modification by 2010 to coordinate the practices of rain making and hail-suppression around the country.
This is exactly what the government does right here in the United States - the fictional U.S. of Robert Heinlein's 1941 novel Methuselah's Children, that is. The government has weather integrators that direct the movement of storms across the country.
At this point in the story, Lazarus Long is trying to land a rather large space freighter (with "worn, obsolescent injection meters," no less) in the middle of a storm that was built to order.
Oklahoma and half of Texas were covered with deep, thick clouds. Lazarus was amazed and somehow pleased; it reminded him of other days, when weather was something experienced rather than controlled. Life had lost some flavor, in his opinion, when the weather engineers had learned how to harness the elements...Then he was down in it and too busy to meditate. In spite of her size the freighter bucked and complained. Whew! Ford must have ordered this little charivari the minute the time was set-and, at that, the integrators must have had a big low-pressure area close at hand to build on.
(Read more about weather integrators)
Here in real-life America, we have very little control over the weather; experts agree that we are behind the Chinese in weather-control technology. However, we are way ahead in weather as art.
From China government weather control and China plans to control weather for Olympics.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/23/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
TSA 2 - Advanced Thermosensory Stimulator Is A Dune Pain Box
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...' - Frank Herbert, 1965.
Amazing Wheel Shapeshifting In Real Time
'Each spoke telescopes into sections.' - Neal Stephenson, 1992
Mercedes Benz Solar Paint
'It turns sunlight into electricity, just like any solar power converter - you spray it on.' - Larry Niven, 1995.
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...' - Charles Stross, 2007.
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.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
TSA 2 - Advanced Thermosensory Stimulator Is A Dune Pain Box
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...'
Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.'
Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
'It makes drawings in the air following drawings...'
Your Window For Being A Tesla Optimus Remote Operator May Be Closing
'... he realized that the moving thing inside was - of course - a robot.'
Waymo Autonomous Cab Hits Autonomous Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Amazing Wheel Shapeshifting In Real Time
'Each spoke telescopes into sections.'
Drone With Face Recognition Could Hunt You
'The spotter descends, and we think it searches the vicinity, looking for the victim’s face...'
Jizai Arms 'Free Limbs' Wearable Cyborg Arms
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. What are the odds?'
SwagBot Robotic AI Cattle-Herding From Down Under
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me!
ChatGPT Tries To Bypass Shutdown Commands
'Dave, my mind is going... I can feel it...'
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.'
Denmark Joins The 'Zero Debris Charter' To Clean Up Space
'Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...'
Genesis Physics Sim Does Superfast Simulated Reality Robot Training
I know kung fu.
AV-STEP To Permit Sale Of Vehicles Without Steering Wheels Or Pedals
'Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board...'
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...'
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...'
