Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

PhD Candidate Talks About the Physics of Space Battles

Posted by samzenpus on from the load-photon-torpedoes dept.

darthvader100 writes "Gizmodo has run an article with some predictions on what future space battles will be like. The author brings up several theories on propulsion (and orbits), weapons (explosives, kinetic and laser), and design. Sounds like the ideal shape for spaceships will be spherical, like the one in the Hitchhiker's Guide movie."

8 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. round round, I git around by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like the ideal shape for spaceships will be spherical

    That'll be boring: round ships, round planets, round explosions, and round movie goers.
       

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:round round, I git around by 2.7182 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey it worked for the death stars. Sort of...

    2. Re:round round, I git around by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 2, Funny

      If your enemy is smart enough to put one fleet directly in front of you while having another flank from the top or bottom, all you've done is make your ships easier to hit.

      Yes, well, the genetic engineered brain apparently didn't think of that, it was too busy quoting Shakespeare.

      If you're looking at it purely from the perspective of presenting the smallest profile possible, your best bet would be a needle-shape.

      Those guys were bastards in Homeworld. They actually weren't too bad, until they suddenly turned-tail and tried to ram and one-hit-kill your capital ships.

      Wait... what were we talking about?

      --
      Comment of the year
    3. Re:round round, I git around by Narpak · · Score: 2, Funny

      You'd actually need to attack from 3 very different directions for a saucer shape to be a liability.

      Not to mention that our alien overlords have proven that when they drop by for a quick visit their crafts tend to be reported as "saucer shaped". Thus we can conclude that saucer shaped crafts works for space flight!

      --
      The Long Now Foundation
  2. Hey, rember in the TNG finale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    When the future Enterprise flew at the other ship all perpendicular?! That was crazy.

  3. Sounds like the ideal shape for spaceships will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    That's no moon...

  4. Lasers PEW PEW! by L3370 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Lasers lasers lasers! I'd imagine long distance battles (10's, 100's, 1000's of km) so anything traveling less than the speed of light would be horribly ineffective against evasive maneuvers.

    And someone needs to invent something that makes laser pew pew sounds in the void of space!

  5. Re:Not much surprising by Bandman · · Score: 2, Funny

    Would you like to know more?

    --
    Check out my sysadmin blog!