What are you tired of seeing in Sci-Fi movies?

Why would steel and iron be more stable? Remember, steel and iron corrode. They rust. And that's one thing you don't want when the pipes are carrying liquids. Clay and pottery can be used, but they're brittle, can shatter, and cannot bend nor flex.

Thus, brass.

 

Wouldn't it make sense to line the insides with copper/brass then? Brass and Copper in and of itself is pretty flimsy one would think.

 

The historical choice was lead.

 

A theoretical option for radiation shielding would be
using either water or hydrogen between inner and
outer hulls. Would be a lighter than lead, but not
as fool proof.
And no matter who is wearing their lead panties,
pretty much everybody has a bad day when getting
hit with a particle accelerator cannon.
Speaking of, why doesn't Sci-fi use such a powerful
weapon that irradiates a ship without causing physical
damage to the hull? I mean it's not as messy as using
plasma or lasers, and makes capturing ships a bit
easier, since no one would want to be basically
cooked, or decomposed on the molecular level
to die a slow death in a can.

 

There's something like this in The Expanse, called the Slow Zone I think. But I think it's more of a defensive obstacle. There's a clip on YouTube of what happens when someone doesn't heed the warning to slow down, assuming you've never seen it. Gross stuff.

It's messier than other methods, but at least the ship is OK.

 

Why? I mean, it doesn't go through the same stresses as steel (aka girders, railway lines, weapons). It's basically pipes. They just need to survive constant high pressure and corrosion.

 

Yeah, maybe. But if you can use a high powered coil gun to accelerate the
particles, wouldn't that direct the radiation predominantly in the direction
it's pointed? Granted it would have to be at a closer range to be effective,
so you might have a point in being a ballsy offensive or defensive weapon
to those using it as well as those on the receiving end.
Was just considering the vacuum to be a better medium to use it in, versus
using it in an atmospheric condition where there would be more resistance
to disperse it like bird shot.

 

The first encounter between humanity and the Kzinti in Larry Niven's books consisted of the Kzin trying to cook the human crew of a slower than light ship with some sort of induction heating gun. The human ship was using a very low-acceleration laser drive, which the humans shut off and, while making it look like they were trying to maneuver to escape, aimed at the Kzinti ship and sliced it in half.

 

But cooking the people in their ship without the ship exploding isn't very spectacular! It takes away the power of standard action movie tropes, as also does no sound in space. You need to able be able to hear shit blowing up! Geez, you guys! What, you expect movie makers to be all thoughtful and creative and stuff? Ya don't make blockbusters that way!

 

You know it'd be kind of funny to have a space battle with no sound except for the noise inside the cockpits.
That sounds like a monty python bit if you ask me

 

The only time I remember seeing a laser done realistically was in Andromeda Strain, a Michael Crighton movie. It was set in an underground clean facility where they work on diseases, and there was a laser defense system. The guy had to climb a ladder as lasers shot at him, and it was just little silent red dots that appeared on his clothes, like a laser pointer, and then he'd say "OW!" and smack at the spot like it itched or something. Then a little curl of smoke.

Realistic, but about as spectacular as a crossword puzzle.

 

I mean I brought up monty python for a reason haha, that seems like a bit only them in particular could get away with.
Considering what other stupid/silly jokes (many of which are hit or miss, but when they land they really land >=3) they get away with.

This is slightly a joke but I'd like to see some more creative sounds for blaster riffle. They have whole creative teams behind these movies, surely they can come up with something better than a pew pew or a 'wap' noise lol
I'm always surprised when in star wars I hear a laser sound that isn't the 'standard' noise from a blaster or spaceship weapon. Though I'd be proper miffed if they replaced that tie fighter sound.

 

Some of the laser weapons i've seen are not silent. They create a high pitched whirl or brrrrrrr noise. Not loud, but certainly a distinct sound. The bigger the weapon the quieter it seems to be.
They tend to be a little slow in comparison to kinetic energy weapons as well. They have to be held on target for several second before damage is done, so whilst thats ok for certain applications, it makes them less useful for hand held weapons against moving targets like other soldiers. They would be practically useless in built up areas.

 

Lasers.
Why not use plasma? There have been break downs
on how the plasma rifle in Star Wars alone would be
their equivalent to a souped up version of a .50 BMG
rifle, if it were portrayed with realistic physics. Able to
punch through 10 m of duracrete, and basically explode
a soft target in a single hit, as all the liquid in the body
instantly turns to gas and violently explodes from the
body.
The plasma rifle from Terminator is not as horrible, but
still pretty nasty. Tiny entry, and 1~ m exit wound where
the gas explodes in same trajectory as the plasma bolt,
leaving a large smoldering hole in the target.

 

Because lasers are real. They are already mounted on warships. They are starting to be used as rifle sized weapons. 7th Generation fighter aircraft will use them. Drones will use them.

 

Bear in mind that for most laypeople that watches Interstellar, that isn't an explicit obvious foreshadowing of the conclusion.

 

And to pile on, I think it’s a very good example of foreshadowing.

 

Lasers that hit something and stop. That’s not how physics work.

 

That's what I liked (and most of what I remember) about Greg Bear's Anvil of Stars. One group of aliens were composed of groups of sub-sentient snakelike creatures that clustered together to form intelligent individuals. However, single snakes (I don't remember his word for them) or even groups could be exchanged between sapient clusters, allowing them to share experiences. They couldn't survive completely on their own; if a cluster got below.... uhhh, I read this in 1992... seven? snakes the intelligence "died."

It beat the hell out of rubber foreheads, but would probably need CG to show in the theater, so six of one, half dozen of the other sins, thank you.

 

One thing that I'd like to see, is the mcguffin being something positively ancient.
Not a 'relic' from our 'modern' time but like, a proper artifact, something Lara Croft or Indiana Jhones might go after.

 

I haven't read every post, but I agree with the gravity comments. Not every planet will be Gravity 1 - earth gravity; they will be either less or more. In my current WIP it is something that the characters are aware of. When stepping onto a void ship a computer voice reminds everyone that "Gravity is One Standard." It was mentioned that human beings can adapt to other gravity, but it is not instantaneous. So, if you are going from a high gravity planet to the standard gravity of a space station, your legs will be a little stronger in the lighter gravity. My Sarines (Space Marines, used for ground assault, and they handle all weapons on ships and stations) travel for days and weeks to get to their targets. They live in a variable gravity section of the transport that slowly adjusts them to the gravity environment in which they will be operating. Their planetary base is at 1.1 standard gravity, but they slowly adapt to the 1.9 gravity of the target, and back to "normal" on the return trip. Continuing in this mode, humans on heavier gravity planets tend to be shorter and have denser bones, while those on light gravity planets tend to be taller but with more fragile bones.

I am FAR from being a scientist of any kind, much less an astrophysicist, but it seems to me that all space travel (I think of it as the void rather than space) would be the mastering of gravity.

As far as sci-fi tropes I really dislike:

Limitless power supplies.

The instant transition from normal speeds to Warp/FTL drive speeds; everyone would get mashed to the back of the ship. It should be a gradual acceleration; how fast will depend upon the limits of the human body and the available power.

Dogfights between ships as if they were in atmosphere.

Not a movie trope but has always bothered me... Complaining that all aliens look humanoid. I've always been intrigued by the idea of Panspermia. In my own personal "universe" each galaxy has its own set of genetic building blocks, so it would be logical that all life forms in each galaxy follow similar evolutionary patterns. In the Milky Way we have the biped/quadruped DNA building blocks. In another galaxy perhaps the sentients have an odd number of limbs, so their math could possibly be trinary; their sexuality also? Hmmmmmm.