Why is the stuff we see so wrong? – All Lucas’ Fault?

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By Radhika Marwaha, Grade 11, Delhi Private School, Dubai

The distant cosmos shares a clear resemblance with the unknown future! While almost anything is possible, we’re busy blowing each other up! Or atleast that’s what George Lucas’ Star Wars suggests. Despite it being a personal favourite, numerous scientifically inaccurate facts about space battle have compelled me to jot down the same.

With all of Star Wars’ objectives of mass entertainment being met, in line with philosophy and fiction, such as flabbergasting Galactic Civil Wars, the series has unfortunately ceased to match the required ideals of modern day science. Take, for instance, Newton’s First Law of Motion stating that an object in motion remains in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. Lucas has clearly overlooked the same, thus introducing space fighters with engines that keep blasting through the cosmos at full afterburner! It’s obvious logic that, if I am moving, then I will keep moving, even with my engines off!

The weaponry qualifies as the second‘mind = blown’ aspect of the series, with all due respect, since there is no atmosphere to create shock waves in space. Yet the fighters have been exposed to explosive weapons which are, kind of “useless”. Probably, utilizing the potential of Nukes or Neutron Radiation would melt any metal hull to liquid, more efficiently, and cook humans inside like Stormtrooper hot pockets, as they do not suffer from Newtonian Limitations!

Real high energy lasers that have been used excessively would be invisible anyway since they would operate outside visible ranges of light! Moreover, long distance lasers are difficult to focus! It would probably be easier to destroy a planet in a space battle by throwing an asteroid on it, since there is no atmosphere to dissipate heat.

Lastly, different battle fields call for a different range of tactics! And in space, since there is a great deal of space, close-in and broadside naval battles that look cool, will almost never happen. These tales of fiction are closer to the 18th and 20th century than they are to us today! The ship on ship combat is based on WW2 dogfighting and still follows ideals of past century prototypes. In absolute living reality such space combat is difficult, deadly and impractical and therefore it is imperative that we discard war as an inevitable outcome to space exploration and bear with the enchanting vastness the exterior, yet slightly superficial, world it encompasses…