Realisitic Space Battle Help

[BolianAuthor]

I'm not gonna offer anything on the tech of space battles, because each sci-fi universe has its own look/feel and rules... but let me just offer this...

I always find it unbelievably laughable when science shows or sci-fi shows/films depict planets or moons colliding/exploding, and massive amounts of fire and flame consume everything in sight... this would NOT happen... NEVER!!! LOL...

Number one... the only fire that would be generated from planets colliding would be from the atmospheric friction, and resulting forest fires on the planet(s)... assuming the planet(s) do physically break apart, any fire would be almost instantly dissipated as soon as the atmosphere was gone, and the vacuum of space enters the mix.

Also, if two rocky planets like moons smash into each other, and break up... there is no frakking fire... fire requires a combustible agent to ignite, and if we're talking moons of rock and maybe ice rock, there would be NO fire, lol... only a massive amount of rock crumbling, and blowing out into space at all angles. Rock... no uber-hellfire explosions, LOL.

So please just consider that space IS after all a vacuum, and have explosions behave accordingly.

 

[trekkiedane]

^However, when such two big masses collide with high velocities the energy that is released is probably enough to melt a significant part of the resulting debris and thereby creating something resembling a 'fireball' in space. Not to mention what it might look like when planets with molten centres are 'blown up'...

 

[BolianAuthor]

^However, when such two big masses collide with high velocities the energy that is released is probably enough to melt a significant part of the resulting debris and thereby creating something resembling a 'fireball' in space. Not to mention what it might look like when planets with molten centres are 'blown up'...

Doubt it... even if the molten cores are blown out into space, it won't be the Rambo-style uber-explosions we see on TV shows... it would be globules of molten ejecta, that would gradually cool.

As for the melting rock... yeah, that's a good point, and it's true... some rock may inded melt or fuse... but even then, as before... it will gradually cool and form a new chunk of rock... it won't "explode" in a Hollywood-style fireball.