1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in text with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works and I love all things tech and 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: May the Fourth be with you. This episode is originally 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: airing on May fourthen sometimes known as Star Wars Day 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: for the whole May the fourth pun and on May 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy seven, Star Wars later known as Star Wars 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 1: Episode for a New Hope hit the theaters, and that 10 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: movie introduced a massive weapon capable of destroying planets, and 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: it was no moon. It was a space station and 12 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: it was called the Death Star. So in honor of 13 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: May the four, we are going to take a look 14 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: at the Star Wars mythos around the Death Star and 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: compare it to what it would take to make some 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: thing like that for real, Zase. And this is part 17 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: one of a two parter on the Death Star. Because 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: there are a lot of different systems to cover in 19 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: this episode, I'm gonna be looking mainly at support systems 20 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: aboard the Death Star, and in part two we're gonna 21 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: look at the bim Bam boom bang Bangs, also known 22 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: as the weapons aboard the Death Star, not to mention 23 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: a particular flaw that for a long time people said 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: was the result of Imperial oversight, and later on as 25 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: the movies came out, it was revealed to have been 26 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: a planned vulnerability in the Death Star design. We'll also 27 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the Death Star to sequel 28 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: to Death Star, and of course Star Killer Base. So 29 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: for those of you who aren't Star Wars fans, first 30 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: of all, this episode is probably not gonna mean a 31 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: whole lot to you, but if you want to listen, 32 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: I would love to have you along for the ride. 33 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: But the original Death Star appears in three films as 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: an actual thing in progress. Those three films would be 35 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: in chronological order of release, Star Wars For a New Hope, 36 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: Star Wars three, Revenge of the Sith, which of course 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: came out decades after Star Wars four did, and Rogue One, 38 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: a Star Wars story. But there's also a hologram of 39 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: the Death Star that appears briefly in Star Wars two 40 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: Attack of the Clones. Then there's also the second Death 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: Star that one appears in Star Wars six Return of 42 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: the Jedi, And there's the Big Brother to the Death 43 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: Star a k a. The Star Killer Bass, which shows 44 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: up in Star Wars seven The Force Awakens, and I'll 45 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: chat about all of them in these episodes. Now, before 46 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: I jump into this, I need to talk a little 47 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: bit about cannon versus expanded universe. So Star Wars is 48 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: a peculiar thing. There are movies, There are television specials, 49 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: there are cartoons, there are comic books, there are novels. 50 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: There ton of different forms of media that all tie 51 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: into the Star Wars universe. However, if you want to 52 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: go with absolute canon, as in the stuff that is 53 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: the only really concrete cannon in the Star Wars universe, 54 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: you have to go with just the films, which means 55 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: that stories, characters, and even established facts created and other 56 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: Star Wars media can be contradicted by the films and 57 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: that's that. So you could have a very popular novel 58 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: series that creates a whole mythology around Star Wars and 59 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: then the next movie comes out and contradicts that. Well, 60 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: the movies trump everything else, So just keep that in mind. 61 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: Now that being said, we're gonna look at some expanded 62 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: universe sources because the movies, while they are canon, do 63 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: not go into exhaustive detail about how stuff works, because 64 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: that's not what the movie is about. The movies are 65 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: adventure stories. They're really they're more like epic fantasy set 66 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: in a science fiction setting. Then they are a hard 67 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: science fiction film. So they concerned themselves with the story elements, 68 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: the hero's journey, that kind of stuff, not the particulars 69 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: of how the technology works. So a lot of the 70 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: stuff I'm gonna talk about comes from expanded universe sources. 71 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: Just know that a future Star Wars movie could come 72 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: out and they say, well, it turns out that the 73 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: Star Wars Death Stars laser was powered by elves. Well, 74 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: that's gonna contradict everything else. But if that's what the 75 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: movie says, that's what that's what it means. I don't 76 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: think that will happen, but just need to say it. 77 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: Within the canon of Star Wars, the design of the 78 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: Death Star came from a race of creatures called the Genosians, 79 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: who were working on behalf of a separatist group attempting 80 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: to splinter off from the Galactic Republic, or at least 81 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: appearing to. These are the events that happened in the 82 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: prequel trilogies. So Star Wars one, two, and three, and 83 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: the Genosans were working on what they dubbed the Ultimate 84 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: Weapon Project, and they entrusted their plans to Count Dooku, 85 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: who appeared to be the leader of the separatists. Dooku 86 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: was in reality Darth Tyrannis, a Sith lord a k a. 87 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: A big bad guy who passed the plans along to 88 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: his boss, Darth Sidious, also known as Chancellor and then 89 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: later on Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine was essentially controlling both sides 90 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: of this galactic conflict, both the Galactic Republic and the 91 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: separatist group. He was manipulating both sides, and he was 92 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: orchestrating the whole thing in an attempt to grab power. 