How does the Star Trek universe stack up against the real universe? 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.

Boldly go where no man has gone before and discover the real science behind the cyborgs, starships, aliens, and antimatter of the Star Trek galaxy. Star Trek is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. It has changed our cultural landscape in so many ways since it first aired in 1966. The franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue, leading to a wide range of spin-off games, novels, toys, and comics. Star Trek is noted for its social science, too, with its progressive civil rights stances and its celebration of future diversity that began with The Original Series, one of television's first multiracial casts. The Science of Star Trek explores one of the greatest science-fiction universes ever created and showcases the visionary tech that inspired and influenced the real-world science of today. The perfect Star Trek gift for fans of the franchise, this book addresses many unanswered, burning questions, including: What can Star Trek tell us about aliens in our Milky Way? How has Star Trek influenced space culture? What can Star Trek tell us about planet hunting? What Star Trek machines came true? When will we boldly go? Learn more about one of our favorite modern epics with The Science of Star Trek!

Portraying themselves as challenging blind religious dogma with evidence-led skepticism, the neo-atheist movement claims that the New Testament contains unreliable tales about a mythical figure who, far from being the resurrected Lord of life, may not even have lived. This comprehensive critique documents the falsehood of these neo-atheist claims, correcting their historical and philosophical mistakes to show how we can get at the truth about the historical Jesus.

Physics with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer pop-culture chaser In the tradition of the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek, acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ouellette explains fundamental concepts in the physical sciences through examples culled from the hit TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. The weird and wonderful world of the Buffyverse—where the melding of magic and science is an everyday occurrence—provides a fantastical jumping-off point for looking at complex theories of biology, chemistry, and theoretical physics. From surreal vampires, demons, and interdimensional portals to energy conservation, black holes, and string theory, The Physics of the Buffyverse is serious (and palatable) science for the rest of us.

A behind-the scenes tour of the inner sanctum of one of the world's most prominent scientific thinkers. In 2021, the Science Museum made a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition of the contents of Stephen Hawking's office. This book delves into that remarkable collection, using the seminal papers, items and curiosities in his office to explain his theories and reveal more about one of the greatest minds in modern science. It's an unprecedented glimpse into the life of the best-known scientist of modern times.

The material in this book forms the basis of an interdisciplinary, college-level course, which uses science fiction film as a vehicle for exploring science concepts. Unlike traditional introductory-level courses, the science content is arranged according to major themes in science fiction, with a deliberate progression from the highly objective and discipline-specific (e.g. Reference Frames; Physics of Space Travel and Time Travel) to the very multi-disciplinary and thought-provoking (e.g. Human Teleportation; Science and Society). Over 100 references to science fiction films and television episodes are included, spanning more than 100 years of cinematic history. Some of these are conducive to calculations (solutions included).

As Andrzej Sapkowski was fleshing out his character Geralt of Rivia for a writing contest, he did not set out to write a science textbook--or even a work of science fiction. However, the world that Sapkowski created in his series The Witcher resulted in a valuable reflection of real-world developments in science and technology. As the Witcher books have been published across decades, the sorcery in the series acts as an extension of the modern science it grows alongside. This book explores the fascinating entanglement of science and magic that lies at the heart of Sapkowski's novel series and its widely popular video game and television adaptations. This is the first English-language book-length treatment of magic and science in the Witcher universe. These are examined through the lenses of politics, religion, history and mythology. Sapkowski's richly detailed universe investigates the sociology of science and ponders some of the most pressing modern technological issues, such as genetic engineering, climate change, weapons of mass destruction, sexism, speciesism and environmentalism. Chapters explore the unsettling realization that the greatest monsters are frequently human, and their heinous acts often involve the unwitting hand of science.

This work draws together a wide range of literature on contemporary technologies and their ethical implications. It focuses on advances in medical, reproductive, genetic and information technologies.

A LIVELY EXPLORATION OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN SCIENCE How Did the Universe Begin? The Big Bang has been the accepted theory for decades, but does it explain everything? How Did Life on Earth Get Started? What triggered the cell division that started the evolutionary chain? Did life come from outer space, buried in a chunk of rock? What is Gravity? Newton's apple just got the arguments started, Einstein made things more complicated. Just how does gravity fit in with quantum theory? What Is the Inside of the Earth Like? What exactly is happening beneath our feet, and can we learn enough to help predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? How Do We Learn Language? Is language acquisition an inborn biological ability, or does every child have to start from scratch? Is There a Missing Link? The story of human evolution is not complete. In addition to hoaxes such as "Piltdown Man" and extraordinary finds such as "Lucy," many puzzles remain. What, in the end, do we mean by a "missing link"?

The story of an elite team of scientists and soldiers who travel to other worlds through an alien-built portal, Stargate SG-1 gave its viewers a weekly dose of spectacle and high adventure. Over its ten-season run (1997-2007), the series explored the interactions of the scientific and military cultures represented by its characters, as well as the place of science in society. The initial airing of Stargate SG-1 coincided with the “Science Wars,” a highly public clash among scholars and public intellectuals over the nature and value of scientific knowledge. Critics of science argued that it was merely one form of knowledge among many, subject to biases and blind spots imposed by the culture in which it was created. Defenders of science—mostly scientists themselves—contended that it possessed a unique ability to uncover universal truths, and thus was uniquely valuable to society. In Science Wars through the Stargate: Explorations of Science and Society in Stargate SG-1, Steven Gil offers the first in-depth analysis of the series and places it in the context of contemporary debates about the nature of scientific thought. Gil contends that representations of science within SG-1 can be more fully understood through the prism of the Science Wars. Scientific ideas put forth in SG-1 demonstrate how such complex intellectual exchanges and debates have a place in popular culture and can be further understood through these fictional articulations. Although SG-1 serves as the principal case study, the analysis also casts light on the role and position of science in science fiction television more generally. The long-form narrative of Stargate SG-1 enabled it to engage, in sophisticated ways, with many of the questions at issue in the Science Wars. As the author illustrates, the show presented a complex, sophisticated portrait of science and scientists at a time when the scientific enterprise was under intense public scrutiny. Science Wars through the Stargate will be of interest to science fiction scholars and fans of the series, but also to those interested in the public’s evolving understanding of science and its role in society.