Technologies

* See also ADAM and ADAM_Technology
* See also Historic_Tech_Timeline 
* See also Rapture Electronics
* See also RT%26T
* See also Era_Electronics
* See also TVs_in_Rapture
* See also Industry In Rapture
* See also Bio-Electronics
* See also Weapon_Fun
* See also Plasmids
* See also Diving_Suits
* See also Geothermal Power
* See also Radio In Rapture
* See also RECYCLING 
* See also Bioluminescence
* See also Automation
* See also UnderWater Construction
* See also Science
* See also Medicine_in_Rapture (ADAM use)
* See also Technology_In_Columbias_Era
* See also Ryanium
* See also Too_Late_For_Rapture ( Not taking the tech acceleration TOO FAR )
MOVE SOME STUFF TO ELECTRONICS !!!! automation too ??
Rapture is supposed to be Full of Technological Marvels ( With what I would call a 'Fictional Pushed Tech'. In Truth there are SOME Technical Marvels, but very many other ordinary things were done much the way they are on The Surface ( or pushed only a little forward ). Still, enough new Marvels in the Citizens lives ARE there to be Seen.
ADAM Genetic Manipulation - this was the biggest advancement
Automation and Remote control/monitoring
Bio-Electronics - My answer to making The Thinker (and some other computing tech) possible
Bioluminescence - a logically possible extension of the ADAM genetic tech
Construction & Building Structures (including Prefabrication)
Materials (like Ryanium)
Computers and Programming
Communications
: Interior Radio system
: TV a 'cable' system
: Public Announcements
Cyborgs
: Big Daddies
: Delta (Alphas)
: Sigma
Power
: Geothermal (ie- Hephaestus)
: Utility Distribution
Environmental (Air/Heat)
Security (remote and automation)
Transportation 
: Bathyspheres
: Pneumatic Delivery
: METRO Trolley/AE Trains
Tunnel Plasma Cutting/Drilling
UnderWater_Construction
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Lag of Technology :
Example of the lag of technology as actually used in the Real World. Accumulations of cycles of earlier built everything. 
Example : Pictures of Chrysler Building ( construction in 1929-1930 ) shows some Horse Drawn transport ( still ) of some building materials/garbage hauling being done.
Rapture was built New (1946-1952), so could have less "Lag of Technology" than an above-water century-existing city ( Most surface' cities are a kludge of much older structures and accumulated infrastructure and terrain-shapings ) .
Columbia also, but its majority was build 1893 ? And the World was changing rapidly in the next 20 years.
Columbia's Restrictive Society : Servants Can Walk ( they are not allowed to control potentially dangerous vehicles - flying or otherwise ). 'Workers' are likewise restricted ( they might use them to escape )
(( We can see Booker try to ride a 'Automated Stallion' in the MMORPG REDO - a Chase scene ...))
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MOST Technologies Of Rapture Were THE SAME AS THAT ERA'S AMERICA :
Only some were Advanced/New. There was not the Time nor the Money nor the Opportunity to develop/have anything in Rapture much beyond 'What was in the World At That Time' (apart from game assumed predevelopments Ryan had done for an underwater city). 
That ( mostly normal society ) serves the Story for the Exception then being the 'Bio' 'Shock' -- The Impact of ADAM - changing those things and then affected the People in Rapture. 
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Building Rapture Took the Development/Merging/Incorporation of Many Technologies :
NOTE- THESE TECHNOLOGIES WOULD PREDATE RAPTURE ( Handy, when I DON'T LIKE ridiculously SHORT timelines some hack writers clumsily create ). SO this 'predate' developments for Rapture helps to more plausibly justify the technologies which would NEED to be used :
* Organizing and Coordinating such a large Project ( and supposedly keeping it a secret - making it much more work/complexity )
* Underwater Surveying - to find Rapture Site ( meeting fairly stringent criteria ) in the first place (SONAR depth scanning, etc... )
* Deep Diving Underwater Vehicles ( though these depths are a fraction of the explorations that later would be done as exploration ).
* Sea Transportation - moving 20000 people20000 - A reasonable estimate by the author of the Novel ... and their worldly goods and all the construction materials and all supplies for the city. That includes Transference of Cargo in Open Ocean.
* Underwater Concrete construction building of Maritime installations ( including surface prefabrication ) Possibly Dock facilities for the WW2 buildup ...
* Deepwater Environment Construction - early ocean/water oil drilling/deep-water Remote Control
* Mining and rock excavation ( adapted for underwater )
* Geothermal Power and other utilities ( adapted for underwater )
* Mass air oxygenation and 'CO2' scrubbing and circulation systems
* Hydroponic Farming
* Finance Management and Clearinghouse ( assisted by using the new 'Computers' )
* Communication Management for the finding of "The People" who were to inhabit Rapture
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Rapture Underwater Technology
Complex Undersea Construction - Had to be Developed.
If Ryan had (previous) businesses building Drilling Rigs or something similar, that would help. The technology for the Project structures thus would be developed/improved well before Rapture was built. Those Projects would have parts and components built in one city and shipped by Railroad and Water ( the parts too big for Railroad transport ), and thence shipped/taken Out to Sea. This would utilize fairly conventional Shipping with Freighters.
How large the prefabricated sections are : Small enough to be loaded in a Freighter. Sections of Wall Panels, Window modules, Portal modules, Airlock Modules, the Struts between the walls which compress to oppose the water pressure, etc ... - still only 'pieces'. These Parts for Rapture's 'building construction' can look fairly generic ( for the Secrecy Issue ). 
The Undersea Project process would then have THOSE parts/components be assembled into larger assemblies On-Site ( the techniques/processes/organization for remote assembly were also part of this Technology ... )
This Undersea Technology would have advanced mechanization and remote-control methods to minimize the labor and In-Water and Deep-Water difficulties - to accomplish the needed work.
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For Building Rapture, That Lighthouse site IS a shallow zone where IT is possible to do alot of work at/near the Ocean surface, or partially on land (above water). There would be Assembly of sections of buildings, to be lowered down to join together into Rapture's buildings ( or possibly smaller buildings could be assembled almost entirely at the Ocean Surface ). The work at less-than 100 feet can be done using normal diving equipment. Whereas at the full city depth, it requires really complex diving hardsuits ( and ADAM does NOT exist at this point to bypass that fact ).
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Research is Fundamental In Rapture - Producing Modern Marvels That Improve 'Quality of Living' :
Behind every Edison is a staff of 57 competent technicians and assistants ( Thomas Edison may have had the ideas, but it still took ALOT of work to produce a workable and practical solution ). MOST of Edison's research was DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS FROM NEW IDEAS.
Brain Boost ( and it's own advancements ) eventually compounded the ability to do productive research/development.
Likely a higher literacy rate and general intelligence couldn't hurt.
Actually having more incentives/efficiency NOT being blocked by the actions of 'Parasites'.
Rapture could also short circuit alot of 'research' by tapping into Surface developments ( wonder if Ryan had them pay royalties in repayment for those others 'seat of the brow' ). It would be likely that a flow of 'authorized' items continued long after the general 1952 'closing off to the outside' -- Such as : technical information, critical materials and tools and possibly some additional expertise to fill in unforeseen gaps to make Rapture 'self-sufficient.
Surface Ideas may have flowed in, but research into turning things into working products ( like Edison ) IS still alot or work ( AND doing it with Raptures limitations ).
