Preview: Science In The Cinema @ Kings Place

Hover boards and tractor beams, warp drives and photon torpedos. Lightsabres, flux capacitors and the instant ability to 'know kung-fu'. We're all familiar with these concepts. We know precisely where to target a Death Star to effect its destruction. We'd never attempt teleportation without a fly swatter to hand. And half the people reading this will know, to two decimal places, the number of gigawatts required to send a DeLorean back to the future.

None of this stuff has actually been invented yet. What is it about science fiction that so grips the popular imagination?

The next Nature Debate at Kings Place looks at the relationship between science and the cinema. Just how feasible are the futuristic ideas dreamt up by sci-fi writers? And does science fiction ever influence real science? The panel, while not household names, are all excellent speakers. Henry Gee is an editor at science journal Nature, author of The Science of Middle Earth, and one of the most erudite and entertaining fellows on this or any other Class M planet. Gia Milinovich is a writer and broadcaster of all things science, and has worked as a consultant on more sci-fi films than you could shake a phaser at. Finally, Mark Henderson is the much-respected science editor at The Times. The panel is chaired by Adam Rutherford, host of the recent mini-series The Cell.

Set engines to warp factor 9...or just get the Tube to Kings Cross and walk down York Way.

Science In The Cinema takes place at Kings Place on 9 November. Tickets cost £9.50.