93 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: He was able to use that conflict to convince the 94 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: Republic side to fund the construction of this space station. 95 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: He was able to play on fears that the Separatists, 96 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: who you got to remember he was also controlling, they 97 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: were just a puppet group. But he was trying to 98 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: convince the republic people, but the folks who were in 99 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: charge of the purse strings for the Galactic Republic, that 100 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: the Separatists were already working on building a space station 101 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: of similar capability, so there was gonna be a space 102 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: station app so it's kind of like an arms race 103 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: in a way, and so that was kind of the 104 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: selling point. Palpatine goes to the Galactic Republic with he says, 105 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: we need to build this thing. You need to be 106 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: able to give me the funds do it. And that's 107 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: where the initial funding for the Death Starter took off 108 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: before the Chancellor became the Emperor, and once he became 109 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: the Emperor, he pretty much had to. Boy, he got 110 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: the right to boss everybody around and get the money 111 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: no matter what. Now, by the time of the Revenge 112 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: of the Sixth storyline, construction had progressed to the point 113 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: that the basic form of the Death Star was taking shape. 114 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: Is kind of the framework for the Death Star. It 115 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: would apparently take nearly twenty more years to finish, as 116 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,919 Speaker 1: Rogue One takes place nineteen years after the Revenge of 117 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: the Sith, and it's in Rogue one that a group 118 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: of spies attempt to steal the plans for the space 119 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: station so that the rebellion can look for a possible weakness, 120 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: and then in a new hope, the rebellion blows it 121 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: all up. Specifically, Luke sky eye Walker blows it up 122 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: by firing a weapon called a you know or torpedo 123 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: weapon down a ventilation shaft that sets off a chain 124 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: reaction within the station's reactor core, leading to catastrophic failure. Now, 125 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: one thing I should mention that's a conflict between Cannon 126 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: and the former Expanded Universe is that some works had 127 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: established that the Death Star was constructed in orbit around 128 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: a planet called Despair. Because Star Wars is subtle, Despair 129 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: is spelled d E s p A y r E 130 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: because that's how clever people writing for Star Wars can be. 131 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: But Despare was populated by slave labor and criminals. They 132 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: were all working for the Empire. And further, the Expanded 133 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: Universe goes on to explain that the Death Stars Commander 134 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: Grand mof Tarkan chose to test a not yet fully 135 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: capable super laser against this planet Despair, blowing it up 136 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: after hitting it with three blasts from the super laser, 137 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: which conflicts with other accounts of the Death Star's history. 138 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: Rogue one tells us the Death Star was moved from 139 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: Genosia to our Genosis rather, I should say, to a 140 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:13,239 Speaker 1: planet called Scariff, rather than to despair. So the whole 141 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: despair backstory that was created for the Death Star appears 142 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: to have been contradicted by later films, And that's an 143 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: example of what I was talking about earlier. So there 144 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: there are branching pathways of the history of the Death Star, 145 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: and they do can contradict one another in some versions. 146 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: The Genosis version of the Death Star was actually a 147 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: prototype space station and not the actual first death Star. 148 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: But there's no official Cannon explanation that really lays it 149 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: out and says definitively this it's this version, not that version. Anyway, 150 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: let's talk about what it actually is. The Death Star 151 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: is a space station. It's spherical in shape, and it's 152 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: called the size of a moon. People refer to it 153 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: as I mean, that's the big line from a New 154 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: Hope is that's no moon, that's a space station. That 155 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: particular detail is not terribly handy, however, because moons do 156 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: not come in a standard size. They vary in size. 157 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: So for example, the moon around Earth, our moon is 158 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: three point seven times smaller than the Earth. It has 159 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: an equatorial circumference of six thousand, seven hundred eighty three 160 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: and a half miles or ten thousand, nine d seventeen kilometers, 161 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: and it's also not as dense as the Earth. The 162 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: surface gravity on our moon has an acceleration of one 163 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: point six to four meters per second squared, compared to 164 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: Earth's surface gravitational acceleration of nine point eight zero six 165 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,439 Speaker 1: six five, or we usually say nine point eight one 166 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: per second squared. But the Earth's moon is only the 167 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: fifth largest in our solar system. The largest moon in 168 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: our system is gay Mead, which is one of jupiter 169 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: As moons. It's just two point four times smaller than 170 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: the Earth, so it's equatorial circumference is ten thousand, two 171 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: hundred seventy three miles or about sixteen five thirty three kilometers. 