It is possible that some 'Research' flowed the other way, to help pay off continuing expenses as the city was still being built ( and later non-self-sufficient supplies were brought in ). Materials and Goods for the 'Hundred Years Stockpile' ( needed things Rapture could never produce ) would Cost for the items themselves, as well as the transportation and the overhead for the significant security measures required. There may have been more than a little expense incurred just for an ongoing effort by Ryan's Surface organization to keep Rapture hidden.
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Rapture-Made : 
What local significant discoveries were made that led to new technology and product development (pure research is only so useful and long term funding would eventually require products to sell). Technology developments used to build Rapture were made previously up on the Surface ( within Ryan's industrial empire and with his desire to build such a place years before his decision made in mid-1945 ). Later discoveries/developments/improvements would be made by people IN Rapture.
Some significant developments were enabled by combinations of new technology :
* ADAM-based
** The genetic modification, obviously ( and for alot more things than throwing fireballs at each other )
** What effect (if any) did 'Brain Boost' have to facilitate general research and development ?
* Automation :
** Use of robotized devices to increase production efficiency and to run everyday systems
** Overlaps of Biological and Transistor technologies for advanced electronic circuitry
** Automatic doors is an example - mass produced so they can be in every house
** Self guiding mechanisms ( Bathyspheres even though they run on cables still do alot of maneuvering, ad need some smarts for any kind of operator-less running )
** General labor saving like the Pneumo mail system
** Semi-intelligent computer controlled devices and guidance
* Bio-Electronics - computers/sensors, Genetic modification/production systems opened many sub-technologies) :
** Accelerated research calculations ( mass fast computation ),
** Robotic control - automation/trainable machines
** Automation of remote hazardous sites
** New sensors ( including miniature 'eye' TV cameras )
* Agricultural Improvements :
** Farming using automation ( eliminating much 'stoop' labor )
** Higher yield crops well beyond surface hybrids, crops tailored to high intensity mechanical farming
* Plasma-based Techniques - Ryan's area of Electrical engineering and Energy systems :
** Used for mass-construction and special material production
** Additional new materials which required mass-energy - ceramics etc..
** Ryanium based materials
** Improvements in mass-production of common materials ( better process/tools )
** Rock cutters used for cheaper construction
** Grow lights (UV) needed for mass indoor Agriculture
* Submarine Advancements :
** For the deep environment (pressure resistance)
** New powering systems and air recycling
* Medical Technologies :
** Cures/compensations for multitudes of maladys ( with adapted ADAM techniques )
** Cosmetic improvements
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Evolution of Rapture :
With the results of a number of the above technological advancements, the City continued to change.
Rapture evolved from the original planned city ( after that metropolis design was completed ). Using the tunnel boring machines ( which used plasma cutters - developed for cutting bedrock for foundations ), allowed cheaper/inexpensive underground building, instead of the original "skyscrapers in the sea". These were heavily used for farms and later for mass-produced housing (LevittownBig Suburb developments after WW2 all over again), which had alot more space than the typical cramped apartments in the City. Suburbs grew with underground houses with space even for a 'sub' garage and a 'backyard'.
Outlying areas (where the rock was of appropriate structure), had local communities spring up ( facilitated by some audacious developer/real estate businessmen ). Efficient transportation systems ( many using the same tunnel boring construction ) made possible access to the City for employment -- The AE suburban passenger lines continued to operate even after the Metro largely displaced the AE's City transit. Numerous other inexpensive tunnels connected the suburb housing with real 'roads' into sprawling 3 dimensional communities.
The result was a 'hollowing out' of parts of the City Core, as people left for more desirable residences. Supply and demand led to a lowering of rents in those vacated areas. Landlords did not keep up such unprofitable properties, which made them even less desirable and brought even more desertions and occupation by lower income populations. Some redevelopment was done, but it had to compete with the suburb's features and low expense.
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What Other Genius Came To Rapture, And What Did They Produce ? :
Resulting in advances in consumer items, monumental devices that serve the City or were just impressive ...
Why couldn't these Geniuses do it up in the Real World ? ( Likely why they came to Rapture ) :
* Ethics ( beyond the allegedly looser ones in the real world 1940s/1950s )
* Short-sightedness ( 'cant be done', 'who would want that', 'sounds crazy', 'impractical' ... )
* Politics ( Rapture probably got some Nazis and collaborators who would be otherwise 'on-the-run' )
* Vested interests in it not being developed ( It competes with existing products and thus is quashed/sabotaged )
* Some missing part (technology/material) that was solved in Rapture and opened the greater development.
* Money (funding) is still a problem, just as it is in the real world ( more open minds or idle Cash in Rapture ?? ).
* You would think something truly promising/demonstrated would not usually be turned down up on the Surface.
Issues :
* Is Rapture's population big enough for some things to work ( enuf customers to justify the trouble ) -- That might forestall many achievements - Because they don't pay ( do your abstract science, but don't quit your day job ... ).
* Many Ideas Players might have won't be logical - as they actually (in real life) require dozens of advancements that 'Have to happen first' ( game BioShock's technology dynamics/processes were not quite the same as Real World ones - and the NNORPG's should be better ).
* Hobby originated technical breakthroughs - a climate of technical/scientific openness/available tools/advice - eccentrics dabbling in odd things ( Brain Boost Tonic later to 'leaven' the process much further ).
* One would hope that Rapture wasn't cutoff from the Surface's technological information - Many developments were the result of the right person hearing the right idea.
* Some jokes in the game would be alluding to surface technological developments having actually been a breakthrough in Rapture and being smuggled out to the World -- or sold via Ryan's organization to continue to buy useful materials that Rapture just couldn't be self-sufficient in ( the Hundred-Year-Stockpiles ). Velcro, Poprocks(tm), and the IC chip were all original Rapture technologies ... (possibly).
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Summary - Rapture Gene Tech :
It is something a bit more complicated than a mechanism to assist in placing pre-made genes ( what is done these days ) which are supposed to cause the Plasmid/Tonic effects - Reverting cells to Stem-Cell state or to partially-Pluripotent (similar pre-tissue) then to be changeable by the new (added) genetic patterns and triggers. The real discovery was THAT fundamental mechanism, which made the rest possible .
Retrovirus are used to insert multiple nuclear genes and others as RNA ( which eventually deteriorates, so that the effect isn't permanent ) - That's a mechanism good enough to produce the physical/physiological complexity. ( Versus a much more horrifically complex DNA changing mechanism ).
Stepping up the body's metabolism for fairly quick tissue changing and powering the Plasmids/Tonics is also part of the modifications. Sorry it CANNOT be as fast as it is portrayed in-game when you take a new Plasmid. Plasmid changes could potentially coexist to make the switching/use of different ones reasonable quick(er). A slower process would be shown in the MMORPG for when the Player plays a Splicer ( who actually rarely have more than one Plasmid, and possibly a small set of Tonics. ) The Player's main character avatar, who is an ex-Splicer, will use ADAM chiefly for Medical based healing, likewise done with a slower 'controlled' process).
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Game Concept Truth (The Era) :
At the end of WW2, when Steam Engines were still largely the primary propulsion of Trains and Ships, Jet planes were flying, as were German Rockets. Truth is : Technology Advancements don't just appear without great effort.
IT IS TO BE OUR Sci-Fi Rapture, not Levine's Columbia bad Fantasy.
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What could inventors and technologists do in Rapture that they could not (not allowed to) do in The Surface World ?
