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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
 Posted - 02/20/2007 : 10:03:47 PM
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No less a scientist than Kepler himself wrote a science fiction story about a trip to the moon. He has his traveler go to the moon via a magical dream. Kepler knew that this was not science but it does not make the story less brilliant and imaginative. I think that the issue here is just brazen mistakes in science such as using parsec as a measure of time rather than distance or having spaceships blowup with loud booms. BUT I love it when the producers make no effort whatever to have their show have anything to do with actual science. Like Farscape. BUT if you are going to create your own physical universe those laws have to apply to everyone in it and they cannot contradict each other.
rossM |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2007 : 11:58:19 PM
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Obviously 99% of the technobabble in most futuristic space shows has no grounding in the real world. I was really talking more about when movies screw up everyday science stuff, as opposed to the speculative, more futuristic stuff.
Like in This Island Earth, when Rex Reason's hands become stuck to the handlebars, Jeff Morrow helpfully explains, "Those bars are magnetized." (Prompting Tom Servo in the MST3K version to quip, "And if your hands were metal, that would mean something.") |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 02/21/2007 12:00:52 AM |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2007 : 1:59:21 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by brandywine
That means even if a space ship moved at the speed of light (which is totally impossible!)
There used to be a formula in the 1930s that "prooved" that it was "impossible" for an object to travel faster than SOUND, even though bullets and other projectiles did it every day!
I don't think that faster-than-light travel is "impossible", only "very hard". After all, before 1968 it was "impossible" for people to walk on the moon!
Back to the subject:
In "Phantom Planet" the astronauts recived their final orders via teletype, which would mean that their rocket was attached to the moonbase by a TELEGRAPH WIRE.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2007 : 4:07:24 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Greenhornet
In "Phantom Planet" the astronauts recived their final orders via teletype, which would mean that their rocket was attached to the moonbase by a TELEGRAPH WIRE.
LOL. |
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Geminass
Altar Boy of Jabootu
5 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2007 : 6:26:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
For instance, I remember reading a story from the early 70's that had communications about a person of interest occur via what was basically a souped up fax. Sci-fi from the 50's and 60's always has huge computers used in the far future.
I remember reading an old Battletech novel <ducks head in shame> where characters were absolutely ecstatic over discovering a memory cache hidden since ye olde Golden Age (I'll let the selective loss of knowledge in the series slide for now). While they're discussing the find, someone talks about how they found a whole 700 kilobytes of information on the hyperdrive-esque tech that made interstellar travel possible. I'm sure that sounded like a lot when it was written but now you can get wristwatches that hold more than that. I'm certain that a hundred years from now people will look back at our ideas of the impossible and wonder how we ever believed it. |
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brandywine
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
56 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2007 : 05:53:06 AM
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quote:
There used to be a formula in the 1930s that "prooved" that it was "impossible" for an object to travel faster than SOUND, even though bullets and other projectiles did it every day! I don't think that faster-than-light travel is "impossible", only "very hard". After all, before 1968 it was "impossible" for people to walk on the moon!
This makes think of another movie error. If the Star Trek crew were always traveling at the speed of light they would totally be aging slower than normal.
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800024823/photo/467406
This obviously wasn't the case.
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Max Torque
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
61 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2007 : 1:49:20 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Geminass
While they're discussing the find, someone talks about how they found a whole 700 kilobytes of information on the hyperdrive-esque tech that made interstellar travel possible. I'm sure that sounded like a lot when it was written but now you can get wristwatches that hold more than that. I'm certain that a hundred years from now people will look back at our ideas of the impossible and wonder how we ever believed it.
Seven hundred kilobytes!! Why, it would take more than two hundred pounds of punch cards to store all that data!!! |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2007 : 3:49:10 PM
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| ...But it could be compiled on 6 Spectrum tapes. Now, pray there aren't any read errors. |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2007 : 8:33:08 PM
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quote:
Greenhornet wrote:
There used to be a formula in the 1930s that "proved" that it was "impossible" for an object to travel faster than SOUND, even though bullets and other projectiles did it every day!
I don't think that faster-than-light travel is "impossible", only "very hard". After all, before 1968 it was "impossible" for people to walk on the moon!
