Explanations for the Extreme Densities of Kerbol Worlds

[Euracil]

Top Kerbonautics "experts" are clueless as to what causes the extreme densities of objects in the Kerbol system, and why other star systems are unaffected. Hypotheses conflict. Some suggest the presence of some unknown element or elements. Others point towards an excess of dark matter in the system. Some do not explain anything at all, calling for unnecessary missions that would only work as billion-dollar fireworks.

What do you suggest?

[Kerbface]

The game is scaled down. I said that to the Kerbals but they just grabbed some pitchforks and chased me out of town.

[Euracil]

The game is scaled down. I said that to the Kerbals but they just grabbed some pitchforks and chased me out of town.

When you're dealing with black magic, this is what happens.

[Brotoro]

I'm not saying it's Magratheans... But it's Magratheans.

[SunJumper]

Kerbin was originally Earth, but it was struck with a World engine, and had the mantle torn off in the process somehow, and the gravitational radiation in the process made everyone green and tiny

[stupid_chris]

BROTORO STAHP.

Nah just kidding

Although I have an, uh, really complex, but possible, theory on this.

Baaaaaaaaaaaassiiicalllyyyy, the whole Kerbol system is created by a highly technologically advanced alien species conducting an experiment. The subject of this experiment is to analyze the comportment of a biologically engineered specie that has a limited IQ, a ridiculous hunger for spatial exploration and advanced rocket technology at their disposition. The Kerbals. But, to make this experiment quicker, they decided to artificially create a reduced scale solar system so that interplanetary trips would be much quicker.

Now, how does it work? Well first you need a star. So, they just took a brown dwarf, that was way too shabby to start nuclear fusion on it's own, and heated it with lasers until it actually started the chain reaction that triggerd nuclear fusion within the brown dwarf, creating a low mass star. It's rather large diameter is explained by the fact that the newly triggered fusion tries to expulse the outer layers of the star outwards, but it's low gravitational force due to it's extremely low mass has a hard time keeping it close, creating a much larger diameter than it originally had and also that would be expected.

Now we have a star, time for some super massive planets. Instead of creating some new supermassive material, why not take what's already around free to use? Aka neutron stars? So all you need to do is haul half a dozen of those around the newly ignited star, chunk them off to have the desired mass, put them in the right orbit, build a radiation shield around them that then also happens to be the surface of the new planet or moon, and tada, you have a basic canevas for a planet. Just add some details to the surface, an atmosphere if you wish so, and you should have something pretty neat, that seems superdense, but that is basically hollow with an actually superdense neutron star core.

Just add the Kerbals to Kerbin, leave a few rocket parts lying by the side of the roads, and watch them shoot to space with the most ridiculous contraptions they can think of.

tl;dr: Magratheans.

Edited June 29, 2013 by stupid_chris

[Frogbull]

I think (not sure at all) they have to made that choice because of rounding mathematics.

Just look how Jool is buggy near the surface (cause of its hard gravity force).

[stupid_chris]

I think (not sure at all) they have to made that choice because of rounding mathematics.

Just look how Jool is buggy near the surface (cause of its hard gravity force).

They just made the choice to have a reduced scale planetary system to make the game much more playable on numerous factors (let's not start this debate here). Then, the maths from gravity give us the mass of the bodies, and then with this mass you can determine the density,and turns out they are all way too high to be true... with normality

But since we just want that damn normality back, we're trying to find the "HOW THE HELL" are those planets so dense

[Person012345]

They're all made out of pure uranium. Which is why you get kerbals.

[Kerbface]

When you're dealing with black magic, this is what happens.

I think they were just afraid because I was undermining their perception of reality.

[Euracil]

I think they were just afraid because I was undermining their perception of reality.

Well... umm... erm... Hold on while I grab my pitchfork.

[Kerbface]

Well... umm... erm... Hold on while I grab my pitchfork.

There is no pitchfork.

[Banbite]

My guess is that the Kerbal universe is set in a different universe than ours in which the gravitational constant is much higher than it is here. So their planets isn't actually that much denser than ours, it's just that they need less mass to get the same gravitational pull than us because of their higher value of G.

But then one can wonder what other effects that a higher G can have. Like stars needing less mass, gas giants starting fusions and some other mumbo jumbo.

But that's just how I see it. It's about equally science fiction that the extreme densities.

[Holo]

All of the Kerbal's rulers are off by a factor of 10 or so, hence whenever they try the measure density it is off by quite a bit.

[Nuke]

They're all made out of pure uranium. Which is why you get kerbals.

that would make the whole planet one big ball of fission reactor. the surface would probibly be completely molten.

[th3shameless]

its the blutonium. its always the blutonium. we dont talk about the blutonium

[stupid_chris]

My guess is that the Kerbal universe is set in a different universe than ours in which the gravitational constant is much higher than it is here. So their planets isn't actually that much denser than ours, it's just that they need less mass to get the same gravitational pull than us because of their higher value of G.

But then one can wonder what other effects that a higher G can have. Like stars needing less mass, gas giants starting fusions and some other mumbo jumbo.

But that's just how I see it. It's about equally science fiction that the extreme densities.

Actually if you check in game with the new info on the map view, the knowledge system gives you the mass you would expect with the current G value, so it doesn't really works :l

[Banbite]

Actually if you check in game with the new info on the map view, the knowledge system gives you the mass you would expect with the current G value, so it doesn't really works :l

Ye, that kind of ruined that theory but still, it isn't less unrealistic than the extreme mass material

[Unit One]

Obviously the Kerbol system is in a different universe with a different and much larger gravitational constant. At least that's how I cope with it, when I play and want to stop thinking about this question.

[stupid_chris]

Obviously the Kerbol system is in a different universe with a different and much larger gravitational constant. At least that's how I cope with it, when I play and want to stop thinking about this question.

Read up the last posts, that doesn't really work :l

[Unit One]

Read up the last posts, that doesn't really work :l

Uh oh... Um, um... Their version of NIST defined the kilogram using a block of ice which slowly evaporated redefining the kilogram to be much lighter than ours!

[stupid_chris]

WELL THEN, seems like my version with the damn Magratheans doing some stupid **** again doesn't work anymore

[Pipcard]

It takes place in a parallel universe where there are materials that have super-high densities, but there is no change in the gravitational force.

[Person012345]

that would make the whole planet one big ball of fission reactor. the surface would probibly be completely molten.

Stable uranium. >.>

<.<

[stupid_chris]

Kerbin has a density of 58475kg/m³ and pure uranium has a density of 19100kg/m³, making Kerbin three times more dense than pure uranium. That's the problem here, it's that all the planets are way too dense to be common materials.

Anyway, even the most stable form of uranium would end up becoming a large nuclear bomb under the heat and pressure present at the core of a planet.