Research Question
Is the Physics in the movie Gravity accurate? Does it adhere to Newton’s laws?
Introduction
The purpose of this task is to find out if the science behind certain scenes in the movie Gravity is accurate, compared to what Newton’s laws suggest would happen in real life. The film Gravity is largely set in space, 600km above the Earth – according to the movie.
Hypothesis
The Physics in the movie Gravity is accurate, as it complies with Newton’s Laws of Motion in the context of space.
Definitions
Newton’s First Law of Motion
“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.” (Anon., n.d.)
This law is often called the Law of Inertia. It applies …show more content…
As Dr Ryan Stone (played by Sandra Bullock) is repairing a Hubble Telescope, Houston reports that a Russian satellite has been hit by a missile. Soon after this report, the astronauts are unable to connect to Houston, and are faced with space debris travelling at a high velocity. Wolf Kohn – a former NASA Engineer – says that this scene is inaccurate as the debris is travelling at a velocity that is too high. According to orbital mechanics, the higher an object’s orbit, the slower its velocity, and the longer the amount of time it takes to complete an orbit. Therefore, objects in the same orbit should have the same relative velocity; unless coming from a higher or a lower …show more content…
Most science-fiction films are based on theories that are being researched and investigated by scientists. This means that most of the information in these films is based on real-life scientific progress, and therefore these films present scientific theories to the public in a format that is memorable – accompanied by a fictional storyline.
The events in science-fiction storylines or the outcomes of experiments and events that are envisioned by the writers of the scripts or creators of the concept of these films could possibly lead to more progress in the concerned fields of science. For example, the storyline writer of a science-fiction film could think of an outcome that scientists overlook, but is actually correct.
Disadvantages
People watching science-fiction movies might think that the Physics in the films is accurate, or might think of a scientific theory has a fact that has been proven. This could possibly lead to people trying to replicate things that they see in these films, which is likely to have consequences that are completely different to those portrayed in the film, as these outcomes are often figments of imagination, despite being largely based on
Is the Physics in the movie Gravity accurate? Does it adhere to Newton’s laws?
Introduction
The purpose of this task is to find out if the science behind certain scenes in the movie Gravity is accurate, compared to what Newton’s laws suggest would happen in real life. The film Gravity is largely set in space, 600km above the Earth – according to the movie.
Hypothesis
The Physics in the movie Gravity is accurate, as it complies with Newton’s Laws of Motion in the context of space.
Definitions
Newton’s First Law of Motion
“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.” (Anon., n.d.)
This law is often called the Law of Inertia. It applies …show more content…
As Dr Ryan Stone (played by Sandra Bullock) is repairing a Hubble Telescope, Houston reports that a Russian satellite has been hit by a missile. Soon after this report, the astronauts are unable to connect to Houston, and are faced with space debris travelling at a high velocity. Wolf Kohn – a former NASA Engineer – says that this scene is inaccurate as the debris is travelling at a velocity that is too high. According to orbital mechanics, the higher an object’s orbit, the slower its velocity, and the longer the amount of time it takes to complete an orbit. Therefore, objects in the same orbit should have the same relative velocity; unless coming from a higher or a lower …show more content…
Most science-fiction films are based on theories that are being researched and investigated by scientists. This means that most of the information in these films is based on real-life scientific progress, and therefore these films present scientific theories to the public in a format that is memorable – accompanied by a fictional storyline.
The events in science-fiction storylines or the outcomes of experiments and events that are envisioned by the writers of the scripts or creators of the concept of these films could possibly lead to more progress in the concerned fields of science. For example, the storyline writer of a science-fiction film could think of an outcome that scientists overlook, but is actually correct.
Disadvantages
People watching science-fiction movies might think that the Physics in the films is accurate, or might think of a scientific theory has a fact that has been proven. This could possibly lead to people trying to replicate things that they see in these films, which is likely to have consequences that are completely different to those portrayed in the film, as these outcomes are often figments of imagination, despite being largely based on