arcology

en-noun

arcology (countable and uncountable, plural arcologies)

Blend of architecture + ecology, coined by Italian architect Paolo Soleri in 1969.

coin

(urban studies, uncountable) Urban development theory proposed by Paolo Soleri involving three-dimensional building methods and efficient use of space and resources.

arcologie

urban development theory involving efficient use of space and resources


space elevator

A hypothetical cable, connecting the ground with space, which includes an elevator used to lift payloads or people into orbit.


ecumenopolis

en-noun

ecumenopolis (plural ecumenopolises or ecumenopoleis or ecumenopoli)

ecumenopolises (plural)
ecumenopoleis (plural)
ecumenopoli (plural)

From ecumene (“inhabited world”) + -polis (“city”).
From use as a common noun of Ecumenopolis, applying the concept to diverse scenarios.

suffix

(chiefly science fiction) A city spanning an entire planet or large moon.


Dyson sphere

Named after American theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson, who originally described the concept in 1960.

named-after

To the public, he’s more famous for giving science fiction the “Dyson Sphere,” a hypothetical structure a future civilization could build to harness the entire power of its sun.

2020 March 2, Katie Mack, “Freeman Dyson’s Quest for Eternal Life”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A hypothetical system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture its entire energy output.


beanstalk

If we don't build a Beanstalk, somebody else will—and once one is working, the number of rocket launches will drop to zero. That's the source of more than half our income.

1979, Charles Sheffield, The Web Between the Worlds:

I have never liked riding the Beanstalk. My distaste was full-blown even before the disaster to the Quito Skyhook. A cable that goes up into the sky with nothing to hold it up smells too much of magic.

1982, Robert A[nson] Heinlein, Friday, page 1:

Space elevators proposed for the Earth require novel high-strength materials and a substantial counterweight for their implementation. The problem becomes easier for Mars. There is no available "counterweight" for a synchronous "beanstalk" but Phobos proves a substantial anchor in non-synchronous orbit. A tether extending 1456 km from Phobos could release objects into an orbit just entering the Martian atmosphere, providing a launch and recovery device for Mars Excursion Modules. Extending the "beanstalk" to a length of 5832 km would place the end at the fringes of the Martian atmosphere.

2005 May 20, Bob Parkinson, “Partial Beanstalks for Mars Exploration”, in Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, volume 58, number 05/06, page 197:

(chiefly science fiction) A space elevator.


skyhook

[…] despite the absence of the proverbial home-grown 75-foot high steel "sky hook."

1982, Amateur Radio, volume 38, numbers 7-12, page 34:


megascale

A very large scale used, for example, in astronomy


megastructure

A fusion of architecture and city planning, megastructures were supposed to bring together mixed uses -- like housing, shopping, transportation and public space -- within a single building.

1993 April 26, Herbert Muschamp, “Pritzker Prize for Japanese Architect”, in The New York Times, page C18:

(architecture) A specific type of structure characterized by very large buildings with strictly artificial forms.


Tipler cylinder

en-noun

Tipler cylinder (plural Tipler cylinders)

Named after American physicist Frank J. Tipler, who recognized the possibility of such a device in 1974.

A hypothetical massive, infinitely long cylinder spinning along its longitudinal axis, enabling time travel.


ringworld

From ring + world, introduced by Larry Niven in the novel Ringworld (1970).

(science fiction) An artificial megastructure in space, consisting of a rotating ring encircling a star and having an inhabitable inner surface with gravity produced through centripetal force.


astroengineering

(science fiction) The construction of megastructures in space by technologically advanced beings.


O'Neill cylinder

O'Neill cylinder (plural O'Neill cylinders)

Proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space.

A proposed space settlement consisting of two cylinders that rotate to provide artificial gravity via centrifugal force.


Niven ring

Named after American science fiction writer Larry Niven, who wrote the famous science-fiction novel Ringworld that popularized the idea.

named-after

(science fiction) A solid ring type Dyson ring around a star, capable of containing an interior surface that could be terraformed into a habitat with an inner ring of occultation panels to provide a day-night cycle.


Alderson disk

Named after American programmer Dan Alderson, who invented the concept.

A hypothetical megastructure in the form of a disk with a star located in a hole running through its axis, and massive enough to have its own atmosphere


Dyson swarm

Named after American theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson

(science fiction) A system of movable, independent satellites that as a whole compose a Dyson sphere.


star lifting

(science fiction) A hypothetical process wherein a portion of a star's mass is removed, generally to serve as an energy source.


Tipler time machine

en-noun

Tipler time machine (plural Tipler time machines)


Lofstrom loop

Named after American engineer Keith Lofstrom.


launch loop

A hypothetical maglev cable that would be capable of sending objects into orbit without needing a rocket.


paraterraformation

paraterraformation (countable and uncountable, plural paraterraformations)


paraterraforming

A variation of the hypothetical process of terraforming in which a transparent dome is built over most or all of the sterile planet, moon or similar body to work as a giant greenhouse or "worldhouse".


worldhouse

The large artificial dome constructed in paraterraforming.


eperopolis

From Ancient Greek ἤπειρος (ḗpeiros, “landmass, country, continent”) + polis (“city”).

af

(ekistics, rare) An immense conurbation covering a significant part of a continent, forming something significantly larger than a megalopolis.


Dyson-Harrop satellite

en-noun

Dyson-Harrop satellite (plural Dyson-Harrop satellites)

From Dyson + Harrop + satellite. Coined by Brooks Harrop in 2010. From Freeman Dyson, who proposed the Dyson sphere; and Brooks Harrop, who proposed this power satellite design as the basis of the elements of the Dyson swarm.

A type of power satellite that derives energy from stellar wind through betavoltaics, by capturing free electrons (beta particles) in the wind; instead of through sunlight and photovolatics.

en:Dyson-Harrop satellite
en:Freeman Dyson


Matrioshka brain

Matrioshka brain (plural Matrioshka brains)

Coordinate term: Jupiter brain

A hypothetical megastructure of immense computational capacity powered by a Dyson sphere.


space bridge

(astronautics) Synonym of space elevator

(astronautics) Synonym of skyhook (“tether for launching payloads into space”)

skyhook

In a later Donahue/Pozner space bridge the question of editing was dramatically underscored on air in the Soviet Union.

1992, Ellen Mickiewicz, Split Signals: Television and Politics in the Soviet Union, page 48:

(historical) A series of experimental international telecasts between Soviet and United States viewers, arranged by enthusiasts during the late Cold War era.


Shkadov drive

Shkadov thruster
Shkadov thruster#English


Shkadov thruster

Shkadov thruster (plural Shkadov thrusters)

Named after Soviet engineer Dr. Leonid Shkadov, who first proposed it.

named-after

(astronautics, space science) A hypothetical megastructure consisting of a gargantuan statite used to redirect the radiation pressure of a star, generating a net thrust which slowly accelerates the whole system in the direction of the statite.


cityship

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cityship.wav

(science fiction) A spacecraft which contains an entire city.


stellar engine

Any of various hypothetical megastructures that could control the motion of a star system.