The Physics of Star Trek

Submitted by Reviewer (not verified) on Saturday, November 12, 2005 - 23:37

Star Trek

Lawrence M. Krauss: The Physics of Star Trek

Author	Lawrence M. Krauss
Made	Harper Paperbacks
Date	1996-09-25
Media	Paperback
Catalog	Book
Sales Rank	478538
List Price	US$13.00

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Reviews:

Rating 4.0/5 from 53 reviews

Good!

Rating: 4/5 2007-04-26

This a not-so technical book that many Star Trek fans will love. Of course it requires a previous knowledge of general physics but it is very good. I enjoyed reading it and of course I have to have a college physics book by my side to get the most of it.

its possible

Rating: 3/5 (4 out of 5 think this is helpful) 2006-07-03

Some things in the 'Startrek Physics' are possible..

Maybe not as denoted in the series/movies but in some fashion.
Let me list items that could be considered TREK technology.

1. Cellphones (though more in style/form that fact).
2. Visor (the visor used in STNG) is real today.
Certain kinds of blindness can see 2d B&W with this visor.
ITs been around for years.
3. Pc's ... in a way the original STartrek could have had todays pc's or similar ...

4. Some of our medical technology is a direct cause from the original startrek in that the major inventor of much of our medical stuff in ER is from a person who watched startrek as a kid and grewup specifically to invent as much ST stuff as he could.

Yes many things in SCIFI are not possible, but much of it is in some fashion.

Besides, often what is impossible today, is often possible tomorrow.

Remember these comments:
1. We wont need more than 5 computers in the whole world.
IBM (I think).
2. We will never need more than 640k (BILL Gates, confirmed).
3. We might as well shutdown the office, everything that can
be invented, has been invented. (Patent office I belive).

AMong others,
Myself, I bet my best friend in 1976, that some variation of computers like starttrek would be around in less than 5 years.
Two years later, he paid up, as I began using computers that could be linked up to be exactly that. (Slower obviously but there).

Not for the faint of heart

Rating: 3/5 2006-06-30

The book was fine, but I didn't expect it to be oh so extremly technical.

Physics Done Well

Rating: 4/5 (2 out of 3 think this is helpful) 2006-02-25

I really enjoyed this book, it really went in depth on how or if certain technologies of Trek work or don't. Be warned, that it can get very scientific, and to the untrained eye may appear to use more techno-babble then trek itself. However, it is laid out in a very concise manner, with several diagrams as well.

A must...

Rating: 5/5 (7 out of 7 think this is helpful) 2006-02-20

...for anyone who likes both "Trek" and science. Laurence Krauss shows that it is possible to enjoy "Trek" while using it as a tool to teach some physics fundamentals (usually to the effect that "Trek" physics/technology is impossible or wildly improbable). The foreword is by Stephen Hawking, also a fan, who endorses the imagination-expanding possibilities of science fiction. Remember how many engineers were inspired by the example of the late "Scotty" (he was even given an honorary engineering doctorate for it). Read, and enjoy - and learn more about the awesome universe in which we live.

Editorials:

Product Description

What warps when you're traveling at warp speed?

What's the difference between a holodeck and a hologram?

What happens when you get beamed up?

What's the difference between a wormhole and a black hole?

What is antimatter, and why does the Enterprise need it?

Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I am born?

Discover the answers to these and many other fascinating questions from a renowned physicist and dedicated Trekker.

Featuring a section on the top ten physics bloopers and blunders in Star Trek as selected by Nobel-Prize winning physicists and other devout Trekkers!

"Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlines Star Trek is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."
--From the foreword by Stephen Hawking

NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

This book was not prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by any entity involved in creating or producing the Star Trek television series or films.

Amazon.com

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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