When science meets fiction

steve smyth — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:54:46 GMT

the nature of time is in yer gourd...it does not exist anywhere else in the universe...PERIOD!
WE MADE IT UP TO KEEP TRACK...using the understood mechanisms of the day...a long, long time ago...
try looking at ol' Al's thoughts from this perspective...there is absolutely zero reason to believe that he was right about anything...we just do because it's the prevailing wisdom...
no time...no time space continuum...no problem traveling through space...sounds good, don'tcha think?
Eisnstein never made wild claims RE his right/wrongness...they were theories, designed to expand understanding...he knew none of it was chiseled in granite...it seems that by now, we should catch on...

When science meets fiction

Bill Hensley, Houston, TX — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:09:44 GMT

Ah, negative energy is a wonderful thing! It's also the pixie dust you need to build a warp drive, according to a number of papers published in the last few years. The seminal paper is <a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0009013">The warp drive: hyper-fast travel within general relativity</a> (Alcubierre, 1994). A number of other papers followed. You can search arxiv.org for the phrase <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/gr-qc/1/ti:+AND+warp+drive/0/1/0/all/0/1">warp drive</a> to see a list. I especially like the title "Warp Drive: A New Approach"!

When science meets fiction

Gordon, Charleston, S.C. — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:47:48 GMT

Alan, great column. Per this article, remember Dick Tracey? It's a little bigger, but the cell phone sure has a remarkable look of the wrist phone. Inventativeness and imagination are the two greatest abilities we have. When we put our minds to work, nothing is impossible.

When science meets fiction

cws — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:15:34 GMT

You did an entire ariticle on wormholes in Science Fiction and didn't mention 'Stargate'?

When science meets fiction

toledo, ohio — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:37:30 GMT

Sounds to me a repetition of the novel by Alfred Bester, "The Stars My Destination" What happened to original ideas, not just changes to existing ideas. "AI" was original, in thought and in presentation. So was "Blade Runner".

When science meets fiction

Jayme Lynn Blaschke — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:14:34 GMT

Steven Gould's original novel, JUMPER, along with its sequel, REFLEX, are well worth checking out if you (like Linman) have an interest in the real-world implications and consequences of teleportation. Like the movie, Gould doesn't go into technobabble to explain why Davy can teleport. He just can. The (great) story comes from that starting point. Nobody complained about Bester's teleportation in THE STARS MY DESTINATION, did they?

When science meets fiction

Henry A. Eckstein, Vancouver, Canada — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:48:00 GMT

Just to raise a few hackles with the naysayers who
say there are defined limits to the current laws of
physics, I wish to raise the subject of the recently
MSNBC noted "UFO" articles from Texas featuring
footage of absolutely silent, highly manuveurable
aircraft that are PROBABLY the end result of some
serious physics by the engineers at Lockheed Martin
Skunkworks or Northrup who are now chuckling at this
article because they have already "Solved" these
outlined issues with "Dark or Negative Energy"
systems when creating black-budget secret air and
spacecraft that we Joe & Jane Q. Public won't see
for another 50 years. As a computer science
research & development professional, I can tell
you that militaries CAN succesfully keep highly
advanced technologies secret for a very long time!

When science meets fiction

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:05:09 GMT

There really is a better possibilty for going back in time! We need to make a ship that can travel millions or maybe billions of times faster than the speed of light. At the same time, we need to make a telescope powerful enough to see a one-celled organism from billions of light years away. Then, you send the ship out as fast as it will go and have it send images back to earth that travel on some energy beam that moves considerably faster than the ship. Of course timing would be crucial, but we would be able to see the formation of earth and the dinosaurs.

This ship is essentually racing the light generated from earth millions or billions of years ago...kind of like passing a car on the highway. Of course, the farther the ship goes, the earlier in time we can see.

Other than this scenario, forget about traveling back in time. The past has come and gone and no one will ever get to travel back. If you need your share of worm holes, than I'm sure you can find one on SciFi.

