Identifying Physics Errors in a Star Trek Episode

AI Thread Summary
In the discussed Star Trek episode, a significant physics error is identified regarding the explosion of a space station. Sound cannot travel in the vacuum of space, meaning the crew of the Enterprise should not have heard the explosion. Additionally, the crew sees and hears the explosion simultaneously, which is incorrect since light travels faster than sound. Therefore, there would be a noticeable delay between seeing the explosion and hearing it. These points highlight fundamental misunderstandings of sound and light propagation in space.
linhy
Messages
11
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


In a star Trek episode, a space station orbiting a planet blows up. The chew of the Enterprise simultaneously hears and see the explosion; they realized that tehre is no chance for rescue. If you have been hired a consultant, what two physics errors would you have found and correct?


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


Since there is no gas in space, there should be no sound because sound can't travel if there is an absent in gas. ... and i don't know the othre reason... can someone help me understand it?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Think about this part carefully:

The chew of the Enterprise simultaneously hears and see the explosion

LOL the "chew" :smile:
 
which means that.. they can't simultaneously see and hear because sound wave (longitudinal wave)travels much slower than transverse wave...?
 
Yes, light travels faster that sound. So they couldn't see and hear the event at the same instant.
 
thanks for the help.
 
You're welcome. :smile:
 
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'
Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...

Similar threads

Replies
9
Views
5K
Replies
7
Views
3K
Replies
13
Views
4K
Replies
5
Views
4K
Replies
3
Views
4K
Replies
7
Views
3K
Replies
7
Views
4K
Back
Top