Why do space ships shake when fired upon?

[Patranus]

Here is a better question...

Why DOESNT a ship shake when it fires a projectile based weapon when the ship is not moving?

 

[SagaLore]

I wanna know why a random control panel always semi explodes and throws a guy a few feet.

I want to know why they don't install seatbelts and airbags.

 

[Kadarin]

Good questions. Why don't safety regulations prevent manufacturers from routing plasma conduits behind non-critical control panels (that have nothing to do with controlling the ship), and why do these things always shower sparks whenever the ship is hit with anything? Why is it that when "hull integrity is down to 1%" there is no visible effect on the ship? Why are space battles always fought in two dimensions, and why are ships always right side up with respect to each other?

 

[Numenorean]

Shaking of the space ship implies that the ship is being acted upon two or more forces in different directions, no?

You could assume that the ship is trying to keep its current position, so if it gets knocked off course or position, it's correcting to get back to firing position or whatever.

 

[gimmewhitecastles]

Also how can there be explosions of such magnitude in space when there is no oxygen to supply the combustive reactions?

 

[Numenorean]

Also how can there be explosions of such magnitude in space when there is no oxygen to supply the combustive reactions?

I would hope there is oxygen inside the ships.

 

[Fritzo]

Because it looks good on TV and in Movies.

This is the real reason, but the "fictional" reason on Star Trek is the "inertial dampeners" do not have time to react to sudden movements caused by weapons, rapid course changes, etc.

Happy?

 

[Mike Gayner]

i love how ships fall 'down' when destroyed in space.

I've never seen this before. I'm pretty sure you made that up.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

I wanna know why a random control panel always semi explodes and throws a guy a few feet.

Same reason that too much NAWZ blows the diamond plate off our floorboards.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

At least Babylon 5 tried to give a shit about proper physics in space.

 

[zoiks]

Ask spaceman.

 

[dmw16]

Force is still being applied to the ship regardless of the (mostly) vacuum of space and the (mostly) lack of gravity.

Don't you think the space shuttle shakes when it fires up it's mains for orbital maneuvering? Applied force is applied force regardless of the source.

 

[Perknose]

Why isn't spaceman here to answer this?

Oh, he is, we just lack the ability to perceive him.

Even if he chooses to answer, though, it wouldn't matter, though.

He transmits on a different frequency from the rest of us! :awe:

 

[sandorski]

Weapon hits Hull a Shockwave travels through Hull causing shaking, noise, and other unsavory effects. Being in Space or lack of Gravity has no affect on this.

 

[lupi]

Inertial dampners can't keep up with the energy transfer when the vessel is hit.

 

[QuantumPion]

Because space combat scenes that tried to make an even vague attempt to follow the laws of physics would be very, very boring.

Space combat would be pretty deadly for anyone involved. At close range it would be impossible to miss with a gun-type mass driver, which would rip through a hull like a knife through butter. At longer ranges, you can't dodge lasers at all, and could burn a hole in their bridge even at thousands of miles away. Even better, you could use a low-yield nuclear weapon on a guided missile and give an instantly-lethal radiation dose to the enemy crew. No way to defend against any of these.

That's why I think space combat would be more like submarine warfare today, involving stealth and long ranges. More like that one episode of ST:TOS where they fight the Romulan ship.

 

[BTA]

Just to piss you off.

 

[coldmeat]

I was kind of thinking about this yesterday when watching Battlestar Galactica. They were flying in a raptor, in a straight line with no combat around them, and the raptor was shaking like they were driving over a rough road.

 

[sandorski]

I was kind of thinking about this yesterday when watching Battlestar Galactica. They were flying in a raptor, in a straight line with no combat around them, and the raptor was shaking like they were driving over a rough road.

hehe ya. Possibly misaligned(varying Thrust computer controlled adjustment for stability) engines or something. The Pilots Momentum and Ships direction being at odds with one another.

 

[GrumpyMan]

The camera man is shaking the camera. William Shatner was asked that during an interview, he said that they shook the camera and they had to pretend like the whole ship was shaking.

 

[AMCRambler]

Take the Star Trek: The Next Generation, for example. While at red alert, you see the bridge shake (sometimes violently) when it gets hit by enemy fire. Should it do that since there's no gravity? And, yes, I know that there's gravity inside the ship.

Same reason why Captain Picard doesn't turn into a pile of mush splattered against the back wall of the birdge when he sais "Engage". Inertial Dampeners.

 

[Tiamat]

Why are space battles always fought in two dimensions, and why are ships always right side up with respect to each other?

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. 3-D space fight with Z coordinates!

Also, Star Trek TNG: All Good Things. The futuristic Enterprise-D attacks the futuristic klingon ship from the bottom side.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Usually they are at full stop.

What? That sounds like a terrible way to perform evasive maneuvers! :hmm:

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Usually they are at full stop.

um... no, that would make you a sitting duck. Even the sci-fi writers figured that out.

Check out the "Picard Manoeuvre", it will blow your mind!

()

 

[QuantumPion]

um... no, that would make you a sitting duck. Even the sci-fi writers figured that out.

Check out the "Picard Manoeuvre", it will blow your mind!

()

What is the point of evasive maneuvers in a space battle? It's not like high speed mass drivers, lasers, or guided missiles should miss at close range in a vacuum. The only point of any maneuvering would be either to bring your weapons to bear, or to turn a vulnerable section of the ship away from enemy fire.