Taking an example from electromagnetism, we use spheres, cylinders, boxes, to help simplify solutions for a number of quantities: energy, potential, force, etc. A lot of the time the equations to actually solve the problem directly are such a pain that if we have short cuts. So whatever given object we use is…

5) Get Physics degree and then wonder wtf you're going to write.

It's why I got a B.S in physics. I enjoyed sci-fi, knew I could do complex math, wanted to better understand the world, and wanted to write hard sci-fi after being inspired by Frank Herbert.

"On the other hand, physicists like to say physics is to math as sex is to masturbation."

Someone needs ointment because that is one hell of a BURN!

I stopped reading because it has 80 people commenting and not the time to read it. That said, I commented at the point you mocked conservatives in the States. /shrug

I'll grant you the point that the GOP doesn't do a good job attracting more intelligent people to their cause. There's a reason why I'm independent…

You can be conservative but not Republican. And actually be able to do high level math. Your generalization is unfounded bullshit.

What? You don't want to commit suicide?

If you drink a good amount of water after you're done for the night, you won't.

Semantics. It's a reality that they created an opportunity to get to because of the Incident.

How are you sure it's just an island? There was a duality of both science and religion that took place the entire series. I don't interpret that metaphor as you do I guess. While I can agree that if the Island didn't exist, what it was holding back could end the world via the 4 major forces in the universe. I…

The problem is that people that watched the finale have told people that it ends with them in purgatory, and then all the idiots listening to them just assume they're talking about the Island and retell it that way.

Or the viewers can't figure out something that is very easily understood.

With respect to the OP, I…

The planetary movement effects of relativity will be negligible (to human perception anyway), the same with any gravitational ones.

To calculate time dilation, you need to find out the proper time between the two reference frames. This can be done by using T = To/(1-(v^2/c^2)) where To is a measurement of time in…

My favorite xkcd. Obligatory physics grad enjoying the trashing of the other sciences. :p

That is kind of the point though. He needs to get power ups or he's not going to save the world during the BAT. It's also realistic. Of course he's going to get stronger as time progresses. It's easily been 10 years now since Storm Front happened (maybe more, I don't feel like getting a timeline).

Yup, the X-Wing series were a nice read.

New Jedi Order is what killed the EU for me. I finished it and stopped getting more after that. The quality writing just wasn't there. Glad I did because if I had read Jacen going dark side, I think I'd have exploded.

Say what you will about the movie In Time, but the upper-crust of society there pretty much does nothing so that their ageless bodies aren't killed. It seems the natural consequences for some a tech being developed.

My goofy wish was always to live forever with the caveat of being able to chose when I'd want to die.…

Thank you sir. I've never seen them before and I'm cackling over these vids.

The only way #1 works is if you starve them the prisoners to death. Read the first and second law of thermodynamics. You need matter/anti-matter annihilation to get 100% efficiency output and even there you still need to find anti-matter to react with.