The science fantasy interstellar epic Star Wars uses science and technology in its settings and storylines, although it is not considered hard science fiction. The series has showcased many technological concepts, both in the movies and in the Expanded Universe of novels and comics. The Star Wars movies are a vehicle for entertainment and their primary aim is to deliver drama, not scientific knowledge. Many of the on-screen technologies created or borrowed for the Star Wars universe were used mainly as plot devices or as aesthetic elements, and not as elements of the story in their own right.
The iconic status that Star Wars has gained in popular culture allows it to be used as an accessible introduction to real scientific concepts. Many of the features or technologies used in the Star Wars universe are impossible, according to current theory. However, the process of understanding why they are considered impossible can educate people while simultaneously entertaining them.
Famous quotes containing the word physics:
“The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces upon us the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb. We do not choose our problems, we do not choose our products; we are pushed, we are forced—by what? By a system which has no purpose and goal transcending it, and which makes man its appendix.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)