Scientific inaccuracies in Alien

Started by The Cruentus, Feb 05, 2021, 02:17:19 PM

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Scientific inaccuracies in Alien (Read 32,218 times)

The Cruentus

The Cruentus

Now as some folks may know, I do tend to be a bit nitpicky when it comes to some aspects of the franchises, namely the level realism and plausibility in them, which I found lacking in the recent entries.

One of the reasons why I prefer to see Resurrection as more of a parody than a true entry is because of more goofy parts in it, such as Ripley 8 being basically a super soldier.

Later entries like Prometheus and Covenent tended to increase the levels of the required suspense of disbelief as well, too grandiose in its display than keeping things plausible. Then the EU had telepathy and wacky hybrids.

Good or bad, Its all so far removed from how the first film started which was fairly grounded bar a few things. Which brings me to the point of this thread.

And that is that even the first film had scientific inaccuracies and other flaws.

So I would like y'all to list all the scientific errors within the first film and explain your why.

EDIT
I will put one out I am noticing now, though it could have an explanation I don't know.

Maybe this be could be due to repressurizing of the Nostromo atmosphere but there should not be any drafts or things blowing about if there is no air.

Immortan Jonesy

The spores from Covenant are based in lifeforms you find in nature. In particular Lycoperdon Perlatum, a mushroom which is only edible while the meat is white (which is when it is young), But when the fungus is old it can no longer be eaten, its flesh turns brown and when pressed it releases spores as part of its life cycle.








And our beloved monster is an exaggerated version of nature, but still far from the spectrum of fantasy, imo  :)


The Cruentus

That is not what I meant by covenant but no worries  :laugh:

Anything to add about the first film?

Immortan Jonesy

Immortan Jonesy

#3
Oh sorry  :laugh: I don't know if it is a inaccuracy, but it is undoubtedly omitted what the Alien is made of, in order to make the acid blood more believable.

Quote from: New ScientistThe Alien is also equipped, throughout its life, with very strong acid for blood. For that to work, the rest of it must be made of Teflon, as conventional organic tissue would obviously be destroyed.

Five science fiction movies that get the science right

Also how is it that Big Chap grew so much in such a short time. What did it eat? Does the creature need to eat at all? Although again, these are omissions and not so much inaccuracies. Is part of the world-building of a fictional setting with its own rules.

Now about LV-426, Ash described the moon as "deep cold... way below the line". However you have some geysers activity over there.



Initially, it seems to belong to a celestial body with a lot of geological activity, which would imply a thicker atmosphere. However, you don't need volcanic activity for similar phenomena.



Quote from: ESAThe plumes, resembling geysers on Earth, may be linked to the existence of underground reservoirs of liquid water. Cassini's data show that the ejections, localised in a confined region of the south pole, are dominated by the presence of water, with significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane.

Geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus indicate liquid water

I bet the volcanic activity in Cameron's Aliens must have been from terraforming.

[cancerblack]

I assume we're not going to bother with the FTL and magic gravity?

Local Trouble

Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.

Stitch

Stitch

#6
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 10:19:24 PM
Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.
Really, really f**king dense core.

Kradan

Kradan

#7
Quote from: [cancerblack] on Feb 05, 2021, 10:17:41 PM
I assume we're not going to bother with the FTL and magic gravity?

They stayed home 'cause their ships were too slow

THE END

Immortan Jonesy

Immortan Jonesy

#8
Quote from: Kradan on Feb 05, 2021, 11:01:56 PM
Quote from: [cancerblack] on Feb 05, 2021, 10:17:41 PM
I assume we're not going to bother with the FTL and magic gravity?

They stayed home 'cause their ships were too slow

THE END

That's the magic of *imagining drums and epic dramatic music*



It has its own rules  :laugh:




Quote from: Stitch on Feb 05, 2021, 10:37:32 PM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 10:19:24 PM
Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.
Really, really f**king dense core.

Doesn't this mean that Cameron's Aliens is more scientifically accurate than Ridley Scott's Alien?  :o

The terraforming thing, I mean  :-X

Xenomrph

Xenomrph

#9
Quote from: Stitch on Feb 05, 2021, 10:37:32 PM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 10:19:24 PM
Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.
Really, really f**king dense core.
It's not 1200km.

A "dense core" would be an understatement, it would require planet made entirely of a material that's off the periodic table. Like, several orders of magnitude beyond the densest material known to science (including black dwarfs, which the universe is not old enough to have yet) and neutron stars.
There's a reason the CMTM corrects Lambert's mis-speak. :P

Immortan Jonesy

Immortan Jonesy

#10
At least we know the Space Jockey isn't that old, I mean Dallas didn't use any instrument to date the remains. And the creature was not covered by bodies of water or sediment, therefore it is not a fossil.



Quote from: Live ScienceThe most common method of fossilization is called permineralization, or petrification. After an organism's soft tissues decay in sediment, the hard parts — particularly the bones — are left behind.

Water seeps into the remains, and minerals dissolved in the water seep into the spaces within the remains, where they form crystals. These crystallized minerals cause the remamins to harden along with the encasing sedimentary rock.

How Do Fossils Form

But! you don't need permineralization or so much time for mummification.

Quote from: New York TimesBodies left in hot, arid environments can typically mummify in about two weeks, while the process typically takes a couple of months in enclosed locations. Remains in mild environments take about three months.

How to Make a Mummy (Accidentally)

Local Trouble

Local Trouble

#11

Xenomrph

Xenomrph

#12
Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Feb 06, 2021, 01:53:59 AM
At least we know the Space Jockey isn't that old
We don't know that at all. :)

Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 06, 2021, 02:28:17 AM
Quote from: Xenomrph on Feb 06, 2021, 01:34:40 AM
Quote from: Stitch on Feb 05, 2021, 10:37:32 PM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 10:19:24 PM
Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.

Really, really f**king dense core.

It's not 1200km.

SM says it's 1,200 km.
Andrew Gaska says it's 12,000km.

Local Trouble


Xenomrph

Xenomrph

#14
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 06, 2021, 02:49:43 AM
Quote from: Xenomrph on Feb 06, 2021, 02:42:49 AM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 06, 2021, 02:28:17 AM
Quote from: Xenomrph on Feb 06, 2021, 01:34:40 AM
Quote from: Stitch on Feb 05, 2021, 10:37:32 PM
Quote from: Local Trouble on Feb 05, 2021, 10:19:24 PM
Or a 1200km planetoid having near-Earth gravity.

Really, really f**king dense core.

It's not 1200km.

SM says it's 1,200 km.

Andrew Gaska says it's 12,000km.

Where was this?
It was going to be in the RPG core book but got omitted to give players/GMs the choice to go with either Lambert's number from the deleted scene or the CMTM's number, but it seems like "officially" it's 12,000km and that's the number he gives if you ask him.

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