172 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: It's actually larger than the planet Mercury. So the only 173 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: reason it's a moon and not a dwarf planet is 174 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: because it's in orbit around Jupiter rather than orbit around 175 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: the Sun. So saying the Death Star is the size 176 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: of a moon is not super helpful. The films don't 177 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,959 Speaker 1: really give any details about the Death Star space station 178 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: or the star Killer base. We don't really learn about 179 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: the specs from them. From the movies. Necessarily, we see 180 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: they're huge, but we don't really get much of a 181 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: frame of reference as to how huge they are, but 182 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: there have been plenty of books and supplemental materials that 183 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: have attempted to fill in the gaps of our knowledge. 184 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: So while it may not be pure canon, we have 185 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: to have some reference for our discussions. So we're gonna 186 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,959 Speaker 1: go with some information supplied by official Star Wars supplemental sources, 187 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: such as the Ultimate Visual Guide for Star Wars Rogue 188 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: one that comes in pretty handy for the Death Star 189 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: in particular. According to that guide, the Death Star is 190 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: a hundred sixty kilometers wide. Now that also is a 191 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: discrepancy with other sources. Some of them put the death 192 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: stars diameter at a hundred twenty kilometers and some say 193 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: a hundred forty kilometers, But the most recent response I 194 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: could see was a hundred and sixties. So that's what 195 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: I'm going with. Hundred sixty kilometers is about nine miles, 196 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: all right. So if we use the handy formula that 197 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 1: circumference equals two times pie times the radius, not the 198 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: diameter as I initially calculated this figure, we get a 199 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: figure of about five two kilometers of circumference, or three 200 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: hundred twelve miles around the equator of this sphere. So 201 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: in other words, that's less than one the circumference of 202 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: Earth's moon, and that's going with the larger of the 203 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: measurements for the Death Star, so it's the size of 204 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: a moon, but a pretty small one. The original Death 205 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: Star had three D fifty seven levels as in floors 206 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: and it according to at least one source book, the 207 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,839 Speaker 1: number of people aboard the space station varies depending upon 208 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: the source you're looking at. One suggested that there were 209 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: around two point twenty five million people aboard, and another 210 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: set it was more like one point one six million people. 211 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: So I guess the answer ultimately is there were a 212 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: lot of fictional people aboard that space station. And uh 213 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: some say that even up to a billion people could 214 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 1: have technically fit on the station. I don't know if 215 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: that's true or not. I haven't actually run the geometric 216 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: calculations to find out how packed it would be if 217 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: that were happening. I also don't know the full density 218 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: of the Death Star, so it would be hard to do. 219 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: But there you go. According to the house Stuff Works 220 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: article on how the Death Star works, the interior sections 221 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: of the space station consists of twenty four zones, with 222 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: half of them in the northern hemisphere of the station 223 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: and the other half in the southern hemisphere. And each 224 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: zone has six sectors which include General Command, Military Security, Service, 225 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: and technical sectors, Officers overseas sectors, and Zone captain's overseas officers. 226 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: And the Death Star commander is at the top of 227 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: the food chain on the station unless the Emperor himself 228 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 1: is on board, and in the case of the original 229 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: Death Star, that would be the Grand mof Tarken. And 230 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,320 Speaker 1: because this wasn't just a weapon, but also a battle 231 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: station and a movable base of operations, there need to 232 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: be plenty of space for crew quarters, vehicle bays, and 233 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: recreational facilities. As it turns out, it also had a 234 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: detention block as seen in a New Hope, because that's 235 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: where they put Princess Leiah after Darth Vader catches her. 236 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: Spoiler in a Moment will look at some of the 237 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 1: basic systems aboard the Death Star, will explore how they 238 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: work within the mythology of Star Wars, and we'll talk 239 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: about if there's any connection to what we call reality 240 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: a figure. We can start by talking about the death 241 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: Stars artificial gravity, how do that do well find out 242 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 1: right after we take this quick break to thank our sponsor. Now, 243 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: most sources I find try to reconcile the discrepancies we 244 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: see in the Star Wars movies by explaining that the 245 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: Death Star actually has two different artificial gravity systems aboard it. 246 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: So imagine that the Death Star is a big old 247 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: orange and the peel part of the orange is a 248 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: layer that has artificial gravity pulling down towards the center 249 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: of the station. It would be like surface gravity like 250 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: you would experience if you were on a normal planet 251 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: or moon, except it's also artificial gravity because it's meant 252 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: to give you the sense of gravity you