3 ms·

Aside from the simplified sphere of influence that objects have (gravity up to radius, then nothing). But I agree, KSP teaches you a lot about motion.

by fmorel 11y ago

baq 11y ago
lack of Lagrange points is barely noticable when compared to some blunders that scifi works commit. every space opera author should land on the Mun to at least know what physics he's going to ignore.
- Florin_Andrei 11y ago
  You know, it's really complex sometimes. Here's an example. I'm a fan of the Mass Effect game series. An important place in the games is the Citadel - a giant cylindrical space station, about 12 km in diameter, that makes its own artificial gravity by means of rotating along its axis, about 1 rotation every 3 minutes. There are elevators inside the Citadel, taking people from one level to another. The elevators are pretty fast - about 10 meters / second is my visual estimate. So you have people going "up" or "down" inside the cylinder on these elevators all the time. But wait. Combining the rotation of the cylinder with the radial motion of the elevators, a Coriolis-like force would manifest on anyone inside the elevator. I did the math, and it would be like the floor of the elevator would tilt at about 4% grade (slope) - not huge, but it would definitely push you around. There's no mention of that in the game, and people in elevators are standing straight all the time. But that's not how physics would work in reality. There's a moment in one of the games when you're taking some R&R with your buddy, and you're shooting bottles. You throw a bottle in the air, for your friend to aim at and shoot. In reality, you'll never be able to throw it straight up. Due to Citadel's spin, the bottle would always describe a shallow curve, as if wind was pushing it along the circumference of the cylinder. Granted, this is a subtle effect. Few people would notice or care. But the point is - if you're aiming for high realism, at some point you'd probably need a science consultant to point out all these weird issues that might crop up. Realism is hard.
  - exar0815 11y ago
    "My Name is Garrus Vakarian, and this is my favourite spot on the Citadel!"

Aside from the simplified sphere of influence that objects have (gravity up to radius, then nothing). But I agree, KSP teaches you a lot about motion.

by fmorel 11y ago

Aside from the simplified sphere of influence that objects have (gravity up to radius, then nothing). But I agree, KSP teaches you a lot about motion.

baq 11y ago

lack of Lagrange points is barely noticable when compared to some blunders that scifi works commit. every space opera author should land on the Mun to at least know what physics he's going to ignore.

Florin_Andrei 11y ago
You know, it's really complex sometimes. Here's an example. I'm a fan of the Mass Effect game series. An important place in the games is the Citadel - a giant cylindrical space station, about 12 km in diameter, that makes its own artificial gravity by means of rotating along its axis, about 1 rotation every 3 minutes. There are elevators inside the Citadel, taking people from one level to another. The elevators are pretty fast - about 10 meters / second is my visual estimate. So you have people going "up" or "down" inside the cylinder on these elevators all the time. But wait. Combining the rotation of the cylinder with the radial motion of the elevators, a Coriolis-like force would manifest on anyone inside the elevator. I did the math, and it would be like the floor of the elevator would tilt at about 4% grade (slope) - not huge, but it would definitely push you around. There's no mention of that in the game, and people in elevators are standing straight all the time. But that's not how physics would work in reality. There's a moment in one of the games when you're taking some R&R with your buddy, and you're shooting bottles. You throw a bottle in the air, for your friend to aim at and shoot. In reality, you'll never be able to throw it straight up. Due to Citadel's spin, the bottle would always describe a shallow curve, as if wind was pushing it along the circumference of the cylinder. Granted, this is a subtle effect. Few people would notice or care. But the point is - if you're aiming for high realism, at some point you'd probably need a science consultant to point out all these weird issues that might crop up. Realism is hard.
- exar0815 11y ago
  "My Name is Garrus Vakarian, and this is my favourite spot on the Citadel!"