Hard science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that aims to be realistic and based on scientific knowledge. It is contrasted with soft science fiction, which is less realistic and may include fantastical elements. Hard science fiction may address controversial concepts like faster-than-light travel in a more consistent way.
Hard science fiction is a subgenre within the larger science fiction genre of writing and creative work that is identified by certain commonalities. Most of this work, for example, is written to be very realistic in how science and various aspects of the world in which the story takes place are portrayed. While such works are still fictitious, an effort is made to ensure that the fictitious details are realistic and based on available scientific knowledge. Hard science fiction may also be more speculative and imaginative in nature, but still adheres to a coherent overall view of the universe of history.
The term “hard science fiction” is typically used in contrast to “soft science fiction” and is used as a way of indicating how realistic the work is in its depiction of the fictional universe. In this usage, “hard” and “soft” are used to refer to more or less realistically created work. Hard science fiction, for example, is often created with an eye to what is possible or real within the bounds of current scientific understanding. This means that the characters in such a work are usually limited by realistic limitations such as the effects of low gravity, the lack of combustion in outer space, and the need for full body suits and respirators when exploring alien worlds.
Soft science fiction, by contrast, usually adheres less closely to the realistic aspects of science writing. These works may include unrealistic details such as sound or fiery explosions in the vacuum of space, characters exploring alien worlds without protective covers, and more fantastical elements within the story universe. There are certain elements that can be present in both soft and hard science fiction, although “hard” works usually address these elements in more consistent ways.
Concepts like faster-than-light travel, for example, are often found in soft science fiction and can be somewhat controversial in hard science fiction. As far as modern science can explain, such travel is relatively impossible. There are a few ways around this limitation, however, and science fiction is usually written to work around those limitations in a way that still feels true to the universe in which the story is set. It is likely that these works present the technology that solves such problems in a fully developed way, and not simply explain it through a “miracle” of science.
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