would have 253 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: on a planet like Earth. We we assume that it's 254 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: about one G of gravitational force on the Death Star 255 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: because people move around like it's on Earth because that's 256 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: where they shot the movie. But we're assuming it's one G. So, uh, 257 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: everything is being pulled in towards the center. But because 258 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: of the size of the Death Star it's mass, there's 259 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: no way it has enough mass to generate one G 260 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: of gravity on its own, so it has to be 261 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: artificially boosted just logically speaking, So the way we feel 262 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: when we're on Earth is technically the surface we are 263 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: on pushing back against us essentially. So if you are 264 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: in one of those levels that's in this outer layer 265 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: of the Death Star, the peel of the Orange, you 266 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: would stand as if you were on the surface of 267 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: a planet, so your feet would be pointing towards the 268 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: core of the plant, your head would be pointing towards space, essentially, 269 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: except that doesn't seem to work based upon what we've 270 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: actually seen in the movies, because if you watch a 271 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: New Hope, when the Millennium Falcon gets captured by a 272 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: tractor beam and pulled in toward the Death Star, it 273 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: enters the equatorial trench that separates the station into northern 274 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: and southern hemispheres. So it's like a belt right around 275 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 1: the middle of the Death Stars this trench, and the 276 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: Millennium Falcon is clearly coming into the trench into a 277 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: vehicle bay, and in that sequence you see people standing 278 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: in an orientation that's in line with the north and 279 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: south poles of the Death Star, where the north pole 280 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: would be up and the south pole would be down. So, 281 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: in other words, imagine that the Death Star is a 282 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: ball that has a top and a bottom and corresponding gravity. Now, 283 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: the sources I looked at suggests that below this outermost layer, 284 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: below the peel of the Orange, the Death Star is 285 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: made up of floors that are in that orientation, this 286 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: top bottom orientation, with north pole being the top and 287 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: south pole being the bottom, and gravity just pointing towards 288 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: the south pole side of the station. This would mean 289 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: that once you get past that outermost layer with the 290 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: UH the orange peel section, the orientation of gravity would 291 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: change unless you were standing at the very north pole 292 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: of the Death Star, in which case the two fields 293 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: would be aligned. I imagine transitioning between one field of 294 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: gravity and another would be really disorienting to go from 295 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: where your feet are essentially facing out or are facing 296 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 1: the core of the planet, to where your feet are 297 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: facing down with respect to the south pole UH. I 298 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: don't know how you would make that transition in a 299 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: way that wouldn't totally mess you up in the process. 300 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: I think it would be very disorienting. However, a lot 301 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: of sources suggest that this is the way it has 302 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 1: to work based upon the design of the Death Star 303 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: as we see it in the films. The contradiction doesn't 304 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: really matter in context with the story of Star Wars, 305 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: but it does make it darn tricky to explain how 306 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: stuff actually works aboard this space station. The movies again 307 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 1: don't concern themselves with this, that's not what the purpose 308 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: of the movies are for. It falls to fanboys like 309 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: myself to try and justify it. So we see gunners 310 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: manning cannons that are mounted on the surf of the 311 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: station itself, and they appear to be oriented in such 312 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,160 Speaker 1: a way that it's similar to a normal planet's surface gravity, 313 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,919 Speaker 1: and yet everything else seems to suggest gravity has that 314 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: specific north south orientation. So how would we create artificial 315 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: gravity if we wanted to do it in real life? Well, 316 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: since we still don't have a full understanding of the 317 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: nature of gravity, we can't harness it in any meaningful way. 318 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: But we can create a system that simulates gravity through rotation, 319 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: except it would manifest as something very different than what 320 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 1: you see in the Star Wars movies. So imagine you 321 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:38,159 Speaker 1: have a death Star sized hollow sphere, So it's the 322 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: exact same size of the Death Star, but there's nothing 323 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: inside it. It's just a big hollow ball, and you 324 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: are inside that hollow ball. You're standing on the inside 325 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: of that sphere. If we rotate the sphere, it will 326 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: create a velocity that will curve around in a line 327 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 1: along that rotation. It's a rotational velocity. This, in turn 328 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 1: will create an acceleration pointing inwards a nine degree angle 329 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: from the velocity at any given moment toward the death 330 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: stars center. Your mass and the acceleration into the center 331 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,439 Speaker 1: of the death star creates a virtual force, which we 332 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: refer to as a centrifugal force. Now, remember I say 333 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,959 Speaker 1: it's a virtual force, it's what would feel like weight. 