Why Every Movie Space Battle Is Wrong! (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)

Someone CAN hear you scream in space if you do it in a sciencey way. New mini-episode over on my Insta (https://www.instagram.com/sci_Phile/). Thanks for watching! — KH

Well there are EVE online, Space enginers, and EVERY clone of those two, More scientific of the second. Becose of science!

I'll try spinning, that's a good trick

On the point of artificial gravity, what about a small craft, such as a fighter, that has no need for it?

Laughs in Mass Effect.

The Star Control 2 Druuge Mauler, your most effective form of thrust was your weapon. As long as you are OK with fling backwards.

Star trek has button control, at least TNG and onwards

Sound in space makes sense for Star Wars if you assume the Force is everywhere and carries vibrations.

Battlestar Galactica (Reboot) did it well too.

Also, Tie Fighters and X-Wings do a lot of planetary operations, so there are times those wings come in handy. Just when they are in space, not so much.

This is why a spaceship would need wormhole weapons. Either the ability to teleport the enemy ships elsewhere or to teleport torpedoes right in front of the ship. Get it close enough, and boom! Of course, the enemy might have a type of shields that disrupts said wormholes, hence why right outside of the shield would work best. A bombardment teleported against a single spot would demolish said shields, in theory. I would love to see the coolest space battles that a scientist could come up with using real science and theoretical science. Weaponizing other possibilities.

I remember reading an article that said the perfect shape for a starfighter or even on a spaceborne warship was a sphere, a box. And that you would have to have engines of equal mass and size pointing in every direction to gain the kind of maneuverability that you see in movies.

ok I like this video for the most part except your explanation of communication problems, to every problem there is a solution. the solution i speak of is quantum teleportation of information, which by the way the Chinese have recently had a successful experiment. through quantum entanglement you can send (According to presently understood theory) send communications across the universe instantaneously, which would solve the time delay of conventional communications. you should do a video on quantum entanglement and what it would mean for long distance (AU) communications.

Firefly did a great job representing the silence of space and their ships were fairly portrayed as well.

Battlestar Galactica does really well making the dogfights seem realistic.
From the tactics employed to take advantage of not having gravity or air resistance, to the little mini-thrusters on every axis to provide multi-directional movement and stabilise the ship's drift.

Nope if I saw any of that realistic crap on a video game I wouldn't say this is where the fun begins I will take this is when I start to sleep

This is why instant Communication in space in Sci-Fi movies is referred to as Subspace communication

The Borg……

Already thought about it more than 6 months ago, too bad I didn't make a video.

ALL WRONG!!!!!

You forgot that Star Wars and artificial gravity

battlestar gallactica took alot of these things into account

I mean we have systems now that can track 100's of targets from hundreds of miles away and technically lock on to track and shoot down dozens of these targets at once with hypersonic AAMs. If we jump a few centuries into a future where we have warp/hyperspace drives and quantum tap reactors or jump back to long long ago where they had this sort of tech. What would the heck, sort of weapon systems would they have to take out fighters and ships? And with this tech Why the heck would they fight mano et mano with guns like in ww2 and need to do bombing runs. Heck how hyperspace works being a true relativistic drive and not a space warping drive. Why the heck would you build a death star to destroy a planet or need to fight a WW2esque massive sea and air battle to destroy the imperial fleet and death star. all you need is for 1 ship to launch a few tons of sand just as it came out of hyperspace in the general direction of the target; this cloud travelling at near light speed or ftl would sandblast a whole planet ( well about 1/2-2/3 ) or destroy the death star and its supporting fleet. Go all out and use micro-balls of a high carbon matrix number ( super diamonds) and you are talking a true planet killer that would travel on destroying far beyond the planet. A true terror weapon that can not be protected against nor really detected until you pick up the ship dropping out of Hyperspace by then it is too late the cloud is coming and nothing can or will not stop it.

Except Babylon 5 they got it pretty spot on with those odd looking stumpy boxy StarFury fighters with their 4 outrigger Omni-directional, vectored thrust retro jets and even the way they move and fight would be pretty accurate. The only real fault is they do not have 3d-360' body/cockpit . Trouble with Star wars and a lot of Sci-Fi is that they just recreate ww2 air battles in space.

In Star Wars, spacecrafts were equipped with a piece of machinery called an internal compensator, which generated its own gravity pulling things downward. So in a star-fighter, for example, the pilot would remain parallel with the ship. Of course, this technology does not exist in the real world sooooooooo…..yeah.

so catapult and bow would be pretty good weapons. ?

Its plasma not laser in star wars.

Actualy there is a videogame in early developement that is trying to picture real space battles. It is called Children of the deth earth. You can find LP on it made by EnterElysium.

Eh, not convinced on the direction of fire one. Depends too much on tactics. Your guns have to face the enemy, so your approach vector, and when you fire to get the best chance of hitting, would have huge ramifications on ship design.

Star Trek gets most of this right… ships are designed mostly for aesthetics rather than aerodynamics, weapons are generally energy based firing in whatever direction the enemy happens to be in, physical weapons are designed primarily to deal kinetic damage to armour, communications is dealt with using a fictional time-compressed dimension called Subspace, which only leaves the "no sound in space" thing as not being addressed.

SLIPPY DIED!?!?!?!?

A lot of them are made to also work in atmospheres tho

Ooo joshua Dalzelle does a really good series, black fleet, and does more realistic space battles.

Go look into Wing Commander, some ships are made for atmospheric flight and ship flight, the trusters independently move from one another.

Very interesting episode. Couple of thoughts:
1st: You don't need to constantly accelerate in space battle. It is a space. You gained a speed and then you fly until your next maneuver. A pilot will know his limits and will accelerate as much as he can tolerate it and stay in control of his ship.
2nd: what is wrong with constantly changing heading? Yes, it is highly uncomfortable but with proper training he can pull it off. By the way astronauts in these days undergo some excruciating training. So I don't think that it is impossible.
3rd: projectiles can alter your speed, true, but flight computer can compensate changes in velocity.

what about the space battles in mobile suit gundam were they use Active Mass Balance Auto-Control (AMBAC) via movement of the mobile suits limbs to counter momentum?

Hey what about the projectiles that miss their target?!!! How much would it if  you are just cruising around space and 100 rounds start hitting your ship?!

The best part of all of the space battles shown is the are all in planetary gravity wells, or the death stars gravity well. Battles in deep space would always be rare, there is nothing to fight for in deep space. All 'space' battle would be is solar or planetary gravity wells.

What about inertial dampeners or gravity generators

What about robotech?

You ruined Star Wars for me 🙁

The forever war is an audiobook on YouTube that is pretty good for the realism of space combat.

I've been told that Battlestar Galactica (the 00's one and not the 70's show) has the most scientifically accurate space battles out there. I have yet to see it so I don't know if it's true or not. Also in Wrath of Khan they actually address the 3 dimensional battlefield but they seem to forget about it after that xD

Babylon 5 anyone?

Hahahah this guys great, i enjoyed this alot more than i probably should of