The Science of Time Travel: The Secrets Behind Time Machines, Time Loops, Alternate Realities, and More!

by Elizabeth Howell

Overview

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:

• 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!

It's time to fire up the DeLorean to 88 mph, jump into the TARDIS hiding in plain sight, or warp space with the USS Enterprise to explore what time travel means for us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510749641
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Series:	The Science of
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,068,505
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part I Old-School Time Travel 1

Anno 7603 (1781) 3

Rip Van Winkle (1819) 9

The Clock That Went Backward (1881) 15

The Time Machine (1895) 20

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) 26

Armageddon 2419 A.D. (1928) 31

Lest Darkness Fall (1939) 38

Part II The Golden Age 43

Pebble in the Sky (1950) & The End of Eternity (1955) 45

A Sound of Thunder (1952) 52

Toms Midnight Garden (1958) 59

Doctor Who (1963-Present) 65

Jessamy (1967) & Charlotte Sometimes (1969) 72

Star Trek (1967-Present) 76

Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) 83

Part III The Blockbuster Era 91

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979-Present) 93

Terminator (1984-Present) 101

Back to the Future (1985-1990) 109

Timeline (1999) 115

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) 122

Outlander (1991-Present) 129

Groundhog Day (1993) 137

Part IV Into the Modern Era 145

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) 147

Futurama (1999-2013) 153

Deja Vu (2006) 159

Meet the Robinsons (2007) 167

11/22/63 (2011) 174

Looper (2012) 180

Predestination (2014) 188

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) 196

Acknowledgments 203

Index 204