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(Super) Natural Science
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13 October 2026

Starships! Death Rays! Superheroes! Mutants! Monsters! The Multiverse! An astrophysicist (and science fiction fan) explores the scientific possibilities behind superhero superpowers, time travel, the supernatural, Bigfoot, ghosts, vampires, alien worlds, and much more!
Have you ever wondered whether we might someday teleport from place to place with transporters like those shown in Star Trek? Or pondered the existence of ghosts and the possibility of alien life visiting the Earth? Or debated whether being bitten by a radioactive spider might turn you into a superhero? From black holes to sentient robots to werewolves, astrophysicist Charles Liu investigates the real science of the supernatural, science fiction stories, mythology, folklore, fairy tales, and other wild, crazy, mysterious, spooky, fantastical, and sometimes real, sometimes not phenomena! Looking through a scientific lens, (Super) Natural Science: The Real Science of Superheroes, Mythic Creatures, and the (Sci-Fi) Universe probes the scientific foundations and frontiers of all things fantastic, including …
Science and the supernatural aren’t mutually exclusive—and science is often stranger than fiction! (Super) Natural Science shows how science can be used to explain all sorts of strange, wondrous and unusual phenomena!
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction – Super is Natural
Part I – Super Science
1. Warp Drive
2. Time Travel
3. Death Rays
4. Teleportation
5. Vacuum Energy
Part II – Super Powers
6. Superstrength
7. Telekinesis
8. Supersenses
9. ESP
10. Magic
Part III – Super Humans
11. Mutants
12. Genetic Mutation
13. Superserums
14. Cybernetics
15. Artificial Intelligence
Part IV – Super Nonhumans
16. Zombies
17. Ghosts
18. Vampires
19. Werewolves
20. Bigfoot
Part V – Supercosmic
21. Other Worlds
22. Aliens, Part 1: The Microscopic Kind
23. Aliens, Part 2: The E.T. Kind
24. Aliens, Part 3: The Ultra Kind
25. Our and Other Universes
Further Reading
Index