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"It's hard to tell stories about critters that are not human. John W. Campbell tried it, in "Twilight," and everybody says it's a wonderful story, and nobody ever reads it twice."
- Jerry Pournelle
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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
- Surface Film Repels All Bacteria
| iSphere Plastique Fantastique Face Mask Alternative |
| Inkjet-Printed Wearable Solar Cells |
| E - Ink's Automatic Self Styling Color-Changing Dress |
| Clothes That Do Photosynthesis |
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'the registration number which the traffic control automatically photographed as she left the controlway...'
'It could maintain a steady six miles per hour...'
'Then they press one of these here thirteen buttons...'
'...without burning a single hydrocarbon molecule to injure the diseased atmosphere any further.'
'Bird-like robots now descended from the ceiling of the theatre...'
'The efficient robot waiter of the Sky Club had cleared away the remnants of an epicurean meal.'
'...in the tank the new body and the new mind and memory and life has taken almost instant form.'
'pirate three-vee satellites sanded out of orbit...'
'The atmosphere yielded its moisture with reluctance. It had to be coaxed down...'
