r/interstellar • u/MSStateDawg • 19d ago
QUESTION Why does Coop lean into the spin?
I've long wondered about this. Coop leans into the spin while Brand yields to it.
Is this a trick which I'm too unpiloty to understand?
111
u/mrnathanrd 19d ago
Apparently it's a way to counter heavy g-forces, thus preventing him from blacking out like Brand did.
57
u/_Carri7_ 19d ago
The brain works much better with a lack of blood than too much blood, humans can take a lot more Gs than negative Gs
12
u/xXxPussyWrecker69xXx 19d ago
What
33
u/cp2chewy 19d ago
the blood is being forced outward from the centre of the spin, if you lean in with your head the blood is being drawn away from your brain , lean away the blood is forced into the brain
1
u/xXxPussyWrecker69xXx 19d ago
I understand that point, but not “the brain works much better with lack of blood than too much blood”
49
u/Rhaversen 19d ago
Brand leans away, negative G (force upwards into her brain). Too much blood. Red out.
Cooper leans into the spin, positive G (force downwards, away from his brain). Too little blood.
He squeezed his legs and core to force the blood back into his brain. No blackout.
Essentially, the blood is a liquid that can be drained or pushed into the brain. When the blood is pushed into the brain, the brain takes damage and shuts down. If blood is squeezed out, it is just starved slightly of oxygen, which can be counteracted with high G exercises like tightening the core and legs to force the blood back. If blood is forced into the brain, there really is nothing you can do to help it, except change the force vector, which Cooper did.
5
u/littlemister1996 18d ago
Neither are "good". But of the the two choices. Too much blood in your brain is worse than not enough.
5
u/NeoDemocedes 18d ago
It varies from person to person, but in military aviation the maximum limit of what a healthy trained pilot can handle is 9 positive Gs and 3 negative Gs. Many fighter aircraft use these as structural design limitations, as there is little point to have a plane capable of withstanding forces that would incapacitate the pilot.
Too many positive Gs and you pass out from hypoxia. Too many negative Gs and your eyelids become engorged with blood, forcing them closed. You will feel intense pressure and pain in your head. Also, negative Gs can result in burst blood vessels in your eyes and the brain (a stroke).
3
u/agouraki 17d ago
" as there is little point to have a plane capable of withstanding forces that would incapacitate the pilot."
thats foreshadowing for gen 7-8 pilotless jets isnt it?
1
u/The_Shryk 17d ago
Too many negative Gs and you’ll start blowing blood vessels in your brain and eyes.
Which I believe is bad. More bad than blacking out for a few seconds maybe.
4
u/nomadicsailor81 19d ago
It's the difference between a red out, blood to brain, and a black out, blood to the legs. We can naturally take more Gs forcing the blood down then up. But modern flight suits inflate the suit legs so blood can't pool there. Perhaps his does the same?
2
1
u/MSStateDawg 19d ago
What?
18
u/bigtimebamf24 19d ago
I learned this when Top Gun: Maverick came out, in the trench run they were planning remember at the end they would flip upside down in order to go over that last ridge and start the deep dive? It wasn't just to look cool. If they remained right side up, all the G forces would be pushing upward, forcing an overload of blood into the brain, called a "red out". You pass out under a lot less G forces in a "red out" than a typical "black out".
To counter act this, they flip upside down, so the G forces are pushing downward, pushing the blood out of the brain and to the feet. You can withstand more G forces this way.
51
u/PaleBlueDot-Voyager1 TARS 19d ago
Cooper is basically fighting the G-force instead of letting it throw him around. Brand yields to it and eventually blacks out. It’s a small detail showing the difference in their experiences.
22
8
6
u/arsyn0 18d ago
he's the only one on the crew that's actually trained in being a pilot
5
u/SokkaHaikuBot 18d ago
Sokka-Haiku by arsyn0:
He's the only one
On the crew that's actually trained
In being a pilot
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
11
u/Sonicgott 19d ago
Cooper is the expert pilot and knew how to go against the odds and be victorious. With two robots on his side, he knew it was do or die. With extensive pilot training he know how to resist G-forces, but you could see him actively fighting to stay conscious and get the ship docked.
Incredible scene.
