Item from Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Gravity-manipulating technology — a Foundation innovation that enabled advanced starships, weapons, and engineering. The technological achievement that marked the Foundation's transition from salvaging Imperial technology to surpassing it.
Gravitics represents the moment the Foundation stopped being the Empire's heir and became something new. Imperial technology used nuclear power and hyperspace drives inherited from a tradition stretching back to the Spacer era. The Foundation's development of gravity manipulation — technology the Empire never achieved — demonstrated that the Foundation could innovate, not merely preserve. The practical applications transformed Foundation civilization. Gravitic starships were faster, more maneuverable, and more comfortable than anything in the Imperial fleet. Gravitic construction equipment enabled engineering projects impossible with conventional technology. The military implications were decisive: a gravitic-equipped fleet could outmaneuver any conventional force. But gravitics also represented the Foundation's philosophical maturation. The early Foundation survived by rationing Imperial-era technology to less advanced neighbors. Gravitics was the first technology that was genuinely theirs — created, not inherited. This shifted the Foundation's self-image from custodian of old knowledge to creator of new knowledge, which Seldon's plan required for the Foundation to eventually become a true successor to the Empire rather than a pale imitation.
Gravitics manifests in its applications rather than as a visible technology. A gravitic-drive starship moves without visible propulsion — no exhaust, no thrust plume, just smooth acceleration in any direction regardless of orientation. Gravitic personal transport hovers silently. Gravitic weapons create focused gravitational fields that crush or tear targets. The generators themselves are compact, humming faintly with a frequency felt more than heard, housed in shielded compartments that get warm during operation.
Also known as: gravitic technology, gravity manipulation, gravitic drive