Following on from my blog post the other day about the relationship between physics (science) and science fiction, I am now writing a post regarding the different types of Faster Than Light plot devices used in Sci-Fi. This won’t be so much about the actual science of FTL starship drives, I touched on that in my previous post, but rather to give my opinion on the various imaginary technology and perhaps how it relates to plot. In order to do this I will make reference to various books, TV shows, films and computer games from my life as a sci-fi fan (geek / nerd etc etc).
Tag Archives: FTL
Travelling Faster-Than-Light
Faster Than Light (FTL) travel is thought to be impossible yet it is a staple of any space-faring sci-fi story. It is a necessity given the vastness of space yet this begs the question: is there any scientific basis for FTL? Yes as there is one important difference between most of what we see in sci-fi (apparent FTL) and actual FTL. Whether it is used as a plot device or as decoration, most of the FTL concepts in science fiction could actually be possible, we just don’t know yet. So these fantastical stories may not necessarily break physics but rather they are exploring the untested and unknown areas of what is possible. This is exactly what sci-fi is designed to do: to ignite our imagination and provoke our minds to consider “what if”. What makes FTL possible in either our real universe or a sci-fi universe is that General Relativity doesn’t rule out the possibility of “folding space” in order to travel between two points at a speed which is apparently faster than the speed of light.