Worst Sci-Fi quasi physics for space travel.

[bdewoody]

To me the worst sci-fi physics is when they have a space vehicle slowing down or stopping when it runs out of fuel or the engines get knocked out.<br /><br />As long as it's in space an object will continue in the same direction and speed it was going when the engines quit, unless it falls under the gravitational influence of another object. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

LOL. I love that one. You're right on target and I think that has to be the worst crime committed too often in movie and print.<br /><br />One thing I can't stand is seeing a movie that has people in a ship in space who obviously don't have the tech for artificial gravity just simply walking around their ship. I am sure there are obvious budget restraints involved. But, seriously, at least address the issue. It's also tiring to see a situation in which the people have artificial gravity but are faced with a problem that could be solved just by turning off or adjusting artificial gravity. Can't budge that pylon off of the trapped crewman? Turn off the freaking gravity generators you nitwits... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[Mee_n_Mac]

And while dogfighting why do the directed energy weapons miss ? I mean really, you can't dodge a SOL weapon. And then the bad SF movies depict these misses with an explosion in space near the target. What was it that exploded ? The old, original BSG was bad on all these counts. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>-----------------------------------------------------</p><p><font color="#ff0000">Ask not what your Forum Software can do do on you,</font></p><p><font color="#ff0000">Ask it to, please for the love of all that's Holy, <strong>STOP</strong> !</font></p> </div>

 

[docm]

<font color="yellow">I think it's dumb when they have space fighter craft in dogfights, zipping and dodging and doing loop-de-loops....all as though they had wings and were moving through air! Such manuvers shouldn't be possible in a vacuum....</font><br /><br />Two words: thrust vectoring. While you normally think of it in atmospheric fighters it also works in space; a rocket engines gimballed thrust. <br /><br />I can see no reason whatsoever why a small spaceplane couldn't be made to do "space-batics" provided it's equipped with 3 dimensional thrust vectoring, vectored thrust reversal and proper avionics. <br /><br />Might get seasick as hell, but that's beside the point <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">And while dogfighting why do the directed energy weapons miss ? I mean really, you can't dodge a SOL weapon.</font><br /><br />But the targeting system can be fooled. IIRC some Russian fighters have IR spoofing which is intended to affect heat seekers but could work just as well on IR targeted directed energy weapons. Same can be done with radar, as electronic countermeasure systems are designed to do.<br /><br />Spoof both and you're back to a reticle and the M-1 Eyeball with all the inaccuracies they bring to the table.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">And then the bad SF movies depict these misses with an explosion in space near the target. What was it that exploded ?</font><br /><br />The F/X directors imagination? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Actually some DE weapons can easily create plasma in even a small dust, smoke, gas or molecular cloud (ex: engine or attitude control exhaust), and it wouldn't take much of this to produce a lightning-like flash. <br /><br />Then there are plasma weapons themselves. Eventually these would lose their cohe <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Then again, the A-Team fired off hundreds of rounds in 3 minutes, and never hit a damn thing <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />Of course, they never MEANT to hit anything <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[docm]

<font color="yellow">I've ever seen, people fighting each other with hand lasers/phasers/zat guns (whatever) manage to "duck" a bolt of light. This would be almost impossible to do with an oncoming speeding bullet</font><br /><br />In the firefights I've been involved in you watch your opponents barrel and do your best imitation of gun-kata until you can return fire. Worked good so far, though those incidents long predate Kurt Wimmer & Jim Vickers's invention of gun-kata <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Mee_n_Mac]

<font color="yellow">But the targeting system can be fooled. IIRC some Russian fighters have IR spoofing which is intended to affect heat seekers but could work just as well on IR targeted directed energy weapons. Same can be done with radar, as electronic countermeasure systems are designed to do. <br /><br />Spoof both and you're back to a reticle and the M-1 Eyeball with all the inaccuracies they bring to the table.</font><br /><br /><br />True enough but rarely do I see IR flares or RF drones or chaff being deployed when this is happening. While a SSJ (self screening jammer) might be employed to deny radar track, it always seems that the bad guy has "lock" when he shoots. Besides a good SF weapon system should be more advanced than what we have today and thus be at least 3 band multispectral and frequency agile. Hard to spoof all them sensors simultaneously, even today. I'll accept mis-registration of the weapons with the tracker for an initial miss or 2 but after that it should be all over. <br /><br /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">Actually some DE weapons can easily create plasma in even a small dust, smoke, gas or molecular cloud (ex: engine or attitude control exhaust), and it wouldn't take much of this to produce a lightning-like flash. <br /><br />Then there are plasma weapons themselves. Eventually these would lose their cohesion and bloom, perhaps popping out of existence like ball lightning. I've seen ball lightning do this and it does indeed look like a small explosion.</font><br /><br /><br />Good points and it just amazing how often this occurs <b>just</b> outside of the cockpit viewports. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>-----------------------------------------------------</p><p><font color="#ff0000">Ask not what your Forum Software can do do on you,</font></p><p><font color="#ff0000">Ask it to, please for the love of all that's Holy, <strong>STOP</strong> !</font></p> </div>

