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

"We'd have most of what we predicted of the conquest of space, if we hadn't ignored parasite control."
- Larry Niven

Alterable License Number  
  A device which permits a driver to alter the license plate without leaving the vehicle.  

Mary Sperling doesn't want the traffic control cameras to identify her vehicle as she leaves the highway. What to do?

...she fumbled in the storage compartment on the instrument board and fumbled, apparently purposelessly.

But the registration number which the traffic control automatically photographed as she left the controlway was not the number in which the car was registered.

Technovelgy from Methuselah's Children, by Robert Heinlein.
Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1941
Additional resources -

See a slick newfangled idea for implementing the same idea in Daniel Suarez' 2009 novel Daemon - the digital ink license plate.

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

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Methuselah's Children
  More Ideas and Technology by Robert Heinlein
  Tech news articles related to Methuselah's Children
  Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein

Alterable License Number-related news articles:
  - Lawmaker License Plates Invisible To Traffic Cams

Articles related to Vehicle
Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed

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

Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'

Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'

Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'

Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'

Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'

RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'

Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet — this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'

Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'

Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?

Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'

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.