The Physics of Starship Battles- Explosive Decompression

[rogermwilcox]

Of course, you'd only experience 2156 pounds per square foot of net force if there was a full atmosphere of pressure on one side of you and total vacuum on the other side.

If you blow a hole in a pressurized spacecraft, the air pressure on the "holeward" side of your body is only going to be slightly less than the pressure on the other side. It'll create a nasty wind, sure, but it ain't gonna blow you over with a ton to the square foot.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@rogermwilcox But all the air is moving in the same direction, out towards the vacuum.  There's little to no pressure on the "holeward" side to balance you out.

[rogermwilcox]

@SpreadingtheMuse It largely depends on the size of the hole, and how far you are from the hole, but the outrushing air isn't going to turn into a vacuum immediately -- there will be a pressure GRADIENT between the hole and the far side of the cabin. The instant after the hole opens, there'll be 2156 pounds per square foot on the far side of the cabin, and progressively less the closer you are to the hole. By the time the holeward pressure nears zero, it will be near zero elsewhere too.

[THRILLHOUSE85]

haha this is so budget

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@THRILLHOUSE85

You have no idea. :) I reuploaded all my other movies in high Q with fixed effects, but this one and another were made with pure analog. Cant be saved.

[nakazatoGTR]

win again for opening with a Galactica clip

[steffen19k]

Hey there. Loving these infomercials you make on the physics and how the dont' always work out. I don't know if you've seen anything on the subject, but spaceships that also pretend they're submarines.... Thats one that always bothered me.

And thanks for listening to comments.

[sniperassasin666]

I had to guess for the one with droping the ship out of centrifugal force

[sniperassasin666]

Can you please tag what movies you use? Or put a litle sine to indicate which.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@sniperassasin666

That would drive me up the wall. This movie uses about 12-15 different sources all by itself. ;)

But if you had a specific clip in mind, give me the time and I'll tell you where its from.

[OmegaTou]

Just remember to update your ending tag line to, "Long Live the Star Empire" thanks to the Talbot cluster.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@OmegaTou

About that Talbot Cluster, if Weber doenst write Honor books any faster than one every 5 years none of us will live long enough to see how the story turns out :(

[samurai501st]

4:18 24 season 1

[scalliwags5]

? what movie clip at 4:18- did not recognize that at all

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@scalliwags5

That was from the 1st season of 24. Just a ordinary terrorist blasting herself out of a 747.

[nutherefurlong]

I like the editing style of these. Sound quality needs a bump up, but the energetic presentation is there in spades.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@nutherefurlong

These early movies were filmed in analog, and with software that was excessively literal. My newer ones have fixed that sound problem, and I'm seriously considering reuploading these old ones in higher quality.

[nutherefurlong]

@SpreadingtheMuse You totally should!

[WestfallWarlord]

but if theres no air in space and the air goes out directly why dont shows make less HUGE fiery explosions since due to the limited air shouldnt it be impossible to have both a huge explosions and fthe decompression (since fire needs air?)

[TheJDeaux]

Wow, just stumbled upon you doing a search on you tube for "Honor Harrington". Yours was the first one that was in English, so I selected it. Good stuff! I have friends who are science teachers I'm gonna recommend this to!

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@TheJDeaux

I'm getting around to reuploading this at a higher quality, so stay tuned. I'm glad you like it as is. ;)

[bringerofshadow1]

great vids 2 questions. first what were the shows used in the first 2 minutes. and wouldn't the gravity gineraters from sci fi help keep the air in. if it has the exact strength as on earth?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@bringerofshadow1

The first two minutes was mostly Sci Fis Battlestar Galactica, and a scene from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the 1980's version.

Gravity generators wouldnt help too much, as the force of air pressure is stronger than the force of gravity. And if the hole is in the side of the ship, a gravitational force pulling down wouldnt be able to stop it.

[lebensraummetal]

@SpreadingtheMuse Yeah pretty much. To elaborate, it's called "terminal velocity" and it's when a falling object (pulled by gravity) simply cant push air out of the way fast enough and thus reaches a speed limit which cannot be overcome by gravity alone. I believe that overcoming the force of (artificial) gravity holding an object to a surface and creating static friction via that contact would depend on the weight and shape of the object, windspeed, and amount of friction.

[lebensraummetal]

@SpreadingtheMuse I suppose a person standing with their arms out might get sucked out while a person laying on sandpaper might not get sucked out of the same room.

