Treknology, by Ethan Siegel

The classic TV and movie series Star Trek, in its many manifestations, is very entertaining on the story-telling merits alone.  But the minds behind the stories weren't just weaving fantasies.  The technology in Star Trek, even the most fanciful, anticipated and inspired technology that is in our grasp.  In Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive, astrophysicist Ethan Siegel demonstrates how dozens of Star Trek technologies have either come into common use, or are being developed.

One of the most ubiquitous is, of course, the cell phone.  The original flip phones were modeled after the communicators first used in the original Star Trek series.  At the time the series aired, the concept of using a hand-held device for two-way communication over great distances was fantasy.  Today we take it for granted.  Another iconic show element is the automatic sliding doors.  When they appeared on the show, they were amazing.  Today we walk through so many of them we rarely notice.  We regularly use computers that far surpass anything the show's creators imagined.  We use tablet computers that exceed the PADDs on the show, and our devices have so much memory and computing power we don't know what to do with it all.

Some of the other technologies in the show are quite a bit further from everyday usage.  The transporter beam, another iconic Star Trek staple, is still almost in the realm of fantasy, but scientists have been developing the ability to transport matter.  The warp drive and impulse engines are well out the reach of current application, but are imaginable based on current usage.  Other Star Trek technologies, like artificial gravity, antimatter containment, and the Holodeck still seem way out of reach, but Siegel writes that even these fantastic-sounding technologies are in the infancy of actual development.  He writes, "We might not have achieved the dream of Star Trek just yet in every regard, but given that it's been just more than a half century since it first envisioned our world three hundred years into the future, our progress isn't too shabby."

Treknology is a fun book, chock full of references to various episodes and movies, with screen shots and scientific illustrations.  It's a reminder that phrases and scenes fans know and love, like "What is the nature of your medical emergency?," "Set phasers for stun," and the introduction of transparent aluminum are more than just throwaway plot points, but, like much of the series, are harbingers of things to come.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!