Product Description

This is the cutting-edge science behind one of the most popular sci-fi series ever. New "Doctor Who" series starts in April 2007. Written by the editor of the popular BBC "Focus" magazine, it covers everything from how Daleks climb stairs to regenerating like the Time Lord. You can discover: why time travel isn't ruled out by the laws of physics; the real K-9 - the robot assistant for space travellers built by NASA; how Dalek-like designer lifeforms are being bred by genetic engineering; why before long we could all be regenerating like a Time Lord; and the medical truth about the Doctor's two hearts, and the real creature with five.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86449 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 335 pages

Review
"'Unmissable for all fans of Doctor Who... Good science fiction and cutting-edge science go hand in hand. Here's how Who does it.' Stephen Baxter 'An entertaining look at the scientific fiction behind Doctor Who - and some of the not-so-fictitious science as well. Who fans old and new will delight in this treasure trove of ideas presented by a writer who is clearly a fan as well as being a scientist.' John Gribbin 'Snappy, lively, journalistic, and drenched in Doctor Who' Nature 'More effective than a dozen earnest and worthy schemes to promote the public understanding of science.' New Scientist"

About the Author
Paul Parsons is the editor of monthly science and technology magazine BBC Focus, and has contributed popular science articles to publications ranging from the Daily Telegraph to FHM. He holds a DPhil in cosmology and is a lifelong worshipper of Doctor Who.

Excerpted from The Science of Doctor Who by Paul Parsons. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 1

Who is the Doctor?

‘I’ve already told you. I am known as the Doctor. I’m also a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous.’

‘You’re bonkers.’

‘That’s debatable.’

The Sixth Doctor and Russell, Attack of the Cybermen.

So what exactly is it you’re a doctor of, Doctor ...? The truth is we never really find out. Nor do we know the Doctor’s real name (he variously uses ‘John Smith’, ‘Dr W’ and ‘Doctor von Wer’ – wer is German for ‘who’); whether he has a family (though he did refer to his first assistant, Susan Foreman, as his granddaughter); or the real reason why he is wandering the fourth dimension in a time machine that has clearly passed its sell-by date (at different points in the show we’re told that he’s in exile from his home world, that he left to explore, and that he ran away because he was bored). We do know that he’s a 900-year-old alien from the planet Gallifrey. He’s a Time Lord – one of a race that polices the galaxy, clamping down on unlicensed time travel. He’s fond of planet Earth, has a soft spot for humans and is rather keen on cricket.

The Doctor studied at Gallifrey’s Prydonian Academy, where his specialist subject was thermodynamics. However, as his assistant Romana points out in The Ribos Operation, he only just scraped through his final exams with 51 per cent – and that was on the second attempt.

We also know that he’s rather well connected. He has met Isaac Newton – we’re told in The Pirate Planet that he dropped an apple on the great man’s head and then proceeded to explain gravity to him over dinner. He helped Shakespeare write the first draft of Hamlet, after the Bard had sprained his wrist writing sonnets. And he meets and befriends the likes of H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens.

Although initially portrayed as a tetchy old man, the Doctor soon emerges as a vastly intellectual force for good in the Universe. He fights evil and cruelty wherever he finds them, even if that means breaking the established rules or placing his own life in grave danger. Not that his life is ever in that much danger – he has the ability to cheat death himself by regenerating into a new form, his character and outlook sometimes changing as wildly as his appearance from one incarnation to the next.

The Doctor is an enigma, a paradoxical personality. He battles against evil and yet refuses to bear arms. He shows deep compassion, yet on occasion can be utterly ruthless. He preaches responsibility and yet time and again leads his human companions into the line of fire – and occasionally to their deaths.

So can science really cast any light on what it is that makes the Doctor tick? More to the point, can it explain why he has two of them ...

One mind, two hearts

At times, the human body can be something of a puzzle.

For example, why is it that we have two of some organs but only one of others, such as the heart? For instance, we have two kidneys. Neither kidney has a distinct function, beyond acting as a backup should the other fail. And the heart and the kidneys are both vital – the kidneys remove waste fluid (urine) from the blood, while the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood around the body to keep it alive. So if nature’s gone to the trouble of giving us two kidneys, then why not two hearts as well?

The Doctor does have two hearts (as do all Time Lords). As an unnamed character remarked to him in Terror of the Autons: ‘We’ve always felt that your hearts are in the right places.’ So how does the Doctor’s extra heart work? Is it just a spare? Or does it serve some deeper purpose? And could such a secondary cardiovascular system be of any benefit to humans?

In some ways, humans already have two hearts. Or rather, we have one heart that’s made up of two pumps, each of which moves blood around one of two distinct circulation systems in the body. The first is the pulmonary system, a network of blood vessels that runs through the lungs. It’s served by the heart’s right atrium and right ventricle, which work together to draw in blood from the body and send it round the lungs to oxygenate it. The freshly oxygenated blood then enters the heart’s second pump – the left atrium and left ventricle. These force the blood into the systemic circulation, where it’s carried around the whole body. Having these two pumps within the same organ means that their rhythms are easily synchronised. But if we had two separate hearts, their beating would need to be carefully monitored.

Customer Reviews

Read it! This Book will make you clever!
Over the years I have read a fair number of books, but none with such uniqueness and scope as The Science of Doctor Who by Paul Parsons.

Viewers of the TV show, will know of the many science related plots, schemes and devices that Doctor Who poses - but little on how these things may or may not be possible in the real world.

The Science of Doctor Who seperates fact from fiction by exploring what is known, with what is possible and in some cases with shocking excitement as the prospects.

The sheer knowledge and intelligence of the author is evident throughout the book. So much so, that when you finally finish it - you feel vastly more intelligent.

Read it! This Book will make you clever!

great teaching aid, as well as fun
My 7-yr old Doctor Who-addicted son just made me buy this, and I was thinking it would be a little dry and dusty for him, but he's fascinated, and so am I! It's written in a very straight-forward style, and stays tied in closely with the show (including the newest series), rather than going on about time travel etc too long.

We've only just read the first bit about the Doctor's two hearts and already my son has asked me a million questions about the human cardio-vascular system and Isaac Newton. He's going to be a very knowledgable boy by the end of this book!

I really do recommend this for fans, and those parents who want to engender an interest in science in their kids.

A great read for all!
This book is amazing - despite being hard t grasp in parts, its really interesting, debating and explaining theoretical time travel and explaining how the doctor's gadgets, gizmos and even the TARDIS could work in real life. I would even recommend this to non-doctor who fans, because the book is so interesting due to the science it explains.

Also almost all ages can read this as long as they have had a decent physics teacher. I am 16 and just come out of school so I'm not exactly a science expert! yet I can still understand 99% of the science explained.

In conclusion this book is fab! i would recommend to doctorwho fans and scientists alike!