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From teleportation and space elevators to alien contact and interstellar travel, science fiction and fantasy writers have come up with some brilliant and innovative ideas. Yet how plausible are these ideas--for instance, could Mr. Weasley's flying car in the Harry Potter books really exist? Which concepts might actually happen, and which ones wouldn't work at all?Wizards, Aliens, and Starshipsdelves into the most extraordinary details in science fiction and fantasy--such as time warps, shape changing, rocket launches, and illumination by floating candle--and shows readers the physics and math behind the phenomena. With simple mathematical models, and in most cases using no more than high school algebra, Charles Adler ranges across a plethora of remarkable imaginings, from the works of Ursula K. Le Guin toStar TrekandAvatar, to explore what might become reality. Adler explains why fantasy in the Harry Potter and Dresden Files novels cannot adhere strictly to scientific laws, and when magic might make scientific sense in the muggle world. He examines space travel and wonders why it isn't cheaper and more common today. Adler also discusses exoplanets and how the search for alien life has shifted from radio communications to space-based telescopes. He concludes by investigating the future survival of humanity and other intelligent races. Throughout, he cites an abundance of science fiction and fantasy authors, and includes concise descriptions of stories as well as a glossary of science terms. Wizards, Aliens, and Starshipswill speak to anyone wanting to know about the correct--and incorrect--science of science fiction and fantasy.

Astronomers estimate that about 20 billion planetary systems exist in the Milky Way. NASA hopes to discover a planet like Earth by 2020 using the planned Terrestrial Planet Finder, a space telescope that will measure characteristics of planets found in distant solar systems. The only problem? \"Their ringworld doesn't match my ringworld,\" [Larry Niven] says. His novel describes a visit to a vast ring orbiting a star -- not a planet at all. Still, Niven says, he's amazed at the discovery during the past decade of about 135 planets orbiting nearby stars. \"Writers of my generation thought we would have to travel to other stars to see if they had planets. It blows me away we are finding them from Earth.\"