The Physics of Star Trek

What exactly warps when you are traveling at warp speed? What is the difference between the holodeck and a hologram? What happens when you get beamed up? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I was born? Until now, fans of Star Trek were hard pressed to find answers to vital questions such as these. Now Lawrence M. Krauss, an internationally known theoretical physicist and educator, has written the quintessential physics book for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike. Anyone who has ever wondered, Could this really happen? will gain useful insights into the Star Trek universe (and, incidentally, the real universe) in this charming and accessible volume. Krauss boldly goes where Star Trek has gone — and beyond. He uses the Star Trek future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Janeway, Krauss leads the reader on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be. Featuring the Top 10 biggest physics bloopers in Star Trek, as selected by Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other dedicated Trekkers!This book is fun, and Mr. Krauss has a nice touch with a tough subject…Readers drawn by frivolity will be treated to substance. –New York Times Book Review Today’s science fiction is often tomorrow’s science fact. The physics that underlies Star Trek is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.–Stephen Hawking (in the foreword)A