The Physics of Star Trek

...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.

This Book was one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. I suggest this book for everyone to read. Whether you are a fan of Star Trek or have no idea what Star Trek is, whether you like science or think it is all meaningless and boring. If you are a big fan you will love this book because he goes into great detail about individual episodes all the way from Captain Kirk to Captain Archer. The book talks about certain incidences in some of the episodes that not even I can remember and I have seen every episode. If you have no idea what Star Trek is this book will still be one of the best books I think you will ever read. It is very interesting! Talks about how everything you see on T.V. is different than from real life. How you look at one thing on earth and it will read 2+2=4 but then you look at that same thing in space and it will read 2+2=5 everything in space is completely different and this book has the best examples that I have ever seen. I highly suggest that everyone reads this book. Whether you are a fan of Star Trek or not.

Although the title suggests otherwise, this is not really a book about Star Trek. Lawrence Krauss, a physicist, quotes Star Trek, but his further explanations largely neglect what can be seen in the series and, rather than that, strictly adhere to the laws of real physics. This alone is no criticism. We need popular books about physics (and this is a good one), but the title just doesn't suit it.
A typical chapter begins with examples from the series, but subsequently it becomes like a general analysis of science (and) fiction where one could easily replace "Enterprise" with "Star Destroyer" or anything else. In the chapter on warp propulsion, for instance, Krauss discusses a general theory of FTL travel without even mentioning the term "subspace" which is actually the key Star Trek's warp drive. The same happens in his reflections on the transporter. He assumes that a human being should be reduced to bits, although Star Trek's transporter is supposed to transmit the very matter of an object or person. Agreed, from the viewpoint of actual physics Krauss is right, and I would wish that he gave certain Trek authors a few repetitional lessons in physics. Anyway, I don't understand why he calls a book with rather few Trek-specific content and much more real world physics The Physics of Star Trek and not "The Physics of Science Fiction". I usually don't like to speculate, but maybe because the book sells better with "Star Trek" in the title, or does he intend to disillusion or even convert die-hard Trek fans? Well, I rather go with a positive explanation that Star Trek just covers all facets of fictional science and technology, so it was the obvious choice.
Speaking of disillusions, this book will have several for those fans who firmly believe that it just needs a bit of research until we get warp or only impulse drive or a transporter to work. Krauss makes very clear how much fuel it would take to accelerate a starship to "only" 0.5c and decelerate again (6561 times the ship's mass!), and what a resolution would be required to beam up a person's atoms from a planet surface (that of a lens as wide as the distance to the planet!). As I said, I think the book isn't supposed to spoil our fun of Star Trek, and I hope it won't have this effect on anyone. So if we keep in mind that Krauss is just talking about general concepts and not about how the technology works in Star Trek, this is a very good lecture for all who like Star Trek and all who like to know more about the limits of physics.

A GREAT Lawrence Krauss read.
After reading this book, I saw a documentary of a "Star Trek" convention. At the convention, Michael Dorn, who plays the Klingon character "Worf", was asked about the "most surprising" question he was ever asked. He replied that a "Trekkie" woman, once asked him, "What does it feel like to 'Beam Up' " !!!

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).

This is a fun and educational book. Lawrence Krauss,a physicist who loves Star Trek, offers gentle criticism of much of the physics in the show. Sound waves do not travel in space, to take one example. At the same time, he concedes some of Star Trek's supposedly far-out ideas are conceivable, if unlikely (e.g. traveling faster than the speed of light). Anyone who has even a passing interest in Star Trek and has ever wondered "could that really happen?" should read this book.

Let's not kid ourselves, physics is a tough subject to learn, and equally tough to teach. But there are few books that do as good a job as this one. This book is written for laypersons. And Krauss has found an excellent way to make the subject fascinating. If in your entire life you only want to read one book on physics, then this should be it. I suspect, that Krauss will interest you enough that you'll want to read more. But even if you don't, you'll enjoy learning the wonderful info contained here.