Let's put it this way. If you leave earth at 1 million times the speed of light and travel back at twice that speed, you will still arrive later than when you left...no matter how fast you travel away and back. Your only hope is the high speed and incredibly powerful telescope or HSIPT.

When science meets fiction

J.C.,SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:39:02 GMT

Remember! "Time Doesn't Take Up Space,Only Memory's".

When science meets fiction

Painful Solution, L.A. — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:00:12 GMT

Love the science aspect of this movie, I am "very into" techno-babble. But, I'm afriad the resulting entertainment product, and its star, are already turning into energy. Ergo, this movie is going to BOMB!

When science meets fiction

Henry, Philly — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:22:59 GMT

Just tell 'em to play portal.

When science meets fiction

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:06:31 GMT

I liked the series about the time machine where the character would look like he was nailed spreadeagle to a hynotizing disk that someone would want to throw knives at in a circus. I think the series was called "Time Machine" but am not absolutely sure. We use to live for these type shows. We would go to school the next day and say, "What if..."
Another one was "Star Trek", which I am sure everyone knows about. We would see the small 4.5" floppys before they were really invented or how about the communicators that finally became real, or lasers. How about the voice translators? I truely believe that we have all been here before and there is nothing that humans can't think of or do. Oh no, does that mean we are all living in the "Matrix"?

When science meets fiction

Michael Clifford, Goose Creek, SC — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:28:55 GMT

I know some of the readers are young, but if you think back to the original Star Trek they had talking computers and optical disk readers. This fiction lead to figuring out how to actually build these.

When science meets fiction

Bill Hensley, Houston, TX — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:44:16 GMT

Sorry for the bad links to the warp drive papers. To see the original Alcubierre paper on warp drive go to:
http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0009013

And to look at some other papers on warp drive go to:
http://arxiv.org/find/gr-qc/1/ti:+AND+warp+drive/0/1/0/all/0/1

When science meets fiction

lee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:49:20 GMT

It seems somewhat simple to me: e=mc2. there is proof that "dark matter" has mass..yes? what if dark matter is "the fabric of time"..? Hasn't anyone checked how very strong magnets affect time..

When science meets fiction

Terry Finley, Jasper, Alabama — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 04:17:57 GMT

Aw, the imagination is a wonderful thing.

When science meets fiction

emjy emajiz — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:20:05 GMT

time is real. for instance you don't have to count seconds, minutes, etc... count footsteps. say you walk to to the bathroom from your office. hmmm. say it take 40 steps as you zig-zag out the door and into the hall to the restroom. length x footsteps = space/time. worship me now!!!

When science meets fiction

Ric betterly,St.Pete,Fl — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:37:41 GMT

For Delmmar;
Star Trek was behind on the translators. IBM and the Watchtower Society were already working out the bugs on one so the Society could print their magazine in various languages at the same time.
A friend of mine was working at the Brooklyn factory at the time..

When science meets fiction

Mike, somewhere in MS — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:45:25 GMT

This movie looks flat out awesome! Oh crud....gotta go my teacher wants me to get back to work -_-

When science meets fiction

Cail Cyndar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:48:03 GMT

This movie is pretty cool :D keep up the good work...also me and my friend are trying to think of ways to start up the teleport thing...its annoying, all the theories we got sounded good but wound up useless except to other theories once we put 'em together

When science meets fiction

Julian, South Carolina — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:21:22 GMT

It's funny people bring up "The Stars My Destination" Steven Gould actually mentions that story in the original Jumper book. The character actually makes reference when he is thinking of his fears of capture. There may be some loose ends with the science of Jumper (or the lack there of) that people may find issue with, but it's fiction. Like the referece to Dick Tracey above; the science fiction writers may not always use fact to base their outlandish stories, but it is those stories that inspire us to not just imagine what it would be like to have those things that are written about, but to make us try to find out how we can make those things.

When science meets fiction

R.W. Edmonds, Picayune, MS — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:22:37 GMT

I just read a really cool sci-fi book called the Guardian Projects, very realistic and very funny.
Written by James Herbert Edwards, you need to read it!!!

