65. The Physics of Star Trek - Lawrence M. Krauss

I know, I know. My secret's out.

I'm a Trekkie.

As much as I want to say that "anyone can enjoy this book" (in the way that I think anyone could enjoy many of the movies), the truth is that you will probably miss 95% of what the author is talking about if you've never seen an episode of Star Trek. But ... bear with me anyway :)

Krauss explores the physics behind the show (all spinoffs except the most recent one, Enterprise) and speculates about which pieces of technology might actually exist some day - and which are completely against the laws of physics.

One of my favorite chapters was about the transporter (non-Trekkies: the thing they use to "beam" from one location to another; think, "Beam me up, Scotty!" ... although Captain Kirk never actually said that phrase in any episode or movie! The closest he came was, "Scotty, beam us up" ... but I digress.). The idea came about because Gene Roddenberry's design of the Enterprise was such that the ship glided through space easily; but it would have a lot of trouble with its footing if it ever tried to land. Plus, "...the meager budget for a weekly television show precluded landing a huge starship every week." And what kind of plot would you have if you didn't interact with the people on the planets you encounter?! Cutting through all the techno-jargon, Krauss basically explains that transporter beams will never work; though holodecks and holograms are quite possible. Just look at the holographic technology that exists already!

One of my other favorite chapters was a list of the author's favorite physics "bloopers" on Star Trek. (I'm quite aware that I've lost 90% of my cool points by now). An example: whenever someone shoots a phaser beam, we see the beam of light. But that's a problem because light is not visible unless it reflects off of something.

"If you have ever been to a lecture given with the help of a laser pointer ... you may recall that you see only the spot where the beam hits the screen, and not anything in between. The only way to make the whole beam visible is to make the room dusty ... Thus, unless empty space is particularly dusty, we shouldn't see the phase beam except where it hits."

How disappointing! But honestly, the most interesting parts of this book were those that showed some absolutely amazing accuracy and even foresight in some instances on the part of the writers.

Clearly, if you're a Trekkie, you'll enjoy this book. If you're not ... moving on to book #66 ...