A real life physics question

[Darth Zakryn]

Space is a vacuum, and ships that would have the power to navigate swiftly through that vacuum (no matter HOW much enormous energy it would require) would not be able to do the same within a planet's atmosphere, would they? We've seen Bug fighters and Blade ships and even a large Pool ship enter into a planet's atmosphere and lose not an inch of maneuverability. And also, lasers or energy beams might work in outer space (again, even if it would require tremendous power) but they would not work the same in an atmosphere, would they?

[Myitt]

Well, judging from our own limited and extremely primitive spaceships (), it would seem that a craft that can attain great speeds in the near-vacuum of space would not have the same abilities in the atmosphere, due to the great force needed to get the damn thing off the ground and into orbit.  But we do know that craft such as the Concord (you shall be missed!) have the ability to maneuver well enough in atmosphere, while also reaching altitudes nearing very low orbit, and at great speed (at least for Earth craft). 

So, my point is, I don't think it's inconceivable that someday we'll reach a point where we'll have craft that can function well enough in atmosphere and in space, without sacrificing maneuverability.  Think about making a fighter jet that has the propulsive power to jet into space, as well.  I don't see why there would be much of a difference, but then again, damnit man I'm a paleontologist, not a physicist!

As for lasers, a light laser wouldn't be visible as a beam in space because there is nothing for the light to bounce off of, as there is in the air with particulates and dust and all that. 

Now as to whether lasers can be weapons in space technology, who knows what powered the lasers in Animorphs?  Crystals?  Chemicals?  Particle beams?  Here's an interesting How Stuff Works article that explains in detail some of the lasers that are being developed both for warfare and communication.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-war2.htm

Kinda scary, no?   But if some source can focus a beam of energy so that it has destructive power, then it shouldn't react differently in atmosphere versus in space--and it probably wouldn't be just a simple light laser.

[Semeir-Cooraf-Armaheen]

Bug Fighters don't handle the atmospheres well, they blow up eventually if they go a certain speed

[Myitt]

Bug Fighters don't handle the atmospheres well, they blow up eventually if they go a certain speed

That's what you think, grass-eater!

[Cloudbreaker]

You are correct on both accounts, Zakryn.  And both issues have been addressed in the series.

Ships:  In the Andalite Chronicles, bug fighters chased Elfangor as he piloted a Skrit-Na ship.  His ship was better at flying through atmospheres than the bug fighters, and the bug fighters eventually got overheated.  Also, in the polar bear book (I forget the number) it is stated that it will take the blade ship three hours to get to the arctic because they are flying through atmosphere.  They said if they were going through space it wouldn't have even taken three hours to get to the moon.

Dracon Beams:  In the Hork-bajir Chronicles, when they go into the mists of father deep the yeerks can't use their beams because the atmosphere is too thick.  It causes flashback or something.  A ged controller burnt himself pretty badly when he tried.

I'm not sure if those reasons hold up when tested with actual science, but those were the reasons given in the books.

[Phoenix004]

Bug Fighters don't handle the atmospheres well, they blow up eventually if they go a certain speed

Ships:  In the Andalite Chronicles, bug fighters chased Elfangor as he piloted a Skrit-Na ship.  His ship was better at flying through atmospheres than the bug fighters, and the bug fighters eventually got overheated.  Also, in the polar bear book (I forget the number) it is stated that it will take the blade ship three hours to get to the arctic because they are flying through atmosphere.  They said if they were going through space it wouldn't have even taken three hours to get to the moon.

Dracon Beams:  In the Hork-bajir Chronicles, when they go into the mists of father deep the yeerks can't use their beams because the atmosphere is too thick.  It causes flashback or something.  A ged controller burnt himself pretty badly when he tried.

Damn, you guys beat me to it!

I assumed the Dracon malfunction in HBC was due to being too much oxygen, but I'm preyy certain they never actually give a reason and I don't even know why (hypothetically) an excess of oxygen would cause a flashback. Obviously a lack of oxygen doesn't effect their weapons, otherwise they wouldn't work in space. I suppose theoretically their effectiveness should be different in atmosphere as opposed to a vacuum.

