Hard Science Fiction

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Science fiction with emphasis on the "science." Seems to be popular with people who prefer simulationist RPGs and/or physics/calculus. As you may expect, it is diametrically opposed to "Soft Science Fiction."

A possible way to describe it is "a story where the fiction is informed by the science."

Major discrepancies between fact and fiction have been discussed ad infinitum. Important points include:

• Alien civilizations resembling human archetypes;
• Faster than light travel;
• Combat and stealth in space;
• Violation of thermodynamic laws.

Many would consider the very idea of a trans-galactic society beyond hard science fiction since nothing travels faster than light, and even approaching that speed with considerable mass regularly would take more energy than the universe can supply.

Jules Verne's works, when seen in the context of the time they were written, can be considered hard science fiction.

A notable compromise is the anime Planetes, which manages to avoid any direct violation of the laws of physics but fails to explain the economic viability of manned space travel.