334 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: This is what would hold you to the interior wall 335 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: of the hollow death star, so your feet would be 336 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,440 Speaker 1: closer to outer space and your head would be closer 337 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: to the core of the death star. So the opposite 338 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: of what the various sources suggest for the death Star. 339 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: Because again this is just one way we could simulate 340 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: gravity is through this rotation and the creation of a 341 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: virtual force and centrifugal force. Now, to create enough of 342 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: that virtual force to simulate the gravity that you would 343 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: experience on a planet like Earth, you need to spin 344 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: to create an acceleration of one g. Now we'd use 345 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: the formula to that would be acceleration equals velocity square 346 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: divided by the radius, and the radius in this case 347 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: is the radius of the Death Star. Now, we know 348 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,199 Speaker 1: that the radius of the death Star is eighty kilometers 349 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: if we're working off the most recent version of the 350 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: Death Star spec since others suggest it could be seventy 351 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: or sixty kilometers, but we're going with eighty. And we 352 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: know the acceleration that we want is nine point eight 353 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: one per second squared, because that's the gravitational acceleration we 354 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,119 Speaker 1: have here on Earth and that's what we want to simulate. 355 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: So using that formula, we know it's nine point eight 356 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: one equals velocity square divided by eighty thousand meters. Right, 357 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: we take eighty kilometers, We multiply it by a thousand 358 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: meters because that's a thousand meters to a kilometer. We 359 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,400 Speaker 1: get eighty thousand meters. We multiply both sides by eighty 360 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: thousand meters, and we get seven eighty four thousand, eight 361 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: hundred meters squared by second squared. We take the square 362 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:54,239 Speaker 1: root of that to get the velocity, and we end 363 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 1: up with approximately eight hundred eighty six meters per second. 364 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 1: So within a minute in i'd this sphere. You're traveling 365 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: fifty three thou sis in a circular motion on the 366 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: inside of this death star. Now, in order to figure 367 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: out how many revolutions per minute we need, we take 368 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: the circumference of the death Star. That's that five kilometers 369 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: or five two thousand meters, and that means that we 370 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: would need point eleven rotations per minute to simulate one 371 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,400 Speaker 1: g of gravity on the inside surface of the death Star, 372 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: which means the death Star would have to rotate one 373 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: full time every ten minutes or so. So a day 374 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: on the Death Star would be around ten minutes long 375 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: if it were a body orbiting star with that speed 376 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: of rotation. Now, that would only really apply along the equator, 377 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: I should add, because it's a right angle to the 378 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: axis of rotation. As you would move away from the equator, 379 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 1: things would get really wonky and along the outermost layer 380 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,919 Speaker 1: as well, because as you go up or inward in 381 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: the death Star, you'd be on the floor that's technically 382 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: moving at a slower of a locity than the floor 383 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: that was below you or outer on the death Star. 384 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,199 Speaker 1: Because you're in a concentric circle, each circle makes the 385 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 1: same number of revolutions per unit of time. Right, if 386 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: you're doing ten revolutions in a minute on the outside, 387 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: you're still doing ten revolutions of a minute on the inside. 388 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: But if the circle is smaller, you are traveling less 389 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: distance but in the same amount of time, so your 390 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: velocity is lower. This would also mean that your acceleration 391 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: that you would experience, and therefore the centrifugal force you 392 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: would experience, would also be lower. So as you move 393 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: towards the core, you would experience lower gravitational acceleration, and 394 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: you'd feel lighter as you move towards the middle. So 395 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: for a space station the size of the Death Star, 396 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: this could work out pretty well if you had the 397 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: means to rotate the station that way. With smaller space stations, 398 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: you would run into other problems because smaller scales, this 399 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 1: method of simulating gravity presents other challenges. For example, once 400 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: you get really small, different parts of your body are 401 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: going to experience different gravitational accelerations. Because your height represents 402 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,439 Speaker 1: enough distance uh compared to the radius of the station 403 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: itself that it will make a difference. You'll actually be 404 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: able to feel it. The amount of gravity you experience 405 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: is dependent upon the radius of the rotating structure. So 406 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,880 Speaker 1: if you're tall enough for that to be in effect, 407 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 1: you're gonna have these different forces or different magnitudes of 408 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,879 Speaker 1: force acting on you, and that's really gonna make it 409 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,439 Speaker 1: weird when you try to move around. Uh. Also, the 410 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: Coriolis effect can wreak havoc with our sense of balance. Essentially, 411 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 1: this becomes a problem when we are moving inward or 412 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: outward from the axis of rotation, so in other words, 413 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: we're changing levels in the Death Star right, we're moving 414 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: up or down. Experiments have shown that at lower revolutions 415 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: per minute this is rarely a