What does interstellar mean? Many people asked this question after watching the masterpiece of the same name by Christopher Nolan. The article will tell in detail about the meaning of the word, the history of its occurrence, as well as the reasons for the popularity of the term among creative people.
Word
The meaning of the word "interstellar" is quite easy to reveal. This is a compound word inherent in the English language. Usually, European languages ​​do not come up with any new term for a specific phenomenon, but create a phrase from together two or more words that are already widespread in linguistic practice.
"Interstellar" is a word that can often be seen in the works of English-speaking physicists and astronomers. It is directly related to the study of cosmic depths, as well as processes taking place in the Universe. The term is used in the theoretical reports of mathematicians, designed to explain the mathematical nature of matter.
Origin
“Interstellar” is a term created from two words of the English language. “Inter,” the first part of the word, means “through,” “in,” “through,” or “between.” "Stellar" is a "star", a "luminous body." Both words are directly related to the scientific field and are often used in astronomy and physics, but until 2014 they practically did not meet together. Thus, it can be argued that “interstellar” means “interstellar” or “through stellar”. The first option sounds literary, but the second more accurately conveys the meaning.
Dictionary
In the famous Oxford dictionary, the above word does not exist, it is absent in other periodical dictionary editions of England. The thing is that serious academic dictionaries are not reprinted every year, but are published every ten or even twenty years. Amending such a dictionary is not an easy task: a scientific council is assembled to discuss each change, consisting of experienced philologists and linguists who decide whether to include a word in the official dictionary of England.
Perhaps in the coming decades, with the next re-release of the leading dictionaries of the Foggy Albion, the word "interstellar" will be included in one of them.
Film adaptation
In 2014, the legendary director Christopher Nolan released a film of the same name, the plot of which almost literally explained to the audience what this word means, “interstellar”.
The film tells about a black hole in the space-time continuum, which allows a person to be in several places at the same time, not only in the present tense, but also in the past, in the future.
The leading physicists and astronomers of Europe participated in the development of the script for the film. One of them, Kip Thorne, who once worked with Stephen Hawking, even published a brochure that describes in simple words the scientific component of the movie.
The film tells about an environmental disaster, which should happen in the future due to the low concentration of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. Disasters are tearing the planet, the climate is rapidly deteriorating, living conditions are becoming unbearable.
Pilot Cooper, who once worked at NASA, is offered to go on to study the “mole hole” in space. There is a small chance that it will be possible to build a new house there, in which it will be possible to relocate all of humanity from a dying Earth.
What does “interstellar” mean in the understanding of the filmmakers? Obviously, by this word the scriptwriters understand a new house for all people on earth, a house that is in a cluster of stars and travels in the universe. Perhaps the authors had in mind the fact that every person, first of all, is a citizen of the Universe. Its main purpose is to keep peace and quiet in it.
Interpretation of film adaptation
The film should be taken as a scientific parable, and not as a separate work of art. The picture is based on real events, all the scientific hypotheses shown in it exist in reality.
Popularity
Obviously, the movie of the same name brought some fame to the word "interstellar". Many artists began to call this term their works of art. Also, the word has become entrenched in scientific circles and, most likely, will even fall into the famous Oxford Dictionary, which is always open for various interesting innovations.
The meaning of the word "interstellar" did not at all play any role in the popularity of the term. Due to the beautiful sound and a certain style and charm inherent in each part of it, the term has become popular not only in scientific but also in creative circles.
Many artists began to use this term as names for music albums, concert programs or collections of poetry. Some of the creative people doing this consciously refer the reader or listener to the work of Nolan, and some act in this way unknowingly, simply as an experiment.
What does “interstellar” mean for an ordinary person, a layman? Obviously, this word has some kind of magical power of cosmic attraction, since so many people on earth like it. Maybe it just expresses the inner craving of each of us to conquer the bottomless spaces of space?