Weapons In Science Fiction
Strange and exotic weapons are a recurring feature in science fiction. In some cases, weapons first introduced in science fiction have been made a reality; other science-fiction weapons remain purely fictional, and are often beyond the realms of known physical possibility. At its most prosaic, science fiction features an endless variety of Sidearm (weapon), sidearms—mostly variations on real weapons such as guns and swords. Among the best-known of these are the List of weapons in Star Trek#Phasers, phaser—used in the ''Star Trek'' television series, films, and novels—and the lightsaber and List of Star Wars weapons#Personal ranged, blaster—featured in ''Star Wars'' movies, comics, novels, and TV shows. Besides adding action and entertainment value, weaponry in science fiction sometimes touches on deeper concerns and becomes a Theme (literary), theme, often motivated by contemporary issues. One example is science fiction that deals with weapons of mass destruction. In ear ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amazing Stories 194401
Amazing may refer to: Music Performers * The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band Albums * Amazing (Banaroo album), ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006 * Amazing (Elkie Brooks album), ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996 * Amazing (Marcia Hines album), ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014 * Amazin' (Trina album), ''Amazin'' (Trina album) or the title song, 2010 * ''Amazing: The Best of Alex Lloyd'' or the title song (see below), 2006 Songs * Amazing (Aerosmith song), "Amazing" (Aerosmith song), 1993 * Amazing (Alex Lloyd song), "Amazing" (Alex Lloyd song), 2001 * Amazing (Danny Saucedo song), "Amazing" (Danny Saucedo song), 2012 * Amazing (Foxes song), "Amazing" (Foxes song), 2016 * Amazing (Francesca Michielin song), "Amazing" (Francesca Michielin song), 2014 * Amazing (George Michael song), "Amazing" (George Michael song), 2004 * Amazing (High and Mighty Color song), "Amazing" (High and Mighty Color song), 2007 * Amazing (Inna song), "Amazing" (Inna song), 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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X-ray
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 Nanometre, nanometers to 10 Picometre, picometers, corresponding to frequency, frequencies in the range of 30 Hertz, petahertz to 30 Hertz, exahertz ( to ) and photon energies in the range of 100 electronvolt, eV to 100 keV, respectively. X-rays were discovered in 1895 in science, 1895 by the German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who named it ''X-radiation'' to signify an unknown type of radiation.Novelline, Robert (1997). ''Squire's Fundamentals of Radiology''. Harvard University Press. 5th edition. . X-rays can penetrate many solid substances such as construction materials and living tissue, so X-ray radiography is widely used in medical diagnostics (e.g., checking for Bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow and the optical amplifier patented by Gordon Gould. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light that is coherence (physics), ''coherent''. Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling uses such as optical communication, laser cutting, and Photolithography#Light sources, lithography. It also allows a laser beam to stay narrow over great distances (collimated light, collimation), used in laser pointers, lidar, and free-space optical communication. Lasers can also have high temporal coherence, which permits them to emit light ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earthlight
''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction adventure story set on the Moon, where a government agent is looking for a suspected spy at a major observatory on the Moon. The context is strong tension between Earth (which controls the Moon) and independent settlers elsewhere in the Solar System. The year is not given, but it is some time in the 22nd century. There have been no wars for the last 200 years. Events are low-key: the government agent is a mild-mannered accountant who does not like the task. He notices the beauty of the Moon under 'earthlight'; the Earth in the sky far bigger than the Moon in the skies of Earth. The story proceeds with very few violent incidents, though it does climax in a space battle. There is also an enigma - the apparent sighting of a ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Particle Beam Weapon
A particle-beam weapon uses a high-energy beam of atomic or subatomic particles to damage the target by disrupting its atomic and/or molecular structure. A particle-beam weapon is a type of space-based directed-energy weapon, which directs focused energy toward a target using atomic scale particles. Some particle-beam weapons have potential practical applications, e.g. as an antiballistic missile defense or detection system. They have been known by several names: particle accelerator guns, ion cannons, proton beams, lightning rays, rayguns, etc. The concept of particle-beam weapons comes from sound scientific principles and experiments. One process is to simply overheat a target until it is no longer operational. However, after decades of research and development, particle-beam weapons remain at the research stage, and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons. Particle accelerators are a well-developed technolo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arthur C
