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"I realized there was a heavy-duty change coming in biology, and I could write a really compelling novel about catastrophic evolution, punctuated equilibrium."
- Greg Bear
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| Fabricules | ||
| Tiny bits of fabric that were self-cleaning; gloves made of this material always stayed clean. |
Nanotechnology or washday miracle? Actually, both. It is not done by repulsion; apparently, the fabricules do work in ejecting the dirt by some mechanical means. So, the question arises, would you need to recharge your gloves?
| ...with a quick brush, John and Gwendolyn were able to transfer most of the dirt onto their white gloves. From there it went straight into the air. Most gentlemen's and ladies' gloves nowadays were constructed of infinitesimal fabricules that knew how to eject dirt; you could thrust your gloved hand into mud, and it would be white a few seconds later. |
| From The Diamond Age,
by Neal Stephenson. Published by Bantam Books in 1995 Additional resources -
|
Okay, so how do you do the white glove test? You'd need something else to find toner, an interesting bit of technovelgy from the same novel.
Compare to the self-cleaning gym suit from Oryx and Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood and bio-fabrics from Say Goodby to the Wind (1970) by J.G. Ballard.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Diamond Age
More Ideas
and Technology by Neal Stephenson
Tech news articles related to The Diamond Age
Tech news articles related to works by Neal Stephenson
Fabricules-related
news articles:
- Self-Cleaning Fabric - Polymer Film Sprinkled With Silver Nanoparticles
- Self-Cleaning Sportswear
- Self-Cleaning Wool And Silk Fabrics
- Gina Cloth-Covered Car From BMW
- Self-Cleaning SilverSport Gym Gear Uses Nanosilver
- Superomniphobic Fabrics Are Super Clean
- Textiles Self-Cleaning In Sunlight
| Foldimate Folds Your Clothes Perfectly |
| 'Power Clothing' - The Seismic 'Super Suit' |
| Shiftwear Display Shoes |
| Jabil Integrated Textile Heart Monitoring |
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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.
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'Merton... placed the electrodes of the sleep-inducer on his forehead.'
'... we can descend and live down there at one of those year-round aquatic resorts.'
'...she would have to be coaxed by another series of pats into a circular orbit.'
'The sleek, tapered space shuttle lay immobile upon the private landing field...'
Yes, people of the future, robots will dress you.
