This technology name generator makes up a device for a science-fiction story or game, such as the Entropy loom, which folds a week's journey into an afternoon. The science word in every name is real and explained.
Read the full guide
A sci fi technology name generator in three parts
Press New technology name. Tap a part, press its padlock, then press again. Lock the device on loom, coil or kiln and press through the science words, or lock what the thing does and press until the name sounds as if it could do it.
Real words behind the made-up devices
The list under the tool gives the meaning of every science word, taken from a dictionary. The device names are for stories: a pair that matched the title of a Wikipedia article, or a page on a science-fiction fan wiki, was taken out, but a few pairs still name real things.
Questions and answers
Are these real technologies?
Mostly not. Each name joins a real science word to a plain device word. A pair that is the title of a Wikipedia article was taken out, but a few pairs still name real things. What each device does here is made up.
What do the science words mean?
Each has a line under the tool that follows its dictionary entry. A word such as entropy or neutrino keeps its real meaning there, whatever the made-up device does with it.
Can I use a name for a real product or company?
The names are written for fiction. They are not checked against trademarks, business registers or web addresses, so check before you use one for anything real.
What is a graviton?
A hypothetical gauge boson that regulates the gravitational force. It is one of the real science words in the list under the tool; the device this page builds on it is made up.
aerogelA porous, ultralight solid, similar to gel, in which the liquid component is replaced with gas.
albedoThe fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body.
anodeAn electrode through which a positive current of electricity flows inwards.
antimatterMatter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that make up normal matter.
apogeeThe point in an orbit about the Earth that is farthest from the Earth.
Show all 54 science words (49 more)
B 2
baryonA heavy subatomic particle: a hadron containing three quarks.
baryonicOf, pertaining to, or composed of baryons.
C 3
catalystA substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.
cathodeAn electrode through which a positive current of electricity flows outwards.
cryogenicOf, relating to, or performed at low temperatures.
E 3
entropyA measure of the amount of energy in a physical system that cannot be used to do work.
enzymeA biomolecule that catalyzes a biological chemical reaction.
excitonA bound state of an electron and an electron hole in an insulator or semiconductor.
F 3
ferrofluidA fluid with dispersed, nanoscale magnetic particles, made so that a magnetic field can control its flow.
fractalA mathematical set that corresponds to a geometric figure that is self-similar.
fullereneAny of a class of allotropes of carbon that have hollow molecules.
G 7
galvanicOf or pertaining to galvanism; electric.
geodesicThe shortest curve between two points on a specific surface.
gluonA massless particle that binds quarks together.
grapheneA one-atom-thick layer of graphite, an allotrope of carbon.
gravimetricOf or pertaining to measurement of the local gravitational field.
gravitonA hypothetical gauge boson that regulates the gravitational force.
gyroscopicBy means of, or in the manner of, a gyroscope.
H 1
hadronA composite particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong force.
I 3
ionicOf, relating to, or containing ions.
ionosphereA part of the Earth's atmosphere that begins at an altitude of about 50 kilometers.
isotopeAny of two or more forms of an element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.
M 4
magnetosphereThe region around a planet in which charged particles are trapped or deflected.
maserA device for the coherent amplification or generation of electromagnetic radiation, especially microwaves.
mesonA particle composed of a quark and an antiquark.
muonAn unstable elementary particle like the electron, but with a mass 207 times greater.
N 3
nadirThe direction of the force of gravity at a location: down.
nanotubeA carbon molecule in the shape of a tube, with a diameter of about 1 or 2 nanometers.
neutrinoAn elementary particle with an extremely small but nonzero mass and no electric charge.
P 6
perigeeThe point in an orbit about the Earth that is closest to the Earth.
phononThe quantum of acoustic or vibrational energy, considered a discrete particle rather than a wave.
photonThe quantum of light and other electromagnetic energy, regarded as a discrete particle.
photonicOf or relating to photons.
positronThe antimatter equivalent of an electron, with the same mass but a positive charge.
pulsarA rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.
Q 2
quarkOne of a number of elementary subatomic particles with fractional electric charge that form matter.
quasarAn object outside our galaxy, starlike in appearance, that is among the most luminous in the universe.
R 1
redshiftAn increase in the wavelength of light while in transit, toward the red end of the spectrum.
S 6
scalarHaving magnitude but not direction.
solitonA solitary wave that keeps its structure after interacting with another soliton.
spectralOf or pertaining to spectra; classified according to frequency or wavelength.
subsonicOf a sound: having a frequency too low to be audible.
superfluidA substance, such as liquid helium, that exhibits superfluidity.
synapticOf or relating to a synapse, the junction between a neuron and another cell.
T 3
tectonicOf, relating to, or caused by large-scale movements of the lithosphere of the Earth or a similar planet.
thermionicInvolving the emission of electrons from a heated electrode.
torusA surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line.
