Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Science Fiction Timeline of Inventions (Listed by Publication Date)

Most of these items are linked to information about similar real-life inventions and inventors; click on an invention to learn more about it.











































































































Date Device Name (Novel Author)
1726Laputa - a floating island (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726Bio-Energy - produce electricity from organic material (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726Knowledge Engine - machine-made expertise (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726Geometric Modeling - eighteenth century NURBS (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1828Barrels of Air (from The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Henry Loudon)
1828Steam-Propelled Moving Houses (from The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Henry Loudon)
1828Stage Balloon (from The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Henry Loudon)
1828Mail-Post Letter-Ball (from The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Henry Loudon)
1866Paper Steel (from Robur-the-Conqueror by Jules Verne)
1867Weightlessness - true science fiction discovery (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Retro-Rockets - Verne invented them! (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Light Pressure Propulsion - first use of this idea (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Water-Springs (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Spashdown - the original idea (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Launching Facility - in Florida (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Projectile-Vehicle - Verne's spacecraft (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Free Return Trajectory - first mention (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Communicate with Extraterrestrials - first use of concept (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867Columbiad - 900 foot cannon (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1869Flywheel Launcher (from The Brick Moon by Edward Everett Hale)
1875Nautilus - Captain Nemo's ride (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875Diving Apparatus - scuba diving in the 19th century (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875Electrify the Rail - repel boarders! (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875Leyden Ball - grandfather of the taser (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875Undersea Mining (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)

...

via Science Fiction Timeline of Inventions (Listed by Publication Date).

Many more at the link.

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