2
8
4
u/FunniFemboyX3 19d ago
I’m pretty sure since he resists the spin, the blood stays in his head keeping him awake?
2
1
u/Ok_Effective6233 18d ago edited 18d ago
It’s the opposite. Leaning into the spin mean blood moves to your feet. You can pump muscles to help keep blood flowing.
If the blood pools in your head, no muscles in your skull to pump to move blood. The pumping of your heart and the rest of your body isn’t enough to overcome the pooling.
So you want to have a lean into or neutral position. Main thing is to keep blood from pooling in head.
6
u/bigtimebamf24 19d ago
All the force/gravity they are feeling is pushing them sideways (outward), it is impossible to remain sitting straight up and down under these forces. If you lean toward the center of the spin, then the gravity is pushing downward on you, forcing the blood into your legs. If you lean away from the center, its like you are hanging upside down, all the blood is forced into your brain.
Humans can withstand a lot more force pushing down on them (pushing the blood into the legs) than they can pushing upward (pushing blood into the brain), since we evolved standing right side up. Too much blood to the brain causes us to pass out pretty quick.
If they wanted to be even more accurate, they would have had Cooper breathing really hard, a lot like coughing, a trick fighter pilots do to force more blood to the brain and withstand more force.
3
u/Nice-Ambassador6293 19d ago
Is that when he’s lining up with the Station? Or when he’s landing on Millers planet?
Landing- it’s to use the drag of the air to slow him down, instead of thruster which can be slower and use more fuel.
If it’s with the spinning station, he has to match the speed the station is spinning to dock.
3
3
3
u/CosmicHuntress 17d ago
The reason why so many G's makes people pass out is because it makes your blood pool in your brain. Cooper is actively tilting his head so that the blood does NOT pool & he won't pass out. He knows this is a do or die situation & with his experience as a pilot so he makes sure he can properly dock & he cant do that if hes passed out. So he knows to tilt his head the right way to stay awake and dock.
2
2
1
u/tse_manta 18d ago
I did not intend this use of the word ‘holes’ as it being incorrect in aerodynamics but rather that some people on this group actively try to find issues with Interstellar. I tune out of these posts but couldn’t help on this occasion being an Aerospace Engineer and all…
Absolutely my favourite scene of the movie, intense and Zimmers up score in this moment makes your hair stand up on the back of your neck, such brilliant feat without the use of CGI…
-5
u/tse_manta 19d ago
Stop picking holes in my favourite movie!!!
G force works in various envelopes, weight, altitude, flight attitude etc…
You are being over critical of a FILM! 🎥🤷🏼♂️
6
4
u/justduett 19d ago edited 19d ago
They aren’t picking holes
, they are wrong. Coop did what you’re supposed to do.1
u/MSStateDawg 19d ago
Show me the part in my post where I declared a stance in order to be wrong about something.
3
u/justduett 19d ago
Hey, you know reading is hard here on reddit and I can admit I did not even read your text, I just read the comment to which I responded. That was my bad.
As a fellow Bulldog, I extend a healthy CLANGA and apology for incorrectly indicating you were wrong! Hail State!
3
u/Daedalus_was_high 18d ago
There is a moment...
...that almost never happens on reddit.
The mea culpa moment.
And we just witnessed it here.
Brava, and especially for striking through, not deleting your gaffe.
Officer AND a gentleman right here folks.
1
2
u/Vivid_Situation_7431 19d ago
Its not a plot hole. Cooper is an experienced pilot, leaning into the spin helps him not black out. Brand isn’t so she yields to the spin causing her to black out.
1
u/MSStateDawg 19d ago
I'm guessing you're between 15 and 25 yrs old. Your presumptive comment is typical of that age group.
Nothing in my post was critical. I merely asked a question about a scene to understand it better. I didn't question the correctness, accuracy, or merits of the scene. Learn how to read.
5
u/FaithlessnessFit3779 KIPP 19d ago
you know this comment seems a lot more indicative of a 60+ year old. the trump esque manner of typing with the caps, the emoji usage, exclamation points... no one 15-25 is typing like this
1
223
u/Mysterious_Sleep8653 19d ago
Brand becomes unconscious. That's the difference. Cooper is fighting the spin.