When science meets fiction

Define e=mc2 — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:34:49 GMT

Albert Einstein is perhaps the most famous scientist of this century. One of his most well-known accomplishments is the formula
Despite its familiarity, many people don't really understand what it means. We hope this explanation will help!

One of Einstein's great insights was to realize that matter and energy are really different forms of the same thing. Matter can be turned into energy, and energy into matter.
For example, consider a simple hydrogen atom, basically composed of a single proton. This subatomic particle has a mass of

0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 672 kg
This is a tiny mass indeed. But in everyday quantities of matter there are a lot of atoms! For instance, in one kilogram of pure water, the mass of hydrogen atoms amounts to just slightly more than 111 grams, or 0.111 kg.
Einstein's formula tells us the amount of energy this mass would be equivalent to, if it were all suddenly turned into energy. It says that to find the energy, you multiply the mass by the square of the speed of light, this number being 300,000,000 meters per second (a very large number):

= 0.111 x 300,000,000 x 300,000,000
= 10,000,000,000,000,000 Joules

This is an incredible amount of energy! A Joule is not a large unit of energy ... one Joule is about the energy released when you drop a textbook to the floor. But the amount of energy in 30 grams of hydrogen atoms is equivalent to burning hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline!

If you consider all the energy in the full kilogram of water, which also contains oxygen atoms, the total energy equivalent is close to 10 million gallons of gasoline!
Can all this energy really be released? Has it ever been?

The only way for ALL this energy to be released is for the kilogram of water to be totally annhilated. This process involves the complete destruction of matter, and occurs only when that matter meets an equal amount of antimatter ... a substance composed of mass with a negative charge. Antimatter does exist; it is observable as single subatomic particles in radioactive decay, and has been created in the laboratory. But it is rather short-lived (!), since it annihilates itself and an equal quantity of ordinary matter as soon as it encounters anything. For this reason, it has not yet been made in measurable quantities, so our kilogram of water can't be turned into energy by mixing it with 'antiwater'. At least, not yet.

Another phenomenon peculiar to small elementary particles like protons is that they combine. A single proton forms the nucleus of a hydrogen atom. Two protons are found in the nucleus of a helium atom. This is how the elements are formed ... all the way up to the heaviest naturally occuring substance, uranium, which has 92 protons in its nucleus.
It is possible to make two free protons (Hydrogen nuclei) come together to make the beginnings of a helium nucleus. This requires that the protons be hurled at each other at a very high speed. This process occurs in the sun, but can also be replicated on earth with lasers, magnets, or in the center of an atomic bomb. The process is called nuclear fusion.
What makes it interesting is that when the two protons are forced to combine, they don't need as much of their energy (or mass). Two protons stuck together have less mass than two single separate protons!
When the protons are forced together, this extra mass is released ... as energy! Typically this amounts to about 7% of the total mass, converted to an amount of energy predictable using the formula .

Elements heavier than iron are unstable. Some of them are very unstable! This means that their nuclei, composed of many positively charged protons, which want to repel from each other, are liable to fall apart at any moment! We call atoms like this radioactive.
Uranium, for example, is radioactive. Every second, many of the atoms in a chunk of uranium are falling apart. When this happens, the pieces, which are now new elements (with fewer protons) are LESS massive in total than the original uranium atoms. The extra mass disappears as energy ... again according to the formula ! This process is called nuclear fission.

Both these nuclear reactions release a small portion of the mass involved as energy. Large amounts of energy! You are probably more familiar with their uses. Nuclear fusion is what powers a modern nuclear warhead. Nuclear fission (less powerful) is what happens in an atomic bomb (like the ones used against Japan in WWII), or in a nuclear power plant.

Albert Einstein was able to see where an understanding of this formula would lead. Although peaceful by nature and politics, he helped write a letter to the President of the United States, urging him to fund research into the development of an atomic bomb ... before the Nazis or Japan developed their own first. The result was the Manhatten Project, which did in fact produce the first tangible evidence of ... the atomic bomb!

When science meets fiction

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:24:17 GMT

Time, time time...so many are fascinated with it. As stated above, this is really just an instrument that we use to keep track of our daily routines and to solve some math problems...for instance, sending an orbiter to Mars. Other than this, the universe doesn't give a rat’s @55 about time.