[TheSpelldoctor]

@SpreadingtheMuse Agreed. Grav Generation Vs Air Pressure, the air pressure wins hands down.

[PHANTOMZ0NE]

Interesting how no sci-fi film portrays it for what it really is.

Explosive decompression is just what it sounds like;explosive.

it happens in a small fraction of a second depending on the size of the opening.

There is no hanging on to seats or panels while the air escapes.

[attackmike]

um...if anyone was caught in explosive decompression....your body would be crushed

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@attackmike

Other way around. Once the air shoots you into empty space, the lack of pressure makes your interior explode.

[msudreaming]

Very informative.

[Deehaen777]

Out of Curiosity; if an unfortunate individual was to be trapped in the middle of a 'explosive decompression', would it be possible for the individual in question to say, grab onto something sturdy to avoid getting sucked out in the great beyond? or are the forces at work MUCH more than what we can handle?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Well Star Trek says yes, as there's a scene in here of exactly that, two people holding on. There's one movie that has an intruder stopper of the crew buckling themselves in and releasing the air, killing everyone else. But I dont know. That 2000 lbs per foot would be a mess. Your chest has about 2 square feet at least, so thats 2 TONS of force. : /

[Iamnotaparakeet]

Though it is a horror movie, Event Horizon has an instance of retrieving a crew member who went outside the airlock. Captain Miller instructed him to "blow all the air out of your lungs, make your self into a ball and shut your eyes". In the film though, the atmospheric pressure may not have been completely null outside, just on an outer layer of Neptune's atmosphere.

[fcukedupguy]

@Iamnotaparakeet 1 au on earth (atmospheric pressure) compared to 0 au in space isn't all that much. Underwater is much worse on people and can go anywhere from 10s to 1000s of au, and humans can swim underwater, unprotected down to about 200 ft.

[fcukedupguy]

@Deehaen777

The most important thing to remember is pressure, which he forgets to mention four relevant things like: the size of the hole, the size of the room, how narrow the room is and where your standing in the room, in relation to the hole. If the hole is too small, the air can't get out all at once. If the room is too small, it holds less air and the force has less time to act on you before the air runs out. If the room is wide, the air will go around you. If your standing at the hole :(

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@fcukedupguy

I didnt forget those four variables, I just didnt want to drown everyone in details that would've made their eyes glaze over. The calculation for big hole small hole is too complicated for a quick fun explanation. For right now, just introducing the concept is enough.

[fcukedupguy]

@SpreadingtheMuse still, you might want to mention that having a small hole won't suck you out like at the end of Alien: Resurrection

[lebensraummetal]

@fcukedupguy No, but that small hole DID finally end that shitty movie.

[MajorDiarriah]

It would be interesting to see a hit to the top of a ship and for air not to shoot out due to artificial gravity holding it in. Or for a hit to the bottom and the air shooting out faster.

[ShyDaniel2112]

This video is full of win and awesome. Thank you very much for creating it.

[RedHeadRadulf83]

ROFL!!! I was like all CRAP at the 2160 Lbs of force! Nice video! :D

[scratchhh187]

when the fuck is this video from like 1995?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Its from 2006 (hence the use of the new battlestar), and watch the language.

[LORDKEROTH]

I wish I could fly in space with a hollowed out piece of metal

[ozmorphus]

This was great! I wish I had teachers like you!

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Posts like this make it all worth it. ;)

Next movie will be uploaded in a week or so. Stay tuned.

[olveramarturo]

I take my hat off, whish all my physics clases where like this :P

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Thank you very much.  Another movie will be uploaded in a couple weeks. Stay tuned. ;)

[mortman200]

if it were possible to harness a controlled black hole on a starship, could that possibly conterract the effects of explosive decompression?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

That much gravity would make it not worth the effort.  If they really wanted to stop it, they could just turn up the ships artificial gravity, but it might be so strong as to just rip the poor guy in half.

[BoomBoomSticks]

The Halo mythology came up with a solution for explosive decompression; the walls are filled with an expanding polymer that seals up holes, and is also used to seal up wounds. I think its plausible, but not yet practical.

[Sacredor]

Actually that has been around for a lot longer than Halo, in World War II many fighter planes had self sealing fuel tanks, which used expanding rubber like substance to seal fuel tank punctures.

