Actual science in science fiction

[james_davis_nicoll]

Not applied sciences, I mean, or feats of engineering but the actual process of science. Is this a suitable topic for SF, by which I mean "can it be the seed for a story?" Or maybe better yet, "how does one use it as the seed for a story?"

One example would be the Steerswoman books. I think part of what makes that possible is that the protagonist is discovering scientific models that we are already familiar with, so the author is not saddled with the problem of coming up with a new scientific model.

I am not fussy about "Yes, this was cutting edge science 200 years ago and it still is today" stories, where whatever bit of pop-science that made the cover of DISCOVER is still new and exciting centuries from now.

Comments

[rosefox]

Blood Music has at least one of those little mental clicks that I recall off the top of my head. I can't think of any other books that feature such moments specifically in a scientific context, but I am reminded of a writeup I read recently on Apollo 13; I think those clicks are much more likely to happen when the thinker in question is under a lot of stress or pressure of some kind.

[shimgray.livejournal.com]

To dig up the old standby: Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

ISTR Cryptonomicon (which I haven't read in a while, so take with note of caution) having a couple of those moments with one of the characters and mathematics, although I may be being too kind to an expository textdump.