Besides the ethics limitations ( which even in the real post WW2 World were much less than today ).
Racism ?
It would have to make up for losing access to Research Libraries, consultations with peers, fully equipped laboratories and new/latest equipment and materials and technical expertise.
Low/non-existent regulation and red-tape would certainly help ( 'paperwork' can cause ridiculously long delays to get the simplest things done, and bureaucrats who block/delay things as part of an institutional bribery coercion system doubly so ).
Many rich individuals went to Rapture, which made money/resources available that might not have been accessible to many in war-torn Europe or Iron Curtain countries or consumer-market bent America. There was an much higher concentration of money on average than in most of the surface World.
The nature of the way immigrants for the 'Rapture Colony' were picked -- a concentration of geniuses and those with real abilities -- with ideas, skills, more motivation ( and fewer time-wasters ) ...
Result was geniuses with money/resources available with fewer roadblocks ( vs post WW2 recovery environment that dampened activities/achievement through most of the World. )
Upto 1952, Rapturians could still tap into the outside world for ideas/information and technologies that might be lacking in the mix of the 20000-40000 people in Rapture ( Ryan's World organization helped some with that in the drive to achieve 'self-sufficiency' ). Even after Rapture was officially isolated, critical information/materials could still be acquired through Ryan or via smugglers.
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Technology Advancements Kept in Check :
An interesting idea is that Bio-manipulation could possibly generate Carbon Nano-Tubes, though that's getting a bit ahead of the science/engineering (in Rapture) that doesn't yet even know what a "Carbon Nanotube" is, or what it is good for. ( And sorry no stealing ideas from alternate dimensions, the Time Police Cats don't like that ).
Nostalgia requires large numbers of things in the Setting to be 'Era', so to act as a 'Foil' to the few new technologies The 'Shock' factor for the game story's resulting Dystopia should NOT be : having futuristic auto-ass-wipers on mutatable SELF-CLEANING nano-tech toilets. As per the TITLE, it is 'BIO' ... .
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SORRY, No Wave Of The Hand For Rapture : 
There would be a Flow of Research ( technology data/information/scientific papers ) into Rapture pre-cutoff and post-cutoff(~1952), and most tech seen in use was nothing new in the post-WW2 World. Official channels continued to exist for important/prioritized information/materials/expertise. Laws of Physics aren't being broken ( apart from the Plasmid Magic, which with a little work can be reasonably explained ).
This is Unlike the Infinite BS technological 'vacuum', where the 'technology' which doesn't even exist in the Rest of the World ( for decades, or ever ) magically appearing in this Cultish Police State Coney Island -- So easily achieved with some game writer's limp Wave Of The Hand. Sorry, stealing technology from 'The Future' IS just as ludicrous WHEN the people of that time ( worse - from 1893 -- further decades earlier ) can barely understand the technology's concepts, let alone USE the Technology, to be able to manufacture workable things using what all was previously unknown. (( Face it, Some game writers are quite clueless ))
Rapture had the existing current 1945 WORLD to take most of it's modest technologies from. For Infinite BS was simply Fantasy magic. 
BioShock Rapture has IT'S 'Great Advance' in ( "BIO" ) Genetics and Gene Manipulation, which was based on ONE very important Enabling Event - Tenenbaum's discovery of Stem Cell reformation from a chemical in a particular Sea Slug's Venom.
This Technology could also plausibly leverage 'secret' Nazi Genetic Research from the previous decade(s) in the same scientific area ( remember that Tenenbaum was involved ion that ... ). 
Later, in the Minervas Den DLC, Computers were portrayed the same way -- Again with a great deal of existing Real World development to leverage off, and by adding my imaginations use of the Genetic Tech to jumpstart advancements for the MANY magnitudes of computing power required for the DLC story's simulation of Artificial Intelligence.
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Discovery, Research, Development, THEN to Product - Some Delay :
One thing which certain writers overlook in their forced compression of plausible timelines. They present Products instantly being made from something just discovered ( Hint- Doesn't happen in the Real World ). Often real technologies take decades before becoming mature/developed enough to make effective devices ( cost effective production, reliable, mass-producible, rugged, compact, etc ... )
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New Technologies For New Rapture :
* The 'Cure' - reversing the effects/side-effects of ADAM addiction - making Splicers 'normal' again
* X-Cell - Stem Cell grown from a donor and applicable only to the same person ( an outgrowth of the Anti-ADAM research ). A branch of Tenenbaum's research clinic is expanding to facilitate X-Cell culturing for those who can afford to pay ( the excess money goes to pay for other/further research ).
* Lumi-lite ( the light-bulbs/fluorescent-tubes won't last forever ) - Optimized Bioluminescence made from chemicals extracted from glowey Sea_Life ( you saw some visible in BS2 ).
* 'Frankentree' Bonsai ( for that invigorating oxygen boost - right in your own home and office )
* What 'The Thinker' can do for Rapture ( automatic regulation and failure prediction, scientific computations ). BIOS-Shock ??? No 'The Thinker' is NOT SkyNet (or is it ??) And it is supposed to be properly grounded in (more) realistic plausibly.
* Suchongs last great invention (?) - ( MSG ?? Pre-mixed Cocktails in Cans ?? --- --- Nah, that's not it. Ketchup in those little packets ?? )
* Amazing things made from old tin cans and bottles and candy wrappers ( like electronic components ) ...
* Batteries made out of mutant Potatoes - did someone REALLY come up with that ??
* Mutated rat brains to control Bots ? ( or was that what was in the ones we saw in BS1/BS2 ?? )
* Dart-guns, an alternative to lethal weapons for use in 'saving' Splicers. Other items like net traps/net guns also developed.
* An old project to generate EVE using genetically altered plants has unfortunately caused these 'EVE plants' to grow in various parts of Rapture ( and even to be cultivated by Splicer factions ). Citizens are commissioned to seize all such plants and to turn them in for an official bounty.
* Body Armor - made from Ryanium ( broken window frame/glass materials after ALOT of reworking ) and other easier to work metals. Improves personal defenses to some degree against various attacks. Encumbrance limits mobility and carrying capacity. Useful for the 'point man' doing an assault.
* NOTE - stuff in the game will be simplified technically - no need to get intricate to the point of tediousness. Most Players just need to know that this Doohickey or that Thingamabob is used for X, and you get one from Y. Technology should have the appearance of consistently and being systematic.
Tech Level Falls A Bit :
You will see more Huge Frankenstein-Style 'Knife' Switches for machinery ? Knife Switches - They are easier to fabricate after Rapture's "problems" happened. Might wanna try to keep em dry though - High voltage doesn't like water nor humidity in direct contact. Actually, in heavy industry huge hydraulic disk contact breakers were used for high-current power on-off, with their contact surface immersed in oil to keep their surfaces from spark corroding/scarring.
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Artificial Research and Development Boost Via ADAM :
Note- Brain Boost Tonic for the human technology developers ( and maybe some Cats ) was influential in creating the many dozens (hundreds ?) of materials, processes and techniques required to make the Bio-Electronics and other related technologies function. Similar Brain-Boost-like genetic manipulations of nerve tissues were used to facilitate the training of the Bio-Electronics logic itself ( cell formation triggers and such ).
Consider that the whole Real World computer technology was the result of many years/decades of work of more people than the total population in Rapture, and hundreds of technical/industrial disciplines. Even just understanding and applying already discovered/developed technologies ( data/info from the Surface ) would quickly overwhelm any qualified people in Rapture. To some extent, Ryan could have some technical expertise on the Surface help solve various problems, and the results sent down. Similar handling/facilitation would be done for the many specialized tools, techniques and materials.