problem, and the Does 416 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: Stars rotation of point one one revolutions per minute is 417 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: slow enough to probably slip below our ability to detect it, 418 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 1: and therefore we wouldn't get space sick every time we 419 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,479 Speaker 1: hopped into a lift. But other or wise, as we 420 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: change that orientation, as we get closer to the center 421 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: or further away from the center, than the amount of 422 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 1: gravity we would experience would fluctuate, and that could really 423 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: make us feel pretty wonky. Now, the film's never really 424 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: address how artificial gravity works. We only even know that 425 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 1: there's micro gravity in the Star Wars universe because of 426 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: the way ships move through stuff like debris or asteroids 427 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: out in space, not to mention the Mary Poppins Princess 428 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: Leia sequence from The Last Jedi or General Leiah. I 429 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: suppose I should say there's no real need to address 430 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: it within the plot of the movies, and the challenges 431 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,840 Speaker 1: of making a movie involving space battles and micro gravity 432 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: are such that having artificial gravity is really a thing 433 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 1: of convenience for the sake of the plot of the 434 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 1: films and the making of the movies. Next we'll learn 435 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: about how the Death Star gets around round, get around, 436 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: It gets around, But first let's take another break to 437 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: thank our sponsor. So the Death Star has two main 438 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: means of propulsion, ion thrusters and hyperdrive, and we actually 439 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: have developed one of those two things. Hint, it's not 440 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: the hyper drive. So let's talk about ion thrusters. So, 441 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: ion thrusters are a really interesting method of moving through space, 442 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: and the ideas that you have an engine that can 443 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 1: fire out positively charged particles at high velocity out of 444 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: one end of a spacecraft using electricity in some way. 445 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: There are a couple of different methods, but the important 446 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:38,119 Speaker 1: thing to look at is just the principle of it, 447 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: and because momentum within a system must be conserved, this 448 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: creates thrust moving the spacecraft forward. Newton's laws emotion imply 449 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: this concept. So momentum equals mass times velocity, and both 450 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 1: momentum and velocity are vectors. That means that they have 451 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: a direction associated with their values, and the conservation of 452 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: momentum tells us the momentum of a system in its 453 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: initial phase must equal the momentum of the system and 454 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: its final phase, assuming all external forces that could act 455 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 1: upon the system zero out. In other words, it's an 456 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: isolated system. So if you have other stuff acting on 457 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: a system that changes things, we're talking about an isolated system. 458 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,600 Speaker 1: So a spacecraft in spaces is pretty isolated. So before 459 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: you initiate an ion thruster, let's say you've got a spacecraft. 460 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 1: You are not moving with respect to space around you, 461 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: at least not in any real meaningful way. You're just 462 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: kind of hanging in space. There's no momentum here, right, 463 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: The craft is not moving, the ions are not moving. 464 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: But then you turn on the drive and the drive 465 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 1: starts spinning out ions behind the spacecraft. That represents a 466 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: change in momentum. The velocity of those particles is very 467 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:56,640 Speaker 1: high and their mass is incredibly small. However, momentum must 468 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,160 Speaker 1: be conserved within the system, so your spacecraft represents it's 469 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 1: the system. So that means the spacecraft itself has to 470 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: move in the opposite direction of the particles you're shooting 471 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: out the back. Now, the spacecraft's mass is way, way, 472 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: way bigger than the particles that are flying out of 473 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: the ion thruster, so that means the velocity of the 474 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: spacecraft will be relatively low compared to the particles. However, 475 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: if you keep the drive going, this will act as 476 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: an accelerator for the spacecraft. It's not gonna accelerate quickly, 477 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: but it will do so gradually, and eventually you'll start 478 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 1: reaching very high speeds if the drive is on for 479 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: the entire time. Now, with rocket fuel, you can create 480 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: thrust until you run out of fuel, and then you're 481 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 1: essentially traveling at top speed until you hit something. But 482 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: with ion thrusters, you can keep accelerating steadily for a 483 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: much longer time, reaching a vastly higher top speed in 484 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: the process. It just takes you longer to get to 485 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: your top speed, but your top speed is going to 486 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: be much higher than if it were a rocket based spacecraft. 