Actually, people in the 30's knew that bullets travelled faster than the speed of sound. It was "controlled flight" faster than sound that they had trouble with. Also "walking on the moon" which, of course, was never an argument of physics per se - the "travel to the moon" was being worked on, since the beginning of the space program and was not really considered an impossibility based in physics (at least not in the 20th century). But it would be interesting to know who exactly is working on humans traveling faster than the speed of light these days. The government, maybe?
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://www.henrybrennan.com/
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Matrixprime
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2007 : 08:59:42 AM
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So long as the story isn't billed as hard science, I'm usually OK with it. I actually like movies that aren't entirely plausible sounding as long as they're vague on the specifics - after all, every generation has ideas of what's impossible that the next generation takes for granted.
BUT, you've all forgotten Science Blunder of ALL blunders. A movie that made my head heart and grind my teeth, a movie that I wanted to like 'cause I have a fondness for apocalyptic stories....
THE CORE.
Lessee....gov'mint experimentation makes the core of the planet stop (No sense of scale here).....and its fixed by traveling in a prototype roboworm built by a homeless man in the desert, in about 2 days, drilling deep into the Earth, CIRCLING the interior of the planet, and blowing up nukes.
Bah Weep Granna Weep Ninny Bahn - Universal Greeting
Est Solarus Oth Mithas - Solamnic Knight Pledge
And now its me too:
http://matrixprime.blogspot.com |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2007 : 10:19:09 AM
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Yeah, but The Core is SO retarded how can you not have fun. For me it's the 21st century equivalent of a Victorian story in which a scientist and his ladyfriend, along with another couple, pile into a giant bullet fired at the moon so they can have a fine picnic but are attacked by pengiuns.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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VikingBarry
Altar Boy of Jabootu
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2007 : 10:49:16 PM
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Hello Folks:
My favorited pet-pea in Science Fiction is, how long would it take to get a planet like Mars. In "The Angery Red Planet" (1960, it take took forty-seven days to reach it, and only thirteen days coming back to Earth. Even with the rocket fuel we have now, it could take us up till nine months to get there. It means that better have a lot of oxgen on board or your but is grass. Also, make sure that you are carrying pleny of food, or you will be sorry in the end. The ship that they used in "The Angry Red," was an Atlas. It is a much smaller rocket for human to fit comfortably in. It was the model pototyped for long-range nuclear warheads. It was not build to withstand the harsh condictions of outer space. Another thing is they were wearing G-suits while walking about on Mars. The outfit is only good for the upper astomsphere of Earth. You will the one that are used in the continued space shutter programs. Also your helmet should fully enclosed, man is not meant to breath the deadly air of Mars. So long and a nice day.
Sign:
Barry Fletcher |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 4:54:30 PM
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Sardu, I agree with you on "The Core." I mean you could tell the whole movie was tongue-in-cheek. At least, I hope it was done that way. :-)
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 3:06:07 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by VikingBarry
Hello Folks:
My favorited pet-pea in Science Fiction is, how long would it take to get a planet like Mars. In "The Angery Red Planet" (1960, it take took forty-seven days to reach it, and only thirteen days coming back to Earth. Even with the rocket fuel we have now, it could take us up till nine months to get there. It means that better have a lot of oxgen on board or your but is grass. Also, make sure that you are carrying pleny of food, or you will be sorry in the end. The ship that they used in "The Angry Red," was an Atlas. It is a much smaller rocket for human to fit comfortably in. It was the model pototyped for long-range nuclear warheads. It was not build to withstand the harsh condictions of outer space. Another thing is they were wearing G-suits while walking about on Mars. The outfit is only good for the upper astomsphere of Earth. You will the one that are used in the continued space shutter programs. Also your helmet should fully enclosed, man is not meant to breath the deadly air of Mars. So long and a nice day.
Sign:
Barry Fletcher
True, but remember, the giant Rat/Bat/Spider reduced the crew needs by one and a half. That has to account for something.
Marvin the Paranoid Android to Buzz Lightyear "Too infinity and beyond-i've been there, its rubbish!"
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KDOT
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Edited by - Flangepart on 02/26/2007 3:07:08 PM |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2007 : 12:47:57 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by hbrennan
Actually, people in the 30's knew that bullets travelled faster than the speed of sound. It was "controlled flight" faster than sound that they had trouble with. Also "walking on the moon" which, of course, was never an argument of physics per se - the "travel to the moon" was being worked on, since the beginning of the space program and was not really considered an impossibility based in physics (at least not in the 20th century).
I was either making a point or giving an example when I wrote that, I don't remember. But you're right.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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