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5 Reasons 'Star Wars' Tanks Make Absolutely No Sense
Popular Mechanics ^ | October 30, 2015 | Joe Pappalardo

Posted on 10/31/2015 10:39:33 AM PDT by C19fan

There are no shortage of ways in which a person could take issue with the war machines in the Star Wars universe. But instead of the illogical design of the lightsaber or the TIE fighter, we want to focus on the armored vehicles. Even in a universe of magical space samurai and moon-sized space stations, tanks are ever-present as alpha predators of ground battle. Yet the way the filmmakers imagined them violates many tenets of common sense weapons design.

(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: star; wars
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Storm troopers would of been well served with high rate of fire weapons and weapons that produce blast effect. Luke and Leia stuck on some balcony a simple RPG shot would of finished them off.
1 posted on 10/31/2015 10:39:33 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

Yes they would and that would have been a very short movie.


2 posted on 10/31/2015 10:44:53 AM PDT by A message
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To: C19fan

Popular Mechanics sure ain’t what is used to be.


3 posted on 10/31/2015 10:49:18 AM PDT by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: C19fan

This is entertainment, folks.

Right from the beginning, space ships don’t make sounds in space. Laser cannons do not have recoil, etc., etc.

But who cares?


4 posted on 10/31/2015 10:51:29 AM PDT by Da Bilge Troll (Defeatism is not a winning strategy!)
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To: C19fan

5 posted on 10/31/2015 10:54:14 AM PDT by Snickering Hound
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To: C19fan

Silly magazine. Everyone knows that the design specs of every Imperial weapons platform call for it to have a single point, catastrophic vulnerability. Especially if said weapon is large, complex and expensive.


6 posted on 10/31/2015 10:54:44 AM PDT by rbg81 (is pr)
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To: C19fan

Wow! These guys who wrote this would be super fun to have at parties. NOT!


7 posted on 10/31/2015 10:55:44 AM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: A message

Yes, for some reason everyone long, long ago in the galaxy far, far away standardized on weaponry based on static plasma beams (lightsabres) and throwing plasma bolts (blasters), leaving more conventional weapons forgotten or undeveloped.

Back when the original movie came out my old high school wargaming and D&D buddies tried to come up with a role-playing game set in the Star Wars mythos. We decided that the Empire had a rigid military doctrine that explained some of the irrationalities. It wasn’t a satisfactory solution, but it’s what we came up with.


8 posted on 10/31/2015 10:58:07 AM PDT by The_Reader_David (And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know...)
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To: C19fan

A lot of the article assumes conditions similar to warfare of our own place and time, and our own science. Someone in a galaxy far, far away might have some different knowledge of how things work. For example, our laser technology requires a high amount of energy, and theirs obviously does not- the scientists of the Star Wars milieu may have discovered a way to project energy that does create a light effect- possibly a side effect of a compact and useful weapon. Also, in a world of projected energy weapons, the design of armored vehicles would not be the same as one where weapons are powered largely by chemical reactions that create concussive force. Flat sides could exist because there would be no need for sloped/reactive armor, for example. The article may have some good points about rolling vs. walking, though.


9 posted on 10/31/2015 10:59:44 AM PDT by GenXteacher (You have chosen dishonor to avoid war; you shall have war also.)
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To: C19fan

Light sabers are like Samurai swords. It would be extremely dishonorable to discard one for a sneaky pistol.


10 posted on 10/31/2015 11:02:34 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Da Bilge Troll

I’m pretty sure the sound is there; we just can’t hear it because sound doesn’t transmit in a vacuum.


11 posted on 10/31/2015 11:10:33 AM PDT by bubbacluck (America 180)
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To: A message
Yes they would and that would have been a very short movie.

...would of been a very short movie.

12 posted on 10/31/2015 11:10:51 AM PDT by webheart (We are all pretty much living in a fiction.)
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To: rbg81

that was one of the funniest @#$@$ing posts i’ve read in a long time!!! lol

not one, but TWO death stars with Incredible vulnerability.

I dont know what to compare it to today, because i dont know military equipment too well, but i bet someone could come up with one!


13 posted on 10/31/2015 11:11:59 AM PDT by dp0622
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To: C19fan

Star Wars is entertainment, not science.


14 posted on 10/31/2015 11:12:55 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country)
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To: dp0622

More than likely, the next 3 Star Wars movies will also have Death Stars in them.


15 posted on 10/31/2015 11:14:08 AM PDT by webheart (We are all pretty much living in a fiction.)
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To: C19fan
The term "blaster" goes back to the Buck Rogers comic strips of the 1940s (at least that's where I first encountered it). It was an attempt to dodge the issue of how the thing worked. It blasted the target, and don't ask how. I used to have a Buck Rogers raygun that shot out sparks when you pulled the trigger. Wish I still had it. The thing was cool.
16 posted on 10/31/2015 11:15:52 AM PDT by JoeFromSidney (,)
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To: C19fan
Storm troopers would of been well served with high rate of fire weapons and weapons that produce blast effect. Luke and Leia stuck on some balcony a simple RPG shot would of finished them off.

Also, what's the point of head-to-toe armor which doesn't even stop handgun blasts?

17 posted on 10/31/2015 11:15:54 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: C19fan

The people writing the screenplay wanted weapons that looked cool when filmed. I doubt anybody did any research beyond design specs.


18 posted on 10/31/2015 11:18:04 AM PDT by AU72
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To: webheart

lol. With no advanced radar to detect incoming fighters until they’re on top of it, no advance destroyers ahead of it, and that damned hole that goes straight to the generator and blows the whole thing up. :)

oh, and in Star Wars, no way of detecting if living beings are on a small captured ship, except sending a handful of men with huge scanner equipment in no security team.


19 posted on 10/31/2015 11:22:15 AM PDT by dp0622
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To: A message
A VERY short movie.
20 posted on 10/31/2015 11:22:43 AM PDT by uglybiker (nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-BATMAN!)
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