gts@wjh12.UUCP (G. T. Samson) (08/24/85)
I open up the 2nd volume of the Dr. Who Programme Guide, and look under
T for TARDIS. What does it say the mass of a TARDIS is? "(10 x 10) power
5"? Now just exactly what in the heck does that mean? 10x10^5, or 10^6?
Or 100^5? Or what?
Also, I've just finished reading the novelization of The Zarbi... can
you imagine how irritating it is to have the novelizer constantly making
references to "Doctor Who"? ("Doctor Who called out to Susan...")
But I guess it can be chalked up to inexperience - I don't think he
(the novelizer) ever did another set of episodes.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: G. T. Samson
Title: The Evil MicroWizard
Quote: "No matter where you go...there you are." -- B. Banzai
Other_Quote: "You speak treason!" "Fluently!" -- The Doctor
ARPA: gts@wjh12 [preferred] OR samson%h-sc4@harvard
USMail: Lowell N-43, Harvard U., Cambridge, MA 02138pjk@hou2a.UUCP (P.KEMP) (08/30/85)
It has been mentioned that the mass of the TARDIS
is 4 X 17,000 tons. Is this Metric tonnes or British
(Imperial?) tons?
But, "The Doctor Who Program Guide" Vol. 2 states the mass as:
"...having a weight of (10 X 10) power 5 kilos [under
more or less normal gravity conditions]"
I always thought that the parenthesis were misplaced,
and that the mass is 10 X 10^5 (or 10^6) kg.
4 X 17,000 tonnes = 6.8 X 10^7 kg
British ton = ? kg
Does anyone have a copy of the story (or its
novelization) that the "(10 X 10) power 5" figure
is quoted from?
--
Paul Kemp
ihnp4!hou2a!pjk
The above statements are those of the author only,
and are not those of AT&T Bell Laboratories.pjk@hou2a.UUCP (P.KEMP) (09/05/85)
"Full Circle" (part 2) was broadcast in my area last
night and in it Romana (II) tells Adric that the
weight of the TARDIS is "5 X 10^6 kilos in your
(Alzarius) gravity." This is 5 times that given
in "The Doctor Who Program Guide" Vol. 2.
Maybe Alzarius gravity is roughly 5 times that of
"normal" gravity.
[Funny, from the motions of people and objects, the
gravity appeared to be "normal" - in fact all the places
that The Doctor visits appear to have "normal" (1g)
gravity. :-)]
The writer of Full Circle (Andrew Smith) apparently
isn't up on the concept of TARDIS mass. He has the
occupants surprised at the Marsh Creatures' ability
to move the TARDIS, when it was so easily moved around
by UNIT in the Pertwee era. Maybe the TARDIS can only
be moved when it "allows" itself to be moved.
By the way, I have a hard time understanding why the
inside of the TARDIS tilts around (as in Full Circle,
Timeflight, etc.) when the outside is tilted.
The outside of the TARDIS is just a "bridge" to the
real world. Why should the rest of the TARDIS be
affected by changes in the position of its exterior?
--
Paul Kemp
ihnp4!hou2a!pjk
"Are you sure this planet is supposed to be here?"
