The Science of Dune: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe

Science News,  March 22, 2008  

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THE SCIENCE OF DUNE: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe KEVIN R. GRAZIER, ED.

Enormous sandworms traverse the desert in Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction classic, Dune. In the novel's appendices, Herbert provided some details about these worms but left out much of their (fictitious) physiology. Here, science writer Sibylle Hechtel, one of the contributors to this book, speculates about how, and if, these giant sandworms might have been able to survive and reproduce. She wrestles with a problematic contrast between the size of sandworms (averaging 200 meters long) and the great speeds at which they skimmed across shifting sands. Additional chapters by scientists and science writers speculate on the biological, physical, and chemical feasibility of Herbert's "Duniverse." They consider such topics as the engineering of moisture-retaining "stillsuits," the biochemistry of precious and addictive "spice," and whether humans could truly evolve without selection pressures, as Herbert imagined. BenBella Books, 2008, 232 p., paperback, $17. 95.

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