Sci-Fi Science Glossary

Term	Meaning>

 

Science Fiction, such as time travel, journeying to new worlds in spaceships, and meeting alien life has fascinated people from the very first published books and silent films touched on the subject, but that is a misconception. Thinking about the unknown has fascinated people throughout our history! Think about it, we have constantly come up with every increasingly more complex ways to describe the world around us. The sun moving across the sky is a God driving a chariot. The change in the seasons explained by the goddess Persephone spending half the year with Hades. These ideas have created the groundwork to build the concepts of both Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Science, that's real science, has been my passion for as long as I can remember and now I am a professional scientist, a fellow of a learned body no less. My journey started with Doctor Who, but it wasn't the Doctor that caught my attention, it was the TARDIS. Just imagine, a machine that can travel anywhere in time and space, and was bigger on the inside! Isn't that just captivating?

I want to use my scientific skills to give back, to explore an eduring question, namely "What happens when imagination meets the laws of nature?"

Why am I doing this, several reasons:

1. It was science fiction that sparked my interest in science. It was science fiction that, as child, made me wonder if it really was possible to travel to other worlds in space ships like the USS Enterprise, to travel in time like the TARDIS, and to meet many different alien lifeforms. Mankind has made such impressive leaps in technology in the last 100 years, imagine what could happen in the next 100 years, or maybe the next 1,000 years, so just how feasible are some of the concepts seen in Sci-Fi?

2. The connection with fantasy, who does not enjoy a little swords and sorcery,but sadly it is unfortunate that there far too many people who do not understand the difference between fantasy (can never be true) and science fiction (potentially could one day be true, or is completely impossible). Sci-Fi Science explore the diffrence, particularly where fantasy borrows from science!

3. At its core, Sci-Fi Science is about curiosity:

• Curiosity about the universe

• Curiosity about our future

• Curiosity about the stories we tell to understand both

Sci-Fi Science is a long-form exploration of the ideas that shape science fiction and fantasy. Here you’ll find clear explanations of the real science behind familiar sci-fi concepts, thoughtful analysis of where fiction departs from reality, and reflections on why these stories continue to matter — even when the science doesn’t add up. For example:

• The real physics behind sci-fi technologies

• The limits imposed by energy, distance, and time

• Why advanced aliens are probably rare — and why they almost certainly haven’t visited Earth

• Where science fiction ends and fantasy begins (and why that boundary is fuzzy)

The menu pillars on the left cascade into a wide variety of sub-topics, whereas the pillar on the right hand side features my personal reviews of books and films, as well as a blog on my thoughts and concerns. Finally, the last topic is a fun section to add addirtional value.

Please feel free to get in contact with me and I will be delighted to add your thoughts to the FAQ sub-topic in My Fun topic.

Enjoy ...