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The Physics of Star Trek
The Physics of Star Trek
Author: Lawrence M. Krauss
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 St...  more » 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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ISBN-13: 9780465005598
ISBN-10: 0465005594
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 208
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 20

3.5 stars, based on 20 ratings
Publisher: Basic Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

thereadingman avatar reviewed The Physics of Star Trek on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Ok, at first glance I was excited to be able to read this book. At last! Someone with credentials will explain how the Star Trek 'toys' COULD work!

Alas, this book is, in my opinion, a standard physics lesson, with some loose references to Star Trek thrown in. Interesting in it's own right, but not the book I thought it would be, in fact, Krauss spends a lot of the book telling us why the things in Star Trek CANNOT work.

Mr. Krauss has apparently not heard of the Science Fiction adage, "Willing Suspension of Disbelief'.

I really do not care if Star Trek's goodies can work in our current understanding of physics. That science is constantly changing - at one time everybody who was anybody thought the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars were all contained within crystalline spheres and that the earth was the center of all this and everything revolved around it - and so who is to say that in the next 200-300 years our understanding of physics won't have changed enough to allow phasers, transporters and all the rest to exist.

Mr. Krauss' main argument for the impossibility of Warp Drive was the power requirement. Again, who is to say that in 200-300 years, we won't have found a better way to produce power to achieve warp drive.

If you're looking for a physics lesson, this is your book. Otherwise... pass.
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reviewed The Physics of Star Trek on + 58 more book reviews
An interesting book, but a little to technical for my little brain.
reviewed The Physics of Star Trek on + 41 more book reviews
This is a fun book to read if you are a serious trekkie


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