The Inventor of Space Opera

E. E. "Doc" Smith was the inventor of Space Opera, and was so prolific and visionary the military thanked him for solving some of their problems,.

Such thanking, among other things, is why I consider science fiction to be the only truly visionary and prophetic literature than exists.

Here are some of his imaginary invention:

Ablative Heat (Reentry) Shield

Acceleration-tank

Artificial eye

Drop Shaft (Neutralization of Inertia)

Emergency Lifeboat

Invisibility field.

Flying Wing

Force-Field

Matched-Frequency Separable Units

Mother Ship - first use of expression

Moving a Planet

Pentavalent Nitrogen - most powerful chemical explosive.

Platinum Alloy Disc - first CD or DVD?

Pressor (Pressor Beam)

Protective Shield - personal force field

Space Armor

Space Suit

Posted by Bob Wallace, who always found Smith unreadable because I wasn't 12 years old in 1930.

Comments

[Tom Novak]

You are supposed to read Galactic Patrol first and then the rest of the lensmen series after. But First Lensman has a great cover at amazon so it's up instead. I was about 12 when I read Skylark of Space. I think that's the first EE Smith book I read. I remember being very impressed with the space armor and shields. You can see them on the cover of Galactic Patrol.

I don't remember what Doc Smith called lightsabers... force blades?