tractor beam
nounEtymology Possibly a shortening of attractor beam; note however the broader meaning of tractor (“machinery that pulls something”). Coined by American science fiction author E. E. Smith in 1931 in his novel Spacehounds of IPC, first serialized in Amazing Stories.
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Literature, Media, Publishing, Science fiction A device-generated beam used to attract other objects from a distance.
- Through it Stevens saw with satisfaction that the Forlorn Hope was not being abandoned; in the grip of powerful tractor beams, every fragment of the wreckage was following close behind them in their flight through space.1931 August, E. E. “Doc” Smith, “Spacehounds of IPC”, in Amazing Stories, volume 6, number 5, page 549:
- By the way they're braced, there are tractor beams and pressor beams and—there are vacuum tubes that have grids but apparently work with cold cathodes.1945 June, Murray Leinster, “The Ethical Equations”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 35, number 4, page 122:
1 more example
- We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!1977, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, spoken by Han Solo (Harrison Ford):