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Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
A tour through the borderlands where today's science turns into tomorrow's science fiction, from the physicist and Nebula- and Hugo Awardwinning novelist (Aftermath, 1998, etc.). Scientific facts, Sheffield contends, can generate ideas in the reader's imagination and function as a wellspring for potential writers, because ``new science and new applications mean an endless supply of new story ideas.'' And he demonstrates how much more enjoyable science fiction is when the author's facts are in order. Consequently, his primaryand potentially largeaudience is science-fiction readers and those who write, or might consider writing, SF. Out of the 14 well-organized chapters here, physics predictably looms large. One beefy chapter examines atoms and smaller entities, quantum theory, relativity, and low and high temperatures. Another scrutinizes such large phenomena as stars and black holes. On a still larger scale come galaxies, cosmology, and the ``eschaton,'' the final state of all things, and the subject of a recent Sheffield novel. Chemistry, however, places firm limits on the range of possible alien metabolisms: A helium-breathing life form, for instance, simply isn't possible. But how did life originate on the earth, and is there life on other planets? There are such possibilities, even within our own solar system. To explore fully, Sheffield points out, we need space flight, and for that we require propulsion systems, space elevators, and the like. Meanwhile, we can search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence and develop computers, robots, nanotechnology, and artificial life forms. In recent years, chaos theorySheffield's most technical sectionhas spawned some intriguing notions. Finally, he ponders the future of war, looks at such scientific heresies as cold fusion, free energy, and telepathy, and wonders if science itself may be coming to an end (reassuringly, no). Bang on target, in terms of appeal for both constituents and beneficiaries. As Mr. Spock would say: fascinating. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
A tour through the borderlands where today's science turns into tomorrow's science fiction, from the physicist and Nebula- and Hugo Awardwinning novelist (Aftermath, 1998, etc.). Scientific facts, Sheffield contends, can generate ideas in the reader's imagination and function as a wellspring for potential writers, because ``new science and new applications mean an endless supply of new story ideas.'' And he demonstrates how much more enjoyable science fiction is when the author's facts are in order. Consequently, his primaryand potentially largeaudience is science-fiction readers and those who write, or might consider writing, SF. Out of the 14 well-organized chapters here, physics predictably looms large. One beefy chapter examines atoms and smaller entities, quantum theory, relativity, and low and high temperatures. Another scrutinizes such large phenomena as stars and black holes. On a still larger scale come galaxies, cosmology, and the ``eschaton,'' the final state of all things, and the subject of a recent Sheffield novel. Chemistry, however, places firm limits on the range of possible alien metabolisms: A helium-breathing life form, for instance, simply isn't possible. But how did life originate on the earth, and is there life on other planets? There are such possibilities, even within our own solar system. To explore fully, Sheffield points out, we need space flight, and for that we require propulsion systems, space elevators, and the like. Meanwhile, we can search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence and develop computers, robots, nanotechnology, and artificial life forms. In recent years, chaos theorySheffield's most technical sectionhas spawned some intriguing notions. Finally, he ponders the future of war, looks at such scientific heresies as cold fusion, free energy, and telepathy, and wonders if science itself may be coming to an end (reassuringly, no). Bang on target, in terms of appeal for both constituents and beneficiaries. As Mr. Spock would say: fascinating. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
WELCOME TO THE FARTHEST FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE....
Present-day science, as Carl Sagan observed, is more like science fiction than most science fiction. Where does the dividing line lie today?
Charles Sheffield, an internationally respected scientist and an equally renowned science fiction writer, whom The Washington Post and others have compared to Arthur C. Clarke, surveys with an expert eye the current state of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, computers, and other fields, and brings the reader up to date on just how strange the universe is turning out to be.
When exploring strange territory, a knowledgeable guide is a necessity. Fortunately, Dr. Sheffield is eminently qualified to explain the nature of the new mysteries which science is just beginning to explore. The readers will be in good hands as they are taken on an expertly guided tour of the
BORDERLANDS OF SCIENCE
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