Science facts catch up with movie sci-fi

The upside to space sails is that once they get moving, they should continue moving faster and faster — and that's why Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, believes such sails could represent one of the best bets for interstellar travel. Friedman, whose group is one of the backers of the Cosmos 1 project, pointed out that the solar-sail concept originated in Russia in the 1920s and has appeared in science fiction for decades.

"I've always felt that the link between science fiction and science is definitely two-way," Friedman told MSNBC.com. "That's the way it should be."

Then there's the "repulsorlift," the antigravity drive that keeps pod racers and other conveyances hovering over the ground (or, in "Episode III," hovering over the lava pits of Mustafar). Three years ago, NASA spent some money and research time looking for anomalous gravitational effects that, if verified, might have pointed the way to a real-life repulsorlift. But the idea didn't pan out and faded back into the scientific fringe.

Other repulsorlift candidates include the lifter effect, which causes lightweight, highly electrically charged objects to rise into the air, apparently due to a phenomenon known as "ion wind"; and diamagnetic levitation, which can make frogs and other small objects float within magnetic chambers. But for now, these are physics-lab curiosities rather than practical methods for countering gravity.

Robot revolutions
Robotic technology is one of the areas where "Star Wars" really shines: Science-fiction author Nick Sagan, the son of the late astronomer Carl Sagan, recalled how he and his father quibbled over the first movie's scientific slips. But he also paid tribute to the way "Star Wars" portrayed the various breeds of robots.

Movie genetics Genetic engineering plays a role in the Clone Wars, but other aspects of "Star Wars" are behind the times: Genetic tests would have shown how Luke, Leia and Darth Vader were related. Further resources: • Order of the Grey: The genetic 'Force' • Wikipedia: Genetic engineering in fiction • MSNBC Health Library: Genetics MSNBC

Sagan said the assorted shapes and sizes of "Star Wars" robots — some suited for industrial purposes, others for service or entertainment — helped blaze a trail for contemporary machines that will vacuum your carpet or serve as a sassy, pint-sized companion. "The goofy commercial robots owe a lot of their visual design to the 'Star Wars' robots," Sagan said.

Meanwhile, the movie saga's central character, Darth Vader, was a walking advertisement for body-part replacements, if not the ideals of the Jedi order. Real-life prosthetic limbs are starting to take advantage of advances in neuroscience and engineering, to catch up with the vision sketched out in the "Star Wars" movies.

3-D is your destiny
"Star Wars" has also been ahead of the curve in communication technology. The most common medium in the movies is the 3-D interactive display — for example, the holographic message projected by R2-D2 at the beginning of the original movie, or the interactive star map manipulated by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Jedi Archives in "Episode II," or the virtual telepresence of Jedi knights at the council meetings in "Episode III."

The same kind of displays can be seen nowadays in other sci-fi movies such as "Minority Report." But could they really work the way they do in the movies?

Yes, but it's not as simple as "Star Wars" makes it out to be: You might have to look into some sort of holographic screen, or use virtual-reality headsets and haptic gloves. Virtual-reality 3-D technology is actually old hat: Several years ago, engineers used VR to work on virtual prototypes for the U.S. military's Joint Strike Fighter before the plane was even built.

Another method would be to turn the air itself into a display screen: That's what the Finnish company FogScreen has done with its "dry fog" video projection device. Illinois-based IO2Technology has developed an even more mysterious contraption called the Heliodisplay, which projects interactive imagery onto "modified air."

Such 3-D, virtual-reality experiences are quickly catching up with science fiction, Sagan said.

"I would argue that multiuser videoconferencing looks a little sharper than that hologram," he joked. "Of course, it would have been less dramatic if R2-D2 suddenly popped out three headsets to watch the hologram."

In a final twist, the technology will soon be turned on "Star Wars" itself: The next step for the movie franchise is a digital conversion of all the films to 3-D format, starting in 2007. So when you watch the hologram of Princess Leia telling Obi-Wan Kenobi, "you're my only hope" ... you'll actually get the hologram's 3-D effect for the first time.

Thanks to Jiun-Tyug Chern for updated information on midair displays.

MORE FROM SCIENCE

Science Section Front

Big-bang machine smashes power record ‘Team Edward’ vs. ‘real’ vampire science 8 ‘extinct’ species found alive and kicking Royal Society celebrates 350 years of discovery Rat pack: Scientists warming up to African rodent Anglo-Saxon gold trove valued at $5.5 million Cosmic Log: Give us geeky gift ideas Lightning ‘listening’ network nearly complete Your guide to the latest, greatest science books Google to put ancient Iraq artifacts online Science Section Front   Add Science headlines to your news reader: