If John had succeeded...

[TheEeshew]

Last time I watched the Premiere, I couldn't help but compare the John's sling-shot between when he did it around Earth and when Moya did around that commerce planet.

Seeing how far Moya got on her attempt...

If John had succeeded when he first attempted his sling-shot around Earth, how would he have gotten back?

Granted, we don't know how far/close they were to the Uncharted Territories, but it seemed that the sling-shot Moya did got her far enough to lose a PK Command Carrier.

I suppose John could have planned his experiment so that the time and course coincided with the orbit of the moon or another planet and use that body to sling-shot back to Earth...

Any ideas?

:)

[marandken]

Whoa

No Ideas

Thinking about it NOW...

Good question...

There's probably some geeky answer that I just don't know about...

[Zinny]

I...err...hmm...good point. :D

Maybe he was aiming for another planet so he could sling-shot back?

[Nicola]

Maybe he thought his maneouver had a kind of boomerang effect? In keeping with the whole Australian motif... ;)

[TheEeshew]

Maybe he thought his maneouver had a kind of boomerang effect? In keeping with the whole Australian motif... ;)

His craft kind of does look like a boomerang, doesn't it?

[Taibsear]

I thought about this one while watching this ep. The only way that I could justify him returning to earth was using another planets gravity to slingshot back to earth. Like Apollo 13 did around the moon to get back to earth.
Major mathmatical computations! :cool: and timing.
But there is a little problem with his oxygen supply. There is no way there is enough (even in tanks) in that ship to keep him alive. Not to mention a spacesuit that is self inclosed.

So I conclude it was fate for him to go thru the wormhole. He had to meet the love of his life.

[AerialPuma]

Wow, that is a good question and one I certainly never contemplated. I guess my first assumption would be he would slingslot around the Earth coming to a landing somewhere on Earth (like the boomerang effect Nicola mentioned).

Very thought provoking question! :think:

[Vortigar]

Well, not entirely sure on the physics of this one.
But here's the approximate geek answer:

The slingshot's basic theory relies upon gravitic pull, which is the effect of mass attracting mass. Moya's greater mass should then generate far more kinetic energy, or rather a relatively equal kinetic energy than the Farscape 1. In effect the difference between the masses of the ships should determine how far it should go. Inshort: Moya is heavier thus gets flung further.

extra:
The great unknown in this affair is the size and composition (which determines its gravitic force) of the planet they used to fling Moya. Maybe Crichton pulled the gravity generated by the planet from Moya's data or something, assuming a Leviathan can determine the mass of a planet through its 'sensors', which is quite a useful if not essential feature when traveling through space. Flying 'upside down' through a planet's 'gravity well' would cause everybody to fall to the cieling for example, which raises the question of how Moya regulates her internal gravity in deep space, but that's another matter entirely.

[freckle]

ok now i have headache!

[Vortigar]

/Vortigar pokes Freckle

Okay, okay, just take this line:
"Moya is heavier thus gets flung further."
And forget the rest...

[waltersgirl]

Flying 'upside down' through a planet's 'gravity well' would cause everybody to fall to the cieling for example,

why? artificial gravity is artificial gravity. how would it get overridden?

[Crifmer]

why? artificial gravity is artificial gravity. how would it get overridden?

If I remember way back in Physics class, it's a matter of forces. Gravity is still a force and can be overridden by a stronger force (magnetism, for example). Therefore, if there's an artificial gravity pulling one way, and another gravity pulling the other way, the stronger gravity wins. However, it wouldn't just override the other force, but would be diminished by it.. so maybe floating instead of falling.

But I have no idea how to calculate the strength of said gravities, so I'm just going to go with the internal gravity is still stronger because it's a, er, "closer" force.

I tried to pay attention because this stuff fascinates me, but I only understand every tenth word.

[AerialPuma]

I'm like you Crifmer--it is really interesting, but my mind starts to boggle at the scientific facts and it's Huhh?? time! :confused:

[Vortigar]

Crifmer:
The exact calculations are beyond me as well, no need to worry about that. The only reason I still know this stuff is because I still got all my high-school physics entrenched firmly in my brain. (Yes, maths, physics, chemistry, the lot, plus music :D )

Uncertain you may be, you're correct. (!!!)

A planet's gravity is a lot like a magnet, if you keep one close to the fridge (a quarter inch) you can feel the pull is much greater than a full inch away, and at a yard it's gone completely. Same thing happens with planets.

If you are within equal distance of two planets (jettisoned by a spacecraft for example) and you are inside the maximum range of both their gravity's forces. The planet with more mass will have the stronger force and pull you toward it, making you fall in that direction.

On the usage of the word mass:
The words heavier or weight can't be used in these kinds of explanations because technically something's weight depends on the gravity at work upon it, example: you are heavier on Earth than on the Moon, your mass however doesn't change as it is a value made up of the molecules one is made of.

At this point it is good to note that inside a spacestation like the Mir you are weightless, because on the inside you are pulled equally in every direction (which is why it is built so strangely, if it were a cube things would work out a bit differently, zero gravity architecture is quite beyond me though). Most spaceships in sci-fi (see Babylon 5) spin to keep people attached to the floor, due to something called centrifugal force, which is easily explained by taking a look at a washing machine in cycle, the clothes are flung and stick to the outside wall. (Which is why I made the remark on Moya and her internal gravity, since she doesn't spin and no mention is ever made of how her gravity works, I've got a few guesses but that's all speculation.)

Any questions?
Frell, I feel like a teacher now.
I do like rattling out these kind of stories though... :O

[ScapeJunkie]

I'm sure hey had some return planned out as I doubt having been able to do the physics calculations for the experiment, he was dumb enough to forget to plan the return flight part. I'm sure they didn't mention it because it didn't matter to the story, but I imagine it must have been a moon slingshot Apollo 13-esque deal. Given at a very high velocity.

But good question, I wonder if anyone else thought that watching the episode?

[1812lives]

It's John Chichton, of course he has a plan :P But we all know about how his plans go sometimes...

It is a very interesting question. One idea is that because he was using the Earth's gravity for his experiement and had it worked it's possible he assumed he could use a distan't plannet's gravity the exact same way to bring him back to home. It's been some time since I saw the pilot so my memeory is a bit fuzzy the point of the Farscape 1 experiment was to find a way to travel a great distance in space quickly. It's possible the assumption was that had it worked he could use other plannets to sort of leap frog around the galaxy and back. I could be way off since I don't clearly remember the exact goal of the farscape 1 mission from the pilot episode.

[TheEeshew]

It's John Chichton, of course he has a plan :P But we all know about how his plans go sometimes...

It is a very interesting question. One idea is that because he was using the Earth's gravity for his experiement and had it worked it's possible he assumed he could use a distan't plannet's gravity the exact same way to bring him back to home. It's been some time since I saw the pilot so my memeory is a bit fuzzy the point of the Farscape 1 experiment was to find a way to travel a great distance in space quickly. It's possible the assumption was that had it worked he could use other plannets to sort of leap frog around the galaxy and back. I could be way off since I don't clearly remember the exact goal of the farscape 1 mission from the pilot episode.

You got Farscape 1's mission right. :)