When people stop wondering about how long the "Universe" has existed and realize that it has and always will "BE", than maybe we will collectively move up on the enlightenment totem pole. Oh, and how about the "dark matter" that holds the universe together? Maybe there is no "together" because there is no "NOTHING". Basically, nothing has to hold the universe together because there really is no reason for it. Every time I read an article stating that the universe is so many years old and we can almost see to the end of it, I get nuts. Do you really think we live in a bubble and outside that bubble, there is simply nothing...no matter, no laws of physics, no space?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most scientists are probably not very good problem solvers and they spend their lives basing their studies on theories from people like Einstein. You know, there is a reason scientists like Einstein stand out in history and that is because he came up with some new and ground breaking theories that could be proven and useful. There were millions of scientists, but only a handful are quoted and remembered...the rest were sort of like cattle. We need some real thinkers that deal with reality and please, quit quoting the cattle.

Have you ever heard someone say "They can't see the forest through the trees"? This is basically what I am saying.

The universe doesn't need to stick together because it is everywhere...never ending. The "together (Dark Matter)" part only happens within the clumps of matter that are located infinitely through out the universe. And as far as dark matter goes, I'm sure as we create better mass and energy detection instruments, we will see less of a need for these outrageous theories. I mean, we can barely measure our own body weight accurately, never mind the mass of our own planet. GPS is accurate to within 1 meter (3 feet) and that means it may be that accurate, but not usually and the satellites are only a short distance from our planet. It is ridiculous to think that we can accurately measure mass and energy from great distances…ridiculous. Of course, if "dark matter" is proven to exist, then I will eat my words!

When science meets fiction

Rob Pannett — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:49:56 GMT

Yes, the Alfred Bester reference came to mind immediately. In "The Stars My Destination", it is referred to as "jaunting".

When science meets fiction

Bloggerrich, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:13:20 GMT

Just for the record...

Star Trek came out in 1966.

First laser - 1960. There was a Mazer that came out in 1955 and it was what led up to the lazer.

Floppy Disc - Magnetic tape was first used to record computer data in 1951. This technology was modified by making it a flat round disc which was first developed by IBM in the early 1970's and sold to consumers in 1973.

Communicators (Wireless) - The first wireless transmission was made in 1892.

As you can see, many of the things we think Star Trek "invented" were already invented or in the process. No doubt as in "Jumper", Gene Roddenberry and his team consulted with scientists and educators to develop some of the "future" technology used in the series and movies. According to Wikipedia, Star Trek was in the planning stages for at least six years prior the debut in 1966, so imagine the lengthy development processes of real technology.

When science meets fiction

Wayne, Alamogordo, NM — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:02:31 GMT

I disagree with Steve concerning his definition of time. Time is a measurement. It is a quantified measurement that we as humans have contrived to use as a tool. To say that time doesn't exist outside our realm of understanding doesn't take into account that our sun will eventually die out. It has a limited time of existence, with or without us giving it a measurement.

Time is important to us for a variety of reasons. The most important, for a majority of people, is their time here on this earth. Whether you measure it in years, months, seconds, or heartbeats, when you die, your time is up. Steve may be right that time is not important outside our human race, but for me its precious and I try to enjoy every minute of it. My hope is that there's something waiting on the other side of this life; but just in case, I'm not going to squander what little time I have to spend with my family and friends. Peace.

When science meets fiction

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:24:36 GMT

Ok guys! At least was the "Time machine" a hynotic disk with a guy spread eagle on it?? Man, you guys wreaked havoc on my whole childhood experience!

When science meets fiction

Penny — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:23:19 GMT

The computerised voice translator was already described in the story Ralph 124C41+ by Hugo Gernsback. It was published in .....1911.
You will find disc memory in Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton, which was published well before Star Trek.

Wormholes in Science Fiction go back WAY earlier than Star Trek because they were described by Einstein and Rosen--look up Einstein-Rosen Bridge.