[jeffbengtson]

in ww2 SOME fuel tanks had chewing gum in them and if the tank was shot gravity would pul the gum down to plug the hole. it wouldn't work for explosive decompression in space

[kdraper2007]

actually the U.S. Army is working on combat uniforms that can seal up wounds. its part of the future worrier program.

[invertin]

I just had a thought, on earth, if you fire a bullet through a window in a pressurized area, it will suck the air in, but the pressue will equalize before anyone is sucked through.

Since there is no pressure in space, does that mean a tiny bullet hole could pull more stuff through? (If so, the air would probably break the window first.)

[invertin]

@Spreading the muse- You made a mistake there (in the comments, not the video) the pressure would force the air out of the lungs and they'd suffocate to death, they wouldn't burst at all. Theoretically you could survive without a space suit for a reasonable amount of time (but a lot less than you would underwater) but you'd pass out before you could really save yourself, and space is too big to really find anyone in.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I dont remember saying people would explode. Thats an urban legend that I've know the bunkery of for a while. Humans dies in space due to asphyxiation, not internal explosion. The absence of pressure would make you pass out quite quickly however.

[Scorpioth]

Do you write your own Science Fiction?

If not, you darn well should!

I'm trying to myself and these videos are perfect for me to get involved some more so i don't make all the usual mistakes.

Thanks for entertaining and informative videos on my favorite subject!

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I'm actually working on a story of fiction right now. But I can certainly say that non-fiction is certainly easier. ;)

[FA22RaiseHell]

Now i know what explosive decompression is. What will happen if a human is in space without a spacesuit?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

He'd definitely die, but it would be of asphyxiation. But the lack of air would burst interior pressure points, like veins close to the skin. You'd bleed out of every orifice and then pass out. So at least you'd die while unconscious. : /

[FA22RaiseHell]

I seen this in movies and it's not pretty.

[AgentNick42]

An excellent in-movie example would be Outland.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I forgot all about Outland, mainly because I've never seen the non-edited for TV version. How ugly does it get?

[AgentNick42]

They used a lot of strawberry jam, if you know what I mean.

Seriously, though, it's not all that accurate. One guy's head swells up and explodes like a balloon hooked up to a tire pump. One guy gets a decently realistic death, just sort of tearing open and whatnot. It's pretty gross, even by 70's/80's movie standards.

[Honor4700]

hold da kæft hvor i tøser tuder over så små ting , så manden rundet lidt op for at framme forståelsen , æd en tudekiks og tør dine øjne!!!

[chengloki]

It is not 15, it is 14.6 at STP, at sea level. You have no idea what you are talking about. Youre effects are good, but, that is all they are. I am not a big a coward as you are!!!=stefan=

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Its called "rounding up" Einstein. And I only rounded up 0.4. You really think that's worth freaking out about? If you say so. ;)

I do such rounding out of empathy for my audience, because I realize the education is more important than the details. But that's why I'm the educator, and you're the whiner who harasses the movies of more accomplished citizens. Leave science to the scientists and dont bother anyone over the age of 14.

[chengloki]

Spread, in real science, we do not "round up". Exactness is paramount. I take that back. You are not a coward. You are worse!You are a whore!!!As for the age of 14, I have to ask. Is that how old YOU are?? =Stefan=

[Hugbiel]

Well your are too condescend and a little wrong here.

It was admitted near the XIX th century that total numeric exactness is alien to the real word.

So to be exact you state the expected error range to your measure value. For ease of use the error is not written all the time ( 5.2 m +- 0.1 m ) but conventionally equal to 1 unit of the least significant digit ( 15 is 15+-1, 14.6 is 14.6 +-0.1)

So according to the convention of error range the statement of 15 is right.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

So why is "rounding" taught at every grade level? This is for EDUCATION, remember? You might remember the target audience instead of barging in like a 3 legged elephant pretending you know what you're talking about.

What exactly is your point in being here? Are you yet another of those wannabes I checkmated on some kook board who got his feelings hurt and came charging in here to "GET EM!" ? I've seen it all before and its stupid every time.

MAKE a movie before you comment on one.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

"real science,"

Not that you dont sound like you wouldn't know "real" science from a quack webpage, but you dont.

Despite your determination to anally defend what amounts to only a difference of about 6 oz. (my socks weigh more), I couldn't help but notice that there's nothing in your profile to prove your education to anyone over the 4th grade.

Since I created these multimedia pieces, my own education has a tad more accomplishment to recommend it.

The world is put up or shut up. Beware.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

The phrase "Devil in the details" was perfectly stated. The ease in which the core of an elegant idea can be drowned in nickel and dime minutia is criminally understated. 

The FIRST enemy of a student is not ignorance, its intimidation. And the best quality of a teacher is not book knowledge, but EMPATHY, knowing how NOT to scare a student with mindless details so he'll want to come back for more.

We're here to excite them, inspire them. Not scorch them.

[PSshadow92]

Stop harrassing the man you old fart. He's, say it with me, a teacher, meaning he knows what he's talking about. You, however, skimped out on educationand and joined the navy. And by the way, MY teacher also abbreviates by rounding up the number.

[chengloki]

PS, fine. Whatever you say. Yes, I was in the Navy. However, I was an engineer. In engineering, as well as true science, we do not "round up". We keep numbers EXACT. I think that you are the one who has "skimped out" on education. So, you think that your military is uneducated?? Interesting. =Stefan=

[SpreadingtheMuse]

"In engineering, as well as true science, we do not "round up". We keep numbers EXACT."

For which we applaud.

However, it is standard curriculum in every physics and chemistry text I have ever read (even college) to include in the opening chapters specific instructions on both rounding and significant digits.

You follow your instructions, and I'll follow mine.

[PSshadow92]

HAHA!! You wouldn't know education if it came up behind you and yanked your trousers over your head (not very hard). Besides, I'm not insulting the military, because do you really think for one second that I believe your profile? If you're going to lie about your age at least make it believable "Stefan".

[PSshadow92]

And I know it is rounded up. Like the acceleration due to gravity is not 10 it's actually 9.82 (or 9.62) still it's much easier and the result is not different enough to matter to a high school physics class. Now for college maybe, but this man makes these for a living.

[fc007]

so I'd be less weigh 15 pound, if I am in another atmosphere that has no gravity.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Yes, if there's still an atmosphere but no gravity, like inside a space capsule, you'd be a leaf in the wind. Even the smallest hole in the  hull would blast you all over as you've got no weight to resist.

[fc007]

Maybe, but I would still be handsome.

I like you're videos by the way. you've inspired me to try to learn physics (...well you and phil plaits).

I still don't get physics but soon (hopefully) I will.

[grooveclubhouse]

"Maybe, but I would still be handsome."

...Till your eyeballs came outta you head and and your skin boiled off all its liquids into the vacuum of space while snot and blood oozed out your nose... yeah, absolutely! just make sure you ask for a closed casket! :P

[fc007]

Gee thanks, I just lost my lunch.

[PHANTOMZ0NE]

Good stuff. It's too bad that movies like aliens, mission to mars, 2001, etc. never got explosive decompression right.

whats really interesting is that humans can survive an explosive decompression of 1 atm to total vaccum for quite a few seconds, as long as they are not holding their breath.

Although it would be fun to see someone inflate to twice their body volume before they freeze.

[PHANTOMZ0NE]

There is a great example of "Human" explosive decompression that occured underneath a norweigian oil rig in 1983. Unfortunatly due to a technical error, the accident cost 5 lives. The chambers went from 8 atm. to 1 atm in .01 seconds. One of the divers violently blew apart, and another went through 20cm hole. Im still surprised that one of them survived.

[grooveclubhouse]

cool

[fc007]

Btw, I remember watching a series of clips showing major mathematical errors uttered in star trek. I forget under what link it was. Would you happen to have something like that?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I've been thinking of doing something like that, but I havent seen the clip you mean.

[fc007]

Keep me posted if you do. Thanks.

[RonT222]

Wait... its been two years since i took physics... isn't a greater area suppose to decrease the pressure, since the force is constant... or am i just being dumb while the pressure is constant and the force has a variable change effected by the area.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Increasing the area does decrease the pressure and vice versa. Its why a small hydraulic pump can push up a huge car.

[berner]

04:46 - "Hey you wanna tell that guy I'm kinda sorry for bursting through his chest?"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"

*fwoosh*

"YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCHHHH­H!!!!"

[Deehaen777]

what's that show/movie called after that equation that shows how much P=F/A per square foot?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

After the 2000 lbs per square foot? That was "Starship Troopers." Hear they're making a sequel with the original stars.

[Deehaen777]

Huh, never would've guessed :P

[Jesssser]

Damnit!!! I hate when my starhip experiences explosive decompression :P

[Anthonyduo]

agreed and plus you couldn't hold on, and average real explosive depression last about .0.1 seconds, which should rip everything out, but lets pretend that you dont go out, you'll still die in a matter of seconds. At 0 atmoshperic pressure you die pretty quickly even faster in space, the 0 pressure allows your blood to boil and your body to expand. It's unknown what would kill you first but the side effects of 0 pressure are all known to be very painful.

[Qujo00]

Don't think the decompression would've matterd a s*** in this case.

The exploding blulkhead shuld have cleared the bridge clean of live by a rain of white-hot shralpnel in a fraction of a second.

[Anthonyduo]

Shratnel is hot but it's not so hot that much would happen, and you have to assume the ship bulkheads can withstand 0 pressure, which is not a very hard strench when you consider that those exist today.

[Qujo00]

I am afraid you misunderstod me.

The shralpnel shuld have come from the material of the bulkhead when scimitar blew a hole into it.

By the size of that hole there shuld have been several kilo of shralpnel blown inward an throug the bridgecrew's bodys at speeds that would have made a rifflebullet proud.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

A human would only have to have a solid handhold for a few seconds in order to survive. The longer the air blows, the weaker it gets as the air flies into space. Trek has outright fumbled the science ball many times, but they did this one thing OK.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Theres a line of dialogue from the Battlestar pilot where they say they hoped everyone was wearing their gasmasks when the alert sounded, meaning its standard procedure to "assume" you're going for a ride, and just have air ready to go when you do.

[Dragonx0562]

As a 'wet navy' veretan, You are trained in certain circumstancess to expect hazards from the environment.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

For a good analogy, was it standard procedure for all crewmen to wear lifejackets and helmets when working above deck? That would correspond to Battlestar crewmen required to have portable air on their person.

[CanadianWolverine]

Interesting, seeing as how decompression sucks so hard (pun intended), why don't space adventurers suit up and release some, if not all of the pressure, when they are expecting to enter a fight where the hull's protective envelope might be broken. So far, Ripley seems to be the only one with any sense, eh?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Hmmm, thats a good idea. Someone should have thought of that, the only drawback I see being having to replace the air from somewhere when the battles over. Also sickbay would have to stay pressurized for the wounded.

Trek thinks it has the problem solved with force fields, and the other guys were taken by surprise.

[CanadianWolverine]

Well, seeing as this is science fiction (fantasy all the rules are out the space lock) we are talking about, there is a number of possibilities to replenish your supply of clean atmosphere. In Star Trek mythos, I believe it was as simple as changing energy into matter, so pick the right mix and they have the atmosphere to sustain any number of different atmosphere breathers, though in that mythos most intelligent life is humanoid.

[CanadianWolverine]

Another method might be the use of a matter scoop, toss in a mix of nano bots and "cold" fission & fusion to break down and build atoms into the ones you need, you may be able to replenish that way. Do you have any ideas on replacing the atmosphere after a battle and re-establishing the integrity of the hull's envelope?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I guess compressed air in every compartment would do it, similar to how a submarine forces air into its ballast tanks to surface. That would require a LOT of compressed air however, so just making sure your bulkheads can be sealed off from each other is probably the most convenient way to solve the problem.

[Dragonx0562]

the draw back to lowering internal pressure is boiled down into 3 issues:

1: lowering internal pressure, is safe, to a point. The problem is humans, by nature are a sea-level creature, taking them up in altitude, or lowering pressure does soem interesting things to people in differing times and pressure levels.

Last thing you want, is part of the crew going loopy from altitude sickness in the middle of an extended slugging match.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

David Weber's Honor Harrington novels explore that possibility, of certain spacefights where everyone wears spacesuits to fly the ship because the air is gone. But certainly, an atmosphere would be preferable.

[Cruithne3753]

BUGGER - Unexpected BSG spoiler for me! :-(

[SpeakerForBoskone]

That BG footage is over a year old. Dont tell me it takes THAT LONG for you to see the show over there. We dont wait that long for Dr. Who.  I thought BG was simulcast over there.

[Cruithne3753]

I don't get Sky1; watching on DVD.

[copycat042]

good movie. i'm on the 9th book now(ashes of victory). they are wonderful.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

The 11th Book, "At All Costs," has a space fight that'll make your knuckles bleed. ;) Good stuff.

[maven21]

hey Man really good stuff. I realize that i would be able to learn math and science better if i can aplly it to something I have an interest in. I appreicate the creativity and hope that you would find a way to teach i know plenty of people would be able to learn complex subjects in a fun way like myself.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Well I can always make more movies. Ive been trying to think of a new one for a while. I used to be a classroom teacher in science and math, but have since bumped myself upstairs. ;)

[durwill2005]

At 3:19, I couldn't help but think of the second law of thermodynamics (entropy of the universe increases). Might make for a good vid, but thermo is hard to understand without knowledge of kinetic energy.

Kinetic energy and thermodynamics might make good vids.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Most of my stumbling block comes from thinking of good movie clips to use. I had a couple good ideas that had good science but no clips, and then others that had great clips but not enough science behind it. I may have finally thought of something however, and Ill keep everyone informed. ;)

[decimated550]

Muse -

I read in an old time life book on space that in the event of depressurization an astronaut's blood would boil because of the lowered pressure. Makes sense in Denver, will this happen at higher altitudes?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

It will happen at high altitudes, but REAL high. It doesnt happen on Mt Everest after all, but if you were in a partial vacuum, it would hurt real bad. ;) Watch the depressurization scene in "Event Horizon" for a fairly accurate look at it.

[maven21]

Muse-

Is it possible to use other clips from lets say action movies other then science fiction. i am sure that car chaseses and explosions have somethng of value..after all its all science right? :-)

[SpeakerForBoskone]

Car crashes are plentiful to be sure. That demonstrates momentum and such, but that runs out of thrill real quick. I wanted to do a torque video using dinosaurs, but it didnt work out. But dont worry, I'm working on a new one right now.

[peterMAK33]

nice work man, that was awesome!!!

[Phoenixo7Idaho]

intelligent video, i love it :)

[kuan12345]

You're fulla crap!  Everyone true geek knows the artifical gravity on the starship keeps the air close to the deck. The hull is there only to the crew from eating space mites while travelling through space at warp nine.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I hope you're joking, else I'd have to ask you if thats true, why do they bother putting glass in starship windows? ;)

[blackknight109]

well,it makes more sense than putting MS windows 2470 in the main computer core of a federation starship. And also to kuan12345,if 1g is enough to keep the air inside the ship,can you please tell me the purpose of the emergency forcefields in ST,or the pressure bulkheads in BSG and the Weber's honorverse,when they have grav-plates?

[Gazzar]

A good book to read about this is Kim Stanley Robinsons 'Red Mars.' OK it's set on Mars not in outer space but the effects are very similar. It is covered in some detail in the final chapter where the tented towns get, erm, popped. Also a useful survival tip is given - get yourself flat against a wall that faces perpendicular to the outflowing air. The character Ann Claybourne saves her own life by doing this.

[valerie374]

That works because the air has less surface area to hit your body with, like a sail thats flat on the floor instead of flapping in the wind. COOL! Lets have more. I am having trouble deciding what my next movie will be.

[frogger626]

In the Halo novels, explosive decompression is used often to make course-corrections when the engines have failed. It would work... But depressurizing a shuttle bay to move a huge starship doesn't seem logical.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

It wouldnt be a neat course correction, nor very powerful. It would be very sloppy and haphazard and small, but as long as the starship has no other forces acting on it, something would happen. Probably not a big something though.

[frogger626]

That's what I thought. They also have chemical thrusters that use explosice chemicals to blow the ship off course... Maybe?

[ArgHamster]

Very nice!

[losbarbour]

This was really nicely done, thanks!

[MalRenyolds]

Just curious, are you trying to imply that explosive decompression is the cause of spaceships blowing up?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Referring to the "Balloons may pop" analogy? No, my point there was with making a subliminal association with how air in a balloon can go from 0 to 60 in under a second if the air escapes. Since I didnt really have time to explain "pressure differential," I had to use whatever imagery was available. The only spaceship that I show totally blowing up, the Battlestar Atlantia, was due to repeated enemy firepower.

[buckaroohawk]

Excellently done! Entertaining and informative. You guys should be working for The Discovery Channel. Great work!

[lefant0m3]

you left out sound in space...

[SpeakerForBoskone]

Well thats a whole other movie. Good idea.  ;)

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Come to think of it "What Sci Fi Shows Get Wrong" would make a good movie, but I wouldnt want to bite the hand that feeds me.

[lefant0m3]

Ah. You've got a good point there. Anyway...keep up the great movies!

[HustlerJohn]

Read the title before asking dumb question..