#053 - Science of Doctor Who

What can a reincarnating Time Lord who gallivants across time and space in a 1950s-era police box whilst battling evil robots and aliens teach us about real-world science? To answer this question, Nathan, Jenn, and Cal are joined by Simon Guerrier, a documentary filmmaker, science fiction writer, and Whovian, to discuss the ideas in his book “The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who,” co-authored with astronomer Marek Kukula. In what ways does the Doctor in his various incarnations exemplify the scientific method in action? Has the life of science imitated the art of Doctor Who in any way? What is the source of the TARDIS’s power, and what does the Eye of Harmony have to do with black holes? What laws of time obtain in the Doctor Who universe, and do any of these in-universe laws conflict with what physicists know about time? How many episodes of Doctor Who are lost and/or missing, and how many have been recovered by dedicated, treasure-hunting Whovians? Can Simon Guerrier help us decipher and understand the 1989 “Ghost Light” episode? And what’s the deal with those knife-wielding, badger-faced space pirates? Links: Simon Guerrier on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0tralala Simon Guerrier’s blog: http://0tralala.blogspot.co.uk/ “The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who” book: https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Secrets-Doctor-Who/dp/0062386964 “Wiped! Doctor Who's Missing Episodes” by Richard Molesworth: https://www.amazon.com/Wiped-Doctor-Whos-Missing-Episodes/dp/1845830806   Simon Guerrier’s Doctor Who novels: “The Time Travellers”: (BBC Past Doctor Adventures #74): http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Time_Travellers_(novel) “The Pirate Loop” (BBC New Series Adventures #20): http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Pirate_Loop_(novel) “The Slitheen Excursion (BBC New Series Adventures #32)”: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Slitheen_Excursion_(novel)