Science of the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Ever wondered what the end of the Universe might actually look like? Why the number 42 is so significant? Or whether time travel really would put a stop to history as we know it? If so you are clearly a fan of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, now a major motion picture. Much of the book was sheer whimsy: talking mattresses, the Vogons, triple-breasted whores and that Ol' Janx Spirit. But like all good science fiction, it contained more than a grain of scientific fact. Adams was a science and technology enthusiast and his books were inspired by - prefigured even - many of the great scientific debates of our times. The Science of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a light-hearted, accessible and informative tour of the real cutting-edge research behind a much-loved classic - from the Big Bang to the end of the Universe, via probability, parallel universes, alien life, instant translation and more.