NovaSilisko on KSP's Laws of Physics.

[Whirligig Girl]

Chatting about KSP and SoTS with NovaSilisko, former Dev of KSP, on the SoTS IRC.

[20:04] <GregroxMun> Do you think Kerbolar System is in an alternate universe or are the planets just in our universe but really dense.

[20:05] <NovaSilisko> alternate for certain

[20:06] <NovaSilisko> with the fundamental forces slightly different

[20:06] <NovaSilisko> meaning gravity is much stronger

[astropapi1]

I don't think this deserved a completely new thread...

[Whirligig Girl]

what other thread would I put it in?

[astropapi1]

what other thread would I put it in?

Just saying it isn't very... important. Like, what are we supposed to say?

I'm really excited about SoTS. Did you see

?

[bsalis]

There has been discussion about this before. Personally i'm with NovaSilisko on this one. Since it's a more elegant way of thinking about the Kerbol system/universe. It also solves the obvious questions that arise, such as how do Kerbals get such light material to build rockets from a massively dense planet.

And yeah, yeah - I know it's just a game and does not matter. However for internal consistency it would be good to have this settled for v1.0 in a proper way.

[Brotoro]

This view contradicts the planetary data that are presented in the game (masses, diameters, etc).

Also, there is no problem getting light materials from a really dense planet if it is only a volume in the core that is very dense (result in the high overall density for the planet). The outer parts of the planet can be normal matter.

[KSK]

It solves some questions at the expense of many more. For example, would it be possible for stars to form under the increased gravity? If it is, would you get yellow sun-like stars as shown in the game?

Any sort of internal consistency in KSP is always going to be a bit of a fudge for me, or rather, there's always going to be a mental disconnect between its semi-realistic orbital mechanics and whatever sci-fi explanation one needs to invoke to make those mechanics work. To be honest I'm happier just accepting the game at face value.

[KerbMav]

The reason it is so difficult for our scientists to find dark matter is that most of it forms the cores of the Kerbol system's bodies.

[eurybaric]

The reason it is so difficult for our scientists to find dark matter is that most of it forms the cores of the Kerbol system's bodies.

And Kerbals are dangerously stupid.... Or stupidly dangerous, your pick

Cheers!

[HeadHunter67]

Also, there is no problem getting light materials from a really dense planet if it is only a volume in the core that is very dense (result in the high overall density for the planet). The outer parts of the planet can be normal matter.

The problem is, the entire planet would already have to be made out of the densest material known to man to have the numbers it does.

If the crust is "normal matter", then Kerbin's core would have to be made out of something that makes osmium and iridium look... fluffy.

[NecroBones]

Nah, the planets all formed around small Neutron Stars as their cores, with less-dense material floating on top. Problem solved.

[Brotoro]

The problem is, the entire planet would already have to be made out of the densest material known to man to have the numbers it does.

If the crust is "normal matter", then Kerbin's core would have to be made out of something that makes osmium and iridium look... fluffy.

Normal matter could not give you the observed densities of most of the Kerbol-system bodies, even using the densest known materials (although Jool is doable, being about the same size and mass as Venus). So, yes, we need some sort of super-dense exotic matter or arrangements of small black holes and force fields inside most of the objects in order to match observations.

[Dunbaratu]

There's entirely too many things about KSP that *do* match real laws of physics for me to be happy with the claim that the differences are due to it being different laws of physics. Some units are arbitrary and could be anything, but some aren't, as the game actually does TELL you what the units are, and from those units you can lock down some of the other units. For example the distances in space *are* one meter per unit given what the editor is claiming about part sizes, and given what you can find out via making Mods using that coordinate system, which then locks much of the game's behaviors to being the same as real world physics. The masses given for parts really *are* metric tons, and the numbers given for thrust really *are* kilonewtons. Using those units, so much of the game's behaviors end up being right for real world physics that it starts to become a lot simpler, in the Occam's Razor sense of "simpler", to say that it's an imperfect simulator of real world physics than to say its a correct simulator of some fantasy alternate set of physics.

It's a lot less of a stretch to say "one of the ways it's an imperfect simulator is that Kerbin is made of some unobtanium material denser than is really possible" than to say "It's an entirely different set of physics despite the fact that all these other things still work like real world physics."

Edited May 19, 2014 by Steven Mading

[Whirligig Girl]

This view contradicts the planetary data that are presented in the game (masses, diameters, etc).

Also, there is no problem getting light materials from a really dense planet if it is only a volume in the core that is very dense (result in the high overall density for the planet). The outer parts of the planet can be normal matter.

That Data was added after Nova left.

[AmpsterMan]

I know this is just for good fun and all, but I've never been that interested in relating KSP to the real world. It was a universe created by a counsel of imperfect gods that had no experience creating things beforehand. They still live in the era of creation. Planets, moons, and entire physical concepts just seem to sprout out randomly. Most Kerbals are anxiously awaiting the end of the creative days.

[Pwnstarr]

It's made of Kerbium.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Pwnstarr

[rhoark]

I chalk it up to "dramatic compression", ie the reason TV shows and movies don't show people sleeping, driving cars, etc. in 1:1 real time when nothing interesting is happening.

[zarakon]

Nah, the planets all formed around small Neutron Stars as their cores, with less-dense material floating on top. Problem solved.

New problem: How did those "small" neutron stars get there, and how do they continue to not explode, when the minimum mass for a neutron star is around 1.4 suns?

[NecroBones]

New problem: How did those "small" neutron stars get there, and how do they continue to not explode, when the minimum mass for a neutron star is around 1.4 suns?

Doh! Now you had to get all sciencey...

[Whovian]

My personal headcanon is that the units in KSP are different from human measurements; that is, what kerbals refer to as a meter isn't what humans refer to as a meter and so on. Thus the gravitational constant might have the same number in front of the units, but the units themselves have different values, leaving Nova's views to possibly work.

I dunno. That's just me.

[Iforgotthis]

I don't really care; it's a game. Why does it have to be entirely unrelated to the real world or exactly the same? It's much more interesting to throw in some variety, mix things up, make people uncomfortable for a bit.

I am interested in things such as chemical composition of atmospheres, ocean, and soil. I suppose that could cause problems, but then it wouldn't be impossible to just create a few fictional elements that fit the bill.