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Hypothetical vs Handwavium - What's the difference?

hypothetical | handwavium |

As nouns the difference between hypothetical and handwavium

is that hypothetical is a hypothetical situation or proposition while handwavium is (informal|fiction) any hypothetical but unobtainable material with desirable engineering properties.

As an adjective hypothetical

is based upon a hypothesis; conjectural.

hypothetical

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Based upon a hypothesis; conjectural
  • *
  • (philosophy) conditional; contingent upon some hypothesis/antecedent

    • Synonyms

    * conjectural * (contingent upon some hypothesis) conditional

    Antonyms

    * (actual) actual * (in philosophy) categorical

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A hypothetical situation or proposition
    • These hypotheticals serve no purpose until we have more information.

    Related terms

    * hypothesis * hypothesize

    handwavium

    English

    (wikipedia handwavium)

    Noun

    (-)
  • (informal, fiction) Any hypothetical but unobtainable material with desirable engineering properties.
  • * 2008 , "Jacey Bedford", Handwavium'' (on newsgroup ''rec.arts.sf.composition )
    • My handwavium was an invented mineral, but - reading up - what about platinum? Could I substitute platinum for handwavium?
  • * 2008 , Alexander Jablokov, The Boarder'', in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , volume 114, number 3 (March)
    • He puzzled over the spacecraft and their handwavium drives. "The thousand and one nights of Scheherazade, told by an engineering student who failed his graduation exams," was his literary judgment.
  • * 2011 , Imogen Howson, Blood of the Volcano (page 167)
    • She writes romantic fantasy and science fiction, and makes liberal use of the substance known as handwavium .