I am a huge Star Wars fan. The first film (no, not episode 1) was released when I was young, so I grew up thinking about Millennium Falcon And the Laser Sabers. Perhaps this has aroused my interest in science-even if it is not exactly science fiction. Oh, There is A great way to start a Nerd fight: is Star Wars' “science fiction” “Space Fantasy”?
Anyway, you must admit that there are things in there look like science. I mean, whenever you treat with spaces in space, this is an opportunity to talk about science. This is exactly what I'm going to do, because today is the Star Wars Day. May the 4 be with you!
What scientific things in Star Wars are just not scientific? I will review some of the most interesting ideas, but don't get me wrong. I use these errors as a means of talking about science, but I don't think they must be corrected. A more realistic Star Wars would probably be boring. Read the rest, you will see what I mean.
Sound in space
The opening scene in Star Wars shows a huge star destructive pursuing a smaller rebellious ship. You hear the rumble of the engines, and this gives you the impression of a powerful ship. Unfortunately, it is simply not possible.
Think of the sound for a moment. Suppose you are tapping a cup of coffee on the side with a spoon. You hear a pretty little plink. Indeed, the tap has raised the ceramic material from front and back, which grows in the air around it, compressing it. This compressed air then grows on other airs nearby as it expands. The entire process produces a pressure wave, and this pressure wave is what we call sound.
Is it possible to have a soundless sound wave? Of course. You don't need air, but you need something For the pressure wave to move. It could be a solid or a water or really anything that allows higher pressure to push on the parts with a lower pressure. Sound waves need a kind of medium to “wave”. In space, there is … nothing.
Well, it's not totally TRUE. There are charged particles like protons and electrons moving in space – ties of solar wind or debris from explosive stars. In a solar system, there is also dust. However, the density of this “gas” would be so tiny, you could barely measure it. Far too low to transmit the sound.
So why do filmmakers put the sound in a vacuum? Well, most of us have never been in space, and when things collide silently, it seems bad. The sound of this star Destroyer massif reminds us of a large ocean ship that passes nearby – something we can understand.
How do you manage this thing?
One of the great ideas of physics is that the forces change the movement of an object. If you apply a constant continuous force to an object – and there is no counter -inforcement like the wind of the wind – this object will accelerate and continue To accelerate forever.
We call this second Newton law, and this works for several forces on an object by replacing them with a single force called net force, as indicated below. Here M is the mass of the ship and A is its acceleration.
