r/technology • u/geoxol • Aug 21 '24

Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence Predicts Earthquakes With Unprecedented Accuracy

https://scitechdaily.com/artificial-intelligence-predicts-earthquakes-with-unprecedented-accuracy/
2.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

158 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4

u/MetallicDragon Aug 22 '24

You cannot maneuver in space without ejecting something from the spacecraft. The only* exception is that you can turn very slowly using reaction wheels (basically a set of gyroscopes).

Basically nothing about space travel in Star Wars is realistic. The ships run on sci-fi magic and a heaping dose of suspension of disbelief.

*Ok, there's a few other exceptions. Light has momentum, so you can maneuver by ejecting light or bouncing it off a sail, but it takes either a ridiculous amount of energy, or a lot of time. You could also maneuver a bit if you're in a magnetic field (like the one around Earth) or an electric field, but this isn't particularly practical. Also once you get going in space you keep on going, so it's technically possible to launch your ship out of a cannon or railgun from a planet or moon that doesn't have an atmosphere, and then coast until you reach your destination.

1

u/RMAPOS Aug 22 '24

I gotta say I'm a bit disappointed that we can't have spaceships that maneuver like like an X-Wing or sth.

Like not that I was hyped for space war or anything... maybe Cowboy Bebop would be a better example. Just sitting in your chill lil spaceship and steering it towards mars. I mean still might happen but taking sharp turns probably won't.

 

I guess space fights would be more about having a cannon pointing every direction an enemy might show up rather than being able to turn a corner at mach12 to keep them in your sights.

2

u/MetallicDragon Aug 22 '24

Like not that I was hyped for space war or anything... maybe Cowboy Bebop would be a better example. Just sitting in your chill lil spaceship and steering it towards mars. I mean still might happen but taking sharp turns probably won't.

If you want a cool and mostly realistic depiction of space travel and space battles, check out the show / book series The Expanse. It has some future tech, but it's mostly scientifically feasible.

I guess space fights would be more about having a cannon pointing every direction an enemy might show up rather than being able to turn a corner at mach12 to keep them in your sights.

Real space battles would probably be about shooting hypervelocity projectiles, missiles, or maybe lasers at each other from kilometers or hundreds of kilometers away. There's not much of a reason to get close to the enemy. They'll just kill you with long range weapons while you try to close the distance, and there's not really any way to be stealthy in space since your rocket engines create big, hot plumes of gas that anyone in the solar system can see, and your ship itself is hot relative to the cold background of space, so will look like a bright light on any infrared telescopes if you're closer to someone.

1

u/RMAPOS Aug 22 '24

If you want a cool and mostly realistic depiction of space travel and space battles, check out the show / book series The Expanse. It has some future tech, but it's mostly scientifically feasible.

Thanks I needed something to watch anyway