Hard science fiction

Hard science fiction, or hard SF, is a subgenre of science fiction characterized by an interest in scientific detail or accuracy. However, there is a great deal of disagreement among readers and writers over what exactly constitutes an interest in scientific detail. Many hard SF stories focus on the natural sciences and technological developments, but many others leave technology in the background.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Scientific - Natural sciences

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Some authors scrupulously eschew such implausibilities as faster-than-light travel, while others accept such plot devices but focus on realistically depicting the worlds that such a technology might make accessible; the hard SF writer is permitted to foresee the automobile provided that he also foresees the traffic jam.

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Character development is often secondary to explorations of astronomical or physical phenomena, but some authors foreground the human condition. Even in such cases, a common trope of hard SF hinges the resolution of the plot on a technological point.

Related Topics:
Astronomical - Physical

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Writers usually attempt to make their stories consistent with known science at the time of publication. Even when writing hard SF set in alternate universes where different physical laws apply, authors still attempt to create an internally consistent set of physical laws.

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See the article on Hal Clement for a description of how one hard science fiction author viewed his craft.

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