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Scientific Innacuracies in Sci-Fi — Page 2

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And what about beings from a planet with a red sun getting superpowers from a yellow sun? Wouldn't he lose those powers at night? And when he flies underground to the earth's mantle deep out of reach of the sun's rays? What's up with that?

And that ending to Timecop? Clearly the matter wasn't attempting to exist in the same space by a handshake. The elemental bonds of the atoms kept the matter from coexisting in the same space. What's up with that?

And jigawatts? What are those anyway? What's up with that?

(I could go on and on time permitting. )
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
And what about beings from a planet with a red sun getting superpowers from a yellow sun? Wouldn't he lose those powers at night? And when he flies underground to the earth's mantle deep out of reach of the sun's rays? What's up with that?

And that ending to Timecop? Clearly the matter wasn't attempting to exist in the same space by a handshake. The elemental bonds of the atoms kept the matter from coexisting in the same space. What's up with that?

And jigawatts? What are those anyway? What's up with that?

(I could go on and on time permitting. )

If a person develops cancer from exposure to radiation, does that cancer go away when they move away from the radiation or enter a lead lined room? No. Same deal with Supes.

Timecop, yeah, I'll give you that one.

As for Jigawatts, WHAT THE HELL IS A JIGAWATT? (Although I'm guessing it actually is scientific facts and not just a funny word invented by the writers).

EDIT:

More about Jigawatts 1
More about Jigawatts 2


War does not make one great.

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My personal favourite bogus scinec moment in a sci-fi/fantasy film: when Roxanne Hart uses a metal detector to find MacLeod's sword in the first Highlander. Like the type of Radio Shack cheapie metal detector she was using wouldn't have been set off by all the rebar in a concrete parking garage. As if!

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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My favorites are on 2001, although Kubrick was a perfeccionist, there are several mistakes.

* A flying pen that floats around spinning, it should be spinning around it's own gravity center, the middle of the pen.

* A food tray that floats in a zigzag pattern

* People weighting the same on the moon

* Stars passing by a ship as it travels space, even though they are millions of miles away (they should remain still)
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
And what about beings from a planet with a red sun getting superpowers from a yellow sun? Wouldn't he lose those powers at night? And when he flies underground to the earth's mantle deep out of reach of the sun's rays? What's up with that?

And that ending to Timecop? Clearly the matter wasn't attempting to exist in the same space by a handshake. The elemental bonds of the atoms kept the matter from coexisting in the same space. What's up with that?

And jigawatts? What are those anyway? What's up with that?

(I could go on and on time permitting. )

If a person develops cancer from exposure to radiation, does that cancer go away when they move away from the radiation or enter a lead lined room? No. Same deal with Supes.

Timecop, yeah, I'll give you that one.

As for Jigawatts, WHAT THE HELL IS A JIGAWATT? (Although I'm guessing it actually is scientific facts and not just a funny word invented by the writers).

EDIT:

More about Jigawatts 1
More about Jigawatts 2


Jiggowatt was how they prounounced gigawatt back in the eighties. It is like a billion watts.

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Of course, because the general rule is that "g" is soft before "i" and "e" as well as "y".

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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From this months SFX magazine - someone asked : It's a sci-fi cliché, but how feasible are laser guns that can be set to stun rather than kill?

This was the answer:

Good question! We consulted Neil Davison, Project Coordinator of the Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, at the Centre for Conflict Resolution (University of Bradford). He tells us: "I think this is a sci-fi cliché that will remain sci-fi. However, weapons that can be set to 'pain' instead of 'kill' are on the way. One US military prototype, the Active Denial System, projects a beam of energy that heats up the skin of the victim, causing a painful burning sensation. Another development project aims to use lasers to stimulate pain receptors in the skin. Either way it would be a far cry from the sort of harmless "stun" seen in Star Trek. Being on the receiving end would be very painful and could leave lasting damage."
where have i been all this time ?
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Originally posted by: f1209
From this months SFX magazine - someone asked : It's a sci-fi cliché, but how feasible are laser guns that can be set to stun rather than kill?

This was the answer:

Good question! We consulted Neil Davison, Project Coordinator of the Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, at the Centre for Conflict Resolution (University of Bradford). He tells us: "I think this is a sci-fi cliché that will remain sci-fi. However, weapons that can be set to 'pain' instead of 'kill' are on the way. One US military prototype, the Active Denial System, projects a beam of energy that heats up the skin of the victim, causing a painful burning sensation. Another development project aims to use lasers to stimulate pain receptors in the skin. Either way it would be a far cry from the sort of harmless "stun" seen in Star Trek. Being on the receiving end would be very painful and could leave lasting damage."


Otherwise princess Leia would be killed in the first 10 minutes of Star Wars.

"There she is. Set for stun."
"There's no stun on this gun!"
"Oh, just, bloody shoot her!"
* Leia dies *
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Hm... from appearances, the effects of setting a blaster to stun are approximately the same as a heavy jolt of electricity, only diffused throughout the body so as not to stop the heart or cause burns.

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