We now know that the Einstein-Rosen bridge isn't really a wormhole--but the science fiction writers grabbed the ide

Similarly for hyperdrive. Anybody here read " The Cosmic Engineers"? The idea was old then.

Satellite relay communication using...heliostats, was already described in the first space station story
...." The Brick Moon", by E.E. Hale, in the 19th
century!!

When science meets fiction

Wade — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:54:35 GMT

It is true that most of us don't even know what technology is right around the corner. I will give the "layman" a little clue as to what I am talking about - can you, in a lifetime, hope to build a working computer processor from simple diagrams? What about quantum formulas or even algebraic that require some sort of interaction with a calculator or computer for "double-checking"? Let me get simpler - a cell phone, a gasoline vehicle, an aluminum can? How many people on this blog can even hope to accomplish such tasks completely on their own.
My point is, some knowledge is derived from others, just as DNA derives it's means of evolution - it is never stagnant; maybe someday it will be our future offspring to be enlightened to what makes it all work; and with all good common sense, won't try to warp us into the future.

When science meets fiction

Frank, Dallas, TX — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:34:32 GMT

"Another rule of the movie is that Jumpers have to enter a new reference frame with the same momentum they had when the left the previous reference frame. For example, let's say Christensen is in the middle of a fall from the top of the Empire State Building. "Yes, you can teleport away from that spot, but wherever you arrive, you will be traveling with that velocity," Liman said."

While that might make good entertainment, its lousy physics. It might be better if they put a little bit of the Heisenberg Uncertainity Principle into hit - he can control his location or his velocity, but not both at the same time. So if he falls off a tall building and teleports, he can control his velocity to a standstill, but can't control where he will reappear. On the other hand, if he is stationary he can control where he teleports to, but he can't teleport into or onto a moving object.

Just something to ponder...

When science meets fiction

Jennifer, Puyallup, WA — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:40:58 GMT

I liked this movie. I think the ending could have been better and there could have been some more action between Sam and Hayden but over all I did like this movie. I am not sure that I would buy it when if comes out but I would recommend people going and watching it.

When science meets fiction

steve smyth — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:35:57 GMT

Wayne...I agree with your disagreement...just checking to see if anyone is paying attention...of course it's real...we made it up...what we make up is real...to us...
That's why expanding our vision beyond today's entropic parameters is so vital...if we can achieve 'made up', or manmade status for a brighter outlook...it will be real...
Anthropogenic Brightness...what a concept, eh?
Gotta love it!

When science meets fiction

Rick McBain — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:26:08 GMT

Cool stuff to play with in your head. Opens your mind to the real possibilities. Lord Kelvin said in 1900 that we'd basically had everything figured out. And then there was an "ultraviolet catastrophe" that blew everything out of the water. I love seeing the naysayers eat there words :)

When science meets fiction

Andros Sturgeon, Portland, OR — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:22:14 GMT

Paranoid Conspiracy Science Fiction site Project912.com is forced to launch early in the wake of Glenn Beck's paranoid conspiracy site 912Project.com .
Project 912 vs. The 912 Project...enter Glenn Beck
The Project 912 team had the intention of launching the entire endeavor in early May of 2009, when on Friday March 13th, the Project 912 email box was suddenly filled with people wanting to join The Human Resistance.

"I hadn't launched yet, but all of a sudden, we had 60,000 visitors in the course of a few hours. Project 912 was the most Googled item according Google Trends," says Sturgeon. "I had no idea why, but it didn't take long to figure it out."

Beck’s launch of his “9 Principles and 12 Values” Project, which was initially showcased by a Prime Time Fox News Special, led to the unexpected mass exposure and subsequent early launch of Project 912.

"The hilarity of the whole thing is that Beck's site is all about a government conspiracy.” Sturgeon added, “You know, Obama and Pelosi are boogie-men, out to take away our guns and our freedoms and what not, while no one is paying attention. Our site is about multi-dimensional beings who control everything, having taken away our freedoms while no one was paying attention. We've been inundated with emails from Beck's followers who don't realize the difference between science fiction and what he says on his show."