Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

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First date Word Definition
1931 teleportation n. (1931) instantaneous transportation from one place to another, esp. by means of a machine which breaks matter down into its constituent particles or converts it to energy, information, etc., and transmits it in this form to another location where it is reconstituted
1931 thought-reading machine n. (1931) a machine that can read a person’s thoughts
1931 thought screen n. (1931) = thought shield n.
1931 thought shield n. (1931) a mental barrier that prevents one’s thoughts from being read by a telepath; = mind shield n.
1931 timestream n. (1931) the sequence of all events in time, considered notionally as a flow capable of being altered to form different timelines
1931 time track n. (1931) = timeline n.
1931 Titanian adj. (1931) of or relating to the Saturnian moon of Titan or its inhabitants; (rarely) of or relating to the Uranian moon Titania or its inhabitants
1931 Titanian n. (1931) a native or inhabitant of the Saturnian moon Titan; (rarely) a native or inhabitant of the Uranian moon Titania
1931 tractor n. (1931) = tractor beam n.
1931 tractor beam n. (1931) an energy beam that causes the target to be moved or immobilized in space; (also, in early use) a device producing such a beam
1931 tractor field n. (1931) = tractor beam n.
1931 tractor ray n. (1931) = tractor beam n.
1931 transdimensional adj. (1931) designating movement between dimensions; involving more than one dimension
1931 Venusian n. 2 (1931) the language of Venusians
1931 visor screen n. (1931) = viewscreen n.
1931 wallscreen n. (1931) a large wall-mounted video display
1932 adult fantasy n. (1932) fantasy intended for adults rather than children
1932 alternative future n. (1932) = alternate future n.
1932 areological adj. (1932) of, pertaining to, or derived from areology n.; such as is described, investigated, or ascertained by areology
1932 astrogating n. (1932) = astrogation n.
1932 atomics n. 1 (1932) any device powered by nuclear energy, esp. a nuclear-powered engine
1932 automatics n. (1932) a system that controls the flight of a spacecraft with little or no human intervention; any system or technology for the unsupervised control of a vehicle, environment, etc.
1932 Callistan n. 1 (1932) a native or inhabitant of the Jovian moon Callisto; cf. slightly earlier Callistonian n.
1932 Earth-normal n. (1932) a state, amount, or value of something (as gravity or atmospheric pressure) that is typical of what is found on Earth
1932 energy screen n. (1932) a barrier made of or against energy; a force field n.
1932 escape ship n. (1932) = lifeboat n.; lifeship n.
1932 force screen n. (1932) = force field n.
1932 gravity drive n. (1932) a spaceship drive that uses any technology associated with gravity
1932 hell planet n. (1932) a planet regarded as dangerous or unpleasant, esp. one having climate conditions that are inhospitable for humans
1932 impervium n. (1932) a virtually impenetrable or indestructible substance
1932 Jovian n. 2 (1932) the language of Jovians
1932 jump n. (1932) a journey through hyperspace n.; any (nearly) instantaneous travel over a large distance; cf. jump v.