The Physics of Star Trek

Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: I thought this was a very good book. It was a little difficult to understand, but I should have expected that, considering most of ideas I've never heard of. Anyons? Soliton waves? I had no idea. I do have an idea for the Undiscoverable Country chapter, though. I just got finished watching the Voyager episode "The Gift" and I noticed something at the end. Somehow, Kes propels the ship 9,500 light years in a matter of seconds. I didn't do any calculations-the show just got finished-but I'm pretty sure that that is faster than Warp 10, which the Voyager series already proved was almost impossible in a shuttlecraft, let alone a full-sized starship. That brings me to something else that Dr. Krauss can add. It isn't really a physics problem, but more of a continuity error one of my relatives informed me of. As I have already stated, Voyager has proved the impossibility of travel over Warp 10, but in more than one episode of ST:TOS and ST:TNG, ships have gone over Warp 10. I believe Dr. Krauss noted one such episode in his book, but I would just like to say that there are many more.

Rating:
Summary: Krauss Gets It Right!
Review: I do not pretend to be a physicist, but I did go to school. He is right about these things. Its also a very well written book. Although it has no bibliography and its edit seems a bit jumbled it is a very entertaining book to read. I gave my copy to a friend, and I did not get it back. Geron L. a reader

Rating:
Summary: Bridging science and fiction in science fiction.
Review: As a former aeronautical engineer who had the opportunity to study quantum physics, I very much enjoyed this book. The author was able to show that science fiction at the level of Star Trek carries on the dreams and hopes that we all have, and, more specifically, those from which physicists make their lives. The ingenuity of Star Trek physics bases itself on what is already amazing in comtemporary quantum physics. Most of us would already be amazed by what quantum physicists are dealing with every day. The author also points out some amusing inconsistencies which are almost necessary for the sake of entertaining our 20th century peoples. Reading this book makes you want to learn quantum physics and feel that you already live in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!I loved it and couldn't put it down!
Review: One of the best books I ever read!Lawerence and Steven really did awosome in portraying the charaters and events

Rating:
Summary: Highly readable -- all the Star Trek techno-goodies!
Review: Given what we puny late-twentieth-century humans actually do now understand about physics, how might all this Star Trek stuff work? If something is theoretically possible, what are the (always sizable!) engineering difficulties that must be overcome before we can quickly travel between stars and beam to the surface of planets?

Great book for anyone who enjoys physic and Star Trek! -- Jeff Bezos

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: Simply Great Stuff
Review: "The Physics of Star Trek" takes a critical view of the science, specifically well physics as they exist in the Star Trek universe. Every iteration of Star Trek from the "classic" first series up to Deep Space Nine is addressed in this very readable book. This is not a snotty ivory-tower "Comic Book Guy" treatment: the author makes very clear his respect for the series, and the fact the shows do get some things right. Dr. Kraus takes the reader from warp drives, and phasers to the transporter and cloaking devices, with some time travel thrown in. His explanations of special and general relativity are, I think, some of the best in print. (They even drove me to dig out my copy of "The Meaning of Relativity" by Einstein-which I quickly put back on the shelf realizing there was a time I actually could follow the equations...) The bottom line is while some of the technology is theoretically possible i.e. warp drives, just ain't no way Scotty's ever going to/did? Beam anybody anywhere. The material is written in such an approachable way, that this would make a great supplement text for a high-school physics or calculus class. Highly recommended-even if you're not a Star Trek fan.

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: good gimmick
Review: I'm sure some 'true blue' Star Trek fans will be disappointed that this book doesn't agree with all the 'science' used in Star Trek. Actually 'Star Trek' is only used as a jumping off point to talk about physics and possible advances of physics in the future. It also presents the other side, and will give the scientific reasons that some form of Star Trek technology (such as transporters) will probably never be possible. I thought the explanation of various scientific principles (usually related to something in Star Trek) were done well without being either condenscending or obtuse. I was actually surprised that the author (apparently a Start Trek fan) found that, for the most part, the scientific concepts used in Start Trek were generally more accurate than the usual SF TV show or movie. Usually the science in these shows is pretty bad. It appears that the Star Trek technical advisors have been doing their homework. I recommend this book to those interested in science and physics and are also familiar with Star Trek. The connection between the two makes the science more palatable and enjoyable.

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.