I like a little more science in my science fiction

[Mallus]

People who know nothing about something shouldn't try to get clever with it.

You play D&D, right?

(Wait, I know the answer to that one...)

That scene really reminded me of RPG play. It had a neat idea that's superfically clever, but falls apart if you give it any thought. The trick is not to give it any thought...

 

[Desdichado]

In written science fiction, I do prefer a bit more rigorous science than your typical Star Wars. In movies and TV, though, I think spending time talking about the science is time wasted.

 

[Rackhir]

You play D&D, right?

(Wait, I know the answer to that one...)

You aren't going to start arguing that bows don't work in a vacuum are you?

 

[Desdichado]

Magic Missile doesn't work in a vacuum...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Magic Missile doesn't work in a vacuum...

But that´s just because Wizards don´t work in vacuum...

 

[Mallus]

You aren't going to start arguing that bows don't work in a vacuum are you?

I'm suddenly seeing an adventure in which we find out

In fact, maybe the one we're currently in. It seems fitting that a priest of the god of madness and outer space should have spells that not only drive people mad, but, in fact, hurl them into outer space...

 

[TanisFrey]

Wayne, I thought I remembered the line, "(gunname) won't fire in a vacuum, so..." voiced as a complaint from Jayne at one point. But yeah, not a ton of explanation.

For the record, I can handle science in my SF, but it's not a priority for me. In fact, it's sort of the reverse -- the current state of SF-novel-dom has hard science fiction clearly on top (at least in terms of non-media-tie-in-novels). That's not to say that there isn't any good soft-SF or space opera or science fantasy, but it is getting harder and harder to find. Which is a shame, for me, since hard SF tends to get the science right at the cost of the characters, and I read, well, just about everything I read for the characters.

The problem with firing a gun in space is not the O2 supply but speed of bullet. A gun is a basic reaction mass propulation system. The person firing should start to drift in the oppsite diretion unless firmely attachet to a large mass, like a ship.

 

[Dark Jezter]

The title of this thread is a quote from a friend of mine. She said it after seeing someone do something (I don't remember what it was exactly) in the Star Wars "Clone Wars" cartoon DVD. I mean, she is a Physics major getting her Masters degree in that subject, but she also plays D&D, where wizards shoot fireballs out of their butts and Halflings are as common as Humans, and loves the Buffy and Angel tv shows. All in all, I thought it was both odd and amusing. I told her she needed to stop watching sci-fi and playing fantasy because she would be sorely disappointed.

I'm sure there are others who feel the way she does. Anyone else think that? That they prefer a little more "science" in their "science fiction" even though you play D&D or some other fantasy game?

I wouldn't classify Star Wars as science fiction. Even George Lucas dosen't classify it as sci-fi; the term he uses is "Space Fantasy."

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

The problem with firing a gun in space is not the O2 supply but speed of bullet. A gun is a basic reaction mass propulation system. The person firing should start to drift in the oppsite diretion unless firmely attachet to a large mass, like a ship.

I seem to remember having talked (or discussed) about this before, but that might have been on a different board...

Remember that F = m * a (F: Force; m: mass, a: acceleration). A bullet has a very low mass, thus the force of the chemical explosion causes a great acceleration: But a human has a high mass (compared to that of the bullet), so he experiences a low acceleration. It is not that you wouldn´t notice it (that´s the recoil you feel when firing a gun), but it is not that you would suddenly fly around uncontrollably fast. Though if you give up a lot of shots - preferably with a automatic weapon - the effect would certainly become noticable.
But in the scene mentioned here, Jayne was actually attached to the ship (a ship with artifical gravity, by the way), so it wouldn´t matter anyway.

I wonder how well the typical automatic firing mechanismn works in space, though - is the gas created during firing sufficient for that mechanismn?

 

[Kylara]

Maybe the gun just can't handle the cold of space, and he used the space suit to keep it from totally freezing up.