The Physics of Star Trek
by Lawrence M. Krauss
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lawrence M. KraussEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-07-10
ISBN: 0465002048
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Basic Books
Book Reviews of The Physics of Star Trek
Book Review: Some of the Most Enjoyable Thinking I've Ever Been Prompted to Do
Summary: 5 Stars
Chances are that if you consider a complicated and thought-provoking series like Star Trek to be entertaining, then you'll find Lawrence Krauss's discussions of scientific realities and almost realities to be similarly enthralling, especially when he throws some good discourse on ethics into the mix. I am not a science person by any stretch of the imagination. Math hurts my brain, 10th grade Chemistry bored me silly, and I'm relatively comfortable in trusting that Geordi LaForge knows what he's talking about when he reels off explanations of matter/anti-matter mixing, force field frequencies, and inertial dampeners. Yet Krauss masters a balance between complexity and accessibility in his book, making everything easily understandable even while helping you to comprehend the basics of cutting edge physical laws and theories. This guy should be everyone's first science teacher.
Krauss' exploration is just fascinating, whether in discussing how transporters might work (do you actually transmit the atoms or simply destroy the original person and clone them on the other end? How are consciousness, memory, and the soul transmitted?), or the problems involved with faster than light speed travel and time relativity. Krauss isn't just some holier than thou critic who seeks to tear apart the science of Star Trek, either. Instead, he offers possible explanations for how much of the technology might actually be able to work, all while pointing out that, a decade and a half later, many of the imaginary scientific concepts used in these shows have turned out to be more accurate than not.
This is a book written for those of us that enjoy the scientific and ethical aspects of Star Trek (and this book focuses primarily on Next Generation). If that's the case for you, then "The Physics of Star Trek" is the logical next step. It's far more accessible than the Next Generation Technical Manual, and it's far more rewarding, as well.
**Note: This review was based upon the original 1995 printing of "The Physics of Star Trek." Amazon is selling a version that was last revised in 2007. Twelve years of cutting edge science have, no doubt, had a transforming impact upon the book since then.
Summary of The Physics of Star Trek
What warps when you?re traveling at warp speed? What is the difference between a wormhole and a black hole? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I am born? 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. Lawrence M. Krauss boldly goes where Star Trek has gone-and beyond. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Picard, Krauss leads readers on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be.
Sure, we all know Star Trek is fiction, but warp drives and transporters and holodecks don't seem altogether implausible. Are any of these futuristic inventions fundamentally outlawed by physics as we understand it today? The Physics of Star Trek takes a lighthearted look at this subject, speculating on how the wonders of Star Trek technology might actually work--and, in some cases, revealing why the inventions are impossible or impractical even for an advanced civilization. (Example: "dematerializing" a person for transport would require about as much energy as is released by a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb). The Physics of Star Trek deserves merit for providing a refresher course on topics such as relativity and antimatter, but let's face it: the reason most people will want to read this book is simply that it's fun to poke holes in the premises of their favorite science fiction shows!
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