The Physics of Science Fiction UPGRADED AND REMASTERED: Phasers and Disintregration

Remastered version of my 3rd Physics movie. You can hear the sound in both ears now!
These last 3 movies complete the collection of what I call the "modern 8," the eight physics movies made on my laptop and the advanced tech that that provided. The only physics movies left now are Explosive Decompression and The Laws of Motion, both of which were created with analog equipment and between you, me, and the fencepost, I dont believe are upgradable to the high standards of these others. They might be permanent time capsules of a fledgeling movie-maker who wanted to make movies any which we he could and low-tech be damned. I do a lot of projects that way. NO ONE tells me what I cant do. Because in the immortal words of Trey Parker; "If you're feeling creative, just do it." ;)
Now, as for a new movie? I just finished Electromagnetic Pulse, so give me a minute. I do have an idea, but will take a bit to flesh out. Patience ;)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Star
• trek
• atom
• electron
• nucleus
• science
• fiction
• physics
• plasma
• battlestar
• galactica
• emission
• spectra
• space
• math

[Ryagful]

if things happen how you say, wouldn't that like...fill the freaking room with a cloud of PLASMA and also kill everyone in it? just saying.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@Ryagful Since plasma has a temp of thousands of degrees, yes. Put a cloud of it in a room and they ARE going to be all dead.

[shanedk]

What I never understood is, how do phasers know when to stop? Why do they vaporize the person but not vaporize a hole in the floor beneath them? And what about when you miss? Doesn't that instantly put a hole in your ship? Not a good thing...

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@shanedk

Phasers have to input energy into the mass they hit to vaporize it. So the more energy they input, trade off, the more they lose, and as soon as they transfer all of it, the phaser "stops." A phaser manufacturer would certainly adjust the pre-adjusted settings for average humanoid mass and say "To vaporize a humanoid of average mass and nothing else, use setting 12," or similar.

[Idazmi7]

@Ryagful Until someone invents this thing, that is.

[Ryagful]

thought so. i think i'll stick to bullets...

[Ryagful]

ok, but if it hits the wall, won't it do the same? just shed some light on it please.

[SailorBarsoom]

That's very cool. Now how does stun work? ;-)

One cool thing about "phasers" and "blasters" and other such don't-call-it-a-laser weapons is that you can skip real-world laser realities like being seen from the side, stunning, and the way beams in TV and movies seem to move at the speed of an arrow.

"Hey, it ain't a laser. It ain't a ray of light, you know."

[shanedk]

@SpreadingtheMuse But very few people are of average mass; so for smaller people you have a hole in the floor and larger people you leave their feet behind.

Me being pedantic, I know.

[RepublibotThreePoint]

Snazzy! I love your stuff, I tell my homeschooling parent friends to show 'em to their kids. Would you be interested in being interviewed by my website? We've spent a good deal of time and energy trying to convince my fellow conservatives that science is swell, and not something to be afraid of. We interviewed Winchell Chung from Atomic Rockets. I think we'd like to talk to you too, if you're up for it.