Explain this.

[Senzune]

A flaw in almost every episode where the spaceships are involved.

When you throw a ball in space, the ball will not slow down because there is no resisting force to that ball.

When you shut down the subspace engines of a spaceship, it slows down. The SGA episode with the Alternate Reality Drive and the Alien Chase is a nice example.

What slows down the ships?

[Alx]

A flaw in almost every episode where the spaceships are involved.

When you throw a ball in space, the ball will not slow down because there is no resisting force to that ball.

When you shut down the subspace engines of a spaceship, it slows down. The SGA episode with the Alternate Reality Drive and the Alien Chase is a nice example.

What slows down the ships?

the plot the writers and the CGI.

but i agree this is something constantly overlooked in ALL scifi dont know why really maybe the writers and poducers just think their audience is stupid..

[Ukko]

A flaw in almost every episode where the spaceships are involved.

When you throw a ball in space, the ball will not slow down because there is no resisting force to that ball.

When you shut down the subspace engines of a spaceship, it slows down. The SGA episode with the Alternate Reality Drive and the Alien Chase is a nice example.

What slows down the ships?

Friction Fiction.

[magictrick]

Its Science Fiction, so the fiction part explains it. I agree though, and there are other things that bother me, the biggest of all being that there isn't supposed to be any sound in space.

[thekillman]

99% of all flaws in hollywood and well sci fi and all are because the people who're good at making movies and TV are often horrible at understanding and using science. if a major director thinks that cars go boom when shot with bullets, a tech savvy modeller won't stand up because that's the same as writing your resignation letter.


it's why there are often science advisors. in fact, Cameron had several actual scientists for his film Avatar to make it as realistic as possible.

[Jeffala]

You could rationalize it as this: When someone calls for "all stop", they're giving two orders. First is the order to cut power to the engines pushing the ship forward and the second is to fire breaking thrusters that act to cancel out the perpetual movement left by the ship's inertia.

[Merlin1701]

de-accelerating drive.

I think it was mentioned when they come out of hyperspace that they activate the drive to slow the ship down. When a ship is at impulse thrusters at the front of the ship are fired to slow it down.

[asdf1239]

it's why there are often science advisors. in fact, Cameron had several actual scientists for his film Avatar to make it as realistic as possible.

because floating mountains, wildlife taking sides during a battle, and of course a course a contrived and generic plot designed to showcase the corporate evil and the harmonious natives and environment is realistic.

[thekillman]

yes.

floating mountains: superconductive magnetic fields allow for perpetual hovering.
wildlife: everything is governed by a central intelligence, Eywa. besides a similar thing was observed in bacteria some time ago.

a contrived and generic plot designed to showcase the corporate evil and the harmonious natives and environment is realistic.

plot has nothing to do with science.

[Alx]

yes.

floating mountains: superconductive magnetic fields allow for perpetual hovering.
wildlife: everything is governed by a central intelligence, Eywa. besides a similar thing was observed in bacteria some time ago.



plot has nothing to do with science.

you believe everything you see in movies and tv dont you?

[thekillman]

VERY funny.

nope Cameron had like a dozen scientists to work out all the tech. any aircraft in Avatar, even the space ship Venture Star, it's all as realistic as possible. well minus the fact that earth in avatar can mass produce Antimatter, but that';s why they need unobtanium. in terms of errors, Stargate is a billion time WORSE than avatar. none of the SG ships can exist, because they would melt themselves

[Mike.]

you believe everything you see in movies and tv dont you?

Sci-fi only has to integrate bit of truth, and then can branch off to fit the plot as much as it sees fit. In fantasy you don't even have that small restriction. Avatar falls somewhere in between.

These elements are not even that important to the message of the movie, they're just to create a new world, different enough so the audience doesn't reject the movie for personal reasons or reach the wrong conclusions due to preconceptions. Getting hunged up on minor details is missing the big picture and showing a lack of imagination.

Superconductors: watch this video.
Explaining the coordinated attack is even easier: an immune system fighting a disease.

[thekillman]

Avatar falls somewhere in between.

AVATAR is harder sci fi than star trek, star wars, star gate, BSG and whatever COMBINED. Plot does not matter. take a plant, show it to a scientist and he/she'll confirm it's realistic. take an aircraft, show it to an engineer, build it and it'll fly. take that space ship, show it to a scientist and he'll say it'll work. the fact that the plot is like pocahontas does not matter.


re: floating mountains. seriously, if Flux Vortex didn't give it away, then good luck. Unobtanium is a superconductor, and therefore the mountains can keep on floating. the result is a powerful magnetic field. why the Na'vi weren't instantly obliterated? because all automatic piloting and aiming systems were being screwed with by the magnetism. why do you think the na'vi retreated there? not just because of their fancy tree. the animals choose sides because Eywa, which is actually a superintelligence which manages the ecosystem, decided to intervene.


Venture Star


again it's further up the hardness list than Stargate. actually for as long as cars blow up when shot by bullets, avatar stands above the average Hollywood movie

[s09119]

AVATAR is harder sci fi than star trek, star wars, star gate, BSG and whatever COMBINED. Plot does not matter. take a plant, show it to a scientist and he/she'll confirm it's realistic. take an aircraft, show it to an engineer, build it and it'll fly. take that space ship, show it to a scientist and he'll say it'll work. the fact that the plot is like pocahontas does not matter.


re: floating mountains. seriously, if Flux Vortex didn't give it away, then good luck. Unobtanium is a superconductor, and therefore the mountains can keep on floating. the result is a powerful magnetic field. why the Na'vi weren't instantly obliterated? because all automatic piloting and aiming systems were being screwed with by the magnetism. why do you think the na'vi retreated there? not just because of their fancy tree. the animals choose sides because Eywa, which is actually a superintelligence which manages the ecosystem, decided to intervene.


Venture Star


again it's further up the hardness list than Stargate. actually for as long as cars blow up when shot by bullets, avatar stands above the average Hollywood movie

I have to agree. He's right; the movie had its science down almost flawlessly. You can critique the plot all you want, but don't bother trying to poke holes in the mechanics and scientific data Cameron used to put Pandora together.

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Not to rain on the little party here - Avatar is pretty decent at science - but anyone who claims that the floating mountains are realistic is, well, wrong. The problem is not how they float. A regional magnetic field would indeed do the trick. The problem is that said magnetic field would have to be . . . rather large. As in very bad for anything that comes near it large. As in quite deadly is an understatement large.

So, floating mountains: check. Anything alive near them . . . well, let's just say not so much. Poor Na'vi.


I'm more impressed with the Na'vi culture and language. That was pretty darn good work.