 

[docm]

<font color="yellow">True enough but rarely do I see IR flares or RF drones or chaff being deployed when this is happening. </font><br /><br />No need for IR flares if you use IR lasers, which is what's in Russian fighters and being put on airliners & US govt. planes to protect them from IR missiles, and IR is invisible.<br /><br />As for chaff & drones, they're nearing old school status too. Active radar arrays like those on the F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Lightning II can also track, locate and jam enemy radars.<br /><br />Back to the M1 Eyeball <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">Good points and it just amazing how often this occurs just outside of the cockpit viewports. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /></font><br /><br />Take a close look at the Shuttle and Dream Chaser; they both have attitude control jets <i>directly</i> in front of their cockpit viewports. Gas + DE = plasma. POOF! <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

Not such a common one, but still a storyline staple: Craft is crippled so the plan is always "Quick! lets find a planet we can crashland on". Probably not a good idea for several reasons.. and then they always manage to deaccelerate down to exactly stereotypical airplane crashlanding speed and angle dispite clearly having no aerodynamic qualities whatsoever.

 

[bdewoody]

The fighters in Babylon 5 depicted ehat to me seems to be believeable manuvering characteristics. But to manuver the way you describe they would have to have vast amounts of fuel just for the thrusters. <br /><br />Speaking of fuel you wonder how a viper in BSG could carry enough for more than 10 minutes of flight. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[bobw]

Living in a smoky room so you get stoned enough to fold space and travel without moving always seemed pretty lame to me. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vogon13]

In V, the aliens were here to steal our water.<br /><br />In one episode, the aliens destroyed Europa (with out siphoning off the water first).<br /><br />Dumb aliens.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

I don't know, it seems to work for me. hehehe <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[bobw]

I was never able to master the part about staying where I went <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

Yeah that's still a problem with me too. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[spacefire]

For most of the glaring physics errors described here:<br /><br />Blame George Lucas who watched Battle of Britain videos as inspiration for the space fights in SW. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[vagueship]

Maybe not really a physics thing, but to think someone could "float in space for eons" without getting caught by some source of gravity is very improbable.

 

[yevaud]

Artificial Gravity, hands down. This annoys the hell out of me. I understand the technical film limitations, but really now... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

Only if you rotate the crew compartment or a portion thereof like they did in 2001 and 2010. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[docm]

<font color="yellow">force fields - force fields that allow normal light to pass through and some one to talk, allows for air but prevents high kinetic weapons fire, extremely energized particle weapons etc etc etc from killing you.</font><br /><br />IF the we're talking charged particle beams or plasma weapons then an artificial "magnetosphere" could deflect them. <br /><br />This principle is being worked on now in the UK, USA and I'd bet in Russia too given their expertise in magnetohydrodynamics. This work is primarily geared towards blocking cosmic rays and solar flare radiation in manned spacecraft, but in this case defensive weaponization is just a matter of intensity.<br /><br />It also has implications for propulsion in the form of a magnetic solar sail. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[spacefire]

the shields in Dune blocked only high speed projectiles, so they allowed for handheld weapons to penetrate. this made for a lot of hand to hand combat. also, when hit by a laser they made a huge boom.<br /><br /><br />I need to reread the original books and finish the series! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[chyten]

<b>but to think someone could "float in space for eons" without getting caught by some source of gravity is very improbable.</b><br /><br />Not improbable at all, if you start out well away from any star (say, halfway between Sun and Alpha Centauri). Even if by some freak chance you drift close enough to a star to get affected by gravity, <i>capturing</i> is so improbable as to require pretty much a divine intervention. Two-body capture is impossible; the only way a body falling into solar system could enter orbit around Sun is if it passes close enough to some planet to get slowed down. Chances of that happening are... well... astronomical.<br /><br />Now, <b>being found</b> after drifting in interstellar space "for eons", THAT beggars imagination... <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[qso1]

Good observation chyten, to add to it just a little. Say this someone is floating at the halfway point between Alpha Centauri and Sol and travelling along with other galactic objects at say approximately 40,000 mph which is roughly 1 million miles per day.<br /><br />1 million miles per day or 365 million miles per year, 36.5 billion miles in a century, 365 billion miles per millinia...3 trillion plus miles per 10,000 years! In 10,000 years, if your moving towards one or the other star...it'll be at least that many years before that improbable capture can occur. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

Real time communication across great distances... need I say more? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[summoner]

Even though it's not a physics problem, my biggest coplaint is the communications issue. Unless there really are babelfish out there, there is no way everyone should be able to speak to each other so easily. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:271px;background-color:#FFF;border:1pxsolid#999"><tr><td colspan="2"><div style="height:35px"><img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/htmlSticker1/language/www/US/MT/Three_Forks.gif" alt="" height="35" width="271" style="border:0px" /></div>