Many science fiction ideas have become reality, including submarines, atomic bombs, geostationary satellites, tablet computers, credit cards, personal audio devices, robots, and mobile phones. Furthermore, works like Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon predicted the moon landing, and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels foreshadowed the discovery of Mars' two moons.
Here's a more detailed look:
Inventions and Technologies:
Submarines:
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea envisioned electric submarines capable of long-distance travel underwater, a concept that came to fruition with the invention of the submarine.
Atomic Bombs:
H.G. Wells's The World Set Free (1914) described atomic bombs, including their destructive power and lasting radioactivity, predating the actual development of the atomic bomb by several decades, according to Wikipedia.
Geostationary Satellites:
Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 essay, "Extra-Terrestrial Relays," proposed the idea of satellites in geostationary orbit, which later became the basis for communication satellites.
Tablet Computers:
The animated series The Jetsons depicted a flat, portable device used for communication and information access, similar to today's tablets.
Credit Cards:
Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward (1888) described a credit card-like system for managing finances, which later influenced the development of the modern credit card.
Personal Audio Devices:
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 featured "seashells" and "thimble radios," which are similar to today's earbuds and portable audio devices.
Robots:
Several science fiction works, including Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), depicted robots, and today's robots have become a reality in various industries and applications.
Mobile Phones:
Star Trek's communicators were an early inspiration for the development of mobile phones.
Specific Predictions:
Moon Landing:
Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon accurately predicted the number of astronauts in the spacecraft and the experience of weightlessness during space travel.
Mars' Moons:
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels included a fictional account of Mars having two moons, which were later discovered in 1877.
Self-Driving Cars:
Isaac Asimov, in his writings, predicted the rise of cars with "robot-brains," and today, self-driving car technology is being actively developed and tested.
Dystopian Societies:
George Orwell's 1984 and Yevgeny Zamyatin's We depicted totalitarian regimes and the loss of individuality, which have resonated with concerns about surveillance and authoritarianism in the real world.
The Internet and Video Calls:
E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops eerily predicted the internet, video calls, and dependence on technology through its description of a world where people live in isolation and communicate through screens.