Lawrence Krauss examines the technology of the Star Trek universe and discusses whether such technology is possible or not according to physics as we know it today. As it turns out, most of the technology is either impossible or improbable when considering the laws of physics. For example, to use warp drive or impulse drive, it would take more energy than the entire planet uses at present. Another example, which would probably be impossible, is the transporter. Krauss raises the issue of whether the transporter transmits the matter or just the information of a person. If it transmits the matter, there is the problem of scanning, storing, and transmitting the data of the location of each molecule,--a feat that would take an astronomical amount of calculating power. If it only transmits the data, then the transporter is effectively a human replicator. If that is the case, what do they do with the original body? Also it raises a lot of ethical issues as well.

I really recommend this for those fans of Star Trek who are interested in finding out if the science in the Star Trek world is feasible or not. It's very easy to read and very entertaining too. Check it out.

As I looked through my local bookstore for an interesting read, I could not help but notice this interesting title in the Physics science section. Being a sporatic viewer of Star Trek myself, I picked it up for a closer look. As I read the first section of the book, I realized that it was more than blatant critique on scientific errors. Rather, it was an interesting view of future possibilities and also impossibilities in the field of science. In this book, Krauss explores the existence of things such as wormholes, black holes, and existence of other intelligent life in space. Krauss is also relentless in his discussion of Einstein and other renowned Physicists. He often writes about highly esoteric subject matter, but on the whole this book is well rounded and a relatively interesting read. However, keep in mind that one must have an interest in science, specifically fields such as quantum mechanics and relativity.

Good read. Covers all the basics of "trek science". Every SF reader has a thirst for what makes his favorite stories tick (science). Don't you?
A broader examination of this subject is due. Krauss's other books aren't as good as this one.
My pet peeve....SF movies that have noisy spacecraft...didn't everyone hear (pun intended)... "In space no one can hear you scream."

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.

Krauss has taken Physics to a new level of understanding, for the layman. His focus on Star Trek makes it more fun and relevant. Most of the points raised in this book describe similar scientific situations common to all modern science fiction stories and movies. Happily, much of Star Trek's "technology" isn't bunk!

I loved this book. It explained things in two hundred pages that twelve years worth of science teachers have failed at, and I'm no Trekkie. I assume it is physics in relatively simple terms, given that I could understand most of it, but I feel like a scientist now (did you know that quarks come in three colors?). Its the same idea as A Brief History of Time but easier to understand. Recommended for any curious resident of our universe.

Said Professor Krauss in my physics class. After reading this book, I reassured what he meant. While 'Surprise' could explain how I felt to know the today's science was just practicing baby steps, 'Amaze' would not even be a strong term to describe my feeling to know how far the future science can go. Throughout the entire book, I was filled with the excitement of learning the incredible science facts that have never charmingly appealed to me. Not only as a reviewer of this book, but also as a student of the author's Physics class, I can confidently tell you that Professor Krauss is in love with Physics, and he feels so good about it.
Note: You are required to have at least elementary school education in prior to read this book. :)

This book was great fun to read, it actually made learning about physics fun. Yes, I will admit I enjoy Star Trek which probably made this book even more interesting, but even for those a little interested in both physics and Star Trek I would highly suggest this book. It took what could be extremely dull and made it fun to learn about. For example who knew that the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" could come with so many issues, or warp drive, black holes and laser beams. I am really glad I read this book, it has changed the way I watch Star Trek, I can now spout off useless, yet interesting, physics trivia while watching the classics.

Although the author is great at stating on how impossilbe it is to do things like warp drive and transporters, according to relativity and quantum mechanics, the author knows nothing of the physics of star trek. His interpretation of how warp drive works for instance is not even close to how it really works. And all his assumptions on the technology is using modern day physics, which is portrayed by the author as the absolute truth to the universe. 500 years ago it was impossible to circumnavigate the earth, 50 it was the sound barrier, I suprise a scientist would say that anything(such as warp drive) is impossible no matter what improvement in physics. If you want a book on physics, get a brief history of time, if you want a book on star trek get the tech manual, just don't get this book for either.

Interesting although sometimes you lose it if you are not good in math.
Of course it makes you look at the series in a different perspective, getting some fun out of it.
But still it is a nice book even if it destroys some of the best science of the series

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.

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.

I was very very dissapointed with this book. It was advertised as a Hard back and when i received the book it was not it was a PLASTIC back. I have always been happy with my purchases from the store but i am sorry not this time.