The Science of Time Travel
The Secrets Behind Time Machines, Time Loops, Alternate Realities, and More!
Published on 2. June 2020
224 pages
978-1-5107-4965-8 (ISBN)
Description
Travel back in time with Doctor Who, the Terminator, the X-Men, and all your favorite time travelers!
Science fiction is the perfect window into the possibilities and perils of time travel. What would happen if you went back in time and killed your own grandparent? If you knew how to stop a presidential assassination, would time travel allow you to make your wish come true? Can we use time travel as a tool to escape the destiny of our future or mistakes of the past?
The Science of Time Travel explores time travel through your favorite science-fiction franchises, from the classic time travel paradoxes of Star Trek to the universe-crossing shenanigans of Doctor Who. Discover the real science behind questions such as:
Science fiction is the perfect window into the possibilities and perils of time travel. What would happen if you went back in time and killed your own grandparent? If you knew how to stop a presidential assassination, would time travel allow you to make your wish come true? Can we use time travel as a tool to escape the destiny of our future or mistakes of the past?
The Science of Time Travel explores time travel through your favorite science-fiction franchises, from the classic time travel paradoxes of Star Trek to the universe-crossing shenanigans of Doctor Who. Discover the real science behind questions such as:
- Can time travel really erase our past regrets like in A Christmas Carol?
- Is it worth killing people in the past to prevent a horrible future like in Terminator?
- What can we learn from living the same day over and over again like in Groundhog Day?
- Could time travel destroy our right to privacy like in Deja Vu?
- And so much more!
More details
Person
Elizabeth Howell, PhD, is one of the few people who has lived on a simulated Mars base. An award-winning journalist, she regularly contributes to Space.com, Forbes, and SkyNews. She witnessed five human space launches-three from Florida and two from Kazakhstan. She also pretended to be a Red Planet astronaut in 2014, on Crew 133 of the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Elizabeth holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Carleton University and two postgraduate degrees in space studies from the University of North Dakota. She lives with her husband in Ottawa, Canada.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: Old-School Time Travel
- Anno 7603 (1781)
- Rip Van Winkle (1819)
- The Clock That Went Backward (1881)
- The Time Machine (1895)
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889)
- Armageddon 2419 A.D. (1928)
- Lest Darkness Fall (1939)
- Part II: The Golden Age
- Pebble in the Sky (1950) & The End of Eternity (1955)
- A Sound of Thunder (1952)
- Tom's Midnight Garden (1958)
- Doctor Who (1963-Present)
- Jessamy (1967) & Charlotte Sometimes (1969)
- Star Trek (1967-Present)
- Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)
- Part III: The Blockbuster Era
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979-Present)
- Terminator (1984-Present)
- Back to the Future (1985-1990)
- Timeline (1999)
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
- Outlander (1991-Present)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Part IV: Into the Modern Era
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
- Futurama (1999-2013)
- Deja Vu (2006)
- Meet the Robinsons (2007)
- 11/22/63 (2011)
- Looper (2012)
- Predestination (2014)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
- Acknowledgments
- Index
