Table of Contents
Introduction Mark Brake 1
Part I Space Travel
How Has Star Wars Influenced Space Culture and Space Travel? 5
Could Spacers Travel to Other Galaxies in the Star Wars Universe? 11
How Much Would It Cost to Build a Death Star? 16
The Human Future Is In Space: Is This the Greatest of All Star Wars Messages? 21
Einstein's E-mc2 and Star Wars: What Are the Challenges of Lightspeed Travel? 26
Is the Death Star a Good Design for a Space Station? 29
What Makes the Millennium Falcon Such a Prized Ship? 35
What Are the Chances of Navigating Safely Through an Asteroid Field? 40
How Likely Are the Interstellar Commutes in Star Wars? 45
Why Do Star Wars Ships Make Banked Turns in the Vacuum of Space During Battles? 50
Part II Space
Would the Death of the Death Star Spell the End of Endor? 56
What Does the Star Wars Galaxy Tell Us About Our Own Milky Way? 61
Did Star Wars Predict the Existence of Exoplanets? 66
What Do Star Wars Exomoons Mean for Life in Our Galaxy? 71
Could Starkiller Base Drain the Energy From a Star, as in The Force Awakens? 76
Which Exoplanets Are Like Star Wars Worlds? 81
The Link Between Hoth and Mars: Why Might Humans Make Like Exogorths? 86
Could Life Arise on a Desert Planet Like Tatooine? 91
How Long Ago and How Far Away? 97
How Could We Live on a Gas Giant Like Bespin? 103
Part III Aliens
Would an Exogorth Really Evolve on an Asteroid? 110
How Could Rey Survive on the Desert Planet of Jakku? 115
Does The Force Awakens Pass the Test for an Alien Head Count? 120
How Come Many Planets in Star Wars Have Breathable Atmospheres? 125
Would DNA Be the Replicator in the Star Wars Galaxy? 131
Darwinian Dynamics: How Do Theories of Evolution Apply in the Star Wars Universe? 136
How Are There Humans in the Star Wars Galaxy? 141
Could We Ever Become Jedi? 146
Why Are Wookiees So Much Hairier Than Humans? 151
How Does Watto Manage to Stay Aloft with Those Funny Little Wings? 156
Part IV Tech
How Long Before We Get a Star Wars Speeder Off the Ground? 162
Struggling with Stormtrooper Uniforms in Battle: Is That Why They're Such Terrible Shots? 167
How Could Droids Like BB-8 Help Us Explore Mars? 172
Is the Empire Watching You? 177
Could a Single Blast from the Death Star Destroy the Earth? 182
Will Future Megacities Look Like the Ecumenopolis of Coruscant? 188
How Long Before We Build Intelligent Machines Like C-3PO? 193
What Are the Possible Future Sources for a Tractor Beam? 199
Could You Really Dodge or Deflect a Blaster Bolt? 204
How Long Will It Be Before Smartphones Send Holographic Messages? 209
Part V Bio-Tech
Can You Really Survive Being Frozen in Carbonite? 215
The Age of C-3PO: How Will Earth Deal with the Droid Army? 220
When Will a Clone Army Be Built on Earth? 226
What Exactly Is the Force? 231
Does the Lightsaber Really Cut It? 236
What Would It Be Like to Control the Force? 241
How Could Kylo Ren Stop a Blaster Shot in Mid-Air? 246
Is Darth Vader Technology Possible? 251
Is Jedi Mind Control a Possibility? 256