The above statements are those of the author only,
and are not those of AT&T Bell Laboratories.percus@acf4.UUCP (Allon G. Percus) (09/07/85)
> The writer of Full Circle (Andrew Smith) apparently > isn't up on the concept of TARDIS mass. He has the > occupants surprised at the Marsh Creatures' ability > to move the TARDIS, when it was so easily moved around > by UNIT in the Pertwee era. Maybe the TARDIS can only > be moved when it "allows" itself to be moved. This isn't really a reason, but you have to consider that UNIT had all sorts of equipment for moving heavy objects. The Marshmen may not have even had a block and tackle. > The outside of the TARDIS is just a "bridge" to the > real world. Why should the rest of the TARDIS be > affected by changes in the position of its exterior? As far as I'm concerned, it shouldn't. If it is, why is it that the TARDIS lands completely level on most planets? (The answer is simple -- author's oversight. Actually, Davison did say some gobbledygook about it in Time-Flight, but I don't remember what it was.) A. G. Percus (ARPA) percus@acf4 (NYU) percus.acf4 (UUCP) ...!ihnp4!cmcl2!acf4!percus
mann@LaBrea.ARPA (09/09/85)
> > "Full Circle" (part 2) was broadcast in my area last > night and in it Romana (II) tells Adric that the > weight of the TARDIS is "5 X 10^6 kilos in your > (Alzarius) gravity." This is 5 times that given > in "The Doctor Who Program Guide" Vol. 2. > > Maybe Alzarius gravity is roughly 5 times that of > "normal" gravity. > I suppose it is hopelessly pedantic to bring this up, but kilograms are units of MASS, not weight. (Pounds, on the other hand, ARE units of weight (or equivalently, force).) Thus, if an object masses 5x10^6 kilos on Earth, it masses the same on the Moon, Alzarius, or Planet Claire. Personally, I prefer to ignore the various scientfic errors and internal inconsistencies that creep into Doctor Who and other works of science fiction, remembering that the imaginary science and technology are nothing more than a backdrop for the stories being told. --Tim
barth@tellab1.UUCP (Barth Richards) (09/10/85)
In reference to mann@LaBrea.ARPA (Tim)'s article on TARDIS mass:
X X XXXX # # #### #
XX X X X ## # # # #
X X X X X # # # # # #
no, No, NO, NO, X X X X X # # # # # #
X XX X X # ## # #
X X XXXX XX # # #### #
X
Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT (1000 grams).
A gram is equal in weight to 1 cubic centimetre (1 mililitre) of water (at
earth weight). Therefore 1 kilogram (1000 grams) is equal in weight to
1 cubic decametre (1 litre) of water (at earth weight).
This happens to be approximately equal to 2.2046 pounds.
Barth Richards
Tellabs, Inc.
Lisle, IL
"Ford, do you realize that robot can
hum like Pink Floyd."
-Arthur Dentelf@cylixd.UUCP (Leonard Bottleman) (09/12/85)
> >Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT (1000 grams). > >A gram is equal in weight to 1 cubic centimetre (1 mililitre) of water (at >earth weight). Therefore 1 kilogram (1000 grams) is equal in weight to >1 cubic decametre (1 litre) of water (at earth weight). > >This happens to be approximately equal to 2.2046 pounds. > > > Barth Richards > Tellabs, Inc. > Lisle, IL NO! NO! NO! A gram is a unit of MASS not weight!!! On earth 1 kilogram of mass weighs 2.2046 pounds, on the moon it weighs one sixth that. The metric unit of weight (force) is the newton! newton=kilogram-meter/sec/sec pound=slug-foot/sec/sec (no slug jokes from net.bizarre please) For weights on Earth the acceleration (meter/sec/sec or foot/sec/sec) is a constant (9.8 or 32) so mass is directly proportional to weight, and the two are often used interchangeably. Leonard Bottleman "At RCA Cylix, we build walls." RCA Cylix Communications Memphis, TN ihnp4!akgua!cylixd!elf
frodo@wcom.UUCP (Jim Scardelis) (09/12/85)
> > > > In reference to mann@LaBrea.ARPA (Tim)'s article on TARDIS mass: > > > X X XXXX # # #### # > XX X X X ## # # # # > X X X X X # # # # # # > no, No, NO, NO, X X X X X # # # # # # > X XX X X # ## # # > X X XXXX XX # # #### # > X > > Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT (1000 grams). > > A gram is equal in weight to 1 cubic centimetre (1 mililitre) of water (at > earth weight). Therefore 1 kilogram (1000 grams) is equal in weight to > 1 cubic decametre (1 litre) of water (at earth weight). > > This happens to be approximately equal to 2.2046 pounds. > > > Barth Richards > Tellabs, Inc. > Lisle, IL Wrong! kilograms, and grams, are measures of MASS! One gram is equal in mass to 1 cubic centimetre of water. The weight, which is the acceleration due to gravity has nothing to do with grams. One gram of water has a constant mass, but the weight will change depending upon gravity. Next time, check a physics book! -- Jim Scardelis SA, wcom Usenet: {vax135|ihnp4}!timeinc!wcom!frodo #include <favorite disclaimer>
pjk@hou2a.UUCP (P.KEMP) (09/13/85)
It is true that kilograms are units of mass and
not weight. Newtons are the units of force in
the mks system. A one kilogram mass would weigh
9.8 newtons in standard gravity (1g).
