Customer Reviews

Beyond Star Trek: Physics from Alien Invasions to the End of Time

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It seems an immutable law of SF that sequels don't live up to the original work. Fortunately for Dr. Krauss, Star Trek proved an exception to that rule, and his own sequel borrows some of that magic, succeeding both on its own and in comparison to "The Physics of Star Trek".

That being said, the book's title is significant. This is not a book about Star Trek, or even a book about SF in popular culture, but a book about science. The SF is there, but mainly as a springboard to discuss issues in physics, astronomy, and other sciences. And the issues are fascinating: Dr. Krauss explores the theoretical underpinnings of starship propulsion, ESP, and inter-species mating, all with the same careful, humorous style that characterized his first book. And as a bonus, you get one of the best explanations of the principles of quantum mechanics, translated into layman's terms, that I've ever read.

But above all, believe the title. If you're looking for a catalog of science errors made by the writers of SF TV and movies, pick up one of the 'Nitpicker's Guides' assembled by Phil Farrand. If you want extra background material about the fictional worlds of Star Trek, the X- Files, or what-have-you, just browse through the SF section of your local bookstore (or Amazon)--the words are out there. But if you want a solid, entertaining look at the way things work on the real Planet Earth, then pick up this book.

This book expands on the theme of the "Physics of Star Trek": namely drawing upon the science of today to ponder the validity and feasibility of the sci-fi science. Like its predecessor though somewhat to a lesser extent, this book suffers from a lack of vision by adhering to today's understanding of science (see my review for that book). The end result is still a readable and nice introduction to important questions in modern physics using science fiction as an example.

I found this book somewhat less interesting than its predecessor. For one thing there is some repetition with "The Physics of Star Trek". Further, the most interesting issues have already been addressed in the earlier book, leaving the crumbs to this one. So, if you have read the first book, you might not be as excited by this one. Nevertheless it is still an enjoyable read.

A word of caution, despite the "Star Trek" in the title, there is very little Star Trek in this book. Instead, the author expands the comparison to cover other cinematic shows like "X-files" or "Independence Day" (the "Beyond" part of the title). While this is OK and does not diminish the interest of the book, pure Star Trek fans who buy this book expecting to read about Star Trek will be disappointed.

This was an excellent book. It gives a good explanation on some of the more exciting areas of physics, without needing to take a course in physics or needing to understand all the math it would (normally) involve. I highly recommend it!

This volume by Lawrence Krauss is a physicistsâ(tm) exploration of the scientific feasibility of âaeStar Trek scienceâ. 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 âaehow come we hear explosions in space, where thereâ(tm)s no air to carry the sound?â) 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 âaePhysics of Star Trekâ tests the feasibility of Star Trek phenomena based on our understanding of physics today. Thus many things are deemed âaeimpossibleâ 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!

As a lifelong science fiction fan and one well-schooled in science, I enjoy the stories while acknowledging the holes in the scientific aspects. In this book, Krauss does an excellent job of explaining the scientific realities in the context of some of the wonders we see on the screen. Star Trek, in all of its many manifestations, is the primary focus. He also discusses the "X-files" television show and the movie "Independence Day."
One of the interesting points concerns the alien ships in "Independence Day." The mother ship was so massive that its mere presence would have had a significant affect on the rotation of the Earth and its orbit around the sun. This would have caused a dramatic climate change, which all by itself could have defeated the human race.
Krauss also explores the potential for ESP and telekinesis based on our current understanding of physics. While he acknowledges that we almost certainly do not know of all the forces operating in the universe, he uses the conservation of energy to predict how powerful the motive force for ESP would have to be. He puts forward convincing arguments that the energy expended in carrying out such actions is large enough that it could not escape detection. This is a strong argument against ESP, because that means the only argument in favor is to claim the existence of a force that cannot be detected by our current instrumentation. That is a very difficult argument to make, but it is an even more difficult one to refute.
This is one of those books that I started one afternoon and finished the next day, reading nothing else in between. As Carl Sagan used to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." If we assume that the laws of physics are universal and we understand them to a high level of accuracy, then his arguments are overwhelmingly convincing.

This is a book about physics, and as such it's certainly entertaining and informative, if at times hard to fathom for certain people (such as myself). But I didn't necessarily buy it for the physics; I bought it to see how physics relates to Star Trek, The X-Files, and other shows, and there was not, in my opinion, nearly enough of that in this book. It went on for entire pages without mentioning any media connection at all. There are plenty of books for which that would not be a problem; a book that specifically advertises itself as media-related is not one of them. Still, it was interesting.

I think that Krauss has bridged the gap between us humans, and physics. The book started out well, got better, and had me on a high in the end. I think alot more people now understand quantum mechanics, and quantum teleportation. He intertwined his sense of humour with real physics, and talked about possibilities and impossibilities. I thought that the Physics of Star Trek was not too clear, but this book really struck the right chord! Its entertaining, funny, in-depth, but most of all, ture.

Yes, the Krauss equation certainly has a nice ring to it! I am currently trying to figure out how to use entanglement for faster than light communication, as this book provided me with the appropriate knowledge and inspiration. My high school teacher laughs whenever I talk to him about FTL travel. I think that in his next book, Krauss should include a couple of colored pictures.

Krauss rocks! :D

I read Krauss' previous work "The Physics of Star Trek" which was very enlightning and held my interest. It was written from a layman's point of view and stuck to the task he set out to accomplish which was to show how the things we see in Star Trek could or could not happen.

But in this work, Krauss goes farther to tackle discussions of the realities of physics when applied to components from other Sci-Fi story lines. In my opinion, this work falls short in its task of disprooving many of these components. His extensive discussions of ESP and of faster than light travel tend to become narrowly focused on assumptions that he disproved at the onset. Many of his discussions never deviate from one possible explanation and he seems to dismiss entirely discussions of possible unknowns that may make other explanations possible. I believe that he's taken on too much at once in this latest work.

But on the plus side, his writing is good and his arguments are more or less sound and they progress well. His philosophical thoughts (at albeit rare times throughout the book) on science's bigger questions I found to be refreshing. And staying true to Sci-Fi fans everywhere he seems to operate on the assumption that anything could be possible while sticking to his classical physics training that dictates scientific methodologies and study.

This is an enjoyable, informative science book, wide-ranging from ESP(which he doubts)to quantum mechanics to the likelihood of ETs. All these things are common subjects of science fiction, yet unlike Krauss' earlier book, The Physics of Star Trek, in here he seldom refers to specific sci-fi stories. the first chapter ridicules the lack of science behind the film "Independence Day," but afterward it is mostly a book of science essays. It maintains a fairly complex level of discussion, yet is accessible to us non-scientists.

Very entertaing book. Anyone with a love for science and Star trk will enjoy this book. Highly recommended