March 22, 2000

Physics of Star Trek explores final frontier

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       In many episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, the USS Enterprise uses phasers or photon torpedoes to demolish a Klingon enemy ship, blasting it to smithereens. Immediately after detonation, the Enterprise is buffeted by shock waves as booming noises reverberate around the bridge.
      Science or science fiction?
      According to Dr. Lawrence Krauss, a physicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, this is the stuff of the scriptwriters' imagination - and a conscious decision they made to sacrifice scientific principles for on-screen sizzle.
      Space, you see, is a vacuum so sound and shock waves do not carry because there is nothing to carry them. So the dramatic special effects are pure science fiction.
      Using clips from the original "Star Trek" series and the sequels it spawned, Krauss came to Northwestern Michigan College's Milliken Auditorium to discuss 'The Physics of Star Trek,' a lecture based on his book of the same name. The Northwestern Michigan College Student Government Association sponsored the talk, one of the monthly programs they offer during the school year.
      Krauss made clear that he is a dedicated Trekkie who gives the "Star Trek" writers a B+ overall. But he has had fun over the years gathering and cataloging scientific inconsistencies in the program and putting together the video clips from the shows to point them out.
      For example, why when characters can walk through walls and doors don't they sink through the floor? Or on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," why do objects and food on the Holodeck act so real, when they are just three-dimensional projections not solid? (Krauss does believe that the Holodeck is one of the most probable ideas in the shows, with the technology already available today.)
      Krauss led attendees through Newton's laws, Einstein's theory of relativity and the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle. He also gave a nod to the "Star Trek" scriptwriters' Heisenberg Compensators, which they created to explain how the transporter could work.
      "The transporter really seduced me into writing a book," he recalled for the audience of about 200 people. "If you read the "Star Trek" technical manual they vaporize the person, send the atoms somewhere and reassemble them. I don't think that is possible.
      "And in the episode "The Enemy Within," when Captain Kirk is beamed up as two people, one good and one bad; you can't just send the good atoms and not the bad atoms."
      Krauss also explained the science behind the science fiction, or the lack thereof, in the shows' treatment of aliens, space travel, wormholes and time travel. All these ideas make for great stories and fast-paced action (after all, who would want to watch real time space travel where getting to the nearest star would take thousands of years), but they are not based in science.
      "If negative energy exists, then all the things on "Star Trek" would be possible," Krauss said. "But so far they are possible in principle, not reality."
      Since the original series debuted in the mid-1960s, "Star Trek" has spawned legions of Trekkies. That series, plus its numerous movies and spin-off series, keep the dream of space travel alive in people's imaginations. The whole genre of science fiction has demonstrated the enduring power of science fiction to enchant and inspire.
      "I am still a Trekkie, it's fascinating to think about what's possible," said Jerry Dobek, an astronomer at Northwestern Michigan College. "I grew up in the early realms of the space age and it influenced me greatly. Maybe the science fiction will inspire the youngsters here to take some of the discoveries that are unexplained and explain them."
      After his lecture, Krauss was besieged by questions as more than 25 people lingered to ask about science in general or observations about different episodes of "Star Trek." They wanted to know, among other things: "Will there be terraforming on Mars?" "How did the Big Bang happen?" "Is the Earth's magnetic field shifting?" Others vied for an autograph or listened raptly to the informal science seminar.
      While "Star Trek" or its spin-offs have inspired two generations of viewers, Krauss did note in his lecture that truth is still stranger than fiction:
      "Science comes up with possibilities that no one can anticipate, yet science fiction is based on science. Because of that, science is far more grand."