Battlestar Galactica II (No Joke)

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Now even if you accept that there is internal artificial gravity how do they enter this 'artificial' gravity so abruptly as we see them do in the landing sequences? They just glide into this huge open hatch and land as if they were planes on a carrier deck. If there really was a gravity field inside the ship they'd hit it like a wall and suddenly bang down on the deck. It's downright bizarre if you care anything about scientific realism or even consistency.

I don't see this as a problem either. Of course you have to assume they figured out some means of generating artificial gravity, cause otherwise it's a moot point. But you said as much yourself. Once you have that hurdle crossed then there are a couple things that could easily explain the rest of it and would be perfectly reasonable.

The artificial gravity fields could be areas on the hanger deck. Why do you assume the entire deck would have the same gravity field everywhere? You could have areas of little or no gravity for the ships to land and move about by thrusters, and then parking pads where the gravity is normal for walking in and out of the ship. And the gravity in the parking pads could be switched on and off when needed.

You could also assume that the gravity field IS uniform across the whole surface of the hanger deck, but that it only extends upwards a few feet. Things in contact with the deck, people walking around, etc. would stay in contact as they are under normal gravity. But a ship taliking off or landing would feel less and less gravity the farther it got from the surface. Similer to how it is on Earth, but the artificial gravity force would drop off much more rapidly. Instead of needing to travel a few miles to break free, you would only need to travel a few feet to break free from the artifical gravity field.

This would have some odd effects on the people walking around. They would have a slight but perceptable differance in the "weight" of their feet compared to their heads. But with time and training people would adapt and get their "Space legs" and it would not affect them. People watching them move about would not even be able to see a differance in their movements. Thrown objects would not travel in expected parabolic paths as you would see on a planet, but throwing things about a hanger deck isn't a good idea even in the surface Navy.

Geo

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Well, if the thrust was not coming out of the back of the Viper that explanation might make some sense...

I guess 'realistic' space physics would be too boring for 'mass entertainment media', so we're doomed to stupid fantasy physics in any SciFi shows or movies...

No, you missed my point. What I am saying is that BG is more realistic than you are giving it credit for. I think you are misunderstanding the physics involved in moving about in zero G. The thrust, the majority of it anyway, would be coming out the back, otherwise you wouldn't be going forward. You would also apply side thrust, either by jets on the side of the nose, or by angling some of the thrust coming out the back, to turn the ship.

But however you turn it, your course is not going to change in sharp anlges, it's going to curve.

Banking and other orinetation changes will not have the effect they do on an aircraft, because there are no lift generating surfaces. But they will serve other purposes. Bringing weapons to bear, keeping the pilot in his seat and in control, etc.

Geo

[Puke]

i liked the space physics in b5.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by Puke:
i liked the space physics in b5.

Yes, B5 was often very realistic. You actually saw fighters swing around to reverse their thrust, and you could see maneuvering thrusters firing. There was some 'swooping and banking' but it was directly relatable to the direction of visible thrust. The ships in most SciFi from Star Wars to Buck Rogers to BSG behave as if they have an atmosphere.

[Suicide Junkie]

No, you missed my point. What I am saying is that BG is more realistic than you are giving it credit for. I think you are misunderstanding the physics involved in moving about in zero G. The thrust, the majority of it anyway, would be coming out the back, otherwise you wouldn't be going forward. You would also apply side thrust, either by jets on the side of the nose, or by angling some of the thrust coming out the back, to turn the ship.

Ah, but the problem he was describing is the fact that those ships turn as if they had the main thrust coming out of the bottom, instead of the back.

The ship pulls up by 10 degrees, and ends up going directly forwards (10 degrees off the old course), and at the same speed as before.
To do that, you'd need a large thrust downwards (and a little bit of retro), and the main engines in the back certainly can't vector the thrust that much (> 90 degrees!)

There also seems to be an awful lot unmodded SE4's Thrust = Speed in these shows, too.

[geoschmo]

[quote]Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:

The ships in most SciFi from Star Wars to Buck Rogers to BSG behave as if they have an atmosphere.

*Sigh* Ok, one more time.

It's not atmosphere, it's inertia. You can't stop on a dime and change directions at 90 degree anlges. Well your ship might be able too, but you will be paste if you try it.

B5 combat has that appearance some times because of the camera angles they choose to use. Close in, moving in formation. From that perspective small shifts in vector or speed will be exagerated.

The others you mention all primarily use a more stationary or distant camera perspective. From there these manuvers would appear more curved, because they are actually curved in reality. You just can't see the curves when you are right up close to the action and moving as fast as the other ship.

Neither is any more inherantly correct or incorrect because in actuallity if they were viewed from the same perspective they would appear the same. You are being tricked by the different perspective. For the most part anyway.

One thing that you see in B5 you don't see in the others though is the ships flipping and rotating around a lot. That has nothing to do with direction of travel though. In that case there is no reason a viper with a cylon on it's tail couldn't simply turn 180 degrees and fly backwards. Except it would have to cut power it couldn't keep up it's acceleration and would be overtaken very quickly.

The ships in B5 do look more like space ships and less like airplanes than the others though, that is certainly true.

Geo

[geoschmo]

[quote]Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:

The ship pulls up by 10 degrees, and ends up going directly forwards (10 degrees off the old course), and at the same speed as before.
To do that, you'd need a large thrust downwards (and a little bit of retro), and the main engines in the back certainly can't vector the thrust that much (> 90 degrees!)

What? I am missing something here. If the thrust is pointed aft, your ships will go forward in a straight line. If your engines are on the back pointing aft, you will always move in the direction your nose is pointed. So if you want to go a different direction, you move your nose. Point your nose at something, fire engines aft, go there. Seems pretty simple and realistic. whether it's a ten degree course change or a 90 degree course change, the principle is the same.

Geo