The thing about taking 3 hours to reach the Arctic annoyed me though. Why didn't they just go into space and the come back in for a landing in the North Pole? Surely that would've been much faster?

Not entirely on topic, but I wonder if you can activate Z-space engines while in atmosphere? Naturally that's mostly pointless, but could've made for a handy way to escape. I assume (for whatever obscure physics reason) it doesn't work.

[Darth Zakryn]

Ah ok that makes sense. Thanks so much.

[Terenia]

Mike, I think that it is probably possible to activate Z-space engines in atmo, but also it is probably a very very bad idea. I imagine the force of them being initiated would be something like a couple of nukes going off. Probably not good for anyone living on the planet.

[Semeir-Cooraf-Armaheen]

Bug Fighters don't handle the atmospheres well, they blow up eventually if they go a certain speed

That's what you think, grass-eater!

  I am only stating a fact.

[Gumby]

I'm assuming they would create something like zero G field around their ship for great maneuvering.

[Semeir-Cooraf-Armaheen]

^That would pose problems if they flew low. Depending on how far out the field extends, it would cause chaos on the ground.

Elfangor flying that Skrit Na ship over 3000 miles per hour in the atmosphere was setting the ground on FIRE.

Antigravity fields would do what powering up on DBZ does--crap would fly everywhere!

[Terenia]

That would be rather unfortunate for those on the ground...

[wildweathel]

The thing about taking 3 hours to reach the Arctic annoyed me though. Why didn't they just go into space and the come back in for a landing in the North Pole? Surely that would've been much faster?

KASU.

It turns out humans have built exactly that kind of vehicle.  The earliest versions were designed by (who else?) Nazi scientists.  Although it didn't quite reach space, it could deliver a bomb 200 mi away faster than getting pizza across town.

Later developments during the Cold War increased range to practically unlimited; if you don't mind your projectile re-entering at a couple of miles a second, you could get one anywhere in the world in less than a half hour.  Humans being humans, they stuck fusion bombs on them and still insist on keeping a few thousand around in case they really, really need to kill a bunch of each other on short notice.

Slowing down at the end would make the trip longer, but for an FTL-capable species to take longer than an hour to get from heyah to theyah isn't reasonable.

[Mr. Guy36]

http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/index.php
More information than you could ever require about the real-life physics of near-future spaceflight and warfare.

[Coal Kropotkin]

Bug Fighters don't handle the atmospheres well, they blow up eventually if they go a certain speed

Ships:  In the Andalite Chronicles, bug fighters chased Elfangor as he piloted a Skrit-Na ship.  His ship was better at flying through atmospheres than the bug fighters, and the bug fighters eventually got overheated.  Also, in the polar bear book (I forget the number) it is stated that it will take the blade ship three hours to get to the arctic because they are flying through atmosphere.  They said if they were going through space it wouldn't have even taken three hours to get to the moon.

Dracon Beams:  In the Hork-bajir Chronicles, when they go into the mists of father deep the yeerks can't use their beams because the atmosphere is too thick.  It causes flashback or something.  A ged controller burnt himself pretty badly when he tried.

Damn, you guys beat me to it!

I assumed the Dracon malfunction in HBC was due to being too much oxygen, but I'm preyy certain they never actually give a reason and I don't even know why (hypothetically) an excess of oxygen would cause a flashback. Obviously a lack of oxygen doesn't effect their weapons, otherwise they wouldn't work in space. I suppose theoretically their effectiveness should be different in atmosphere as opposed to a vacuum.

The thing about taking 3 hours to reach the Arctic annoyed me though. Why didn't they just go into space and the come back in for a landing in the North Pole? Surely that would've been much faster?

Not entirely on topic, but I wonder if you can activate Z-space engines while in atmosphere? Naturally that's mostly pointless, but could've made for a handy way to escape. I assume (for whatever obscure physics reason) it doesn't work.

Well, oxygen is highly flammable, so it makes sense in the thick HB atmo that maybe they couldn't use weapons. 

 
... Alright, so I had an entire post in my mind, about space flight, and ZG fields, and even a reference to the TARDIS if I remember right, but then my brain crapped out on me... I'm going back to bed. Great thread! I'll post later....