Fantastic Voyages

From the reviews: "If you find science fiction films thought-provoking, this could be the book for you....The scope of the book is wide, with a good grounding in basic physics and biology, and a lot of other information besides." New Scientist

"The idea of using science fiction films to convey science in an interesting way is sound, and anyone preparing a course using the genre should at least consult this book." Nature

By revealing the facts behind the fiction of some of the finest films in the sci-fi genre, Fantastic Voyages offers a novel approach to teaching science -- namely, it uses scenes from science fiction films to illustrate fundamental concepts of physics, astronomy, and biology. Each film scene depicts a scientific principle -- or its violation-reinforcing concepts that are taught in more traditional ways. The chapter Electricity and Magnetism discusses the use of computers in Blade Runner. Within Astronomy, 2001 is examined as it relates to ancient astronauts. And what could be a better choice for the chapter on evolution than Planet of the Apes. Helpful end-of-chapter exercises are included, together with more than 20 movie stills. The new edition will have add material on astronomy and astrophysics as well as discussing several movies that have come out since the publication of the first edition.

• Popular Science
• astronomy
• electricity
• magnetism
• mechanics
• thermodynamics

From the reviews:

"If you find science fiction films thought-provoking, this could be the book for you ... The scope of the book is wide, with a good grounding in basic physics and biology, and a lot of other information besides." New Scientist

"The idea of using science fiction films to convey science in an interesting way is sound, and anyone preparing a course using the genre should at least consult this book." Nature

From the reviews of the second edition:

"Dubeck (Temple Univ.) and Moshier and Boss (both, Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha) in their new edition … try to provide basic physics and biology instruction using numerous science fiction films as examples. … With 116 pages treating films and literary commentary, excellent diagrams and pictures, and very good writing, this work accomplishes what it sets out to do as well as any small book can. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-and upper-division undergraduates." (P. R. Douville, CHOICE, June, 2004)

• Temple University, Philadelphia, USA

  Leroy W. Dubeck

• University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, USA

  Judith E. Boss, Suzanne E. Moshier

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