10 Myths About Space Travel That Make Science Fiction Better

via io9.com

10 Myths About Space Travel That Make Science Fiction Better

Charlie Jane Anders
We all love to point out the ridiculous bad physics in science fiction — it's like an awesome sport that everybody wins. (Except physics.) But the truth is, sometimes you have to violate the laws of physics to create science fiction stories that people want to watch. We asked six great physicists to name their favorite occasions when breaking the laws of physics makes science fiction better, and here's what they told us.
Here are 10 myths about space travel that make science fiction more fun.
1) Faster Than Light Travel
This is really the biggest and most important. As Phil Plait, writer of Bad Astronomy and author of Death from the Skies, tells us:

FTL is a big plot shortcut, of course, since even light takes years to get from star to star. But even when Our Heroes go from planet to planet in the same system, it doesn't take long. Hours maybe.. or whatever the script demands it to be for dramatic purposes. But in reality, planets are far apart. Our fastest probes take years to get from one place to another. Heck, ...