The Science in The Fiction

Marty and Holly sit down with Canadian science fiction superstar Robert J. Sawyer to talk about his book The Oppenheimer Alternative.  Robert tells us how he spun the mistaken prediction of the sun’s temperature by Hans Bethe (in 1939) into a science fiction tale where the great physicists of the 20th century save humanity from being vaporized by a solar instability.  We discuss Bethe and Einstein’s Nobel Prizes, Oppenheimer’s prediction of black holes, and the history of the Manhattan Project.  We talk about the ethics and politics of dropping the first two nuclear bombs on Japan, the creation of doomsday weapons, and their impact on space travel in Project Orion.  Robert's Webpage: https://www.sfwriter.com/  Email us: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Marty and Holly describe what we'd like to do in this podcast.  We will talk to science fiction authors and scientists about topics in both hard and soft science fiction, from both the hard and soft sciences.  Our conversations will range from physics to psychology, from space to sociology.  We also like to talk science: Marty explains special relativity, and Holly explains thin film deposition.  We reflect on our interview with Robert J. Sawyer about The Oppenheimer Alternative, and the following interview with astrophysicist Jaymie Matthews about the solar physics and nuclear politics in Sawyer's book.  We discuss upcoming interviews with Julie Czerneda about exo-biology in To Each This World, and Arik Kershenbaum in The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy. You can email us at: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/