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

"Science Fiction is speculative fiction in which the author takes as his first postulate the real world as we know it, including all established facts and natural laws."
- Robert Heinlein

Shipstone  
  A lot of power in a small, manufactured package.  

The Shipstone complex is mammoth, all right, because they supply cheap power to billions of people who want cheap power and want more of it every year. But it is not a monopoly because they don't own any power; they just package it and ship it around to wherever people want it...
Technovelgy from Friday, by Robert Heinlein.
Published by Holt, Rhinehart and Winston in 1982
Additional resources -

In the story, Shipstones come in various sizes, some large enough to power ocean freighters and even spaceships. Others are smaller, intended to power a home or even a small tool, like a drill.

...the place was dark as ink...

So whip out your pocket torch, Friday, powered with its own tiny lifetime Shipstone, and search.

Compare to the solid power from Revolt on the Tenth World (1940) by Edmond Hamilton and the kink springs from The Calorie Man (2005), by Paolo Bacigalupi.

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

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Friday
  More Ideas and Technology by Robert Heinlein
  Tech news articles related to Friday
  Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein

Shipstone-related news articles:
  - EEStor Ultracapacitor 'Battery' And Heinlein's Shipstone
  - Betavoltaic Battery: 30 Years Of Power
  - Hyperion Power Module Neighborhood Nuclear Reactor
  - Bloom Box Brick Powers Your Home
  - Russia's Self-Contained Nuclear Lighthouses
  - Nuclear Batteries Based On Diamonds Last Millennia

Articles related to Engineering
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?

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

Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated?
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'

Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way
'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'

Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'

Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants?
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'

Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'

Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'

'Robovan' Name Already Taken - Elon, Try These
There are alternative names that are probably in the public domain by now.

How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.

Is Your Autonomous Tractor Safe?
'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'

Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'

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.