Study science fiction from the side of science!

We usually read science fiction from the point of view of fantasy, not science. Although – less Gabor His book is proof – the scientific method is sometimes more exciting…or, if not more exciting, we can say with certainty that it brings to the surface other types of content. In doing so, it makes it easier to absorb knowledge that otherwise – and in purely scientific form – would not reach much science fiction fans. Not for sci-fi fans either.

Gabor Lenti, a teacher at the University of Pécs, did not set out to promote science today. appeared in the last decade Hippo's Milk and Other Stories of Chemistry His book, although it wandered into a narrower field than the natural sciences, was still “at least as entertaining as the world around us.” The present volume, which “goes somewhat further” is also full of entertainment and wonder.

Gabor Lenti: Science in the world of sand dunes (Photo/Source: Typotex Publishing)

because Sand dunes– The imagination of the writer, the creator of the universe, did not leave the twenty. Scientific knowledge accumulated in the century. franc Herbert (1920-1986) He created the celestial bodies known to astronomers, which are located in specific constellations, around the planet Earth. Sand dunes-Scenes of novels. Now Gábor Lenti presents these things to us in the light of the present knowledge of astronomy, in order to excite us and increase our wonder – almost imperceptibly – by introducing us to “interstellar” astronomical concepts of which we had only a vague idea. knowledge. yet. It explains, for example, what the distance unit of the parsec is (more than two hundred thousand times the distance between the Sun and the Earth, i.e. about 3.26 light-years), and also how this distance unit was created and how it can be visualized. But don't get stuck in the first chapter!

Each chapter of the volume offers a glimpse into a different slice of science based on Frank Herbert's series of novels and the films made from them. Starting mainly from films known to many, and supplementing the knowledge base there – when necessary – with the novel.

We can read about whether pain can be caused simply by nerve stimulation, and if so, how. Below, Gabor Lenti talks about the action of pain-sensing receptors, as well as about the placebo effect, in order to guide the reader through the pretext of pain to Karl Marx's phrase of 1843: “Religion is the opium of the people.”

Gabor Lenti – not only as a scientist, but Sand dunes– Also as a fan – such scientific questions are revealed by Sand dunes A universe that we do not encounter ourselves. We don't think about it, we simply leave it to the author. However, interesting topics can be created brilliantly. In relation to the desert planet that provides the main location, for example, the management of water and heat for the human body is discussed, and although we are not (yet) desertified, climate change in our world offers not only analogy but also opportunities for interpretation. The “circus dress” may not work as Frank Herbert dreamed it up, but it is well suited for us to navigate the possibilities of our circumstances on Earth. It is not heresy for the Tuaregs to cover their entire bodies, while the forest dwellers – who also live in a tropical climate – walk around naked…

By thinking about the desert, we can gain knowledge of mineralogy,

Telescope observation of the Siófok-Balatonalmádi-Balatonaliga triangle helps understand the method of interstellar travel envisioned by Frank Herbert, the curvature of space!

In general, it can be said that Gábor Lenti's scientific and informative “visionary ability” is very extraordinary. the Science in the world of sand dunes Its empirical reception does not require interest in science fiction novels, but Lenti's book certainly opens the reader to science at least as much as it opens the reader to fiction.

Author: Heho Gruzdits

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Banner image: Gabor Lenti’s book “Science in the World of Dunes” (Photo/Source: Typotex Publishers)