THE TRADES

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The mysterious, underlying concept in the Star Wars

EINSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED

There’s a lot of science in Doctor Who, both real and fictional. Just what has it taught us over the years?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

What happens when machines get ideas above their station? And how close are we to the age of the omnipotent supercomputer predicted by Doctor Who?

THe CYBERMEN

A nightmarish amalgam of organic and synthetic components, the Cybermen are probably Doctor Who’s grimmest warning about the perversion of technology.

THe DALEKS

Fixated on the conquest and annihilation of all other species, the Daleks have pursued technological innovation in their quest to become the ultimate form of life.

Genetic Manipulation

Some of Doctor Who’s most dangerous villains have dared to play God – with horrifying consequences. But have all their motives been sinister?

IMMORTALITY

Who wants to love forever? Life-extending experiments have brought terrible consequences to some. Maybe immortality is best left to the experts…

A Kettle and Some String

The Doctor doesn’t always rely on the sonic screwdriver. Often, his solutions to problems are far more ingenious…

MEDICAL SCIENCE

From advanced nanotechnology to the restorative properties of a nice cup of tea, the Doctor has come across some remarkable medical treatments over the centuries…

MIND CONTROL

The Doctor is an accomplished hypnotist, but his enemies’ powers of persuasion are used to more damaging effect…

Miniaturisation

Shrinking people to microscopic size is commonplace in Earth’s far future – with both medical and punitive applications…

ROBOTS, ANDROIDS AND CYBORCS

From Autons and Emojibots to Quarks and Vocs, the robots of Doctor Who go by many names and come in many sizes. Almost all of them, however, pose a threat to mankind…

SONIC DEVICES

Whatever you do in the Doctor Who universe, never doubt that you could be doing it better with sound waves.

STRANGE PHENOMENA

Science has generally triumphed over magic in the history of Doctor Who, but what about characters and situations that defy scientific explanation?

SUSPENDED ANIMATION

The technology to freeze all bodily functions and thus survive for centuries is one that many races have employed…

TELEPORTATION

The technology is more closely associated with Star Trek, but the selective reassembling of atoms has loomed large in Doctor Who…

THE TIME LORDS

Of all the technology in the universe, none is more impressive than that created by the Doctor’s own people…

TIME TRAVEL

The most powerful technology in the universe is one that has been mastered by the Doctor’s own people, and attempted by many others…

VEHICLES

From souped-up vintage cars to flying trains, Doctor Who has an ongoing fascination with extraordinary vehicles.

VIRTUAL REALITIES

The universe can be a strange and challenging place. But the environments found within virtual worlds can be even more terrifying…

WEAPONS

From death rays to delta waves, via living plastic and nuclear missiles, Doctor Who has presented a chilling array of advanced weaponry.

THE SCIENCE OF MAGIC

Doctor Who has often favoured pseudo-scientific explanations for events that could otherwise be explained by magic. In 1975, one of its leading writers decided to apply this rule to an episode that had already been broadcast.