However, "kilos" (kilograms) are commonly used
as a unit of weight in most metric standard countries,
I believe. But, it does seem strange that an educated
Time Lord like Romana (II) would make a statement such as:
"[The TARDIS *weighs*] 5 X 10^6 *kilos* in your gravity."
Probably, since she was speaking to a group of children
at the time, she didn't want to confuse them with
a term like `newtons.' :-)
[I guess she could've used `stone' instead. :-) :-)]
--
Paul Kemp
ihnp4!hou2a!pjk
"Are you sure this planet is supposed to be here?"
The above statements are those of the author only,
and are not those of AT&T Bell Laboratories.jeq@laidbak.UUCP (Jonathan E. Quist) (09/13/85)
In article <574@tellab1.UUCP> barth@tellab3.UUCP (Barth Richards) writes: >In reference to mann@LaBrea.ARPA (Tim)'s article on TARDIS mass: > > > X X XXXX # # #### # > XX X X X ## # # # # > X X X X X # # # # # # >no, No, NO, NO, X X X X X # # # # # # > X XX X X # ## # # > X X XXXX XX # # #### # > X > >Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT (1000 grams). > >A gram is equal in weight to 1 cubic centimetre (1 mililitre) of water (at >earth weight). Therefore 1 kilogram (1000 grams) is equal in weight to yes, Yes, YES, Yes, yes, 'tis. The kilogram is most definitely a unit of mass. A gram is the equivalent mass of a cubic centimeter of water at standard temperature and pressure. I don't have my copy of Halliday and Resnick handy, so here's a convoluted proof: In the English system of weights and measures, torque is measured in foot-pounds. In the S.I. (Systeme Internationale) system, torque (or moment if you prefer) is measured in newton-meters. Feet and meters are units of length. Thus for the two measures of moment to be equivalent (which they are by definition), the units of newtons and pounds must be the same. The pound is a unit of weight. (Or of currency.) Therefore the newton is a unit of weight. The newton is defined as: 1 kilogram * 1 meter 1 newton = -------------------- (1 second)^2 (i.e. mass times acceleration.) Therefore the kilogram is a unit of mass. QED By the way, the English system unit of mass is the "slug". (Put that in your net.bizarre and serve it beer.) Jonathan E. Quist ihnp4!laidbak!jeq (formerly of Tellabs, but ancient history) ``I deny this is a physics tutorial.''
lum@osu-eddie.UUCP (Lum Johnson) (09/13/85)
Here's a simple "rule of toe" (sic): If you kick something and your toe hurts, this is caused by its MASS; If you drop something on your foot and your toe hurts, this is caused by its WEIGHT. Lum Johnson ..!cbosgd!osu-eddie!lum or lum@osu-eddie.uucp
mann@LaBrea.ARPA (09/14/85)
> > Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT . . . > You can shout as loud as you want, but that doesn't make you right. Please consult an introductory physics textbook before shooting off your mouth. Mass is a measure of (loosely speaking) the "quantity of matter" in an object, or its inertia. Weight is defined as the force exerted on an object by gravity. In a constant gravitational field, weight is directly proportional to mass. In the SI (metric) system, the basic unit of mass is the kilogram. Force (weight) is measured in newtons, where 1 nt = 1 kg-m/sec^2. In the English system, the basic unit of mass is the (little-used) slug. The basic unit of force (weight) is the pound. My engineer roommate tells me that the "pound of mass" (the mass of an object that weighs one pound in Earth's gravity at sea level) is more commonly used than the slug as a mass unit in the English system, just to make things more confusing. In common usage (since most of us spend all our time in a constant gravitational field), the terms "mass" and "weight" are used interchangeably, but there is definitely a difference. --Tim
barth@tellab1.UUCP (Barth Richards) (09/18/85)
In article <129@LaBrea.ARPA> mann@LaBrea.ARPA writes: >> >> Kilograms are most definately a unit of WEIGHT . . . >> > >Please consult an introductory physics textbook I must apologize, but as an English major, I don't have a physics textbook, and was making an assumption based on what I thought I knew. So: ######## # # ######## # # ######## ######## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ####### # # # # ####### ####### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ######## # # ######## ######## ######## ######## # # ######## ## ## ## # ## # # # # # ## # # # # # ## # # # ####### ## # # # ## # # # # # # ## # # ######## ## Barth Richards Tellabs, Inc. Lisle, IL "Ford, do you realize that robot can hum like Pink Floyd?" -Arthur Dent