Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
AFAIK, gravity on space ships still counts itself as a silly sci-fi trope: On the largest to the smallest ships, it can provide full gravity; be turned off and on; it might be used to provide additional gravity where there is little or none, but is never used to remove too much gravity from a ship; there is absolutely no attempt to explain how it works, where it is installed, or how (in tandem with inertial dampers) it manages to change orientation well-nigh instantaneously in response to directional changes, impacts or unexpected turbulence.
It's just there, it works, end of discussion.
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Yes, and thats the way it should be.
How many normal people have a clue how their computer works? The press a power button and it comes on. Same with cellphones, cars, and well EVERYTHING. Most people do not know how stuff works, and even those that do dont talk about it.
If I were to travel into the future and board a ship in a time when artificial gravity had existed for a long time, I would not expect anyone to be talking about how it works. Just as in our day I do not need an explanation on how I can speak into my cell phone and you can hear my voice anywhere in the world... it just works.
Do you know where you air comes from here on earth? Earth is essentially a really big spaceship... do you know how gravity works on Earth?
In my current scifi books I explain FTL travel because it matters to some of the story arc's but I do not bother explaining artificial gravity because how it works does not impact the story.
IMO in a realistic world, the normal tech that has been around a long time is just that... normal. People do not talk about how the generator in their car charges their batter while they drive, it just works.
Just my take...