Should we Whoosh?

POSTED BY: Zicsoft
UPDATED: Monday, August 5, 2002 00:02
VIEWED: 13995
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ZICSOFT

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 3:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by nine:
So, when the ass-end glows, is that moving to faster-than-light? Coz then there'd be a delay before we saw the glow. the ship would have to arrive and then glow (besides the fact that its impossible). The serenity would churten!

If a spaceship can move faster than light, then light can move faster than light, no?

My point was that the light speed barrier is very very basic to modern physics. More basic than gravity, inertia, even the rules of geometry. If you set it aside, then nothing the ship does would a suprise. It can make whoosing sounds, it can dance the tango, it can hang out in bars and pick up guys.

I'm being funny, of course, but I'm not exaggerating.

SHUGGIE

Monday, July 8, 2002 4:01 PM

Do we know for a fact there's FTL in Firefly - I've not seen anything on it (but hey what do I know? )

Shug

"I dunno ... SPACESHIPS!"
- Tim Minear on why Firefly will be cool

NOVAGRASS

Monday, July 8, 2002 4:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shuggie:
Do we know for a fact there's FTL in Firefly - I've not seen anything on it (but hey what do I know? )

Well... they haven't said anything about it... but they *have* said that humans have scoured the galaxy. That would probably imply faster than light space travel.

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

The Ultimate Buffy-Angel Quote Generator™
out of service

ZICSOFT

Monday, July 8, 2002 5:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shuggie:
Do we know for a fact there's FTL in Firefly - I've not seen anything on it (but hey what do I know? )

This is junior high science. There are nine planets orbiting our sun, and only one of these (Earth) has a breathable atmosphere. Never mind undiscovered planets, they'd be too far from the sun to sustain life. So if there are any other habitable planets, they're orbiting other stars. In our part of the galaxy, stars are about 3 light years apart.

Now, a light year, whatever Han Solo might think, is the distance it takes light to travel in one year. So if you can't travel faster than light, you're looking at multi-year voyages just to get from one world to the next. Not a good premise for a TV show!

SHUGGIE

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 7:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:
Quote:
Originally posted by Shuggie:
Do we know for a fact there's FTL in Firefly - I've not seen anything on it (but hey what do I know? )
This is junior high science.

I wouldn't know about that - I'm English and so I didn't go to 'junior high'. I was taught science at school but not things like the frequency of habitable planets.

Shug

"I dunno ... SPACESHIPS!"
- Tim Minear on why Firefly will be cool

ZICSOFT

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 2:40 PM

Well, if you're going to be an SF fan and get into discussions about FTL travel, you really should read a book or two. All the titles I can think of are ancient. Anybody else got any suggestions?

SHUGGIE

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 5:59 PM

Well if I have to read a book before I can enjoy Firefly then maybe it's not the show for me. We'll see - maybe it'll inspire me.

You're right about one thing though - I probably shouldn't get involved in discussions about the technology. Except that's the problem with not knowing stuff - you don't know what you don't know - so what I thought was a sensible question you thought was dumb. Ho hum.

By the way - it's not like I know no science at all - but physics was never my strong point and what little astrophysics I know I picked up here and there.

Shug

HAKEN

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 6:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by nine:
the ship would have to arrive and then glow (besides the fact that its impossible).

It's not just impossible, but one has to wonder why the Serenity's engine even has to glow that way in the first place. From every indication, it suggests a chemical reaction, which poses some very basic problems of its own when used for space travel.

It looks cool, but there's just no way to get FTL travel from a chemical reaction no matter how powerful of an inertial dampener (another thing that needs explaining in Firefly) you have.

INARASNEWTOY

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 6:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Haken:

It's not just impossible, but one has to wonder why the Serenity's engine even has to glow that way in the first place. From every indication, it suggests a chemical reaction, which poses some very basic problems of its own when used for space travel.

It looks cool, but there's just no way to get FTL travel from a chemical reaction no matter how powerful of an inertial dampener (another thing that needs explaining in Firefly) you have.

Not neccasarily....

Remember your Trektech 101!

Federation ships have that cool blue/red glue from mixing matter and anti-matter lightly toasted in red hot plasma gathered in Bussard Collectors.

Sooooo...maybe Firefly makes use of this?

INT

One evil at a time, that's the best i can do - Farscape

NINE

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 6:51 PM

Also english, no jnr high, and yet I have a basic education in space station drainage (Rama needed ridges!). Off the point hough, couldn't FTL be avoided altogether if it went all quantum-y, and we were looking at tears/loops/wormholes your all purpose subspace/slipstream type affairs?

___________
the turtle and the wolf are natural enemies

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