Physics of Star Trek ANNOTATION
Are you a Trekker, Trekkie, or a scientific type who likes to nitpick about technical details missed by Star Trek's writers? If you fit into one of the three categories it's likely that you'd enjoy this book. Dr. Krauss points out many scientific impossiblities in the four incarnations of Star Trek, such as the result that moving a craft the size of the Enterprise at even one half the speed of light is simply not practical. However, this book is not a just a 'nitpicker's' guide to the Star Trek genre. He also highlights phenomena, seen on the shows, that are in fact possible according to what we understand about the universe. For instance, time travel is a completely valid solution to Einstein's gravitational field equations. So you might enjoy this book if you're the type that likes to investigate the science that is in science fiction.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
If you enjoy watching Star Trek, you're in good company. Some of the most distinguished physicists in the world, from Kip Thorne to Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow, tune in, and a popular pastime at professional physics meetings and over e-mail is a discussion of the science in the series. Now you can join the fun. Anyone who has ever wondered, "could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the Star Trek universe (and, incidentally, the real world of physics) in this charming and accessible guide. . .Krauss. . . uses the Star Trek future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics today. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Picard, Krauss leads you on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be. With a foreword by the most renowned Trekker of all (and one-time Next Generation bit player), Stephen Hawking, and featuring a section on the top ten physics bloopers and blunders in 'Star Trek' as selected by Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other dedicated Trekkers, this is a volume that will add a whole new dimension to your enjoyment of the series and to your appreciation of the universe we live in.
FROM THE CRITICS
New York Times Book Review
This book is fun, and Mr. Krauss has a nice touch with a tough subject...Readers drawn by frivolity will be treated to substance.
Washington Post
The essential tubeside companion for the fans of the venerable 'Star Trek' series.
Rush
Focusing on the 'Star Trek' television series and movies, the author addresses such questions as 'Are any of the technologies in 'Star Trek' possible? What do the laws of physics allow and what do they rule out? . . . [He discusses] modern physics, genetics, and cosmology. —Christian Science Monitor
Publishers Weekly
Even those who have never watched an episode of Star Trek will be entertained and enlightened by theoretical physicist Krauss's adventurous investigation of interstellar flight, time travel, teleportation of objects and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Case Western Reserve professor Krauss maintains that Star Trek's writers were sometimes far ahead of scientists-and famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking's foreword, endorsing the possibilities of faster-than-light travel and journeying back in time, supports that notion. On the other hand, Krauss also argues that the show is riddled with bloopers and huge improbabilities, as when the Voyager's crew escapes from a black hole's interior. This informal manual for Trekkers offers a porthole on the wonders of the universe as it ponders the potential existence of aliens, ``wormholes'' that allow astronauts to tunnel through space, other dimensions and myriad baby universes. $75,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPB alternates; Astronomy Book Club dual main selection; Library of Science, Natural Science Book Club and Newbridge Computer Book Club alternates. (Nov.)
VOYA - Susan Allen
One does not have to be a Trekkie to find this book fascinating, nor does one need to have a scientific bent to understand its concepts. The introduction by Stephen Hawking throws one immediately into the text: "Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact." The everyday concepts of the Star Trek world, such as warp, transporter beams, antimatter, etc., all are discussed, and their possible use in the future reviewed. For example, the author considers warp as a feasible means of traveling vast distances within our conception of the time. The idea of transporting, and the question of whether one transports the information from the person or the atoms that make up the person, cause one to pause. Where does antimatter come from in the first place, since the universe seems to be made up of matter? The scientific explanations for what within the Star Trek world is plausible and what is bogus are presented clearly and simply. The reader learns important physics laws and concepts without even being aware of doing so. The possibilities of technology that mirrors what exists in the TV series will fascinate any reader. The title alone will cause the book to be picked up, but the text will keep them reading. Index. Illus. Source Notes. VOYA Codes: 4Q 5P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12). 1996, HarperPerennial, Ages 12 to 18,
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlies Star Trek is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."
— Harper Collins - New Media
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