Artificial brain stimulants could help a great deal, even when doing simple replication/application of era-existing methods and systems from the Surface World. Just a limited number of PRACTICAL projects would quickly use up Rapture's manpower, if it was not already being restricted by the limited local resources ($$$) that could be applied. 
Milestones and increments of usable developments ( that work and would pay ) would be a likely REALISTIC progression ( you don't just leap to iPods, HAL 9000 and Web Browsers ).
Another ADAM-based ability-accelerant for this and similar technologies was "Deft Touch", which was a general dexterity and concentration modifier for the technicians, which helped with the manufacturing process for the miniature components used ( which is largely manipulating/adjusting the machines used in the process ).
Unfortunately ADAM products and this line of Tonics only happened late in Rapture's history.
Of course, before the advent of ADAM Tonics, the good ole ingenuity and know-how of highly trained and creative minds would have had to suffice for all the earlier Tech developments. Lots and lots of information from the Surface would have been imported to keep up with the technological developments there ( seriously no way that the number of scientists and engineers in Rapture could keep up or outdo all the multitudes of people working on similar things and the vast range of supporting tools/materials/skills ) up on The Surface. 
Jeremiah Fink, the caveman shown in Infinite BS ( and and Dr Suchong the geneticist/doctor NOW SUPER SCIENTIST shown in the fantasy pollution flow into BaSx Rapture ) -- They somehow get things done simply by viewing a working object and then magically produce multiple new complex technologies - fully working things. Technology which is not even in THEIR areas of know-how/professions, and do it in a ridiculously short period of time. SORRY, but it doesn't work that way, unless you have a magic wand like Harry Potter. 
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Biological Power Generation is Inefficient ( When the MMORPG Is NOT to be ALOT of Bad Fantasy Gorp ) :
ATP cycle within cells - very low energy density and food (fuel) conversion and mechanical efficiency is quite poor. This is what would internally power ALL Plasmids/Tonics. For instant use, another chemical mechanism is required. 
* Animal (muscle) power -- hamster in treadmill to power a Bioluminescent Light ( and some Shake-Light type generation ). 
* Cows being uses to drag stuff around ( probably near a farm where cows food also is ). Tasty cows (milk too) would be a valuable commodity in Rapture's current state.
* Potato Batteries have been mentioned before ( this is a chemical reaction ).
* Human power is about IT ( that kind of thing goes back to the Stone Age ). And you can't ROW a Bathysphere in this universe.
The Plasmid Stuff (as corrected in the MMORPG for the advertising Hype and de-game-gimicked ), are done by biologically accumulating chemical energy ( as an example consider the energy of fart methane explosively moving a projectile - that requires alot more gas than you'd think, actually ).
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Slow-Scan Television (SSTV Real World) :
Early long distance radio transmissions - like as used in early spaceflights ( those shots on landing on the Moon ).
Usually with lower resolution that standard TV ( there are very long distance real-time signal limitations ).
Possibly used in early Security Cameras ( because of the lesser cost ). And for some of the computer automation ( at minimum being used for monitoring alerts when something moved in the view of the camera ).
The Early Flybots probably used such a technology. BTW, their 'intelligence' was remote anyway - as in having them have enough computing power for what they are shown to do ( which is hard even today ) - is as ludicrous as having a complex autopilot on a Zeppelin.
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Remote Closed Circuit TV Camera : 
This got an early start in Rapture because of it's use in the City Construction ( a whole lot of remote-controlled machineries, working with pre-fabricated building sections/components, in lieu of many more Suited Men grunt workers ). That at least gives the tech a long prep time for its use later in those Security Cameras seen in the games - many not necessarily being quite 'automatic'. Instead, as suggested in the Novel, having some kind of 'flasher recognition' type friend/foe mechanism could be a good/workable solution ( ignoring the game not mentioning/having any such explanation/elaboration ).
Construction Automation ( also elaborated upon in the Novel ), being an important factor in building Rapture, would need to SEE to direct the work going on.
Consider : When steam shovels were first being employed in the US - one shovel did the work of over a hundred laborers using pick/shovel/wheelbarrows, and were so cost effective that they paid themselves off within a year.
Consider that Deep Sea Hardsuits ( required for the depths involved at Rapture - many hundreds of feet ) were very complicated and extremely expensive to use ( and required highly trained men to both be in them and to maintain/operate them ).
SO A work multiplier like the Remotes used with Automation to build Rapture would have been one of the early achievements. NO ADAM REQUIRED
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Bioluminescent Lights for Rapture - Efficiency Issue and Limitations :
The Bio-lumnescence used for many devices has to be of the 'rechargeable fuel cell' type mechanisms, as the bio-luminescence is organically based, requiring biochemicals to power the biological mechanism. Those biochemicals, like ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), have to be rebuilt from their breakdown chemicals using electricity as the power source and employing some biological process which can convert electricity/electrically produced ions into the required chemical bonds.
Competing technologies are incandescent (alot of waste) and fluorescent light sources (no LEDs likely yet).
Is this Bio-luminescence mechanism efficient enough for many uses in Rapture ? High intensity light requires high energy densities which you wont have in this Bio-chemical mechanism ( so no lighting of bright signs out in the murky ocean ). Room lighting bright enough to read by - a very big bulb/reflector ( again energy densities for that brightness generally a no-go ) Ditto for lights needed to grow plants. Somewhat dimmer light uses - control indicators, nightlights, and similar low wattage uses.
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SteamPower.jpg|Steam Power was at it's pinnacle in Rapture's Era
Transmittertube.jpg|Large Radio Transmitter Tube. Even after semiconductors and Power Transistors were commonly used for everything else, Tubes like this were still used. Rapture is just at the beginning of the Transistor Age so ALOT of tubes would still be used for many things.
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Portable Wireless Telephone Company :
New products for your convenience ...
Imagine the 'brick' that Jack had to carry around for that 'portable radio' he stole from the Bathysphere ( actually he was being pursued by Ryan Security for THEFT, which is against the law after all ).
Actually imaging the pile of stuff Jack carried for all those weapons and ammo and unused Tonics and Plasmids and Medi-kits/EVE ampules ( Fitting through doors and even moving would definitely be a problem if realism used there - point would be in the MMORPG to narrow down you 'carrying' a bit - with more equipment decisions required ).
Attempts would be made for the MMORPG to have somewhat more realistic 'Encumbrance' game mechanics.
Oh, and that 'Wireless' unit still ties into the 'wired' system just like Cellphone systems do - Only moreso because of less open space, and how shit-poor radio waves go through water AND cement walls).
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Bio-Electronic Tube Modules :
 
The 2 x 2 inch glass strata 'circuits in wrapper in a sealed 4" tall glass tube ( gas sealed not vacuum ) -- like what we saw frequently on the ground in Minervas Den.
Some people in Minervas Den started building little scenes inside these 'Tubes' - art varies in ability. 
Have at least one mission where the 'clue' is in the 'Tube' 
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Idea - Noble Gas Circuits - Glowey (Neon effect) ... :
Pretty at least ( different colors for different gases )
Bioluminescent status displays ( and instrument gauge lighting ) INSIDE Big Daddy Suit ( and the few Hardsuits in Rapture )
Mini TV tubes (mono color) using noble gas glow argon,neon, etc :
* Grid array using the Bio micro-electronics method of Etchings and Bio Transistors ( digital signal with corresponding digital TV signal recorder tube )
* Small enuf to have on the DELUXE 'Audio Diary' players ( though the resolution isn't great )
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Rubber ??? :
Rubber wears out. It is a Fundamental Material in the Modern World. In time replacement is required.
Would Rapture have to have developed Artificial Rubber ??? (a plastic). Eventually, without access to natural Rubber from the Surface, they would need to ( because rubber eventually deteriorates ). Rubber ( for flexible attachments/seals/tubes/gaskets ) actually IS one of the key elements for our Modern World ( alongside Steel, Copper, Fuels, Electricity, and Plastics ).
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Miniaturized Electronics :
I saw several machines like this in various places in Rapture. It is an Electron Microscope, and they generally didn't much like a water-soaked environment. Either that Accu-Vox Device is even huger than normal ( the new Boom Box Model ... ) OR someone didn't scale this Electron Microscope game prop quite correctly ( the flat platform part should be at least table height -- such devices were large and intended for use while standing up ).
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Handheld (Portable) Radios using Transistors
Portable Magnetic Recording ( see Audio Diaries )
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Rubber - a Key Material in the Industrial Age :
Did Rapture have it's own Rubber Tree Plantation, Or was all of it either (first) imported/stockpiled before the isolation OR do they mostly use synthetics ( primitive in the 1950s and even the best today is not as good as natural rubber for certain things ).
Rubber does wear out and corrodes slowly in the environment ( worse when pollutants are present ), so would be needed to make many spare parts to keep all the machinery operating ( many of machinery designs may have been selected to try to avoid/minimize this weakness, when possible ).
The expense of this useful material ( and the quantities used ) might make having mutated Rubber Trees ( or other plants which produce a similar substance - ie- Dandelions ) a viable industry venture ( a whole lot of work, but with a big payoff if you consider the wide range of applications ). And in the attempt to make Rapture 'self-sufficient', such a Project would at least be considered and be assisted by Ryan ( and be one more 'farm' to have somewhere near the City ).
Rubber bands are very useful ( kinda like the Towel in 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy ... ), but given a few years exposure to air they harden and crack and become useless.
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Huge Library of Useful Information - Somewhere :
Rapture was built with the intent of eventually being cut off ( or surviving a destroyed Surface WorldNuclear Destruction - at the time Rapture was built, the effects of radiation were not well understood, nor fallout and long time effects of them. ) and would have tried to accumulate all possibly useful knowledge from the World ( and would take measures to ensure it's survival from accidents and time ). To Ryan, it might be as fundamental as making the City's walls strong enough to last decades.
So somewhere in Rapture ( maybe in many redundant places ) would be built storehouses of knowledge - Archives of that information. Tons of microfilm ( technology perfected in the 1930s and by WW2 ). And fortunately, making additional copies cost little more than the first.
Even after the City was 'Closed to the outside' in 1952, the flow of new information may not have stopped and was brought in with other 'official' shipments of other critical 'stockpile' materials. These would have been copied and added to the various archives.
Individuals might have brought their own collections of materials deemed worthy of copying, as well as proprietary business/industrial information. Private interest groups copied selected information as well ( including the Rapture Standard/Tribune and other City newspapers ).
The multiple copies were placed in various secure locations and it would be very useful to find them again.
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Infinite BS - Autopilot for the airship. Yeah .... No. Mechanical goodies like this FOR THAT ??? ... Imagine a machine with a million gears and rods and cams and levers ( and so huge it might just fit in the large space of a real Blimp hangar ). Actually this here is the guts to some company's unusual watch - something utterly simple by comparison.
" *WATCH OUT* -- THAT FALSE SHEPHERD IS COMIN' AROUND AGAIN !!!!! "
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Superheated Water to Power Things - Vehicles ? :
705F 212 atm ( ~3000 lb/sq in ) - the limit before water is Super Critical ( unstable saturation point )
How much energy can be stored ??? As compared to Electric batteries/chemical reactions ????
~ 1 MJ/KG ( chemical reactions can contain more, even discounting their required oxidizers )
There would be the usual mechanical 'Conversion into Work' inefficiencies ... (as always)
Condenser/Heat exchanger system is needed to avoid Rapture ambient water pressure fighting the exhaust steam ( at least for Bathyspheres and Subs ).
Hot Water Is available in Rapture at the geothermal sources, though distributed points ( for general 'recharging ) would be overly complicated. This is what is used in Rapture's power plant 'heat engine' power generation ( simpler 'fixed' installations near the heat source ). 
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Steam ... Seems more something a realistic Infinite's Columbia would make use of.
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Telepresence Used Very Early in Rapture to Run Construction Machines (It's in the Novel) :
Video cameras and remote controls ( particularly useful to avoid more workers needing the bothersome/expensive diving suits ). Scale of construction machines to build the City.
Radio links (wire transmission simpler but not usable for 'sub' connections. Real world small video cameras were still being developed ( so this would be another Ryan 'high-tech' innovation and a pre-Rapture development ). Remote command actuation and feedback telemetry would be another innovation needed.
Use for machines in hazardous environments ( like 600+ feet of water ) - "Ryan Sea Construction" would have a head start on these technologies. Alot of prefabrication work ( done on thge ocean surface, and more back on land) was done to efficiently build large structure components.
One operator could control multiple machines in different locations ( increasing productivity and lowering costs ).
Remote control also used with 'on-site' operators ( control cabins on submarine construction machines ) with better view than one ( or a few ) cameras could supply.
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== Recycling - Big In Rapture Even Before the Chaos Began : ==
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Jewelry - Gold ? Needed for New Circuitry Production and For Repairs.
Such things are also valuable outside Rapture - smugglers have to trade something and 'Ryan Dollars' hardly will be accepted by the Surface contacts. The Air-Tite facility likely was not pilfered (much) while under Reed Wahl's control, and the interval after Porter/Tenenbaum left wasn't so long until the Founding of New Rapture ( besides, the Thinker was still there to keep it closed off ).
It is likely that most corpses have already been scavenged for gold teeth - It is one reason why you will have a pair of Pliers as a basic tool.
Much Jewelry containing precious metals disappeared due to the Smuggling Operation, which required payments on the Surface to purchase the contraband -- and at a premium price there and with the additional overhead of 'Fencing' the goods..
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Pigeon Guided Missile (a Real World Idea) :
Was tried as a technology as an alternative to electronics/computers which were primitive in those days (late 1940s). Pigeon trained to peck at a screen ( an optical window view ) to steer the missile towards a target (terminal guidance).
So why not a Sea Slug Guided Bathysphere (S.G.B.) ?? Pigeons, though rather bird-brained, are still 'Einsteins' compared to Sea Slugs. Navigation and control of a Bathysphere (Sub) is a bit more than pecking at a TV picture to guide a missile to a target blip.
Bathyspheres would be needed in Rapture LONG before the whole ADAM & Slug thing even happened/was possible.
One of those 'ideas' that someone thought of but didn't quite work out ( maybe then sea turtle brain interfaces ??? ) Remember something doing real stuff isn't the same as a computer game where you simply 'fake it' ( things don't HAVE to actually work, beyond the puppet show ).
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Graphene ( Hmm, a Goodie for the Plot as It 'Thickens' ) :
One of those things that might be exploited for fictional RETRO technologies ...
"The Cambridge Graphene Centre and the University of Trieste in Italy conducted a collaborative research on use of Graphene as electrodes to interact with brain neurons. The research was recently published in the Journal of ACS Nano.
The research revealed that uncoated Graphene can be used as neuro-interface electrode without altering or damaging the neural functions such as signal loss or formation of scar tissue. Graphene electrodes in body stay significantly more stable than modern day electrodes ( of Tungsten or Silicon ) because of its unique properties such as flexibility, bio-compatibility, and conductivity. It could possibly help in restoring sensory function."
Soooooo ... maybe a useful tool somehow for the ADAM based Bio-Electronics ??? ( ie- a way to connect with the organic tissues require (fundamental) in my fictional Bio-Electronics technology in Rapture ).
BTW, its been shown that you can obtain 'Graphene' by taking common Graphite and using mere Scotch tape to (over and over) separate the graphite ( pure Carbon with a sheet crystalline structure ) into it's layers until you have a one-atom-thick piece of Graphene ( THIS has been done in high school classes, actually).
Again this is supposing someone in Rapture was playing around with this stuff, and managed to notice ( that is the real trick - the "realization" of something in front of them ) and discover some very interesting properties, which then SOMEONE ELSE gets told about. THEY then could investigate/come up with a use for it (( See, that's the REAL mechanism - a chain of collaboration between different expertise/knowhow/imagination, and NOT just one person's unrealistically discovering/developing/perfecting the THINGEE like Fink/Suchong (in BaSx), in some Simpleton gamewriter's story, is said to have achieved. ))
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State of Electrics/Electronics in Rapture :
Base 'Tech' is late 1940s ( after major advances during WW2 ) and new stuff into early 1050s ( with most surface 'Tech' being brought in to Rapture upto time of the %27civil war%27 chaos ). Upto Rapture's Isolation Tech could simply be Imported. Some of the later 'smuggled' goods were actually technology. Surface improvements would always be sought for products in Rapture's competitive environment, and this included manufacturing techniques and material processing. ( Products for limited customers might only warrant smuggling the objects themselves ).
Critically needed Tech would likely be imported under officially-controlled channels.
It is possible that additional information was later (post BS1/BS2) brought from 'The Surface'. We don't know what all else happened in the rest of Rapture, even as to what Sofia Lamb did - since we know she had some links to the Surface, but may have been wholly uninterested at improvements for mere people.
Printed Circuit boards (invented 1903) - fundamental in mass producing/miniaturizing devices, which also lead to modularizing/standardizing of parts.
Optics :
* TV cameras, including bio-logics - using fish/slug eye tissues, infrared systems
* Masers (1957) and Lasers (1960)
* Water level/Fire/Smoke Sensors for structural safety
* Light amplification
* Optical detectors and triggers ( interesting to use a Friend-Foe tag that was a certain paint color with specific color frequencies or encoded flashing patterns --- The Novel mentions this for the Security scanners added at the start of the 'civil war'/Atlas's Terrorism ) 
* Alot of Telepresence ( remote control construction machinery ) was used in building Rapture (1946) in it's unfriendly environment.
Radio :
* Miniature radios (including TV transmission/reception - like the one in Delta's suit)
* Relays/Repeaters to make sure the radio signals got thru ( alot like WIFI hotspots ) - since radio waves work miserably thru water and inside buildings.
* Data signals/Networking - not just for computers, but for alot of automatic devices and sensors ( leak sensors all over the City you would think would be a very good idea ).
X-isters ( AKA Transistors (1949) in the outside world ) - going from tubes to X-isters changed alot of things, allowed miniaturization of many electronic devices and lowered costs/increased reliability/allowed mass production.
Bio-Circuitry ( Rapture unique, made possible by ADAM genetic tech ) 
* Bio-Logic : Biological based electronics ( with/without ADAM use ) - induced logic patterns for certain useful functions that would take multiple thousand (even millions) of bulky X-isters (transistors) to duplicate. Made possible sophisticated robotics and other technological control and sensor devices.
* Computer Logic Circuitry :
** The Thinker ( not just the circuits but the programming/organizing techniques )
** Holographic Memory ( brain cell soup to store huge masses of information )
** Bio disks for mass complex logic circuitry ( components that can take the place of circuit with many thousand of transisters )
** Artificial (Semi) Intelligence for robots and automation
Magnetics - recording media ( including tape, drum/disk drives ), electronic machines, tags for routing Pneumo capsules
X-ray advancements (offshoot of Ryan's many experiments with high energy technology )
Electrically powered Bioluminescence ( for very low power lighting systems ) - very high efficiency
'Home' Computers (size of a small car) -- developed in Rapture for more convenient computing. Technical improvements greatly expanded their capabilities year by year. Tying them together into some kind of 'network' might be done ( as would the having a remote terminal connected thru a phone data line to a shared computer ). Computational capabilities increased by magnitudes which assisted many other types of research and development.
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Brain Wave sensors ??? Biological tissues could potentially be sensitive to brain/nervous system emanations ( especially with genetic enhancements and electronic amplification -- It is a bit of a stretch, but still physically possible ). It also may not be anything like 'reading thoughts' but just activity that gives away clues that could be detected/interpreted.
Controls for high-powered machinery ( regulators for devices which will easily self-destruct if not continually/instantly adjusted ) Ex - Plasma cutting head for oil wells or mass cutting rock has a feedback system to handle environmental variations, continuously allowing the device to cut 10 times faster than the old hand-regulated systems. Similar devices were used for mass production of certain materials widely used in constructing Rapture.
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High Energy Fuels For Portable Power Sources :
Batteries are heavy, and of limited capacity (true even today). ... Poor energy density.
Fuel Cells same, and they operate at high temperatures ( not optimal for something like a Bathysphere ).
Combustion (mechanical engine) still a viable solution, though 'Sea' operations require oxidizers to make the burning of a 'fuel' possible. ( Thus Big Daddy Drill 'Fuel' would need to be both Fuel AND Oxidizer if used out in Ocean ).
Internal ( normal atmospheric pressure ) engine combustion still needs elimination of exhaust gases. ( Bathysphere/Sub/AE_Train must exhaust outside into Sea - and that's compressed to force it out against the pressure.)
For External (In Sea at Sea Pressure) Combustion - Pressure differentials to operate at Raptures depths ( 20 atmospheres and even deeper ).
--- --- --- --- ---
Old Rapture Technologies :
* May need to hold contests in 'Alpha' phase ( Pre-release 'Player Asset Creation' ) for all the machines seen in the old BS1/BS2 game content - As to what the machine's function is so that they can become part of a logical game functionality ( ie- lots of those wall/utility machines/equipment/regulators and others things for industrial/manufacturing, etc ... )
* Genetic research camera ( Mk1 and Mk2 )
** Sophisticated technology that is largely lost ( or out of film ... )
** Working units have a very high bounty on them for obvious reasons.
* Gatherers Gardens - machines dismantled for genetic technology equipment used in 'the Cure'.
** Illegal to own ( ADAM splicing technologies ), high bounty offered for them for salvage.
** Genetic Tech components are used in the Splicer Rehabilitation Clinic and for further research.
* Safes/doors with shareable combinations ( might not stop a determined thief, but at least will slow them down )
* Health Stations - can greatly assist in medical treatment efforts - not quite as quick as old days
* Gene Bank machines - now used in X-Cell tech, also as medical scanners ( a few in the 'clinic' modified for Plasmid extractions from Splicers )
* Ammo Bandito machines now used as general vending machines - new 'skins' modifications to customize them for new products
* Security Cameras/Turrets/Bots are still around and definitely are still used. Some improvements have been made.
* Bot Shutdown machines have been rewired to call Bot assistance by citizens. There are fines for triggering them with no valid need. Edge areas in particular have need of these if Bot coverage is available.
* Power to the People machines* Those unusual machines eventually stopped working when they ran out of parts ( which are hard to find or fabricate now ). Remaining machines still capable of performing upgrades are in premium demand. Broken machines may still contain some upgrade part sets ( as well as useful fabrication tools ).
* The Minerva systems and Central Computing's old 'automatic' monitoring/directing function ( much to be restored as the comm lines used to access sensors were disrupted, or the areas lost power, or sensors were stolen/broken ).
* TV + Radio
** Rapture Radio once offered a dozen stations of varied content for listeners.
** 5 TV channels and nothing good on ANY of them !!
** Watchable Content expanding every day ( via 'Player Created Assets' )
** CH2 - The 'Security' Channel - offers Notices and Warnings from the security systems.
** Radio music - a very popular diversion for the masses - Some of the reconstituted stations take requests.
** Old TV reruns children's show 'Adventures of Squirmy the Sea Slug' once sponsored by Fontaine Futuristics.
** Popular Radio Cliffhanger series 'Sea Patrol' and TV show 'Sea Trek' and various gameshows ( "Bait That Hook", etc ... )
* Public Address system
** Emergency announcements/alarms - crucial to public safety
** "Thought of the day" inspiration thoughts to start the day with
** Area Theme music can be played 24 hours a day ( until it starts driving people crazy )
* New Recordings (Accu-Vox)
** Players can record their own reminicances - recycled Accu-Vox
** Radio stations offer a Bounty on working Accu-Vox ( the old tape systems were largely destroyed, needed for advertisement recordings and repeated news bulletins )
* Ryanium - what the Ocean windows (the glass) are made out of ( not quite with the "sub-molecular bonding" mentioned in the book ) combining properties of glass and metal. Probably a high strength crystalline material.
** Sounds like nano-tech to maximize certain properties need to allow these windows under 19+ atmospheres of surface pressure ( and sometimes to rebar the city's structural concrete ).
** The material may be usable for other purposes - fabrication ( material from all those shards of broken windows ).
** There was to be a industrial process located in Rapture that could make more of this material to meet Ryan's "self-contained" goals ( if the city was ever to be able to expand ).
* Genetic locks - the central controls that operated these stopped working long ago, so most devices employing them need to be hacked. The machines that used them have the genetic components that likely have high tech value.
* Mutant plants developed for consumer products - Nicotine sugarcane ( for artificial tobacco ), Caffeine leaf as a coffee bean replacement, various pharmaceuticals, etc ... These things still exist somewhere in Rapture.
* Big Daddies ( and more generic City Workers )
** Rehabilitation of the Big Daddies was not overly successful because of their origin of fast growth and extreme conditioning which had been used to create them. Most had no 'normal' state to revert to.
** They had largely been the reason that Rapture continued to exist with their obsession with maintenance and ability to do heavy external repairs.
** Tenenbaum has done work trying long term reconditioning to try to build a 'person' inside the Big Daddies who now are little more than automated service machines.
** Until that time the Big Daddies still carry out their maintenance duties.
* Fuels and Gases
** Did Big Daddies really run burning fuel out in the water where there is no air ?? Or was it compressed nitrogen gas (or air) to power it's drill/rivet gun ?? 
** Why have a burnable 'Fuel' Station out in the water ?? Compressed/liquid gas refills instead ?? 'Airmotors' have been around for a long time and run on compressed gas.
** How long do those (breathing) airtanks last ? Compressors to refill tanks needed ( or those 'Fueling Stations ? ).
** Those Red gas cylinders everywhere ( introducing Green oxygen cylinders - the ones that DON'T explode )
** Those flying Bots burn fuel - now where does THAT come from (refined oil based ?). Heavy tanks (compressed gas) on something that has to fly doesn't work.
* Little Sisters
** The program was stopped with the outlawing of kidnapping children as well as splicing in Rapture.
** Methods to reverse the effects that ADAM technology had caused were found. Based on a different use of the Sea Slugs to create the Anti-ADAM, the Little Sisters have been freed.
* Big Sisters
** Little Sisters who were affected to long term ADAM processing side-effects and become unstable.
** Had taken the place of some Big Daddies who no longer could protect Little Sisters from more powerful/clever Splicers.
** Attempts are being made to 'save' the Big Sisters using the new gene therapies. Catch one if you can.
* Expendable hi-tech Ammos
** Remote Hack device/Mini-Turrets/Trap Spears/Rocket Spears/Seeker grenades/Trap rivets were made in the past, but many of the manufacturing know-how was destroyed.
** Many components from these have other uses can be used for hi-tech repairs ( more important than expendable ammo ). 
** Easier-to-Fabricate ammo ( the less technical and simpler mechanically ) will take their place.
* EVE Dispenser, Tool Dispenser - these didn't do alot, but can be reused for other things ( If you find a full one somewhere - then JACKPOT !! ).
* Subs of various sorts - used for construction, resource gathering, general transport ( & Smuggling ) and Sea Patrols.
* Metro System - of point to point Bathyspheres that run on fixed paths (MetroWays).
** Freight models as well as Passenger.
** Not quite an analogy of cars/trucks.
** Automatic systems for traffic control.
* Power Generation :
** Geothermal power production and heat distribution.
** Main Desalinization system ( central technology is boiling water ).
** Monstrosity in Hephaestus only part of the power system
** More 'usual' system would be many smaller Geothermal Well Generating Units placed around that whole area.
** Heat pipes of either steam or superheated water distribute heat to a large part of the city.
Ryan would have planned on allowing the city to expand in the future, so somehow the building components would have to be made for that expansion and for inevitable replacements. He planned on having Rapture to be 'self-sufficient' sooner than later ( and most of that should have been completed by the time things started to go wrong ). Thus, there is somewhere an industrial facility to make the strong pressure resistant building materials for walls and windows ( a high strength synthetic ) and probably ready stockpiles. Included would be the pressure bulkhead mechanisms similarly required ( ie- extra Securis doors, FailSafe utility auto seals, etc ... )
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Rapture Internal Combustion Engines ?
So In Rapture It ( the fuel of choice for an engine ) Would be BioDiesel and/or Alcohol :
Obtaining Mineral Hydrocarbons ( oil/coal/natural gas ) is unlikely for Rapture -- to far away, and too much of it (bulk) needed for it's use. Maybe before the 1952 isolation Ryan could ship small tankers full of fuel bought in the US market, but that would run contrary to his long-term Self-Sufficiency goals. Drilling for oil underwater 300 miles away (north of Iceland) ? It would be inefficient and very costly ( including it's transport ) which would make that option ineffective and thus nonviable.
So Rapture would be turning to some alternate renewable source. Methane from garbage probably would be done, but that gas isn't quite as easy to store/use in a vehicle. 
Also Burning stuff within an enclosed space is problematic ( using up air oxidizer without asphyxiating people and producing pollutants from inefficient combustion ). Possible Industrial use by industrial facilities -- a bit closer to the surface to access the open air is likely.
Such fuels to power and add range for submarines ( when batteries always would be too limited in range ) - a combustion engine can run near the surface ( the German "snorkel" air-intake ) using surface air for the combustion ( That is the way pre-nuclear submarines had to operate). Use of compressed gas as a possible alternative method of powering a sub engine, but only when operated very close to the surface ( which fishing subs normally WOULD do ).
NOTE - Fishing Subs with their long range operations will consume ALOT of Fuel. But since they operate at the Surface of the Ocean can use Normal Air and Diesel engines ( the way subs did in WW2 ) and don't have to worry about pollution or closed spaces.
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Combustion Engine Issues ( FOR UNDERWATER CRAFT OR BIG DADDY SUIT IN-WATER USE ) :
Probably needed from the earliest days of Construction ( thus with development time years earlier )
Mechanism requires vent exhaust ( gas combustion product ) 'outside', which has to be pushed out against typical 280 psi @ 600 ft deep.
Needs to post-compress the exhaust gas to push outside (high pressure)
or 
Have the engine operate at ambient 280 psi, which requires whole different geometries and mechanics ( ie- small cylinders with a smaller expansion ) - which shifts power transmission and valve mechanics.
1000 psi combustion for normal auto engines 1500 psi for race car engines
An air oxidizer has to be provided at 280 psi ( Where does it come from - FUEL+Oxidizer ? )
-
Oxygen-Hydrogen engine ( using electric hydrolysis to produce 'inside' ). This combination 'Combusts' into high pressure steam which can condense into liquid water (H20) using ocean water as a coolant.
Hydrogen and Oxygen (gases) needs to be compressed for 'fuel' storage ( bulky - they are less dense than a liquid fuel - cryogenic H2 O2 you don't want 'to go there' to a far too advanced/difficult technology ).
--- --- ---
Existing Optics Technologies :
* Bioluminescence - An outgrowth of the light replacement (lightbulbs) research using the glowing Sea Life ( self-contained units very convenient for locations that have bad wiring - Splicers came up with this use way back when things started falling apart ).
* Laser devices from Minerva's Den projects ( One of the projects where great progress was made by scientists using BrainBoost - at least until their brains exploded ). Has uses for communications as well as weapons and tools.
* Various light detector technologies - - Phototubes, Photoresisters, Photo-switches, Electric eyes, TV cameras, Plastic light pipes(Lucite), etc.. were 1940's technologies. Redevelopment of the 'Trap-Rivets' sensors for use in alarms ( portable electric eyes ).
* Research on the Sea Slug Bioluminescence ( lots of non-ADAM producing Sea Slugs were found and were used for research )
* Optical based Computing devices being investigated for use in "The Thinker" ( which already has ADAM-based biological components ). Computing "he allowed the mainframe to process data at the speed of thought" isn't anywhere as fast as optical processing would be. Making the programmers code faster more efficiently is a whole 'nuther problem.
* A Sea Slug 'brain' used to process scanner input and control a Flying Patrol Bot ( take more than relays and vacuum tubes )
** Helps to be able to 'grow' the control circuitry, along with simple training methods ...
** Control 'discs' created from a removed (non-ADAM) Sea Slug brain that had been trained/conditioned for the desired control logic - which were then 'baked' and 'doped' to convert their structure to X-isterized circuitry.
** Optical inputs from a simple TV camera, cognitive functions ( classifying targets and movement ), target movement controls, reaction behaviors, command execution, etc... ( which explains why the Flybots aren't that intelligent ... )
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Things Seen In Rapture's Research Labs ( That Didn't Quite Work Out ) :
* Lethal Worcestershire Sauce in a packet ( side project of the Ketchup packet research )
* Cat on a Flying Bot - with the limited supply of 'intelligent electronics' all kinds of solutions were tried ( flew OK, but not successful because 'cats are cats' ).
* Spider Daddies for doing maintenance INSIDE the walls ( creeped-everyone-out so much that the project was abandoned )
* Color TVs. Problem was : Everything else is already 'Black & White', and the project stopped with the Kashmir Incident.
* 7 course dinner sent thru the Jet Postal Pneumo ("Dine IN like a King") - Hungry Jet Postal workers got some good eats ( or had to clean out alot more Pneumo tubes ).
* Patrol Blimps ( no, not an idea from Infinite BS ) Camera equipped Surveillance platform used in open spaces where it can hover quietly undetected ( electric motors and battery, maybe with a spotlight and warning lights used when transiting narrow passageways ). They proved way too easy to shoot down ( it is a balloon.. ) and got stuck on things when errant air currents pushed them off course. ( Must be able to fit easily through a Securis Door )
* Robotic Little Sister ( actually WAS in the game - Minerva's Den DLC ):
**A failed technology product made by Jack McClendon
** http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/Robotic_Little_Sisters
** Use of Robotic Little Sister for ??? Sensor patrol ??
** Substitute Mini-Turret for the head ?? Ammo limit ... cute little backpack for ammo
** Substitute Security Scanner for the Head ( can't look worse than a 'Boys of Silence' )
** Tenenbaum might have thought of something like this on seeing the stuff in Minerva's Den
* Flybot window cleaners - all those big windows in Rapture add up to alot of work - Worked better than the 'giant window wiper' solution, but never did an adequate job to warrant the expense.
* EVE in a can. An attempt to solve the "my EVE vial broke" problem. Unfortunately, opening a can was hardly quick and manipulating a can opener while in combat was not conducive to survival. Poptop can technology were never imported to Rapture.
* A way to Camouflage the Lighthouse, not just from visual detection but also from RADAR ( ala Philadelphia Experiment ). Unfortunately several test objects disappeared and never returned. Follow up research was done as a potential disposal method for toxic waste.
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More Bakelite Please ( Plastic For Rapture ) :
Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride. First plastic made from synthetic components. A thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. Patented 1909 - An early plastic (synthetic resin) used well before Art Deco started in 1925 ( invented 1907, so even Infinite BS could have some, tho' Celluloid would be more common, being pre-1893 ). Many consumer products were made out of this material in the 30s.
SO, a Simple/Versatile plastic for Rapture small scale manufacture/business use. Organic materials are used to make this plastic (no critical/hard-to-get materials/elements
They probably didn't/couldn't have so many of the stylish Bakelite objects in the Solo game because they were most often complex curved shapes which would strain the graphic rendering resources ( which the MMORPG will have MUCH more of ).
The Manufacturing processes for Bakelite were fairly simple (liquid/powder casting) with raw materials of wood-tar and methanol ( locally producible in Rapture ). An interesting use is that it can be used as a glue when making plywood/particle board ( nice when you really aren't going to have too many large trees in Rapture to get large solid pieces of wood from ).
Bakelite objects can have very pretty shiny colors see https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bakelite
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Innovation Need Not All Be For Earthshaking Things :
"El Doritos" - chips created in that 'restaurant' at Ryan Amusements - McClendon developed the automatic 'tortilla chip' making machine.
--- --- ---
Long Term Threat To Rapture - All The Lightbulbs Failing :
* They do eventually wear out
* They really aren't that easy to make ( not ones that work like the ones WE have )
The people still living ( New Rapture ) may have to leverage the Bioluminescence Technologies
--- --- ---
Modern Technologies at that time offered ingenious solutions for many Consumers ( Rapture was supposed to be based on furthering such ideas ). 
--- --- ---
A near obsolete plane ( from just a few years earlier ) relegated to a Gimmick for a Gas Station.
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