tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2109150351375891279.post8991904506044338521..comments2023-05-26T13:58:00.927-07:00Comments on Mathie x Pensive: ConBravo: Ask a ScientistGregory Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547180132612659893noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2109150351375891279.post-77543552984522204732015-08-24T18:16:39.075-07:002015-08-24T18:16:39.075-07:00The artificial gravity question may have been lite...The artificial gravity question may have been literary based, meaning film can go hang itself, but I get what you mean. As to the TV refs, I haven't actually seen either show in years. ^_^<br /><br />I did a quick search on light speed, which actually turned up the following article about Scottish scientists slowing photons by changing their shape. Okay. Huh.<br />http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30944584<br /><br />As to space warps, I think there may have been some mention in passing? Don't quite recall. Good things to keep in mind when writing about programming there though. (iPhones are pretty flexible - they can bend in your back pocket!)Gregory Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547180132612659893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2109150351375891279.post-29006954184179936052015-08-21T12:06:05.538-07:002015-08-21T12:06:05.538-07:00Artificial gravity comes up in SF because it's...Artificial gravity comes up in SF because it's easier to film in normal 1G gravity than in reduced or zero gravity or with a spin. Unless the work is animated, there's little extra cost to handwaving artificial gravity and a lot of overhead setting up even the moon's gravity <br /><br />CSI is never a good source of science. It moves at the speed of plot and handwavium. It's become a problem in jury trials. Mythbusters, while still not a great source, still uses the scientific method mostly, including the willingness to go back to an experiment if something was done wrong. Explosions are just the fun side effect.<br /><br />IIRC, a Dutch team managed to slow light down to highway speeds, but they passed the light through a dense material. I notice that no one mentioned space warps outside wormholes. The idea of bending local space to bring two points closer together still requires large energy outputs, though.<br /><br />From computer science, I'm a bit more inure to writers not getting programming. It can be an arcane art. But, please, not everyone uses a Mac, especially in government. They're too expensive and not flexible enough for office work. And no more shooting the monitor to disable a computer. That only works with some lines of Macs.Scott Delahunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06735796666483741699noreply@blogger.com