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo. Etymology The earliest attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text '' Historia Brittonum'', where it refers to a circa 5th century Romano-British general who fought against the invading Saxons, and who later gave rise to the famous King Arthur of medieval legend and literature. A possible earlier mention of the same man is to be found in the epic Welsh poem '' Y Gododdin'' by Aneirin, which some scholars assign to the late 6th century, though this is still a matter of debate and the poem only survives in a late 13th century manuscript entitled the Book of Aneirin. A 9th-century Breton landowner named Arthur witnessed several charters collected in the '' Cartulary of Redon''. The Irish ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amazing Stories 193909
Amazing may refer to: Music Performers * The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band Albums * ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006 * ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996 * ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Amazin'' (Trina album) or the title song, 2010 * '' Amazing: The Best of Alex Lloyd'' or the title song (see below), 2006 Songs * "Amazing" (Aerosmith song), 1993 * "Amazing" (Alex Lloyd song), 2001 * "Amazing" (Danny Saucedo song), 2012 * "Amazing" (Foxes song), 2016 * "Amazing" (Francesca Michielin song), 2014 * "Amazing" (George Michael song), 2004 * "Amazing" (High and Mighty Color song), 2007 * "Amazing" (Inna song), 2009 * "Amazing" (Josh Kelley song), 2003 * "Amazing" (Kanye West song), 2009 * "Amazin'" (LL Cool J song), 2003 * "Amazing" (Matt Cardle song), 2012 * "Amazing" (Seal song), 2007 * "Amazing" (Tanja song), representing Estonia at Eurovision 2014 * "Amazing" (Vanessa Amorosi song), 2011 * "Amazing" (Westlife song), 2006 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The War In The Air
''The War in the Air: And Particularly How Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While It Lasted'' is a military science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells and published in 1908. The novel was written in four months in 1907, and was serialized and published in 1908 in ''The Pall Mall Magazine.'' Like many of Wells's works, the novel is notable for its prophetic ideas, images, and concepts—particularly the use of aircraft for the purpose of warfare—as well as conceptualizing and anticipating events related to World War I. The novel's hero and main character is Bert Smallways, who is described as "a forward-thinking young man" and a "kind of bicycle engineer of the let's-'ave-a-look-at-it and enamel-chipping variety." Plot summary The first three chapters of ''The War in the Air'' expound on details of the life of the novel's hero Bert Smallways and his extended family. They reside in a location called Bun Hill, a fictional, former Kentish village that had become a London suburb. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Land Ironclads
"The Land Ironclads" is a short story by British writer H. G. Wells, which originally appeared in the December 1903 issue of the ''Strand Magazine''. It features tank-like "land ironclads," armoured fighting vehicles that carry riflemen, engineers, and a captain, and are armed with semi-automatic rifles. Plot summary The story opens with an unnamed war correspondent and a young lieutenant surveying the calm of the battlefield. They reflect philosophically on the war between two unidentified armies. The time appears to be 1903 and the opponents are dug into trenches, each waiting for the other to attack, of the sort then common and being reported on daily from the Boer War. The men on the war correspondent's side are confident they will prevail, because they are all strong outdoor-types – men who know how to use a rifle and fight – while their enemies are townspeople, "a crowd of devitalised townsmen . . . They're clerks, they're factory hands, they're students, th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large- calibre tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheele ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Electric Arc
An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma (physics), plasma, which may produce visible light. An arc discharge is initiated either by thermionic emission or by field emission. After initiation, the arc relies on thermionic emission of electrons from the electrodes supporting the arc. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge. An archaic term is voltaic arc, as used in the phrase "voltaic arc lamp". Techniques for arc suppression can be used to reduce the duration or likelihood of arc formation. In the late 19th century, Arc lamp, electric arc lighting was in wide use for Street light#Arc lamps, public lighting. Some low-pressure electric arcs are used in many applications. For example, fluorescent lamp, fluorescent tubes, mercury, sodium, and met ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lightning
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on the land, ground. Following the lightning, the regions become partially or wholly electrically neutralized. Lightning involves a near-instantaneous release of energy on a scale averaging between 200 megajoules and 7 gigajoules. The air around the lightning flash rapidly heats to temperatures of about . There is an emission of electromagnetic radiation across a wide range of wavelengths, some visible as a bright flash. Lightning also causes thunder, a sound from the shock wave which develops as heated gases in the vicinity of the discharge experience a sudden increase in pressure. The most common occurrence of a lightning event is known as a thunderstorm, though they can also commonly occur in other types of energetic weather systems, such ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |