Most sci-fi shows/movies get space wrong, but this series actually does the math

Post: Most sci-fi shows/movies get space wrong, but this series actually does the math

There is a lot of science in his fiction

In space, no one can hear you scream until a realistic amount of time has passed

Vastness It’s about a near future where humanity has expanded to take over not only Earth, but Mars and the asteroid belt, and the three groups aren’t always at peace. We get lots of conspiracies and game play-Core power plays, which is all well and good, but too many shows do that. What makes? Vastness His commitment to presenting these conflicts in a scientifically realistic manner is different.

A simple example is communication delays across space. to use Star Trek Again as a counterexample, there characters can communicate instantaneously, regardless of how many billions of miles they are apart, which makes it possible to say that it’s all sent through space dimensions. And maybe they are, but it basically amounts to “science magic”. i Vastnesscommunications are not able to travel faster than the fastest thing in the universe: light. Therefore, communication between Earth and Moon is close. Messages sent between Earth and Mars take about 13 minutes, and it goes up from there.

This proves crucial to many plot points, as the characters have to improvise while they wait for concrete information to cross the void. And this is just one example Vastness In a spaceship at work Vastness Just don’t fly from places like they’re airplanes. They “flip and burn,” meaning they accelerate halfway through their journey, then turn and point the thrusters toward their destination, because the friction of space takes a long time to dissipate into empty space. It also creates artificial gravity, which many see as a sci-fi feature but few explain. And Vastness Focuses on the harmful effects that fast moving space has on the human body. Characters must inject themselves with a cocktail of chemicals before enduring high-G-force maneuvers.

We can keep going. For example, when a character is on a rotating space station, he pours a drink only to send it spinning through space before hitting the bottom of his glass, an example of the Coriolis effect (see video above). Why invent space aliens and subspace dimensions when real world science is just as weird?

Even the spread doesn’t fix everything

In space, someone will still tell you to scream if the story calls for it

Now that we have defined Vastness For its scientific literacy, it’s about time it’s a TV show, at the end of the day. There are facts about space travel that it also fudges for dramatic effect. The most obvious example of this is the Epstein drive, which used spacecraft to travel between Earth, Mars and the asteroid belt in a matter of days or weeks, rather than the months it now takes.

Epstein Drive is a highly efficient fusion engine based at least in real-world science. But there are oversights. For example, the fusion reactions that could propel a spacecraft through space at such speeds would produce tons of radiation. Crew members will need a lot of protection, but some of the sleeker ships we see on the show don’t have nearly enough shielding. And yes, we can only assume that some scientific advancement we don’t know about has made this possible, but it’s just as well that the Millennium Falcon can jump at light speed because … it’s sci-fi, man.

One such nut involves a recycler, a machine that can break down anything — food waste, dirty dishes, the human body — into twenty molecular components and then 3D print new objects. It’s not that it’s certainly not possible, but it seems more advanced than the other technology on the show, and sometimes feels like a convenient excuse for the characters to not have to deal with the practical issues that would otherwise arise.

Sometimes it’s okay to have a little fiction in science

Accuracy vs. Truth

But it’s too much to expect that even the most rigorously researched sci-fi stories will be 100% accurate. Fans will mostly give up some realism for drama.

It helps to have a good attitude about it. Vastness Based on a series of books by authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank. There is an interview at the end of his book Leviathan wakes up When asked how Epstein Drive works. “Very well,” he replies. “Effectively.” Sometimes you have to adopt that mindset. And Vastness Does a lot right, it’s easy to overlook some gaps in logic.

The interstellar movie Man floats through space.

These time travel movies actually try to get the science right

Unravel the mysteries of time in these science-based movies.

Runner up

If you’re looking for another sci-fi show that takes pains to get the science right (if not note-perfect), you should consider For all mankindan alternate history drama about a world where the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union never ended. It’s the best sci-fi drama nobody’s watching, even though it’s struggling with a perfectly viable way for people to fast travel through deep space. Someday, some writer will crack it, or better yet, some scientist.

And of course, there’s other sci-fi out there that isn’t concerned with how technology works and is happy to obliterate features in the name of entertainment, and these can be just as fun. Sometimes realism is subverted, but Vastness It deserves props for making it a priority.