# Sci-Fi Phenomenon That Would Be Impossible In Real Life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532 "2018-02-09T18:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/1 "2018-02-09T18:38:08Z")
I don’t necessarily like all science fiction. And I think I know the reason why. Some of it is so unlikely. Take the 60’s TV show _Lost in Space_. It was so utterly silly. Am I wrong? Anyway, there are two parts to science fiction. The science part. And the fiction part. And I think I am a pretty good judge of which is which. I know sometimes Sci-Fi makes highly speculative claims about the future. And we may never know if any of it is accurate (unless we live to the distant future). But some of it is just plainly false and impossible. Take shrinking people down. Back in the 1970’s there was a show on the Croft superstar hour called _Dr. Shrinker_. It was about this evil scientist who shrunk these young people down to about 6 inches. They always outsmarted him, yet never were able to get back to normal height. Anyway, as fascinating as the topic was, I later learned it was just impossible. The human body works down to the molecular level. You could never shrink a person down, and retain all his functions (including his mind). That’s one. Another one I have always wondered about is swapping psyches with someone else. It’s a common Sci-Fi plot, in many Sci-Fi shows (including Star Trek). But could you do it? Or perhaps I should ask, could you do it anyway short of transplanting brains? And backwards time travel? How viable is that? My high school physics teacher told us flatly it was impossible. But that was just a high school class. And I have posted other words of wisdom he gave us before, just to find out it was inaccurate, or at least too generalized. I trust you see what I am getting at. What Sci-Fi phenomenon would just be impossible in the real world? I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. And thank you in advance to all who reply:) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/2 "2018-02-09T18:47:23Z")
There are various loopholes in Relativity that make time travel possible, but not practicable. Actually, most science fiction involves elements that are scientifically impossible (or, at least, impracticable). Some hard SF books do manage it – _Rendezvous with Rama_ comes to mind (but it’s been awhile and someone might come along and point out something I’ve forgotten) – but even many of those feature FTL travel, which is similar to time travel (it can be done in theory, but not in any practical manner). But science fiction has nothing to do with scientific accuracy and never has. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/3 "2018-02-09T18:51:03Z")
Faster than light travel Pretty darn close to the speed of light travel Antigravity ESP Insanely high energy densities in power supplies Free-standing, clear-air holograms And yes, mind swaps. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/4 "2018-02-09T19:26:38Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > I don’t necessarily like all science fiction. And I think I know the reason why. Some of it is so unlikely. > > Take the 60’s TV show _Lost in Space_. It was so utterly silly. Am I wrong? > > Anyway, there are two parts to science fiction. The science part. And the fiction part. And I think I am a pretty good judge of which is which. > > I know sometimes Sci-Fi makes highly speculative claims about the future. And we may never know if any of it is accurate (unless we live to the distant future). > > But some of it is just plainly false and impossible. > > Take shrinking people down. Back in the 1970’s there was a show on the Croft superstar hour called _Dr. Shrinker_. It was about this evil scientist who shrunk these young people down to about 6 inches. They always outsmarted him, yet never were able to get back to normal height. > > Anyway, as fascinating as the topic was, I later learned it was just impossible. The human body works down to the molecular level. You could never shrink a person down, and retain all his functions (including his mind). > > That’s one. > > Another one I have always wondered about is swapping psyches with someone else. It’s a common Sci-Fi plot, in many Sci-Fi shows (including Star Trek). But could you do it? Or perhaps I should ask, could you do it anyway short of transplanting brains? > > And backwards time travel? How viable is that? My high school physics teacher told us flatly it was impossible. But that was just a high school class. And I have posted other words of wisdom he gave us before, just to find out it was inaccurate, or at least too generalized. > > I trust you see what I am getting at. What Sci-Fi phenomenon would just be impossible in the real world? I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. > > And thank you in advance to all who reply:) Much of what you see in regular fiction is wrong, silly or impossible as well, keep that in mind (CSI, for instance), it’s about telling a compelling story, not about teaching how the world works. But yeah, pretty much all your examples are parts of sci-fi that most of those in the sciences would agree are impossible. Shrinking is probably not practical, but there is nothing specific against it, as there are for some other sci-fi tropes. Just remember to bring your own oxygen to miniaturize, as oxygen molecules 12 times larger relative to your body probably aren’t going to work well in your metabolism. But, an Ant-Man suit, sure, why not? I don’t think anyone has any thoughts on how to make it possible, and I don’t think it is, but I am not aware that it has been ruled impossible, yet. (though it could be) Swapping psychs, memories all that stuff is not something that is going to be possible given our current brains. Now, in an advanced civilization where we are all digitized, maybe that sort of thing makes more sense. Short of actually transplanting at least significant parts of the brain (and if you are going to do part, might as well do all), there’s not much to be done there. Your high school teacher was right about time travel, unless most of what we know about physics is wrong. Add to that faster than light travel, which is in many ways the same thing, is also a no-no. Gravity by means other than big masses or centripetal force is a common staple of Sci-Fi that is more likely verboten. Every portrayal of psychics ever, but most especially when it is dressed up in science technobabble is not a realistic expectation. Maybe one day we will have some sort of mind to mind communication, but not in any way I’ve ever seen portrayed. I’ve never seen navigation in any sci-fi done well. The Expanse came a bit close, but blew it on the grand tour of jupiter’s moons. As far as cyborgs or other man/machine interfaces, that may be possible, even if we don’t know how to do it now, but nearly every portrayal I’ve seen was not realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/5 "2018-02-09T19:52:42Z")
In [Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Seventh_Planet), the astronauts really would have ended up in a tight spot considering the planet has no solid surface. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/6 "2018-02-09T20:00:29Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > In [Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Seventh_Planet), the astronauts really would have ended up in a tight spot considering the planet has no solid surface. Quite a bit of sci-fi from that era had quite a few issues with exo-geography. I’ve read quite a number of stories and novels written in the 50’s and 60’s that involved alien civilizations on mars, venus, even jupiter. These aren’t breaking the laws of physics as we know them, just breaking the knowledge of planets that we have now, and didn’t at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/7 "2018-02-09T20:04:49Z")
