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Wrongscience, FTW!
May. 12th, 2009 01:35 pmI've just been developing a theory of Chemistry, for a fictional world, that is internally consistent, experimentally valid, and by design, totally WRONG!!!!
The problem with fantasy setting where you violate the laws of physics is you find yourself explaining far too much, and eventually you get to the point where there's a contradiction that invalidates everything you've done so far. Star Trek falls into this trap far too often by trying to explain how impossible technology might work. It can't. It's impossible. So, the solution is to produce a scientific theory that is totally wrong but all the characters believe to be correct. Any holes in the science can be explained by the simple fact that the theory is invalid.
As a result, I've had a lot of fun coming up with a system of chemistry, largely based on Lavoisier's Caloric Theory. If we consider water and caloric (i.e. fire) to be elements, we do end up with a fairly elegant scientific system. It's not surprising it took half a century for the idea to be discredited.
The problem with fantasy setting where you violate the laws of physics is you find yourself explaining far too much, and eventually you get to the point where there's a contradiction that invalidates everything you've done so far. Star Trek falls into this trap far too often by trying to explain how impossible technology might work. It can't. It's impossible. So, the solution is to produce a scientific theory that is totally wrong but all the characters believe to be correct. Any holes in the science can be explained by the simple fact that the theory is invalid.
As a result, I've had a lot of fun coming up with a system of chemistry, largely based on Lavoisier's Caloric Theory. If we consider water and caloric (i.e. fire) to be elements, we do end up with a fairly elegant scientific system. It's not surprising it took half a century for the idea to be discredited.
