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"I think that self-limitation is the major limiting factor for most people in the world."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Steam Rifle | ||
| A gun that propels projectiles with steam. |
| The heat chamber of his rifle flared as it built up pressure. His hands had been doing the right things automatically, as though they were more eager to kill than he was. It only took a few seconds for the steam to form - seconds that seemed very long, right now - but after that the rifle was good for service limited only by the aim of the marksman and the quantity of ammunition. |
| Technovelgy from Omnivore,
by Piers Anthony. Published by Ballantine in 1968 Additional resources -
|
The idea of a steam cannon dates back to Leonardo da Vinci at least (and possibly as far back as Archimedes); take a look at this web page at MIT regarding a very successful steam cannon.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for sending in this item.
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'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
