Gizmodo Australia » science fiction

First Avatar Trailer: It’s Big, Blue And Explodes A Lot

Mark Wilson — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:03:53 +0000

Here’s the very first trailer of James Cameron’s much-hyped 3D film Avatar. And as you can see, it’s a highly aggressive blend of live action and CGI, science fiction and fantasy.

Watch the trailer in higher rez and it’s apparent that many of the visual effects (like the mechs in the early shots) are made to look intentionally artificial, hyperreal. And I really don’t know what else to say other than, my interest is certainly piqued. What about yours? [High def downloads possible available at Apple via CrunchGear]

Yes! Star Trek Is Cool Because A Pie Graph Says So!

Mark Wilson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sci Fi Wire makes a convincing argument, in both authoritarian pie chart form and debatable exposition, as to why Star Trek is cool (again). But what’s missing from the chart? Two words: Lens flare.

Man has long marveled at the bright and shiny. He obsesses over soft metals, like gold, because of their luster. And diamonds, while hardened for industry, are more just as often if not more reserved for rings representing sacred vows.

So hats off to the writers, actors, set designers and special effects team. But JJ Abrams’ simple mantra of “aim those four-story mirrors at the camera, dammit!” deserves, at minimum, a bar graph constructed of Borg ships. [Sci Fi Wire via Geekologie]

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Antimatter

Mark Wilson — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Discovery Channel compiled a mind-frakking list of 10 things you didn’t know about antimatter—the stuff that, when mixed with matter, powers the warp engines of Star Trek. And this excerpt made my brain dizzy:

Each type of particle has its antiparticle, leading to some inevitable cosmic quandaries. First, we’re surrounded by matter; where did all the antimatter go?

We can even ask this question because when antimatter meets matter, they destroy each other. This leads to the second question: Why didn’t all the antimatter destroy all the matter early in the universe? Physicists think the big bang should have produced equal amounts of both matter and antimatter. In other words, the universe should have poofed all matter and antimatter out of existence.

That’s just one interesting point about antimatter. Head over to the link to read 9 more. [Discovery]

Notes on image:
IN SPACE – (UNDATED PHOTO) A composite image of the Crab Nebula showing X-ray (blue), and optical (red) images superimposed is shown in this undated photo. Multiple observations made over several months with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope captured the spectacle of matter and antimatter propelled to nearly the speed of light by the Crab pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star the size of Manhattan. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

Blast Electric Sheep With Deckard’s Gun, Now Just $US150,000

Jack Loftus — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Was Deckard really a replicant? Who cares, his blaster’s for sale.

Yup, just a mere $US100,000 to $US150,000 and this one-of-a-kind movie prop could be yours, although we imagine that price tag is going to climb a bit higher before all is said and done at the Auctioneer Profiles in History event beginning April 30.

Other classic movie items up for auction include a ring worn by Bela Lugosi when he played Count Dracula; a monocle used in the Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi movie “Metropolis”; and Rita Hayworth’s dress from 1940’s film noir classic “Gilda.”

It’s truly an eclectic collection of items that, if combined, would have probably confused Harrison Ford’s character even more. [Reuters]

What if the Earth is a Giant Alien Hard Drive?

Brian Lam — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:30:03 +0000

“What if we could manipulate the earth’s own magnetic field and thus program data into the natural energy curtains of the planet?”

What if “the earth itself is already encoded with someone else’s data, and that, down there in crustal formations of rock, crystalline archives shimmer.”

