6 Space Myths that came from Movies

Space has been central to science fiction movies for a long, long time. A big reason for that is the deep space myths that intrigue audience. Simultaneously, modern CGI and filmmaking techniques continue to amaze us with their brilliance. Despite the success of Hollywood space movies, there’s a lot of things that the movies got wrong about space. Following is a list of some of these space myths.

Visible Laser Beams

Laser beams have been a staple part of sci-fi movies for decades. We are used to the flashy colorful bursts of energy flying around the battlefield. However, what we don’t realize is that laser beams are completely invisible. The concentrated energy beams are indeed used in modern military equipment, but nothing as flashy as in, say, Star Wars.

As a matter of fact, lasers operate outside the detection range of the human eye. That’s the reason why UV or IR lasers can cause catastrophic damage to the human eye as it cannot defend against it. Also, lasers are unidirectional and controlled so unless you are unfortunate enough to get hit by one in your eyes, you won’t see one coming. It is one of the most commonly observed space myths of all times.

Sound in Space

Do you think you could hear explosions in space? It is largely due to the space movies of the past century. It’s not true as sound simply can’t travel in space (no vibrating molecules). Actually, it is a blessing in disguise because had it not been the case, we would have heard everything that is happening in space. But to cut filmmakers some slack, a soundless movie would probably not be a good idea. While movies like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey have managed to get this one right, such films are more the exception than the rule.

Explosions in Space

We’ve seen it in countless sci-fi films: a spacecraft blows up producing a huge, thunderous boom and sending up a ring of flames. But we need to keep in mind that space is a vacuum and fire needs oxygen to burn. That doesn’t mean that there’s no fire when a spacecraft explodes. There is a bit of fire for a brief time as oxygen from the spacecraft escapes into the void. Also, the lack of medium results in a soundless explosion. Not very exciting to hear that it is nothing but a space myth, is it?

Weightlessness

Weightlessness is often misunderstood in the context of movies and that gives birth to a lot of space myths. While it is true that in space, one would be weightless in some areas, it must be kept in mind that weightlessness can only occur during a free fall movement. A bigger body needs to be present near you to experience free fall. You’re never truly weightless in space unless you’re in a perpetual fall around a celestial body (the ISS).

Light is the Fastest Thing in Existence

While it is true that light is quite fast, recent research suggests it is on the lower spectrum of speed, when compared to some other things in the universe. For example, the universe expands at a speed that is much higher than the speed of light. It baffled scientists at first but it turned out to be true. The rate of its expansion is also proportional to its distance from other things. The farther it is from us, the faster it’s moving away.

Similarly, there have been theories of particles being in existence that travel faster than light. The speed of light is considered to be the biggest barrier for humanity to cross. Many scientists believe that there are more things out there that could challenge the light barrier.

Black Holes Suck Everything

If you were to believe what movies tell you, you’d think that black holes are super powerful vacuums that suck up everything that gets too close to its perimeter. But contrary to the popular myth, black holes must obey other laws of physics. Simply put, black holes have a finite mass. This means that black holes also have a finite gravitational force. They cannot, possibly, suck in anything larger than the vortex itself. Also, black holes have very little pull effect on objects far away.