I think if I were rating this when it was published (the science is definitely out-of-date) and if I were as passionate about the series that followed the OGs (can’t really beat Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones...), then this would’ve been five stars. I love a good dive into the mysteries of the universe.

A serious romp through the cosmology of Star Trek?

THE PHYSICS OF STAR TREK is a light-hearted, informative, thoroughly entertaining and yet, paradoxically, entirely serious overview of the physics of Star Trek - arguably the longest-running, most popular, and most famous franchise in the history of television and movies. Dr Krauss regales us with essay after essay on what the writers got right, what they got wrong and how their imaginative brilliance sometimes made them look like prescient scientists instead of script writers - black holes, parallel universes, time travel, quantum gravity, phasers, holographic virtual reality, warp drives, teleportation, replication, alien life forms, scanners, tractor beams, antimatter fuel and much, much more.

Similar in content and style to Michio Kaku's popular PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, Krauss' approach to the academic side of the physics involved is just a little more light-hearted and easy going which, of course, will appeal to the less-informed readers of popular science. If you feel up to the challenge, this makes a great prequel and companion read to Michio Kaku's excellent book.

For diehard Star Trek fans, Krauss also regales us with a set of laughable physics bloopers and ends with the hint of a sequel to come that he will entitle PHYSICS OF STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KRAUSS! Now that's hilarious.

Well done, Mr Krauss. Highly recommended. On a side note, I recently had the privilege of hearing Mr Krauss speak live in a physics "debate" at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. If you ever get the chance to hear, be sure to take the opportunity. His speaking is every bit as entertaining as his writing. (Or is it the other way around?)

Paul Weiss

I read it about ten years ago, but I'm still thinking about it. Especially the philosophical conundrums of the transporter.

This is a fun book about physics and Star Trek and the interrelation, even if even my only mildly physics-saavy self can recognize that it's a bit dated, being from the mid-90s.

This book gives a good overview look at each of the major physics-oriented aspects of the Star Trek universe. Just how likely is it that we will develop transporters, food replicators, or (probably of greatest interest to most of us) holo suites? The answers are here in this well written layman's guide. This book is best suited for the curious, for those who wonder if these things will one day be possible. The authors take us down each path, sometimes determining that it will be possible, someday, and at other times, letting us down easy. I thank the authors for satisfying my curiosity as well as teaching me some theoretical aspects of physics at the same time.

As a physicist and a Star Trek fan I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I never took the fantasy parts of the television show so seriously so I never dwelt on the inconsistencies and glairing errors. The TV shows are a good get away when you want them. That said it doesn’t surprise me in the least that others have taken the series with a bit less forgiveness. Beyond being a Star Trek critic I think this book is an excellent educational resource for the layman about the basic physics involved about the requirements and constraints for real interstellar travel. And, incidentally, a little about the basics of the Stargate series too. It is too bad the author hasn’t updated his book (written in 1995). I found it particularly amusing when he was talking about the CERN particle accelerators, and mentions the new one to be built in Europe (Large Hadron Collider). It is too bad the new particle accelerator has been delayed, but in a weird way, has made for an eerie coincidence in its being ramped up now and my reading this book.

This was an absolutely fascinating read. I'm not normally into non-fiction, or even physics, but I'm glad I picked this up. Krauss explains the physics of Star Trek in a way that people with little familiarity with physics can easily understand.

He also incorporates that classic Star Trek spirit of wonder as he explains and speculates. The Physics of Star Trek was an engaging read and I highly suggest it if you have the slightest interest in physics or Star Trek :)

Dit boek staat al meer dan 20 jaar op mijn mentale leeslijstje. Wat mij betreft is dit het ultieme boek voor Trekkies, want het onderzoekt minutieus de achtergronden van films en aflevering van Star Trek. En dat met een natuurkundige bril op.

In bijna 3 uur krijg je een flitscursus natuurkunde in relatie tot Star Trek. En dat is best veel voor iemand die 25 jaar geleden voor het laatst natuurkunde heeft gehad op de havo. Natuurkundige concepten over bijvoorbeeld de kromming van ruimte-tijd gingen met vaak boven de pet. Terwijl ik bij het kijken van Star Trek vaak het idee heb alles te snappen.

Maar ja, dat is ook logisch. Dan worden deze concepten niet tot in detail uitgelegd, maar zijn ze onderdeel van een verhaallijn. Dus waarschijnlijk is het de verhaallijn die ik snap, in plaats van de natuurkunde.

Sciency Fiction
Retracing the hundreds of episodes of the TV series, the authors explain the science behind the big and small gizmos (from the warp engine to the tricoder) known to any Star Trek fan. More than a scientific legitimation of the show, this book finds the good excuse to talk and vulgarize hard science in a very accessible and enjoyable way. “Trekker” (or “Trekkie”) knowledge may be useful to get the hidden episode reference, but it is not a strict requirement: any Science enthusiast may find his happiness in reading how fiction may be built on solid scientific basis.

A bit dated, just because technology moves so fast these days. Although it is kind of fun to try to spot the areas where it is out of date and try to bring it forward to today yourself. Still an interesting book.

Rivisitare la fisica di Star Trek. È affascinante, anche se, ovviamente, molte cose non seguono le leggi fisiche, ma quelle fantascientifiche. Eppure, si avvicinano di molto alla realtà...

I had previously read Krauss's sequel to this book and truly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the original is not as good. While the early part of the book--where the author discussed warp drive and transporters--is very engaging, the second half or so is markedly worse. The back-end of the book treats a variety of different issues in summary fashion and this is just not as interesting--as soon as you get into a topic, the discussion moves on to something else.