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So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction... Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tid bits from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true! December Sci-Facts |
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(With special thanks to Lunetta for inspiring this month’s topic) For further speculations on this theme, go to
There are some people, and whole websites, dedicated to picking flaws in films and TV shows. As a scientist, I find that it’s only the huge clangers that annoy me, and I can usually ignore the rest. But, then, where’s the fun in ignoring some great mistakes? Let’s look at some the more interesting special effects used in movies and TV, the ones that would prefer physics or chemistry or biology didn’t exist. An excellent example of this phenomenon - and my personal favourite – comes from the old B-movies of the Fifties, where mutant monsters are created from radiation exposure or toxic chemical contamination. The monsters were always the animals or humans that had suffered direct contact with the radiation or the contaminants. But, the filmmakers had the premise all wrong! Only the descendants from these unlucky individuals could be mutants;mutations take place with the germ plasm of the ova or sperm, any erred messages with adult tissue would either cause radiation sickness or cancers. And lets ignore the whole issue of most mutations causing foetal fatalities... So, where will we begin? Lets begin with the obvious exceptions! |
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Cartoons and Animation |
| We don’t expect cartoons to show reality. We know, even as children, that you don’t spring back into shape after being flattened by a steam roller, or that you can’t hang in the air for several seconds after stepping off a cliff. So, in discussing this month’s topic, we will be ignoring the physical impossibilities that occur within the realms of the animated media. I won’t be spending any time pulling apart the X-men movies, the Hulk movie or any of the other movies based on animated cartoons or comics, as I’m including these types of films in the animation category. |
| The Violent Effects |
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Take the car crashes. What caused that car to explode on impact? (Or in some cases, before impact?) These ‘stunt’ cars are rigged to blow, with small bombs incorporated into their ‘makeup’. In real life, cars are designed NOT to explode, and the fuel tanks are well protected to prevent a rupture in the event of a collision. It’s important to realise this, as well-meaning people pulling the injured from a wreck, fearing fire or an explosion, may be doing more harm than good. When an actor or stuntman crashes unharmed through a window, the window was either rigged to smash, or the window was a sugar-based candy or plastic fake. You just can’t jump through a plate-glass window and expect no injuries; everybody has dropped a glass at some stage or another, and you’ve all seen the numerous razor-edged shards and splinters formed by even this small piece of glassware. In a real life situation, any idiot jumping through a mirror or a window would have numerous cuts and lacerations, with any large glass pieces falling like axes to slash through clothing & flesh. What about that classic fight cliché, the ‘breaking the end off a bottle in a bar’ stunt. Glass is actually classified as a liquid, and any force strong enough to break of the end of the bottle will shatter the entire object. In most cases, anyone trying this is going to end up with a bleeding handful of glass, not a weapon. What a way to impress your opponent! And last but not least, let’s contemplate the gunfights (like, why can’t ten men armed with machine guns hit the feebly-dodging good guy?). I could go on and on about the numerous fallacies in most Hollywood shootouts, but let me just point out one major flaw that occurs in most big action movies. The guns fire without ever needing new ammunition. In fact, with the semi-automatics, the actors would be firing their own body weight in ammunition in a single scene! And the guns never seem to jam or get hot, either... Of course, the Matrix films can ignore this problem, as the gun battles are all occurring in pixels, not lead. |
| Science Fiction Clichés |
 (In previous science articles, I’ve discussed tachyons and the possibility of Star Trek-like ‘beaming’.)
The early Star Trek shows were among the first TV programs to show explosions in space that were silent, but as the show progressed, it actually regressed back to ‘noisy’ space battles – with sound travelling at the same speed as light. All the Star Wars movies have this same flaw, but then, most space operas ignore the old “In space, no one can hear you scream” rule; vacuum can’t carry sound. ‘Space Odyssey 2001’ should receive a special mention at this point, for it uses this fact properly and to great effect in several scenes...with no loss of action or tension. Nearly all Science Fiction movies portray outer-space lasers as visible to the human eye. Again, this is a major flaw in the Hollywood special effects. Lasers are only visible if they have something to ‘carry’ the beams and make them visible, substances like powders, smoke or dust, and a vacuum is useless in this respect. As well, lasers travel at the speed of light, and how are mere mortals supposed to see anything at that speed? |
| Special Mentions – Where it’s nearly science. |
“The Princess Bride” In this movie, there is a scene where the hero, Wesley, in pronounced ‘mostly’ dead. Now, ordinarily, you’re either dead, or not dead. But, if Wesley is considered in the same light as the cat in the Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment (discussed in a previous science page), this pronouncement can actually make sense. “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”
There are several clangers in this film, but the best one is the chase scene involving the huge rock. How come this mammoth tonnage can bounce around without completely shattering the sloping tunnel its travelling down? Then again, if you want to class this movie as a fantasy, does any of it have to make sense? “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” There is a classic scene in this movie, where a mob of villagers is accusing a woman of being a witch. Their logic goes like this: it is a well-known fact that witches float, because they are made out of wood. Wood floats. Ducks float. So, if the woman weighs the same as a duck, she must be a witch. This is nearly sensible, except the scales have been rigged... Have you had a good giggle? Well, that was what I hoped to achieve. I hope you all have happy holiday, stay safe, and I’ll see you all again in the New Year. Thankyou for all your support throughout the year. Love & Best Wishes, (The cartoons in this sci-facts have been very kindly drawn by Willandra, from the message board). |
| *The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Green So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science? Well, I really am a scientist. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland, in Zoology. And, at the moment, I am working in a Pathology laboratory. I have always been intensely curious about every aspect of our universe, from the teeny tiny workings of the gene right up to the mind-bending forces that are twisting and knotting inside a blackhole. So, now I am sharing a brain stuffed full of trivia…and hopefully entertaining people at the same time. As well, I write Fantasy stories and novels. One day, I hope to have a book published, but don't hold your breath. Reading is my other major love, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov, though I could list hundreds of others. If I had one wish, I ask for more time to write! Read previous Sci-Facts: Natural Oddities Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds! |
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When we watch television or a movie, and gaze in avid fascination at the special effects, in truth, what are we really seeing? Great lighting effects? Spectacular graphics? Hollywood breaking every natural law imaginable?
Car crashes and explosions, noisy gun battles, and people blown through glass windows are all part of you average action movie, as in ‘Lethal Weapon’, ‘True Lies’ or ‘Bad Boys’. You take all this violence for granted; in fact, most of us have come to expect it. But, is what’s portrayed as gritty reality really all that gritty or all that real?