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guys and gals.. we might've seen lot of space science films in which we've seen lot of explosions and fire effects... i couldn't find a reasonable answer for the follwin question in the net.. so if u have..let's discuss

burnin process definitely need oxygen.. but i think ther's no O2 out of our atmos.. and ther's no air probably to support combustion process... then how do we get large explosions in outer space..?????
and the physics out ther is completely different compared to tat we have in earth... if u find any reasonable explanations.. let me kno soon... thanks in advance

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Well, that's something that always bugs me about many sci.fi. movies. And the sound of the explosions too, is a bit unrealistic. If they can't hear you scream in space, how come we can hear the explosions?

But as for real explosions in space; hmmmm, interesting.

There is Oxygen around in space, especially in some stars and supernova, I think. But I don't know if it's required for the kind of "burning" that goes on in space. I think the colors that we might associate with "explosions" come from the ionizatioin of various elements.

...any help??
~SA


Pyrolysis creates reduced carbon! ...Time for the next step in our evolutionary symbiosis with fire.
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You would not hear explosions in space. That is put in by dubbing. You would, howevr, be struck by flying debris, and perhaps a shock wave from the area of the explosion would rattle your cage a bit.

I think you woul have to posit the every rocket or spaceship carries both fuel and oxidizer in quantities sufficient to go boom when sudddenly mixed near a source of ignition.

Hope that helps.


If you don't care for reality, just wait a while; another will be along shortly. --A Rose

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But what would any modern film be without at least one mighty explosion?

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I think Amaranth has it. Every spaceship (or at least every missile warhead, if they are shooting missiles at each other) has to carry both oxidizer and fuel.

There's also the potential for a nuclear explosion of course, in a missile warhead.

I have vague memories back in the '80s of another Star Wars fan telling me that the "official" Star Wars explanation of the explosions was that sensors in the cockpits of fighting vessels dubbed in explosions to help pilots orient themselves in combat. Now I'm not sure if that was really "official" or just an excuse he came up with....Or maybe he was pulling my leg!

Minor related trivia--I grew up seeing the original broadcasts of the old "Star Trek" show with Shatner and Nimoy. Even in 5th grade, I picked up that the debris from their explosions fell downward, which wouldn't happen in space. I'm told that in the original Star Wars (perhaps the last where everything wasn't computer-generated) film they placed cameras directly below their fake explosions so that debris appeared to fly in all directions, as it would in zero-G.


Mike B in OKlahoma

"Never confuse with malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."

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True, space is virtually empty and there's no oxygen, but that doesn't prevent an explosion. The sun's doing it all the time, because it contains the necessary ingredients and doesn't rely on the external environment. Likewise, if you have the necessary elements in a rocket, a fiery explosion into space is possible. The movie effects are often very poor, with items appearing to burn just as they would in Earth's atmosphere - sometimes flames are even shown going 'up'! But the special effects are sometimes quite convincing, with allowance made for zero gravity, and a rapid dissipation of material and energy into the vacuum.

As Amaranth said, a shockwave from the explosion,in the form of an expanding volume of gas and other particles, could occur.


"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once" - John Wheeler

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