Shortly after its invention the wheel is eclipsed by the anti-gravity sled.

[The Mists Of Time]

Suppose there is some natural substance that almost defies gravity. In fact it is sometimes found in nature simply floating just above the ground. Maybe it forms underground and rises up, sometimes it even breaks through the surface and then simply floats there just above the ground. Of course it's possible I guess that the wind might blow it around after it surfaces.

Anyway. Not long after the invention of the wheel, humans discover this floating stuff. They find that if they apply it or process it somehow and apply it to the things they had put wheels on, they could move them even easier. Right away this floating stuff whatever you want to call it eclipses the wheel. No more wheels, we use this floating stuff instead.

How does that change history? What are things like today?

[Thande]

TMOT, you might be interested to know that I have explored (or rather am currently exploring) this idea as part of my book "The Arm's Length War" (see the link in my sig). Not on Earth, but an alien race which indeed has something similar to this, and thus has never actually invented the wheel despite being otherwise at a 21st century technology level.

[rewster]

So... no flywheels, pulleys, hard drives, or phonographs?
Or is it just the actual vehicle-moving/supporting wheel we are talking about here?

[The Mists Of Time]

Just the vehicle moving/supporting wheel is the one we're talking about.

[rewster]

Oh. Alright then...
Anti-gravity substance...
Well, it's going to make whatever you load onto it basically weightless. So there's really no point to draught animals, except for plowing (no getting around that). You could have a dog bred for speed and endurance pull the same weight and several times faster than a team of oxen pulling a conventional wheeled wagon. Obviously things get places quick. You'll need some sort of braking solution... probably an anchor-like device will do.

Boats to cross water become unneccessary... you just switch from dogs to oars when you reach the beach... and the oars will also be more effective.

[Justin Pickard]

So... no flywheels, pulleys, hard drives, or phonographs?
Or is it just the actual vehicle-moving/supporting wheel we are talking about here?

Hold on just one moment. Would those things have come about if the very concept of the original wheel was made redundant?

[Keenir]

Anyway. Not long after the invention of the wheel, humans discover this floating stuff. They find that if they apply it or process it somehow and apply it to the things they had put wheels on, they could move them even easier. Right away this floating stuff whatever you want to call it eclipses the wheel. No more wheels, we use this floating stuff instead.

How does that change history? What are things like today?

you need to specify a bit more.

ie, if this stuff negates gravity, does it also negate inertia? (once you start pulling it, does it speed up forever? does it ever slow down?)

heck, what keeps it inside the gravity well?


so, about what things are like in that ASB-ish ATL.....mankind is in the stone age still. (if even that advanced)

[DuQuense]

I immediatly thought of a material that contains a natural replusive feild [ie gravaty lodestone] it would naturally float about 2 feet above the surface, the more you push down the stronger the replusion gets. Like rudding two magnet norths together, and the Slipply feeling.

It would not affect inertia, so you would still need draft aninals to pull it, but Im wondering if there would ever even be a wheeled vehicle

[Keenir]

I immediatly thought of a material that contains a natural replusive feild [ie gravaty lodestone] it would naturally float about 2 feet above the surface, the more you push down the stronger the replusion gets. Like rudding two magnet norths together, and the Slipply feeling.

It would not affect inertia, so you would still need draft aninals to pull it, but Im wondering if there would ever even be a wheeled vehicle

What happens when there are grooves or holes in the "road"? how smooth of a ground does the material need to stay level?

I like the idea...just trying to help you refine the idea beyond a vague concept.

[rewster]

I immediatly thought of a material that contains a natural replusive feild [ie gravaty lodestone] it would naturally float about 2 feet above the surface, the more you push down the stronger the replusion gets. Like rudding two magnet norths together, and the Slipply feeling.

It would not affect inertia, so you would still need draft aninals to pull it, but Im wondering if there would ever even be a wheeled vehicle

If it's an "anti-gravity" device, it's going to negate "weight", which is mass times the force of gravity. All that's left is wind resistance, and that is considerably easier to overcome. Hence my post about dogs being sufficient to pull large loads. The animal has the advantage of static friction giving it traction, and therefore has a much greater force on it's side than the motionless, frictionless load. Think of astronauts lifting boulders on the moon... only the moon has 1/6 of earth's gravity, whereas the floating wagon or cart has zero gravity... making it even easier to pull a heavy load.

[Evil Opus]

Suppose there is some natural substance that almost defies gravity. In fact it is sometimes found in nature simply floating just above the ground. Maybe it forms underground and rises up, sometimes it even breaks through the surface and then simply floats there just above the ground. Of course it's possible I guess that the wind might blow it around after it surfaces.

Anyway. Not long after the invention of the wheel, humans discover this floating stuff. They find that if they apply it or process it somehow and apply it to the things they had put wheels on, they could move them even easier. Right away this floating stuff whatever you want to call it eclipses the wheel. No more wheels, we use this floating stuff instead.

How does that change history? What are things like today? Well..some guy long before Henry Ford gets very rich when he realizes he can actually sell these vehicles to people. Traffic problems are probably minimal, though air traffic might be a major issue.

[Thande]

Does this idea remind anyone of the material in The First Men In The Moon? What was it called - carverite?

[Blackbeard]

Cavorite, that book was pretty good I guess.

[Hapsburg]

I immediatly thought of a material that contains a natural replusive feild [ie gravaty lodestone] it would naturally float about 2 feet above the surface, the more you push down the stronger the replusion gets. Like rudding two magnet norths together, and the Slipply feeling.
Perhaps a type of rock that emits some kind of weird, yet harmless, radiation in the form of antigraviton particles?

[NapoleonXIV]

At what height does this stuff float? And why? (why that height, not why does it float?)

How much can you carry on a sled which has it? Is it infinite? cause if it is, then you can easily float whole cities, or even continents.

If there's a limit, then what is it?

[Straha]

Imagine air battleships like naval ones but even larger and more grandiose.

[Fabilius]

Nothing wrong with the question, but should be in the ASB section... :)