Science fiction what is it

Accessed 12 Nov. More Definitions for science fiction. See the full definition for science fiction in the English Language Learners Dictionary. Nglish: Translation of science fiction for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of science fiction for Arabic Speakers.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of science fiction. Search this Guide Search. Science Fiction - Greensburg Campus This guide is for undergraduates conducting research in the area of science fiction or enrolled in English Lit Science Fiction. What is Science Fiction? ULS Homepage. Search PittCat. It relies heavily on scientific facts, theories, and principles as support for its settings , characters , themes , and plot- lines, which is what makes it different from fantasy.

So, while the storylines and elements of science fiction stories are imaginary, they are usually possible according to science—or at least plausible. Although examples of science fiction can be found as far back as the Middle Ages, its presence in literature was not particularly significant until the late s. Its true popularity for both writers and audiences came with the rise of technology over the past years, with developments such as electricity, space exploration, medical advances, industrial growth, and so on.

As science and technology progress, so does the genre of science fiction. As the young girl opened her window, she could see the moons Europa and Callipso rising in the distance.

A comet flashed by, followed by a trail of stardust, illuminating the dark, endless space that surrounded the spacecraft; the only place she had ever known as home. She envisioned stepping onto land, real land, like in the stories of Earth her father had told her about.

But these were only fantasies, not memories. The example above has several prime characteristics that are common in science fiction. First, it is set in the future, when humans no longer live on Earth. Second, it takes place on a spacecraft that is orbiting Jupiter. Hard science fiction strictly follows scientific facts and principles. It is strongly focused on natural sciences like physics, astronomy, chemistry, astrophysics, etc.

Interestingly, hard science fiction is often written by real scientists, and has been known for making both accurate and inaccurate predictions of future events. For example, the recent film Gravity, the story of an astronaut whose spacecraft is damaged while she repairs a satellite, was renowned for its scientific accuracy in terms of what would actually happen in space. Soft science fiction is characterized by a focus on social sciences, like anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics—in other words, sciences involving human behavior.

So, soft sci-fi stories mainly address the possible scientific consequences of human behavior. The feeling of estrangement that permeates science fiction is bound to the scientific worldview, and the alienating discovery of the new universe. This way of thinking about science fiction , as the human versus the non-human, is satisfyingly elegant and transparent.

See all examples of science fiction. These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. Translations of science fiction in Chinese Traditional.

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