I like alien conspiracy, and the idea of seeding the earth for data storage instead of food harvest is interesting. The earth’s drive heads would have to be supersonic jets and the latency would be hell, but don’t let reality stop you from enjoying this well written fantasy post by Geoff at [BLDGBLOG]

Buildings That Could Be Mistaken For Famous Spaceships

Sean Fallon — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:20:00 +0000

What happens when architects are also major sci-fi nerds? The massive gallery complied by io9 might give you an idea. It features buildings that resemble the Death Star, Enterprise and the Borg Cube. [io9]

Star Wars Universe Invades Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum

Nick Broughall — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:45:35 +0000

Sydneysiders bitter about the fact that the Game On gaming expo seemed to bunny hop right over the nation’s largest city can feel some relief today with the opening of the “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” exhibition at the Powerhouse museum. The exhibit brings together props and costumes from all six of the Star Wars films, and combines them with interviews from key people involved in the production of the films. But then it combines all of that with an intelligent look at the science in the sci-fi, by showcasing just where we are today in creating some of the technologies of a Galaxy far, far away.For most people, the exhibit will be a chance to look at some of the props from the original trilogy – Luke’s landspeeder is on display (although disappointingly with wheels), as are the actual models of the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca’s suit and some of the weapons from the films. But even though the exhibition is on two levels, there isn’t enough Star Wars paraphernalia to make the entrance quite worth the money. Luckily, there’s plenty of recorded audio and video interviews with some of the engineers on the original films, detailing where ideas for vehicles, landscapes and sound effects came from.

The key element in this exhibition, however, is in the interactive science parts. Adjacent to Luke’s Landspeeder is a section dedicated to maglev, the closest thing we have to landspeeder technology. Using Lego (hooray!) and magnets, you can create your own primitive vehicle to traverse a maglev track, with instructions to guide you along the way. Similarly, you can create your own robot, teach it to navigate a simple obstacle course and then give it a personality. And while you do this, you’ll learn just how difficult it is to create even a simple robot, let alone something along the lines of R2-D2.

And while it could have just been for the media preview yesterday, another entertaining aspect is the cast of dedicated volunteers who donned the Star Wars themed costumes for the exhibition. While this may not interest you too much, kids are sure to love being able to have their photo taken with Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a raft of stormtroopers and other Jedi.

The exhibition is running from today until April 26. If you’re into science and enjoy Star Wars, it’s got a lot to offer. It’s the kind of thing you’ll regret missing out on if you don’t go, so make sure you find some time this summer to go and check it out.

[Powerhouse Museum]

Physicists Devise Warp Drive Plans for Travelling Faster Than Light

Adam Frucci — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Warp drives, those vague constants of science fiction movies, might actually become real, allowing for travel faster than the speed of light. According to two physicists from Baylor, they’ve come up with a concept for a warp drive that would shrink space, allowing for a craft to jump ahead vast distances without breaking any laws of physics.

A starship could “warp” space so that it shrinks ahead of the vessel and expands behind it. By pushing the departure point many light years backwards while simultaneously bringing distant stars and other destinations closer, the warp drive effectively transports the starship from place to place at faster-than-light speeds.

Of course, to do such a thing we’d need to harness dark energy, the cosmic antigravity force that we know next to nothing about. The plan would be to use dark energy to create a bubble of space that would travel faster than the speed of light, all the while the ship would remain at rest within the bubble. Since space itself doesn’t follow the rules of physics, apparently, we’d be set to travel as fast as we pleased. Finally, a way to make the trip from New York to LA more convenient! [New Launches]

Images of Terminator Caught In Hi-Res Trailer

Gizmodo US Edition — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

So you’ve seen John Connor and you’ve met Marcus Wright, but where are the stills of the robots? Lucky for us, one intrepid Gizmodo reader searched through the Hi-res trailer to find us a good picture of what humanity’s up against. Check out the colour corrected version! Is that bot wearing… cargo pants? [Terminator: Salvation at Giz] – Thanks Dimitris Karakatsanis!

Incredible Photography of Sci-Fi Fans in their Native Habitats

Mark Wilson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:40:00 +0000

When you see a guy dressed up like Spock at a Star Trek convention, it’s actually pretty normal. But as the excellent documentary Trekkies pointed out, it’s a lot more odd when these fans wear the clothes home…and don’t take them off. Photographer Steve Schofield has an amazing gallery of British science fiction fans dressed up at home in his collection “Land of the Free.” We wasted far too much of our day appreciating these photographs. And we recommend that you do, too. [Steve Schofield via Neatorama]