Friday, June 16, 2006

Putting Star Wars to the MythBusters Test

For anyone who’s ever pondered the science of Star Wars, there’s an article on the official Star Wars site in which the MythBusters guys from Discovery channel tackle the following questions:

Can you survive overnight in a blizzard by gutting a dead animal and getting into its carcass?
"It would have to be a pretty big animal, but have you ever smelled the insides of a dead animal?" Belleci asks. "I think I'd rather freeze to death."

Can electricity make your skeleton visible from the outside?
"Only if you have a sufficient midi-chlorian concentration," Imahara smiles. "I'm convinced they're bioluminescent."
"I wish!" Savage says. "But I think you need a bit of the Force as well --preferably the dark side."

Could you drive a Podracer at 900 mph or more without a windshield or face mask?
"No way would that be possible!" Savage says.
"Just don't spit," Belleci jokes.

Could you pilot a submarine through a planet's core?
"If it were possible to have a water core at the center of a planet, then perhaps, but the pressures would be significant," Imahara explains. "That would have to be some submarine."
"Would the inside of a planet be water?" Savage asks. "I don't think so."

Could you survive a 50-foot fall into a snow bank like Luke Skywalker did?
"It's plausible, depending on the exact conditions," Imahara explains. "You could survive, but you'd be pretty badly hurt. Let's just say you probably wouldn't be jumping up on a tauntaun and riding to the next outpost, if you know what I mean."
"Actually, a couple of people have survived falls from thousands of feet into snow banks," Savage says. "So, yes."
Read more...

3 comments:

Unique Designs from Zazzle said...

Gotta love myth busters -- those guys are a hoot!

Anonymous said...

I always wondered how the lightsaber worked without something at the far end of the beam to contain it, not to mention how/why the beams extend and retract at a visible speed.

Michelle Pessoa said...

I thought the explanation was that there was a telescoping rod that came out of the hilt and an energy field was generated around it, but, nope. I've seen the blueprints -- it's really supposed to be a shaft of light.