Many of the spaceships in Star Wars, e.g. X-wings, have wings as part of their design. If there's no air resistance in space, why would wings be at all beneficial? Wouldn't it be better to have a small, compact shape to a make a star fighter easier to cram through small spaces?
121610
In space no one cares if you're aerodynamic. That said, why bother having actuating wings on craft primarily meant for space travel? Sure the X-Wing looks cool, but looking cool is hardly a sufficient justification for the expense, especially when you're running a costly and cash strapped rebellion.
99726
We often see films with spinning space station that create  by having the astronauts pulled outwards by centrifugal force.  I'd like to know if this would really happen, and if so, why is the following scenario not true:   Take an astronaut in open space. He doesn't move. Put a big open spinning cylinder around him - surely he still doesn't move. Close the cylinder. I still see no reason for him to be pulled outwards.
101
I understand the common explanation of lift, which describes the airflow over the top of the wing as moving faster than the air below the wing.  However, I don't quite understand why the air moves faster.  I've read some explanations citing a circulation effect among others, but haven't found a good, clear explanation for the exact cause.  Can someone help me out?
96039
As was seen in Star Wars A New Hope the Millennium Falcon has dorsal and ventral laser cannons. During the Battle of Endor I can not recall ever seeing these weapons used, even though they probably would have been very helpful (such as when being chased by TIE fighters through the superstructure of the Death Star 2).    Was there some legitimate reason for why these guns were not used?
37222
In Star Trek, it seems like they take forever to build ships.  It takes months, if not years to make them.  So why not just build gigantic replicators in space, then replicate the ship (excepting non-replicatable objects like the warp core)?  This would presumably come with a huge energy cost, but would save massive amounts of time.
54401
Since my early childhood I've been wondering about the answer to one question about Star Wars:   Why, when fighting with lightsabers, do they use them to parry attacks rather than turning the lightsaber off momentarily?   It seems like they would be able to use this to unbalance their opponent (who is expecting to make contact) then re-activate their lightsaber when their opponent's head is above the handle.
18686
At the beginning of the film The Martian, part of the dialogue implies that one of the crew has the job of monitoring the MAV to check it is still upright. The importance of this job is clearly shown when a storm hits.  Later we find out about another MAV which will be in place for a significant period of time before it is needed, yet no one shows any concern that it may also be at risk of toppling.  So given the importance of this escape craft, why wasn't any plan in place to tether the first craft? And were NASA just gambling on the weather that the latter MAV didn't topple before it was needed?
7037
My book says:     For most of the small objects, both are same. But for mammoth ones, they are really different ones. And in a gravity-less environment, COG is absent; COM still exists.   Ok, what's the big deal when things are small and big? How these two :  &amp; ?
112181
I am wondering if a Star Destroyer has actually destroyed a sun/star before?   If so, then why was the Death Stars made so big to destroy planets if The Empire already had ships that destroy suns?  Is not then why are they named Star Destroyers if they haven't/can't destroy Suns?
53040
Recently, there was some news that said that the researchers at NASA have come across some impossible kind of space engine which does not require any fuel. I have read at a few places like ,  and . They all say that this engine seems to violate the laws of physics including conservation of momentum.  The original paper is .  Is the statement that it violates conservation of momentum true?
32975
It was noted that the Terminators (T101) were infiltrator units, designed to infiltrate the resistance.  Given the ragged undernourished humans of the time, wouldn't making an infiltrator body into the hulking over-built Conan The Destroyer frame be something totally illogical if your goal is to blend in?   Why not use a more "normal" body? Robots already have metal frame and super-strong muscles, so size wasn't required to bump the combat capacity as with flesh and bone humans.
75248
And not just any ships: battleships, super battleships and 'civilian' big ships.   From what I've read about the Star Wars Universe, given that it's science fiction, I never did understood how they could've build massive ships nor, I believe, read any preliminary explanations/details by authors.   Also, seeing some images of the fictional shipyards, they don't look impressive enough to give the idea that they could build massive [battle] ships in short periods of time. I mean, look at Kuat Drive Yards: a big ring around a planet. How many battleships, for the Republic or Galactic Empire, they could've build and how much time, as a whole for "one round" of ships, would it take?
109199
In episodes IV: A New Hope and VI: Return of the Jedi we are shown ships landing in Death Star 1 and Death Star 2 landing bays seemingly exposed to the vacuum of space, and yet non-suited Imperial personnel are seen standing on deck (for example in about the 3rd minute of Episode VI). How does this work in-world?  If there are some kind of shields, what happens to them when the ships cross the threshold? Why don't we see de/repressurization?  What, in short, is the deal?
5570
According to some source or other (I forget which now) it is theoretically impossible for bumblebees to fly by virtue of their size/bulk/aerodynamic properties. Is this old adage apocraphyal or true? And if its true, how come they do fly?
50107
The default answer among most people to my previous  seems to be that Obi-Wan was referring to becoming a force ghost. Now whilst this seems pretty cool, you are now hindered into well Kyle Jones says it best     Force Immortality seems like a bust to me. Obi-Wan could get around the galaxy without a starship, true, but the fine print of the immortality contract restricted him to visiting only a few close friends. Seems like being alive with a good galactic cellphone plan would be an all-around better deal. And of course there were the women... – Kyle Jones    So what gives? Are you inherently more powerful as a force ghost?
38336
When Luke is undergoing training on Dagobah, he famously tries and fails to lift his X-Wing from the swamp:     LUKE: I can't.  It's too big.      YODA: Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hm? Mmmm.   Yoda then lifts it for him and the story continues.  Now, while Yoda says size matters not, I'm assuming there are limitations. In other words, I'm assuming a Jedi can't stand aboard a spaceship and lift/manipulate an entire planet. Or can they? Or how about something even smaller - could a Jedi lift/manipulate a Coruscant skyscraper?  What was the largest object every manipulated using the force in the Star Wars universe, books, movies or otherwise? I'd be interested in either largest as in size, or largest as in weight.
42781
What is the advantage for rockets to ?   Wouldn't a single stage with the same amount of fuel weigh less?  Note I would like a quantitative answer, if possible :-)