Lost In Space was a treatise authored by Einstein compared to Space: 1999. Moon blasts out of orbit and travels fast enough to visit a different inhabited planet every week, yet slow enough to _visit_ that planet for hours/days at a time. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/8 "2018-02-09T20:10:58Z")
Human alien hybrids. Many many planets that humans can comfortably walk around on without special equipment. Universal translators that work with new unknown languages. Star Trek type transporters. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/9 "2018-02-09T23:54:23Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Take shrinking people down. Back in the 1970’s there was a show on the Croft superstar hour called _Dr. Shrinker_. It was about this evil scientist who shrunk these young people down to about 6 inches. They always outsmarted him, yet never were able to get back to normal height. > > Anyway, as fascinating as the topic was, I later learned it was just impossible. The human body works down to the molecular level. You could never shrink a person down, and retain all his functions (including his mind). Some SF just tries a bit harder to work up a plausible scientific explanation for it’s departures from normal life. For the shrinking thing, read Isaac Asimov’s Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain. The author was never happy with the first book, because it was a movie novelization that left him with little plot flexibility. For this new version, he explained that the device worked by changing the fine-structure constant over a small volume, so that all the atoms within the field were simply smaller. He paid a lot of attention to the quantum problems this caused, as well. ---
**Author:** ![BuckChongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@BuckChongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckChongo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/10 "2018-02-10T02:08:55Z")
A nuclear weapon detonated in space has a visible flash lasting a fraction of a second, the rest of the energy is radiation beyond visual range. There are no shock waves in space. Maneuvering like a Sopwith Camel is not possible in space, not even for an X wing fighter. There is no atmosphere to diffuse light in space so really cool landscape lighting effects like the Tycho crater in 2001 are not possible. Any culture advanced enough to go beyond the most basic law of the Universe and develop faster than light travel is going to have better flashlights than the idiots on Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/11 "2018-02-10T02:41:14Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > MShrinking is probably not practical, but there is nothing specific against it, as there are for some other sci-fi tropes. [Au contraire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5YR6wpg7g), mon frere. Not singling you out. It’s just a chance to share one of my favorite YouTube blogs: It’s Okay to Be Smart. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/12 "2018-02-10T02:55:37Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > In [Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Seventh_Planet), the astronauts really would have ended up in a tight spot considering the planet has no solid surface. Yes, but it had some lovely Swedish boobies. :o ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/13 "2018-02-10T03:02:26Z")
> [@BuckChongo](#): > > Maneuvering like a Sopwith Camel is not possible in space, not even for an X wing fighter. Why not? Why can’t you apply thrusters to a three-axis control system? :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/14 "2018-02-10T07:41:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why not? Why can’t you apply thrusters to a three-axis control system? :dubious: 😕 Because unless you have basically infinite thrust, and artificial gravity to cancel out the effects of that thrust on the pilot, if you accelerate in one direction at full speed for 5 minutes you can’t instantly make a u-turn and move at the same speed in the opposite direction without five minutes of deceleration. Niven and Pournelle’s Mote in God’s Eye books get this right, IIRC. The typical hack is some kind of a space drive, but I’ve never seen any remotely plausible explanations for how one would work. FTL travel is a lot more plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/15 "2018-02-10T07:49:13Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > [Au contraire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5YR6wpg7g), mon frere. > > Not singling you out. It’s just a chance to share one of my favorite YouTube blogs: It’s Okay to Be Smart. That was good, but he missed one problem. There is a reason why insects have very thin legs and elephants have very thick legs. If we shrank, and our legs stayed in the ratio to our body as they are now, we probably wouldn’t be able to move. If we expanded (like the giant insects in the monster movies) they would collapse under their own weight before getting to eat anyone. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/16 "2018-02-10T10:21:58Z")
Lost in Space is a cartoon with real actors. It’s classic camp just like Adam West’s Batman and The Green Hornet. Kiddie programming. Some shows like Star Trek and Babylon 5 try to present life in the future. If you are willing to accept the technology they have and their capabilities. I find it interesting that the same conflicts exist. Cultures go to war. They want to take each others resources. The third season of Star Trek TOS certainly drifted into camp. Spock’s Brain being the most notorious. It’s my understanding the season 3 scripts were drastically changed to allow for a shrinking production budget. They couldn’t film what was written. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/17 "2018-02-10T11:16:40Z")
Laser guns of the 1920s-style Death Ray variety (ie laser-based versions of modern firearms) just aren’t feasible for the foreseeable future, mostly because of the energy requirements. Also: Sound in space. Space is a vacuum. You can’t hear the Death Star exploding, no matter how awesome it looks. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/18 "2018-02-10T11:19:55Z")
Star Wars prequel using"Sonic Blasters"in… _the vacuum of space._ ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/19 "2018-02-10T21:59:11Z")
It is a mistake to take the science part seriously. For example, the Foundation series, which I obviously enjoyed enormously, has FTL drives, the Mule with a kind of super telepathy and much else that is just too far-fetched to be remotely plausible. Just treat it all as fantasy and enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532/20 "2018-02-10T22:23:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yes, but it had some lovely Swedish boobies. :o On Danish actresses? I mean, I know it’s science fiction, but that weird even for Scandinavia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-phenomenon-that-would-be-impossible-in-real-life/808532.md?page=2)