The Physics of Starship Battles: Artificial Gravity and Centrifugal Force

So here we have an explanation for Starship gravity. In the depths of outer space, there isnt supposed to be ANY gravity. And yet, in every TV show we see everyday, our protagonists wander around their spaceships with nary a care in the world. They mention the topic once "oh by the way we have gravity" and then never bring it up again, never explaining how its done.
Well, can we produce artificial gravity? Yes. But not in the way you expect. ;)
Here I explain the REAL way we're likely to generate our own gravity once we get into space, including its various applications and equations involved, using many clips from various shows that get it alternatively wrong-
-and right. ;)

So welcome to my latest "5 min" movie.
Honestly, these things never start out as ten minute escapades, they just always end up there after saying "well I have to explain this and I have to explain that." It always makes sense in the end, so whatever. ;)
So, there I was in my latest job, trying to come up with a new idea for a movie, book, and what else all simultaneously, when I get not ONE idea for a new movie, but several. For example I got a rip-roaring good idea for one about cloaking devices, but THIS idea just demanded to be made. This topic reached out and said "you're not making anything else until you make me." Very well. ;) After all, I've had this idea floating around for a while, but it never came all together in one spot until I really found out that I was going to go for it. Some of my best stuff started that way, where I didnt know where it was going to end, but knew it had to be done and done right. And I'm glad it did.

And yes, that zero g cliffhanger from Babylon 5 was there the whole time. I've been trying to fit that into something for YEARS, having used it to first explain this physics concept all the way back in my high school physics class days. All hail Babylon 5. ;)
To forestall the inevitable questions about why I didnt show how that cliffhanger ends- you know darn well why. Physics is one thing, but Ambassador Kosh out of costume is quite another (When B5's creator went for philosophical sci fi, he went right for the throat). The full clip has been posted to youtube a few times already, so you know you can find it if you want it that bad.

This movie was also a larger experiment, being the first one created under my new merciless working conditions of 12 hours a day in my new job. This made it necessary to evolve a new definition of "progress," wherein fixing 3 sound effects in a 5 sec clip counted as a good days work. :P A great deal of my thinking was done elsewhere, making my computer time short and to the point, getting done exactly what I needed to. It still took the longest to complete out of all of them.
Are there more movies coming? I've been doing this too long to believe myself when I say "thats it." I still have my notes for that cloaking device idea... so keep your eyes open. ;)
(I fixed the audio. +89 views from the previous upload)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Physics
• Gravity
• star
• trek
• centrifugal
• battlestar
• laws
• motion
• rotation
• angular
• velocity
• momentum
• acceleration
• babylon

[edaw1982]

What's the movie featured in 4:20?

The centrifuge looks kind of like 2001, (probably a homage) but Bowman never wore a jacket like that.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@edaw1982 Thats "Mission to Mars." With Gary Sinese, Jerry O'Connell and Tim Robbins

[animalnt]

you cannot just stop a rotation in frictionless space. Otherwise our earth would have stopped.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@animalnt You dont need friction to stop rotation. In that Mission to Mars clip, its done merely by opposing forces,  The momentum vs the rockets.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@KnightInExile7 0:27 was "Mission to Mars." With Gary Sinese, Jerry O'Connell and Tim Robbins.

0:51 was Superman Returns, from 2006

[SpreadingtheMuse]

0:27 was Mission to Mars, which has a lot more clips in this movie (and I just found out has its own ride at Epcot Center in Florida, with a life sized version of 4:21)

0:51 was from Superman Returns, a movie that I use a lot in all my movies

[KnightInExile7]

@SpreadingtheMuse Rotating starships are cool! By the way, what are the name of those movie clips from 0:27 and 0:51?

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@ronniecme Give you a strong enough energy source and you'll do what? If you've got the formula for artificial gravity then post it right here. Til then, posers are a dime a dozen.

[ronniecme]

You are a moron.. Give me a powerful enough power source... You don't have a clue...

[SpreadingtheMuse]

@navymexican This is hardly the kind of movie to proclaim "better." B5 gets all the airplay because it used rotational gravity and Star Trek didnt. But if I really had to choose...

I liked TNG a lot, but DS9 and Voy dropped the ball. B5 was good for its first 4 seasons, then ran out of steam for 5, which was nothing about nothing. I have 2 trek uniforms in my closest but no B5 ones, so who knows.