Cosmic Stories Blog
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, mastodon, bluesky or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
There for the taking
Looking at resource mining beyond the constraints of the familiar earth.
Gyroscopes
Looking at the where the facinating physics of gyroscopes have appeared in science and science fiction.
Submariner Spacemen
Looking at the way science fiction has used the parallels between the skills of submariners and those needed in the exploration of space.
Lunar Excursions
Looking at getting around on the Moon - the weird and wonderful vehicles which have been imagined as driving lunar excursions.
Time-Travelling Historians
Looking at narratives in which historians get a little closer to their subject than might be desirable.
Place of the Throwing Stick
Looking at the Woomera rocket testing range in Australia, and how it's been represented in science fiction.
Fabrics of the Future
Looking at cloth and clothing in science fictional textiles.
Swords of Damocles
The fiction and threat of swords of Damocles hanging over all our heads - orbital weapons platforms.
Moholes
Exploring Moholes - high profile projects to drill through the Earth's crust.
Scottish Space
Looking at Scotland's role in space, both in the fiction of the past and in the present.
Super Submarines
Looking at the futuristic underwater craft that appear in fiction - and were particularly popular in the 1960s!
Space Elevators
Ever since Jack climbed the beanstock in search of treasures, and likely long before, humanity has dreamed of building an elevator to the stars.
Artificial Gravity
Human beings have evolved in an environment of constant gravity. Here we explore the challenge of artificial gravity in SF
Our Ears on the Sky
Looking at our ears on the sky - the giant radio telescopes that extend our studies of the Universe beyond the range of optical light.
Monsters in the Dark
Space Nazis... enough said
Megastructures
Exploring megastructures - artificial structures on enormous scales - in SF.
I am Become Death
The Manhattan Project developed the first atomic bombs, and in doing so changed the world. Here we look at representations of the Project in SF.
Robot Dominated Societies
A recurring aspiration in visions of the future is the idea that machines, and particularly robots, will come to dominate key aspects of our lives and societies.
The Weather from the Sun
Exploring space weather - an important problem both in science fiction and in our contemporary world.
World Ships
World ships - planets which move under the deliberate control of their inhabitants or others - are a staple of science fiction. But how plausible are representations of world ships in SF, and why are they so popular?
Weather Control
The ability to control the weather has been one of the goals of science for decades - with limited success - and, inevitably, science fiction has explored its possibilities and possible consequences.
Atomic Futures
In the science fiction of the 1940s, 50s and 60s atomic power is ubiquitous, to the extent that it permeates domestic as well as industrial and military settings. But just how common is this atomic future in science fiction, and what can we learn from its rise and fall?
Unobtanium, Neutronium and Metallic Hydrogen
One of the key limitations in converting physics theories into practical technology is finding a material capable of taking the forces, temperatures or other physical requirements. Science fiction has, unsurprisingly, hypothesised a variety of such materials - with varying degrees of plausibility.
Space Sweepers
The threat to space travel presented by space junk - the debris left behind by earlier human activity - has long been recognised. Naturally, science fiction has not failed to explore both the threat and the potential dangers of ignoring it.
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction in literature, film and television, as well as other adventure fiction and their various paratexts. I decided to create this space as a forum in which to present my own views and activities in this area, which are - inevitably - presented from the point of view of an active research astrophysicist, rather than a literary theorist or specialist in communications or media. Nonetheless, I choose to make these thoughts public in case they provide entertainment or interest to others, and in the hope of stimulating conversations in the interface between the realities of our Universe and the ways in which we choose to represent and explore it in fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
Comments are very welcome, including those disagreeing with my views or conclusions, but should be phrased respectfully and will be moderated before posting.
The views and ideas expressed in this blog are my own and do not in any way represent the views of the University of Warwick.