A Question About Star Trek and Gravity

[Kara]

Obviously the Deus Ex Machina generators are made of the same stuff as black boxes in aircraft.

[Kal]

I remember reading somewhere that most sci fi writers use the IJD device in such cases. Short for "it just does". Kind of heading into MST3K territory if you're considering it to be fair (although I'm so far into that territory myself that I'd not get out without a map, compass and decent native guide).

[RayvenQ]

Don't you know, they're protected by Plot Armor, made of Awesomeium.

[Jetfire]

Everyone understanding each other has been explained by universal translators, in Enterprise they show the progression of the universal translator and how it slowly got more and more efficient, so it isn't inconceivable that the translators got fast enough to be unnoticeable.

Don't forget the DS9 ep "Little Green Men" when Quark and his family become the Area 51 aliens. When they first arrive at Roswell, their Universal Translators aren't working properly so they have to be adjusted. Turns out they are basically earbuds. (Or HHGTTG babel fish basically)

[Ghel]

See, this is why I prefer the science of Babylon 5. Granted, Babylon 5 was produced about 30 years after TOS, when CGI was just starting to get cheap enough to fit the budget of a TV show (at about 1/10 the budget of DS9, which was produced at the same time).

On Babylon 5, they used a spinning space station to produce "artificial gravity" and used handrails and warning messages near the center of the station where the "gravity" was less. They also showed folks in non-spinning spacecraft strapped into their chairs and added floating things using either wire work or CGI. But they cheated with some alien spaceships, giving them artificial gravity plates.

[smileyeagle1021]

But they cheated with some alien spaceships, giving them artificial gravity plates.

Is that really cheating though? The Minbari were a technologically advanced race before homo sapiens even evolved and were already masters of faster than light, intersteller, travel when the Romans were first developing roads. With the head start that they had, it should be no surprise that they have technology we would consider magical, after all, and they bring this point up in the show a lot, that often times the difference between magic and science is the level of understanding (I mean, what would a Roman soldier think of the modern sniper rifle, able to kill an enemy so far away that they can't even see you unassisted with no physical effort, surely they would think that you have the power of the gods. What would the ancient merchant think of his modern counterpart who pushes a few buttons and gets what he needs at his door two days later... surely this device he uses is a magic summoning device. I could go on).

[cinema guy]

I recall an early TNG episode where the Enterprise was losing power - one of the crew says we will lose artificial gravity soon.

The TNG Technical Manual says that deck plates retain artificial gravity for several hour after power is switched off, IIRC.

[wolfie]

In the original series, some of McCoy's medical instruments were actually odd-looking salt & pepper shakers from the studio commissary.

O/T, but Jeannie's bottle in "I Dream Of Jeannie" (R.I.P. Larry Hagman) was actually a limited-edition Christmas Jim Beam bottle.

I mean, what would a Roman soldier think of the modern sniper rifle, able to kill an enemy so far away that they can't even see you unassisted with no physical effort, surely they would think that you have the power of the gods. What would the ancient merchant think of his modern counterpart who pushes a few buttons and gets what he needs at his door two days later... surely this device he uses is a magic summoning device. I could go on).

Clarke's Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

[BookstoreEscapee]

As my dad would say, "It's in the script."

[lordlundar]

In the original series, some of McCoy's medical instruments were actually odd-looking salt & pepper shakers from the studio commissary.

The approach for getting props in Babylon 5 consisted of raiding pawn shops for anything "sci-fi" or bizzare looking stuff.

[RayvenQ]

The approach for getting props in Babylon 5 consisted of raiding pawn shops for anything "sci-fi" or bizzare looking stuff.

OR peoples wardrobes in the 90's

[PepperElf]

Although I'm wondering if their made-up "gravity field" would really react the way they say it does. I mean with real astronauts orbiting a the planet, they're already close to Earth-norm gravity. They just look like they're floating because they're really falling!

Thank you veritasium
(anyone else notice that Derek looks a little like Wil Wheaton?)



So would these generators create enough gravity to mimic earth-norm? And how would they interact when in orbit of a planet that's generating a bigger gravitational field?

[Ghel]

The approach for getting props in Babylon 5 consisted of raiding pawn shops for anything "sci-fi" or bizzare looking stuff.

There's an episode of B5 where Dr. Franklin is staring at a prop like it's a medical specimen. The "specimen" is actually one of those desk toys with pink goop in it that slowly streams from the top chamber to the bottom chamber through a tiny hole.

One of these: http://www.imprintitems.com/custom/9327641

I still think that's one of the funniest scenes in any B5 episode.

[RayvenQ]

This is also one of the funniest scenes in B5 too

Captain Susan Ivanova: [about the First Ones leaving] I'm not letting them leave here without saying yes.

Marcus Cole: Really? But how do you propose stopping them - perhaps a big red-and-white sign with the word 'stop' on it? I'll put a bucket on my head and pretend to be the Vorlon god Boogee.

Captain Susan Ivanova: That's it!

Marcus Cole: Fine. I'll get a bucket.

[smileyeagle1021]

My favorite funny B5 moment was when Ivanova did the tirade about how on station she is God, and at the end she turns off the com and looks up and whispers "sorry God"
That and "I have trouble waking up when it is dark outside", "But it's always dark outside in space", "I know"
Or, "You're a pessimist", "No, I'm Russian, we understand these things"