U 1
ultravioletOf electromagnetic radiation beyond, or higher in frequency than, light visible to the human eye.
V 1
vectorA directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction.
How this list was compiled: 54 real words from physics, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, biology and geology. Each line follows the word's English Wiktionary entry, read on 2026-10-03 (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). Own selection. Every pair of a science word and a device word was looked for that day among the page titles and redirects of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0) and as an exact page title on 10 science-fiction fan wikis (memory-alpha.fandom.com, starwars.fandom.com, tardis.fandom.com, masseffect.fandom.com, halo.fandom.com, warhammer40k.fandom.com, stargate.fandom.com, expanse.fandom.com, babylon5.fandom.com, battlestargalactica.fandom.com); a word behind a matching pair was taken out. A full-text search of English Wikipedia for every pair then took out the words behind most of the real things it found (a fullerene cage, a photonic lantern, an anode gate); a few pairs that name real things remain, a spectral prism among them. 38 candidates were cut (22 a Wikipedia page title; 7 a fan wiki page title; 9 behind pairs that name real things in the text of English Wikipedia), among them magnetic, tidal, quantum, thermal, hydraulic, flux. Licence: own selection; meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Device: all 40 device words
A 2
abacus
anchor
B 4
baffle
ballast
bellows
bloom
Show all 40 device words (34 more)
C 5
chisel
cistern
coil
conduit
cradle
D 1
damper
F 2
forge
funnel
G 2
governor
graft
H 1
harness
K 3
keel
kettle
kiln
L 4
ladder
lathe
ledger
loom
M 1
mill
N 1
needle
O 1
oar
P 1
prism
R 1
rudder
S 4
scoop
spindle
splice
stylus
T 5
tether
thimble
thread
tuner
turbine
V 2
vault
veil
How this list was compiled: Our own choice of 40 plain words for a made thing, from workshop, ship and kitchen, made on 2026-10-03. Screened in pairs with the science words, as the note on that list says. 34 candidates were cut (13 a Wikipedia page title; 6 taken out on a second reading; 1 a fan wiki page title; 14 behind pairs that name real things, publishers or devices of a named series in the text or titles of English Wikipedia), among them engine, drive, filter, mirror, pump, sail. Licence: own work
What it does: all 61 uses
B 2
bends starlight around a ship
brews drinking water out of comet ice
C 3
cancels the echo in a ship the size of a town
catches lightning and saves it for later
counts every grain of dust in a storm
D 1
dims a sun, a little, for an afternoon
Show all 61 uses (55 more)
F 4
ferries heat from the engines to the cold end of the ship
finds lost socks, keys and satellites
folds a telescope the size of a city into a suitcase
folds a week's journey into an afternoon
G 2
gives a moon a magnetic field for a day
grows a walkway across a canyon overnight
H 3
hears a hull crack before it happens
holds a bubble of air around a broken hull
holds a door between two rooms a light-year apart
K 6
keeps a colony's seeds asleep for a thousand years
keeps a lost probe company with a daily message
keeps a pot of soup hot through a blackout
keeps a starship's time in step with home
keeps the tea from floating out of the cup
knits a torn solar wing back together
L 7
lets a crew walk on the ceiling
lets a gardener prune trees on another continent
lets an engineer feel a fault through the floor
lets twins on two worlds keep the same time
lets two ships dock without touching
lifts a cargo crate with one finger
listens for engines beyond the edge of the map
M 5
makes a harbor for ships that are not there yet
makes a room silent from the inside
makes ice in a desert at noon
maps a cave system from one shout
measures how far a rumor has traveled
P 4
packs a library into a button
paints the night side of a station with borrowed daylight
prints spare parts from moon dust
pulls a signal out of static older than the station
R 3
reads the history of a rock by touching it
remembers every route a ship has ever flown
runs a lighthouse for ships between stars
S 9
scrubs the smell of engine oil from recycled air
sends a letter to yesterday, once
shields a nursery from solar storms
shows where a comet will be in a hundred years
slows time in a pantry so the bread stays fresh
sorts recycling atom by atom
steers a lifeboat home with no one awake
stops a falling elevator car on a cushion of air
stores one sunny day for use in a dark year
T 8
tells north from anywhere in the galaxy
tows asteroids with a line too thin to see
translates whale song, badly
tunes a whole city's bells to one note
turns a pilot's hum into a steering signal
turns a puddle into a telescope's eye
turns footsteps in a corridor into power for its lights
turns waste heat into light for the gardens
W 4
warms a greenhouse on a frozen moon
weaves a rope strong enough to tie a station to the ground
weighs a planet from orbit
writes the ship's log by itself, and adds opinions
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 61 one-line uses, written on 2026-10-03 for stories and games. None is a weapon. Checked against every list on this site for repeats. One candidate was cut (on another list of this site): teaches a robot one new word a day. Licence: own work