Stupid techie questions...

POSTED BY: TedC
UPDATED: Monday, May 10, 2004 20:55
VIEWED: 6342
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TEDC

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:20 PM

OK, I'm only on DVD disc 2, but there are some technical issues with Firefly that are messing with my head (cause I'm a tech geek).

What does the ship run on? It's gotta be cheap if they can afford to by fuel smuggling cattle and food supplies, no matter how short-supplied the fringe worlds may be.

How fast are they going? They can apparently get from planet to planet in hours, but they passed the Reaver ship at a snail's pace in "Serenity", even though they appeared to be in deep space.

Am I going to have to turn off my brain to make it through the rest of the series?

"Burn the land and boil the sea, still can't keep the sky from me."

KNIBBLET

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:26 PM

Quote:
Am I going to have to turn off my brain to make it through the rest of the series?

Ted, Have you ever seen "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"?
As the song says, ".... repeat to yourself that it's just a show and you should really just relax ...."

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

HOTPOINT

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
What does the ship run on? It's gotta be cheap if they can afford to by fuel smuggling cattle and food supplies, no matter how short-supplied the fringe worlds may be.

Whatever the Drive actually is it's Nuclear Powered because it needs Radiation Containment... unless you're a suicidal Reaver type

...................................
Hurrah, hurrah, when things are at their worst
With cries of “Death or Glory” comes the mighty Twenty-First

TEDC

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Knibblet:

Ted, Have you ever seen "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"?
As the song says, ".... repeat to yourself that it's just a show and you should really just relax ...."

Is that a yes?

"Burn the land and boil the sea, still can't keep the sky from me."

TEDC

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hotpoint:
Whatever the Drive actually is it's Nuclear Powered because it needs Radiation Containment... unless you're a suicidal Reaver type

Best I can figure is that it's a fusion reactor that you can use low-grade fuel... like water or diffuse interstellar hydrogen.

"Burn the land and boil the sea, still can't keep the sky from me."

HOTPOINT

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
Best I can figure is that it's a fusion reactor that you can use low-grade fuel... like water or diffuse interstellar hydrogen.

Easier to farm Gas-Giants for fuel. There's a lot of Hydrogen in one of those things and the Firefly Verse has Gravity Control so the technology to mine atmospheres certainly exists

...................................
Hurrah, hurrah, when things are at their worst
With cries of “Death or Glory” comes the mighty Twenty-First

RANGRBOB

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:48 PM

While I would ignore the technical aspects of Firefly I would not suggest turning off your brain. Firefly is driven by plot, stories, and dialog tune your brain into those aspects of Firefly and enjoy.

JASONZZZ

Thursday, May 6, 2004 10:49 PM

New Scientists pointed "Quantum Nucleonic reactors". It bombards normal X-rays onto hafnium-178 to liberate gamma rays. The gamma rays are then used produce a jet of superheated air.

http://www.cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/nuclear_plane.htm

IAMJACKSUSERNAME

Friday, May 7, 2004 12:30 AM

Silence in space. As for other things hard SF - not so much.

The opposite in fact:

Select to view spoiler:

River's psychic abilities, FTL travel (most likely), wacky gravity, slow laser beams, ...

I don't think Joss and Tim care if the story is possible, they're known for the supernatural Buffy and Angel after all. It's still the best sci-fi tv show I've ever seen.

The slow Reaver ship was for aesthetic reasons, which along with story reasons'll trump real physics every time.

--
I am Jack's username
FTL in Firefly? < http://jack.p5.org.uk/ftl-firefly.en.html>
Support our volunteer serial killers.

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, May 7, 2004 4:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
What does the ship run on? It's gotta be cheap if they can afford to by fuel smuggling cattle and food supplies, no matter how short-supplied the fringe worlds may be.

It's been said that Joss is light on the tech side, so, if you're really nit picky about these things then I'd have to say, just try not to pay attention. For me it was fairly easy as I can't remember one time they actually tried to explain anything. It all just works. But, I would get irritated if they tried to explain something that just couldn't be.

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
How fast are they going? They can apparently get from planet to planet in hours, but they passed the Reaver ship at a snail's pace in "Serenity", even though they appeared to be in deep space.

In the commentary on that DVD I believe that Joss mentioned the flack that he got for that. It's something that they did (as has been mentioned above) for aesthetic reasons.

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
Am I going to have to turn off my brain to make it through the rest of the series?

Lord no! You'll miss too much! Just try not to pay attention to the tech too much. As Joss pointed out, its original concept was more of a drama then anything else (seem to remember that anyway

).

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

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