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Dr. Christopher S. Baird

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Which space movie has the most accurate physics?

Category: Space Published: February 23, 2013

In order to objectively answer this question, let's list the most common physics
principles that movies get wrong and then judge the movies one principle at a
time. Because the principles of physics apply universally to all galaxies, the
excuse of "advanced technology" cannot be used to explain away physics errors
in a movie. For this reason, the argument that "my favorite movie may have got
the science right after all because maybe the physics is different in another
galaxy" is not valid. Biology and chemistry may be different on distant worlds,
but physics is not. This article contains items that are only physically
impossible, and not items that may be technologically difficult. An alien race
may indeed have advanced technology that we can not even dream of. But they
still can't break the laws of physics. The following principles are considered:

1. No Sound in Space
There is virtually no air in space. Since sound is just vibrations of air, sound
cannot travel through the vacuum of space. An exploding space ship would be
perfectly silent to an external observer. (Read More)

2. Laser Beams are Invisible

To see light, it must enter our eyes. This happens when light reflects off an
object or when the light source is pointed right in your eye. There are virtually
no objects in space, so a laser beam shooting through space would be
completely invisible. (Read More)

3. Ships Can't Travel Faster than Light

Nothing can travel faster than light, no matter how advanced its technology.
This means that voyages to other planets in our solar system take from months
to years and voyages to other stars take from decades to centuries. (Read More)
4. Acceleration Creates Inertial Forces
When a space ship speeds up, the passengers are thrown back violently because
of the inertial forces. There is no way to cancel out or block inertial forces as
they are caused by the motion of the objects themselves. Similarly, every time a
space ship slows down, the passengers lurch forwards. (Read More)

5. Artificial Gravity Requires Spinning

Artificial gravity requires that all objects in a space ship feel an equal force
down towards the floor. The only property that all physical objects share is
mass, so the artificial gravity would have to act on an object's mass. The only
effects that involve mass are gravity and inertia. Since gravity is ruled out (if
there's real gravity doing the job, why would you need artificial gravity?), the
only option left is inertial force. Inertial forces are created when a frame of
reference spins or accelerates linearly. (Read More)

6. No Banking Turns in Space

A banking turn requires a cushion of air to bounce off of. Seeing as there is
virtually no air in space, banking turns such as seen in dogfights are not
possible. Space ships must turn be reorienting themselves to the desired
direction and then firing their engines. (Read More)

7. No Time Travel to the Past

Time travel to the past is ruled out by mainstream physics. Time travel to the
past would destroy the universe in a fireball of runaway energy. Time travel to
the future happens all the time. (Read More)

8. Humans in Vacuum Don't Explode

Human tissue is strong enough to withstand the pressure imbalance between
internal pressure and the vacuum of space. (Read More)

9. Space Weapons Have Unlimited Range

Because there is virtually no friction in space, no ground to hit, and almost no
objects to get in the way, bullets, missiles, rockets, bombs, and laser beams
travel forever in space. (Read More)

10. Asteroid Fields are not Thick

Real asteroid fields have such immense space between each asteroid that a
space ship traveling through would miss them all unless it carefully aimed at
one. (Read More)

11. Black Holes and Stars Don't Suck

The gravity of black holes and stars is the same kind of gravity we experience on
the earth. An object near a black hole would do the same thing our moon does
because it is near the earth: it would orbit the black hole and not be sucked in.
For a space ship to fall into a distant black hole or star, it would have to be very
carefully aimed, otherwise it would end up in orbit or slingshotting away. (Read
More)

12. Space is Not Cold

Within the inner solar system, space is quite hot because of the sun. In deep
space, things can become cold but it will take a long time because the vacuum
of space is a good insulator. Astronauts exposed to space do not suddenly
freeze. (Read More)

13. No Ambient Illumination

The ambient illumination on earth is provided by the sky. Space has no sky and
therefore objects are lit only by the stark illumination of direct sunlight. (Read
More)

14. Ships With Engines Off Don't Stop

Vehicles on earth experience friction from the road, the water, and the air
which slows them down. Space has virtually no air, water, or ground and
therefore has essentially no friction. Ships with their engines off coast forever
instead of slowing to a stop. (Read More)

15. Stars Don't Move

When traveling in a vehicle, objects out the window seem to move past you due
to parallax. The stars are so far away that their movement is essentially zero.
Looking out the window of a speeding space ship, it appears as if you are not
moving at all. (Read More)

With all of these physical principles appropriately explained, let's look at the
scores. An "x" in the table below means that the movie got the physics wrong,
while a check mark indicates that the movie either got the physics right or did
not have any scenes where the corresponding physics would be evident.
To answer the original question, the space movies with the most accurate
physics are Contact, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Apollo 13. The movies with the
least accurate physics are the Star Wars and Star Trek series. The bottom line is
that if you want senseless fun, watch Star Trek or Star Wars. If you want serious
space drama, watch Apollo 13 or 2001. This should not be surprising as Star
Wars and Star Trek are essentially escapist fantasy while Apollo 13 depicts a
true story.

Postscript: Below are principles that were not included in this evaluation
because they may not be true in another galaxy, or are even not true in our
galaxy.

Laser Beams Can't Kill

Despite the fact that most practical lasers encountered in every day life are too
weak to hurt people, there are in fact lasers strong enough to do damage. The
reason that police officers are not running around with laser guns is that under
our current technology it takes a large machine with a significant energy source
to create laser beams strong enough to be deadly. This roadblock is primarily
technological. Lethal hand-held laser guns could become a possibility in the
near future.

Aliens Don't Exist

Although there is no current evidence one way or the other, mainstream science
predicts that life is quite common in our galaxy and through-out the universe.
This prediction does not guarantee that alien life will be intelligent or resemble
humans. Movies and television shows that are trying to be scientifically accurate
are free to envision just about any shape of alien they wish without distorting
science as long as basic principles such as conservation of energy are followed
(i.e. creatures that expend energy moving about must consume energy in some
way).

No Aliens are Humanoid

If the variety of species on earth is any indication, there is a low probability
that life on alien planets will look human. But there is nothing physical that
makes humanoid aliens impossible. It's just improbable that a given star system
will have humanoid aliens. But multiply this low probability by the astronomical
number of stars in our galaxy and humanoid aliens could end up quite common.

Other Planets are not Earth-like

While the planets in our solar system alone show that earth-like planets are
rare, there is no principle that completely rules out earth-like planets. The
heroes of shows may just be getting lucky in bumping into the ones that are
earth-like, or avoiding the ones without breathable air. The scenario is
improbable, but not impossible. Improbable things happen all the time in real
life. The improbability of an event is what makes a story so interesting. The
universe is so vast that improbable things quickly become probable.

Aliens Can't Speak English

The native Americans didn't speak English when the Europeans first discovered
them, so it's even less likely that aliens can speak English. While this is perhaps
true, this reasoning is more of a sociological argument than a physics argument.
As such, we can always find holes in the argument. For instance, perhaps aliens
observed earth's television broadcasts from afar and learned our language from
them. Or perhaps, some English explorer had already visited the aliens and
taught them English. Returning to our analogy, although the native Americans
did not speak English natively, they picked it up very quickly from the early
explorers. For instance, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth first met Squanto, he
had already learned English. If aliens are intelligent enough to speak at all, they
should have no problem quickly learning English.

Topics: movie physics, rate movies, space movie

To submit a question, email me:

chrisbaird.ma@gmail.com

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