487 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 1: But the Death Star could also move at superliminal speeds, 488 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: which means it could go faster than light, using a 489 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,959 Speaker 1: concept in Star Wars called hyper space. Now we know 490 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: this must be the case because the Death Star fires 491 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 1: upon Alderan at the beginning of a new Hope and 492 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: then moves into position to fire upon Yavn four at 493 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 1: the end. Well, Alderon is a planet in the core 494 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: of the Galactic Empire, meaning the core of the galaxy itself, 495 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,199 Speaker 1: whereas yaven four is a moon around a gas giant 496 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,879 Speaker 1: planet called Yavin that's in the outer Rim territory, so 497 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 1: on the outer side of this galaxy. To get a 498 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: battle station that far from the center of a galaxy 499 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: to the outer edge has to need some form of 500 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: faster than light travel. In the Star Wars universe, spacecraft 501 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: do this by tapping into an alternate dimension called hyperspace, 502 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: which helps get around a big problem. Because if you 503 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: talk to Einstein, well, it's gonna be pretty boring. Guy's 504 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: been dead for a while, but his theories tell us 505 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 1: that matter cannot travel as fast as light, let alone 506 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: faster than the speed of light. Light is the fastest 507 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: stuff there is. It is the universal speed limit. Light 508 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: through a vacuum is as fast as it gets. If 509 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: you could travel faster than light, you could potentially travel 510 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: to a destination fast enough so that if you turned 511 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: around and looked at where you came from, you'd see 512 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,000 Speaker 1: yourself leaving from your starting point because you got there 513 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,040 Speaker 1: before the light did from the place that you left, 514 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: So faster than light travel would violate causality. In the 515 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 1: Star Wars universe, you could have a situation where you're 516 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 1: looking for a place to land on Alderan. Suddenly, i'll nowhere, 517 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: a laser comes in from outer space, hits the planet, 518 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: and plant done blowed up real good. So then you 519 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: travel faster than the speed of light toward the direction 520 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: that the laser came from, and you actually get to 521 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: the death Star before it fires the laser. That would 522 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: give you an opportunity to stop the laser from firing 523 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: and stop Aldon from exploding, which you have already actually 524 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: witnessed yourself, which isn't cool because it violates causality. Generally, 525 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: that means that effects follow causes, not the other way around. 526 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: You shouldn't be able to have a cause come after 527 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,680 Speaker 1: the effect it makes because tim don't work like that. 528 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: Star Wars still has problems with the ramification of causality, 529 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 1: but at least it gets around the issues of faster 530 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: than light travel by using alternate dimensions. So instead of 531 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: hitting a speed that violates Einstein's precious theories, you just 532 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: decrease the distance between you and your destination. So in 533 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: this case, you hop into a dimension that's sort of 534 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 1: like a shortcut between two points. You're traveling at a 535 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: good clip, but well below the speed of light. However, 536 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,640 Speaker 1: your new route shaves off light years of distance between 537 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: you and your destination, so you get there faster than 538 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: if you had taken the scenic route, and a lot 539 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: of people like to use this analogy, including me. Imagine 540 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 1: you've got a big paper map, so you find Atlanta 541 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: on the map, that's where I am. Then you find 542 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: London on the map. That's where they shot a lot 543 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: of Star Wars, and you draw a line between the two. 544 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: You've got a ruler. You connect the Atlanta to London 545 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: using the ruler, and then you draw a line from 546 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 1: Atlanta to London. Now consider that a virtual trip between 547 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: the two cities. The travel time is how long it 548 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: takes you to draw that straight line. Now, imagine you 549 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: take an identical map to the first one and so 550 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: it doesn't have a line on it, and you fold 551 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: it so that Atlanta and London are touching each other. 552 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: When you have this folded map, then you poke a 553 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 1: hole through the map at that point with your pencil, 554 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 1: and it leaves a little bit of a mark both 555 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: in Atlanta and London. That kind of represents this idea 556 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: of using hyperspace. Uh in our universe, we would call 557 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: it a wormhole to connect to dissent points in space together, 558 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: you'd reduce the distance between your start point and your endpoint, 559 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 1: but you're not moving any faster necessarily between the two. 560 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:02,120 Speaker 1: You might be going at your top speed, but you're 561 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: going at top speed in an alternate dimension. That just 562 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: reduces the distance. It warps space time so that your 563 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 1: destination is close to your starting point. Now, in Star Wars, 564 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: that all has to do with a fictional stuff called 565 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: hypermatter and fictional technologies called hyper drives. We obviously don't 566 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: have access to that in the real world. And as 567 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: for warping spacetime, that itself is largely theoretical, since it 568 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: would require such enormous amounts of energy that nothing we 569 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 1: have ever done comes even close. However, that does lead 570 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: me to the last bit I want to cover in 571 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: part one of how the Death Star works, which is 572 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: the dust Stars reactor. Now, a space station, that huge 573 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,760 Speaker 1: one that's capable of moving through space at high speeds 574 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: and firing an incredibly powerful laser would need a truly 575 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 1: tremendous power source. The Death Star has a hyper matter 576 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: implosion core which used that fictional stuff of hyper matter 577 00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: as fuel to produce huge amounts of energy. And the 578 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: close