All posts by Laura

Sci-Fi vs Sci-Fact

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It’s World Space Week, so naturally, we seized the opportunity to stick on our favourite sci-fi blockbusters. However, with our scientific minds always at work, we couldn’t rest easy without sharing with you those space movies that are more fiction than science…

Star Wars

Okay, so we appreciate this galactic fantasy series isn’t ever going to be exactly scientifically accurate, what with all the aliens, droids, space travel and the mystical “Force”. But those space battles that Star Wars is known for, featuring all kinds of explosions and blasts? Well, in reality, they would actually be silent. Sound waves travel via the vibration of atoms and molecules in a medium such as air. Space is a vacuum, devoid of all matter – including gases – meaning the sound vibrations wouldn’t work.

Armageddon

Even if it were feasible to land on an asteroid and drill into the centre of it (just in case you were wondering, it isn’t), the energy required to destroy this huge, Texas-sized, asteroid would amount to a LOT more than one nuclear bomb. The most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated on earth, Big Ivan, has a total energy output of 418,000 terajoules. Leicester post-graduate students found that in order to split this asteroid in two, Bruce Willis would have had to detonate a bomb with 800 trillion terajoules of energy output.

The Martian

Ahh, a little respite from the scientific disaster that is Armageddon, The Martian is actually hailed as one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi movies of all time. The main plot line (humans visiting Mars) looks to be scientifically feasible at some point in the future, and growing potatoes with a combination of your own excretion and Martian soil? Possible, apparently. However, whilst we’re willing to give credit where it’s due, this film is not without its inaccuracies.

The main scientific issue with this film is actually the driving force behind the whole plot – the sand storm that leaves Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, stranded on Mars. Whilst sand storms definitely do occur on Mars, the atmosphere is so thin compared to Earth’s that a 100mph wind on Mars would feel more like an 11mph wind does on Earth – making it unlikely to cause the destruction that sees Watney separated from his crew.

Interstellar

The astronauts in Interstellar make use of a wormhole next to Saturn, which enables them to travel from our galaxy to an entirely different galaxy in a short amount of time. According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, wormholes are a possibility.

A wormhole is created by warping the fabric of space-time. If you think of space as a flat piece of paper, the distance is great between one end of the paper and the other. Bend the paper in half and the opposite ends of the paper are now much closer – punch a hole between the two ends of paper and you now have a tunnel which grants you instantaneous access between both ends, instead of travelling the long way from one end of the flat sheet of paper to the other.

However, astrophysicist Kip Thorne points out that in reality, there is a strong indication that wormholes through which humans could travel are forbidden by the laws of physics. Should we ever come across one, a wormhole is likely to be so unstable that the walls of it will collapse so fast that nothing is able to make it through.

Gravity

A central plot point in this film depends on Clooney’s character, Matt Kowalski, whizzing from the Hubble Space Telescope to the International Space Station using his jet pack. However, Hubble orbits at an altitude of 559 kilometres whilst the ISS sits at 423 kilometres; the distance in orbit between the two makes travelling between them completely unfeasible (especially in a jet pack).

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

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The United Nations marks today, the 16th September, as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. In the 1970’s scientists discovered that the ozone layer was under threat from certain gases, such as chlorine and bromine, which had accumulated in the atmosphere. Then, in the 1980’s, a “hole” was discovered in the ozone layer above Antarctica – the region of the earth’s atmosphere which had suffered the severest ozone depletion. Read our fact sheet below for more information on the ozone layer and why the 16th September is such an important date.

Visit www.ozoneheroes.org to learn more about the ozone layer and become an ozone hero!

The Great British Beach Clean

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This weekend, thousands of people will head to the beaches of Britain to take part in The Great British Beach Clean. The yearly event, organised by the Marine Conservation Society, aims to make beaches a cleaner and safer place for people and wildlife alike. The waste and litter in our seas and on our beaches is a constant threat to marine wildlife, with many species becoming entangled in litter or mistaking small pieces of rubbish for food.

By taking part in the Beach Clean, as well as tidying our coastline, you are also contributing to a national survey, Beach Watch, which provides vital data on the state of marine litter in the UK. The results from this survey help to identify which issues need to be most urgently addressed and raises awareness of the consequences of not properly disposing of your rubbish. Last year saw a decline in the number of plastic carrier bags found on beaches (thanks to that 5p charge at the checkout!), but the amounts of other waste, such as balloon pieces, drinks containers and wet wipes continues to rise.

The 2016 Beach Clean saw more than 6000 volunteers help clean 364 beaches. If you live near a beach and want to help keep our coast beautiful and make it a safer place for people and marine life, then click here to find your local Great British Beach Clean Event and get involved!