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The Science of Star Wars

Posted by timothy on from the gungans-are-tough-and-stringy dept.

anonymous lion writes "National Geographic has an interesting interview with a couple of scientists on the scientific reality of Star Wars. For example, related to the cohabitation of humans and Gungans on NabooSeth Shostak states, "So maybe it's possible to share, as long as neither species has the technology to obliterate, enslave, or merely cook and eat each other.""

20 of 538 comments (clear)

  1. Genocide by Shihar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Look, normally I am against genocide, but if I found a pile of gungans on my planet... nuke the fuckers.

    1. Re:Genocide by SnprBoB86 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now why would you want to go and waste a perfectly good nuke on a pile of Gungans?

      Instead, send Jarjar back there with a megaphone... instant mass suicide.

      --
      http://brandonbloom.name
  2. Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by TrentL · · Score: 4, Funny

    Something I never understood: in the first movie, the Death Star blows up Alderaan. Then at the end, the Death Star is moving in on Yavin. How did the Death Star get to the Yazin system? Are we to assume that it can movie around at light speed?

    1. Re:Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by cocoamix · · Score: 5, Funny

      Since it had no visible engines and no solar sails, we can only surmise that they launched it from a giant baseball-pitching machine.

    2. Re:Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by Marko+DeBeeste · · Score: 5, Funny

      My favorite part was when they arrive at the rebel base and somebody says "Leia, thank God you're alive. When Alderan was destroyed, we feared the worst."
      No, everythings fine, just a couple of billion people incinerated.

      --
      Faith: n. -- That human impulse that drives them to steal appliances when the power goes out
    3. Re:Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by hehman · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, don't be silly. They built the Death Star in orbit around Alderaan.

      As for how they got to Yavin, it was conveniently the next planet out in the same solar system. Questionable planning by rebels, putting their secret base in the same system as the Death Star.

      The rest of the galaxy, of course, was kept in line by knowing that they were at risk of being blown up in a few hundred thousand years if they didn't behave.

    4. Re:Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by Pollardito · · Score: 3, Funny
      Practically speaking, what use is a planet-destroying weapon that can't move between planets to destroy?
      ummm...to impress the ladies?
    5. Re:Can the Death Star travel at lightspeed? by SEWilco · · Score: 3, Funny

      The Death Star instead moved the Universe around it.
      It is obvious that there are still people who treat it as the center of the Universe.

  3. The sad part is by MikeDawg · · Score: 3, Funny

    The sad part of this is, that my dad and I once had this conversation a couple of years back (related to the original 3 Star Wars). He always kept nit-picking at them, explaining to me that Luke should have two shadows (if I remember correctly Tattooine had 2 suns, I could be wrong). I guess thats what I get for having a physics teacher for a father.

    --

    YOU'RE WINNER !
    Another lame blog

  4. wtfhatta? by Amouth · · Score: 5, Funny

    did i miss something.. i ... i though starwars was about making money..

    --
    '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
  5. But it already happend! by espergreen · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a galaxy far, far away a long time ago.

    You can't argue with history. noobs

  6. C3PO by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the future there will be homosexual robots

    1. Re:C3PO by BiggerIsBetter · · Score: 4, Funny

      In the future there will be homosexual robots

      Not that there's anything wrong with that.

      --
      Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
  7. Wait a second! by lheal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are they trying to imply that Star Wars wasn't real?

    I suppose they didn't really have light sabers, either?

    What next, Darth Vader's voice was dubbed?

    I'd better lie down a while.

    --
    Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
  8. Re:Fighters make sound in a vacuum. by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Fighters make sound in a vacuum."

    Yeah, and an orchestra lead by John Williams follows everybody around. I can't believe how unrealistic incidental music makes a movie. Oh, and don't get me started on looping of dialog!! Those guys shouldn't be futzing around with the sound like that, it's not realistic! I'm a purist that demands that scifi movies be like somebody is carrying around a small camcorder around documenting everything so it's as real as possible! MOD ME UP!!

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  9. Finally! by Lisandro · · Score: 3, Funny

    I admit it: i was waiting for a Star Wars story so i could finally post this link (and yes, it is obligatory). That guy's a genious.

  10. Re:Fighters make sound in a vacuum. by murr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes, I think the next Star Wars movie should be Dogma 95 conformant.

  11. Re:Cohabitation by spudgun · · Score: 3, Funny

    but rather 'driven stall at a less intelligent stage of evolution'

    Jarjar didn't seem too evolved !

    --
    Type unto others as you would have them type unto you.
  12. The gungan intifada... by dominion · · Score: 4, Funny


    After the last star wars movie, my friends and I spent twenty minutes outside of the theater arguing whether Naboo was an apartheid state.

    The only conclusion we came to is that we're total geeks, and we needed to stop before anybody noticed.

  13. Re:Cohabitation by Presidential · · Score: 4, Funny
    The Nabooians (naboos?) are human.


    I believe the proper plural for the people of Naboo is "Nabooniks."

    This is a far cry more dignified than the residents of Tatooine, which are referred to as "Tatooweenies."

    --
    Whenever Mrs. Fitch breaks wind, we beat the dog.