+ All of physics. Especially anything involving characters falling, lasers, explosions, firearms, and any physics in space (sound, motion, temperature, black holes).
Not that it’s known physics, but time travel falls into this category too. Not the time travel itself, that’s just suspension of disbelief, but having time travel mechanics be internally consistent. It’s difficult to do well.
I know a guy who spent 40+ years in special effects. He now goes around giving talks/demonstrations about it all. He has a series of photos showing how a typical car is rigged to explode into a fireball.
Depending on what the director is looking for, steel horns are welded to the car frame inside each door, the hood, trunk, windshield, etc. The horns will direct the fireball out the car when ignited. Each horn holds an explosive similar to gasoline connected to a detonator.
After that, each window is wired with a squib, a small explosive smaller than a coin that will shatter the window about 1/10th of a second before the fireballs are ignited.
If necessary the hood, trunk, and/or doors are also wired with smaller explosives to pop them open immediately before the fireball as well.
All those smaller explosives are needed to get the doors/windows out of the way for the main fireball explosives. The fireball doesn’t have enough punch to push the doors open on its own, and it also provides significantly more control of the whole explosion. (You’re not guessing where the windshield might get blown to, etc).
If they do the thing where they shrink, they never get the proportions right.
Like in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, the grass towers over their heads but they can ride snails.
Yeah, I love that show. They do a really good job staying grounded in real physics when they’re not in the fiction side of sci-fi. IMO, their space mechanics are unmatched in sci-fi.
I love lots of franchises that also do it poorly, but I’m always pleased when they go the extra mile.
+ All of physics. Especially anything involving characters falling, lasers, explosions, firearms, and any physics in space (sound, motion, temperature, black holes).
Not that it’s known physics, but time travel falls into this category too. Not the time travel itself, that’s just suspension of disbelief, but having time travel mechanics be internally consistent. It’s difficult to do well.
I know a guy who spent 40+ years in special effects. He now goes around giving talks/demonstrations about it all. He has a series of photos showing how a typical car is rigged to explode into a fireball.
Depending on what the director is looking for, steel horns are welded to the car frame inside each door, the hood, trunk, windshield, etc. The horns will direct the fireball out the car when ignited. Each horn holds an explosive similar to gasoline connected to a detonator.
After that, each window is wired with a squib, a small explosive smaller than a coin that will shatter the window about 1/10th of a second before the fireballs are ignited.
If necessary the hood, trunk, and/or doors are also wired with smaller explosives to pop them open immediately before the fireball as well.
All those smaller explosives are needed to get the doors/windows out of the way for the main fireball explosives. The fireball doesn’t have enough punch to push the doors open on its own, and it also provides significantly more control of the whole explosion. (You’re not guessing where the windshield might get blown to, etc).
If they do the thing where they shrink, they never get the proportions right. Like in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, the grass towers over their heads but they can ride snails.
It took me getting obsessed with Kerbal Space Program to figure out my understanding of orbital physics was absolutely ridiculously bad
“What do you mean you have to go sideways to go up?!”
Have you watched The Expanse? I’ve seen some physicists talk it up for realism. At least as real as a show like that can be.
Yeah, I love that show. They do a really good job staying grounded in real physics when they’re not in the fiction side of sci-fi. IMO, their space mechanics are unmatched in sci-fi.
I love lots of franchises that also do it poorly, but I’m always pleased when they go the extra mile.