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PyrrhoTheSkeptic t1_ja1iee9 wrote

Reply to comment by DemonOfTheAstroWaste in Explosions in space movies? by DemonOfTheAstroWaste

There are so many things wrong with most space movies, someone could write a book about the drivel one sees onscreen. For example, most space movies have magic gravity that does not exist in space and their ships magically have it. They also often bank their ships flying in space, as if they were using wings in an atmosphere. They ignore the reality of distances and the impossibility of faster than light travel, the fact that hitting a spec of dust at anything near light speed would obliterate the spacecraft, etc.

Most "science fiction" movies about space are more properly thought of as fantasy films rather than SCIENCE fiction, because they have little to do with science.

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suprnintendochlmers t1_ja1l9fs wrote

The show The Expanse actually does a decent job with space physics. Ships are configured like skyscrapers and create gravity when they thrust. And they actually have to flip and burn the opposite direction to slow down before they reach their destination instead of using magic space brakes. It’s not perfect, but I appreciate the attempt to at least be semi-realistic.

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Teutonic-Tonic t1_ja1j7gt wrote

Also, Nearly 90% of all aliens speak English with a British accent.

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PyrrhoTheSkeptic t1_ja1josv wrote

The British Empire extended further than you might think. Also, Doctor Who has spread British ideas throughout the universe in both the past and future.

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Teutonic-Tonic t1_ja1k1yq wrote

This explains how they impacted language patterns a long time ago, in galaxies far, far away. Thank you.

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d4m1ty t1_ja1mpj0 wrote

This is where the Expanse was head and tails above other space movies.

Everyone getting strapped in preparing for High-G maneuvers. Locking your tool bays so a hammer doesn't turn into a sabot round when the ship suddenly changes direction. People stroking out to due high G acceleration. Using Acceleration/Deceleration at 1g over massive distances to simulate gravity.

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Muthafuckaaaaa t1_ja1ipcm wrote

>Most "science fiction" movies about space are more properly thought of as fantasy films rather than SCIENCE fiction, becaus

Because what!?!! Don't leave us hanging! ^^/s

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Rawtothedawg t1_ja1ilrp wrote

Oh Neil degrasse Tyson probably has written a book or two about it. Nobody loves ruining a good sci-fi movie like him on Twitter.

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dipper1985 t1_ja1mx7x wrote

> the fact that hitting a spec of dust at anything near light speed would obliterate the spacecraft,

How is this, though? You can hit a bug going 90 mph and it just splatters on your windshield. A rock flies off your fender etc.

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Ishidan01 t1_ja1or2o wrote

Bug soft, so it splats. A pebble at 90 mph WILL crack your windshield, or dent your fender.

Force equals mass times velocity SQUARED: velocity means more to force than mass, so if you have a very high velocity, a very small mass carries a lot of force.

Word correction: should have said energy, not force.

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dipper1985 t1_ja1pzea wrote

>Force equals mass times velocity SQUARED: velocity means more to force than mass, so if you have a very high velocity, a very small mass carries a lot of force.

This is kind of the answer I wanted, thank you.

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rockmodenick t1_ja24sg2 wrote

So much of modern ballistics is based on this model it's shocking it isn't more widely known.

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PyrrhoTheSkeptic t1_ja1ourv wrote

90 mph is almost nothing.

To help you understand, think about tossing a bullet back and forth with a friend. You can do that without your hand getting hurt at all, because the bullet is not going very fast. However, that same bullet being shot from a gun is going very fast coming out of barrel, and it hitting your hand at that speed makes a very significant difference for how it would affect your hand if the bullet hit your hand.

And the speed of a bullet out of a gun is practically nothing compared with going near the speed of light; the forces involved are vastly greater with vastly greater speed.

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Im_Chad_AMA t1_ja1oaap wrote

The speed of light is 300,000 km/s, or about 671,000,000 miles per hour. Quite a few orders of magnitude larger than 90 mph.

The kinetic energy of an object depends on both its mass and its velocity. A fly against your car is light enough, and the velocity of your car is small enough, that a collision between a car and a fly does nothing to the car. Once you approach lightspeed though, even a speck of dust could wreak havoc

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