repulsor beam

English

Etymology

From repulse +‎ -or and beam, a beam that repulses.

Noun

repulsor beam (plural repulsor beams)

1. (science fiction) A device that emits an energy beam capable of pushing away other objects.
   • 1958 November, Poul Anderson, “A Bicycle Built for Brew”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 62, number 3:

     Installed at the center of mass and set to repulsor-beam, this one would be able to move the entire planetoid from its orbit.

   • 1987, Dorothy Catherine Fontana, “The Naked Now”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 1, episode 3, spoken by Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton):

     Hooked my model tractor beam into ship's power. Now it's a repulsor beam too. Want in?

   • 1995 July 15, Umut Nurkan, “How does cloud city float?”, in rec.arts.sf.starwars (Usenet), message-ID <1995Jul14.190422.22468@hobbes.kzoo.edu>:

     I always wondered how cloud city in ESB stay afloat and does not fall? Is it some kind of repulsor beam, or what?

   • 2008 February 20, Iarnrod, “Re: WTC Towers: The case for controlled demolition”, in alt.conspiracy (Usenet):

     No, that indicates a cloaked Romulan vessel with a repulsor beam.

Synonyms

• pressor beam

Antonyms

• tractor beam