this thing we might ever be able to make 579 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:06,040 Speaker 1: would be a fusion reactor. Fusion power generates electricity by 580 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:12,360 Speaker 1: fusing to relatively light atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus. 581 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,959 Speaker 1: This reaction releases energy as a result. It's an exothermic 582 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 1: reaction as long as the nuclei are light nuclei. This 583 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: is the way that stars emit energy. Fusion requires incredibly 584 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,080 Speaker 1: high temperatures and the millions of degrees kelvin, and because 585 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 1: of this it is really challenging to pull it off 586 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:35,000 Speaker 1: here on Earth. We've done it, but not in the 587 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: way that is economical. For sustainable power, the expense of 588 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,840 Speaker 1: operating the system is greater than the value of the 589 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 1: energy we get out of it. For now, So what 590 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,600 Speaker 1: is going on? Well, at an atomic level, we are 591 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: forcing these nuclei to get close enough so that the 592 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: nuclear force kicks in and overrides the electrostatic force that 593 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,440 Speaker 1: would normally be forcing the two nuclei apart from each other. Now, 594 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: these are both fundamental forces in nature, or at least, 595 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: electromagnetic force is a fundamental force. Electrosthetic relates to that. 596 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: The nuclear forces, both the strong and weak nuclear force, 597 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: are stronger than the electromagnetic force, but only at very 598 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,280 Speaker 1: very close distances I'm talking about on the atomic scale. 599 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:25,360 Speaker 1: The electromagnetic force is weaker, but it has a greater 600 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 1: scale of effect or a greater range of effect. So 601 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: if you can get the two smaller nuclei close enough 602 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,160 Speaker 1: so that the nuclear force takes over, it will counteract 603 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:40,360 Speaker 1: that electrostatic force that's pushing the two nuclei apart, and 604 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 1: for lighter nuclei, that creates that exothermic reaction I was 605 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 1: talking about, and thus it releases energy. Now, if we 606 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 1: ever find an efficient way to harness fusion, it could 607 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,360 Speaker 1: potentially solve many major energy problems here on Earth. Fusion 608 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: doesn't rely on heavier radioactive particles the way fission does. 609 00:34:57,239 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 1: Fission is the basis of our nuclear power today, but 610 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:01,880 Speaker 1: we just have to find a way to make it work, 611 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: which granted, is easier said than done. We may never 612 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 1: find a way to do this economically. If we could, however, 613 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,520 Speaker 1: it would be an enormous boon because even though fusion 614 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: is technically a non renewable energy source, we have so 615 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: much of those lighter elements at our disposal it would 616 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: take millions of years for us to consume all of it, 617 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:27,160 Speaker 1: which means we would have a lot of time to 618 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 1: start coming up with alternatives for our energy needs, and 619 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:37,719 Speaker 1: in the foreseeable future, possibly long before humanity itself dies out, 620 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,359 Speaker 1: we would have plenty of energy. Uh. That is kind 621 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:44,719 Speaker 1: of the summary of how the Death Star works with 622 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 1: its supplemental systems. In our next episode, we're gonna look 623 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:52,480 Speaker 1: more at how it becomes a truly operational battle station 624 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 1: with all the weaponry involved, and we'll talk a little 625 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,600 Speaker 1: bit more about the Death Star too, and the star 626 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,600 Speaker 1: Killer base as well on the differences between them. Death 627 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: Star two was much bigger than the original Death Star, 628 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:08,680 Speaker 1: even though it didn't look like much in the film 629 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 1: Return of the Jedi, But we learn a lot about 630 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,000 Speaker 1: its capabilities in that movie, so we'll talk more about 631 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 1: that in the next episode. It also give us an 632 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,600 Speaker 1: opportunity to talk about things like force fields, because there 633 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,080 Speaker 1: was one around the Death Star too. If you guys 634 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: have suggestions for future episodes of tech Stuff, whether it's 635 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,800 Speaker 1: a real technology of fictional technology. Maybe it's a person 636 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: or a company in tech that you would like me 637 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: to talk about. Maybe there's someone you would want me 638 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:35,960 Speaker 1: to interview or have on as a guest host, let 639 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 1: me know. Send me a message. The email address for 640 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:42,400 Speaker 1: the podcast is tech Stuff at how stuffworks dot com. 641 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: You can drop me a line on Facebook or Twitter. 642 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 1: The handle of both of those is tech Stuff hs W. 643 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: Make sure you follow us on Instagram, and remember you 644 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,399 Speaker 1: can watch me record these shows live on Twitch dot 645 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,719 Speaker 1: tv slash tech Stuff, and you too can watch as 646 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:00,360 Speaker 1: I realize in horror as I record a show that 647 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 1: I made an error in calculations and I have to 648 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:07,919 Speaker 1: stop everything, recalculate and start up again. Because the people 649 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,400 Speaker 1: who were in today's chat room got to see that happen, 650 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,319 Speaker 1: and you guys didn't because you're not there, So change it. 651 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,640 Speaker 1: Go there, Go to twitch dot tv slash tech stuff. 652 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: There's a schedule there. I record on Wednesdays and Friday's. 653 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:22,840 Speaker 1: Hope to see you in there, and I'll talk to 654 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 1: you again really soon. For more on this and thousands 655 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 1: of other topics. Is that how stuff works dot com