Just Watched Gravity (SPOILERS)

[Galacticruler]

Lots of electrical tape. Lots. They didn't have duct tape in Soviet Union, but they did have electrical tape and they weren't afraid to use it. Go to Smithsonian. Look at the Soyuz that hangs there. You'll know it's true.

is there even any metal left?

[K^2]

Well, sure. I don't think a ball of electric tape would survive a re-entry. But all of the wiring is held together with electric tape, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the structural connections are also held with tape.

If you ever have to fly a Soviet/Russian space craft, have a roll of tape and an army knife with you. Might save your life.

[demian_travis]

He instructed her to do so when they were approaching the ISS. She tells him she crashed the ship every time, he tells her she has to point and shoot.

[Tygroux]

Not totally inacurate. Extremely inneficient, but you do modify your orbit for a re-entry.

And since she doens't necessarily have a prograde marker to know wich side to burn, and is in advanced panick state "point at the big blue stuff and shoot" is actually a good, simple, easy to remember advice.

[ultimatevirus]

Don't forget the vodka!

[Kilmeister]

Saw it in IMAX 3D.... Very awsome movie visually. I enjoyed it and tried to not let the Hollywood Science get to me too badly. Except for the Letting Clooney float away scene... <RANT> He had no more momentum, they were stopped. At that point it'd be harder to push him away than to continue holding him. And even if he was slightly moving, pulling on even an unfastened rope would move you slightly towards it's origin. WTF WAS PULLING HIM. SPACE WIND??? THROWS POPCORN!!!!!! </RANT>

But I'd give it 7/10. Still a very good movie. (10/10 in IMAX 3D)

[adammada]

Yeah. it has to be IMAX 3D. I was on "normal" 3D (TrueVision?) and it was way to dark to watch comfortably. Would be better without 3D than with poor 3D projection.

[lajoswinkler]

I see many people are grinding about the Kowalski slipping. That is one of the most scientific moments in the whole movie. Their momentum was not stopped (imagine the odds, they're almost zero). It was small, but because you've got a huge distance between the point where the rope holds to the spacecraft and Kowalski's hand, the centrifugal force is considerable. The grip around Stone's leg is weak. If he tried to pull himself towards Stone, it could slip.

(question for English-speaking physicists - what are the English names of the point and the distance I mentioned?)

It's not implausible at all.

What's implausible is the continued effort of KSP users to ignore the search engine and to create as much personal threads are possible.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/28361-Gravity-%28Movie

[Kilmeister]

I see many people are grinding about the Kowalski slipping. That is one of the most scientific moments in the whole movie. Their momentum was not stopped (imagine the odds, they're almost zero). It was small, but because you've got a huge distance between the point where the rope holds to the spacecraft and Kowalski's hand, the centrifugal force is considerable. The grip around Stone's leg is weak. If he tried to pull himself towards Stone, it could slip.

(question for English-speaking physicists - what are the English names of the point and the distance I mentioned?)

It's not implausible at all.

Think about it again. If Clooney and Bullock had had that conversation BEFORE she got snagged on the rope then it would've made some sense. Remember we're talking about their relative momentum. After they had stopped and were holding hands having a conversation, what would happen when he let go? He would just sorta float there for a bit and then decide "okay hey I feel kinda foolish now". Unless Sandra decided to shove him. (Both scenarios would've added some comedy, but don't think that's the direction they wanted to go with the movie). In order for Clooney to move away, something would have had to act on him after he released her hand.

[K^2]

Think about it again. If Clooney and Bullock had had that conversation BEFORE she got snagged on the rope then it would've made some sense. Remember we're talking about their relative momentum. After they had stopped and were holding hands having a conversation, what would happen when he let go? He would just sorta float there for a bit and then decide "okay hey I feel kinda foolish now". Unless Sandra decided to shove him. (Both scenarios would've added some comedy, but don't think that's the direction they wanted to go with the movie). In order for Clooney to move away, something would have had to act on him after he released her hand.

You are thinking in 1D. In 2D, rope would only kill radial momentum. Any angular momentum they've had relative to the point where the ropes are attached would remain, so while they are no longer drifting away from the station, they are going to be drifting across, generating some tension in the ropes. It's not going to be much, but it really wouldn't take much given the situation. In contrast, once Kowalski disconnects, that very tension is going to accelerate her towards the station. Again, perfectly accurate.

[Kilmeister]

True, in reality they most likely would have spun around some and maintained some(or a lot) of angular momentum, but I recall the movie depicting a nearly straight stop. The station wasn't doing any discernible tumbling, so where's the angular momentum coming from? Like I said this is all possible if they had discussed this before they had stopped. But, they were stopped for probably 20+ seconds before she let him go.

[K^2]

You really wouldn't need much. At four revolutions per hour, just 4x faster than the minute hand on the clock, and 20m you'd already get about 100mN of pull. That corresponds to about 10 grams worth of weight on Earth. Not a whole lot, but if there is nothing to keep you properly anchored, it's enough. And the rotation could have been considerably faster without still being apparent.