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Dr Martin Hendry Dept of Physics and Astronomy University of Glasgow Reach for the Stars Dr Martin Hendry Dept of Physics and Astronomy University of Glasgow 9 th Dr Martin Hendry University of Glasgow Glasgow University Open Day 20th Sept 1999 The Physics of Star Wars Trinity School, Carlisle 20th March 2000 The Physics of Star Wars Odyssey 2001 The 2nd International Philosophy, Science & Theology Festival Dr Martin Hendry University of Glasgow, UK Grafton NSW Aim: To use the “Star Wars” Universe as a gateway to explore “cutting edge” ideas and concepts in physics and astrophysics A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… The Physics of The Physics of Star Wars Spaceships Weapons Planets and star systems Interstellar Travel The stars are VERY far away. The nearest star (after the Sun) is about 40 million million km from the Earth. It takes light more than 4 years to travel this distance. If the distance from the Earth to the Sun were the width of this screen, the next nearest star would be in Rome. In Star Wars, spaceships travel through hyperspace Einstein’s Special Relativity “What time does Oxford reach this train?” Einstein’s Special Relativity “What time does Oxford reach this train?” “What time does Alderaan reach the Falcon?” Einstein’s General Relativity Matter causes space to curve or warp Warping spacetime Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Tatooine Alderaan Warping spacetime Warping spacetime Warping spacetime Wormholes in spacetime predicted by theories of quantum gravity, but these are unimaginably tiny, and unstable. How do we fit a spaceship through a wormhole?…… Antigravity Gravity is an attractive force We feel weight when we are accelerated 1g = 10 metres per second per second Anakin’s podracer accelerates from 0600mph in 2 seconds: a g-force of about 13g Controlling gravity Controlling gravity Controlling gravity Death Stars Death Stars Death Stars Power to destroy Alderaan in 0.25 sec = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 MW This equals the total power output of the Sun for ~1.5 months! Power of the Death Star Laser pen Light Bulb Electric Heater Wind Farm Lightning Bolt Largest Laser = 1mW = 100W = 1kW = 1MW = 1GW = 1000TW The Death Star has the power of a million million million million lightning bolts Lightsabres and Blasters Laser beams or plasma beams? Planets and Star Systems Navigation Finding your exact position in the galaxy is a huge computational task. Requires 50 billion Mbytes of disk space, or 77 million CD-roms 10000 years on a Pentium IV computer! (Also needs 3-D star maps of the galaxy) Tatooine Possible orbits of Tatooine, Tatoo 1 and Tatoo 2 Planets and Star Systems Hoth Galileo’s Moons Inside Europa Could there be life?….. Endor Yavin The tidal pull of the Moon on the Earth Coruscant Runaway Greenhouse Effect