The Physics of Star Trek

Rating:
Summary: We know it's impossible.
Review: Mr. Krauss does a great job of explaining why Star Trek technology is impossible in the real world. What I wanted to know was how it worked in the Star Trek world. What is subspace for example and why are they so many domains within it? If that's a question you have, this books doesn't have the answer.

Rating:
Summary: Be entertained while being educated
Review: This is a really fun book. If you are a fan of Star Trek, you likely have enough of an interest in science and physics to enjoy this read. The book's concept is simple enough, that physicists, as a group, have somewhat of an obsesive-compulsive disorder over anaylyzing the scientific feasability behind the fictional events on the show. Krauss, being a physicist afflicted with Star Trek OCD, decided that writing a book on the subject might be good therapy.

Regardless of whether the treatment worked for Krauss, it works for readers. The book is always entertaining, teaches a surprising amount of physics along the way and introduces the reader to some novel problem-solving approaches. Fans of Star Trek will also get an appreciation for just how large an effort the show's creators put into scientific plausibility, even if they occasionally bend the laws of physics to enhance the plot.

Highly recommended for fans of physics and Star Trek.

Rating:
Summary: Plausibility
Review: This text is very enlightening for the Star Trek viewer. It gives technical answers to questions concerning warp, transporters, worm holes and other technology and phenomena that do not have the opportunity to be addressed on camera. Despite some deviations in the series, this text offers more plausible explanations for the inner workings of the Star Trek multi-verse.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Ideabut limited vision
Review: This volume by Lawrence Krauss is a physicists' exploration of the scientific feasibility of "Star Trek science". As a student of science myself and a Star Trek fan for many years, I was intrigued by this book. Apart from drawing attention to curious inconsistencies (such as "how come we hear explosions in space, where there's no air to carry the sound?") this book addresses a wide range of issues, such as WARP drive, transporters, the Holodeck, Black Holes, and Data, among other things.

What this turned out to be is a nice and easily accessible introduction to modern day physics using Star Trek as a model. Overall the book is very interesting to read and often thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a significant limitation because of its attitude. The "Physics of Star Trek" tests the feasibility of Star Trek phenomena based on our understanding of physics today. Thus many things are deemed "impossible" because the author cannot visualize a way to make them work using 20th century science. The problem with this attitude is that it lacks vision. Had he been writing with this attitude in the 1940s for instance, he would have discounted any possibilities of having any automated thinking machines and dismissed any aspect of the computerized world that we enjoy and take for granted today. The beauty of Star Trek is that it is visionary in nature, and a fair analysis of the show needs to make some educated guesses about what the science of the future will look like and not merely confine thinking to the science of today.

Having said that, I do concede that this book is a very nice, fun to read, and interesting introduction to the science of today, and I highly recommend it to any Trek fan interested in real science!

Rating:
Summary: Plausibility
Review: This volume by Lawrence Krauss is a physicists' exploration of the scientific feasibility of "Star Trek science". As a student of science myself and a Star Trek fan for many years, I was intrigued by this book. Apart from drawing attention to curious inconsistencies (such as "how come we hear explosions in space, where there's no air to carry the sound?") this book addresses a wide range of issues, such as WARP drive, transporters, the Holodeck, Black Holes, and Data, among other things.

What this turned out to be is a nice and easily accessible introduction to modern day physics using Star Trek as a model. Overall the book is very interesting to read and often thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a significant limitation because of its attitude. The "Physics of Star Trek" tests the feasibility of Star Trek phenomena based on our understanding of physics today. Thus many things are deemed "impossible" because the author cannot visualize a way to make them work using 20th century science. The problem with this attitude is that it lacks vision. Had he been writing with this attitude in the 1940s for instance, he would have discounted any possibilities of having any automated thinking machines and dismissed any aspect of the computerized world that we enjoy and take for granted today. The beauty of Star Trek is that it is visionary in nature, and a fair analysis of the show needs to make some educated guesses about what the science of the future will look like and not merely confine thinking to the science of today.

Having said that, I do concede that this book is a very nice, fun to read, and interesting introduction to the science of today, and I highly recommend it to any Trek fan interested in real science!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Idea but limited vision
Review: This volume by Lawrence Krauss is a physicists' exploration of the scientific feasibility of "Star Trek science". As a student of science myself and a Star Trek fan for many years, I was intrigued by this book. Apart from drawing attention to curious inconsistencies (such as "how come we hear explosions in space, where there's no air to carry the sound?") this book addresses a wide range of issues, such as WARP drive, transporters, the Holodeck, Black Holes, and Data, among other things.

What this turned out to be is a nice and easily accessible introduction to modern day physics using Star Trek as a model. Overall the book is very interesting to read and often thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a significant limitation because of its attitude. The "Physics of Star Trek" tests the feasibility of Star Trek phenomena based on our understanding of physics today. Thus many things are deemed "impossible" because the author cannot visualize a way to make them work using 20th century science. The problem with this attitude is that it lacks vision. Had he been writing with this attitude in the 1940s for instance, he would have discounted any possibilities of having any automated thinking machines and dismissed any aspect of the computerized world that we enjoy and take for granted today. The beauty of Star Trek is that it is visionary in nature, and a fair analysis of the show needs to make some educated guesses about what the science of the future will look like and not merely confine thinking to the science of today.

Having said that, I do concede that this book is a very nice, fun to read, and interesting introduction to the science of today, and I highly recommend it to any Trek fan interested in real science!