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
 |
Flame Jet Drill To Bore 10 Miles Into Our Planet
A flame jet drill developed by Potter Drilling uses extreme heat to cut deep into solid rock - not diamond drill bits that can wear out.
Take a look at this short video in which flame jet drilling is demonstrated by Jared Potter, one of the company founders.
(Flame Jet Drill)
Although this technology is still in the proof of concept stage, I was struck by the similarity between this technique and the, well, somewhat larger scale device employed from orbit by the Romulan mining ship in the recent Star Trek movie.
(Romulan flame jet drill bores into Vulcan)
As you may recall, the Romulan flame jet drill bored a hole far into Vulcan, using it as a conduit for the addition of a tiny amount of "red matter" that collapsed Vulacan into a black hole.
(Romulan flame jet drill bores into Vulcan)
Obviously, Potter has a ways to go before being able to drill holes in planets from orbit. However, for the more immediate task of drilling at speeds of up to one hundred feet per hour in search of geothermal power sources, without using costly drill bits that must be constantly replaced, to depths of up to ten miles, the Potter flame drill seems to be going places.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/14/2009)
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 ( 5 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice' - Edmond Hamilton, 1940.
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.' - Raymond F. Jones, 1945.
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...' - Robert Heinlein, 1942
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
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
