The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel

Books

Science fiction allows us to go places we can only dream of seeing - other worlds, distant stars, entirely different galaxies. While not every story is concerned with the hard science behind space travel and other futuristic ventures, fiction can give us amazing insight into what we could be capable of and what we dream of doing. In the 10 lectures of The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel, Professor Erin Macdonald interweaves real science and the achievements of the imagination to reveal the truth that underlies our favorite stories and sheds light on what the future may hold. From faster-than-light travel to journeys through time itself, science fiction makes humanity seem limitless. So, what scientific boundaries are we pushing against as we seek to fly among the stars? Beginning with an overview of the physics of time and space as we know them, Professor Macdonald shows how stories extrapolate current knowledge to create visions of the future and how likely - or unlikely - these ...