Interstellar, a huge, nerdy, mind-warping movie produced in 2014, deals with a lot of complex forces and events within the cosmos: super-massive black holes, space-time relative to Earth, wormholes, and additional dimensions. How realistic was this, and what was adapted as movie-magic?
All in all, the movie was relatively accurate, with a few significant exceptions. For instance: when a person jumps into a black hole, unprotected but for a standard space suit, most scientists agree they will not survive, due to the process of spaghettification.
Somewhere between the right and wrong of Interstellar is the piece about dimensions. Time is expressed as a physical dimension near the end of the film, one that can be seen and manipulated by people under the right circumstances. Although time is often considered to be the 'fourth dimension,' there is not yet any proof that it has a physical capacity.
But let's take a look at some of the effects and events that were impressively realistic to widely-accepted theories. First of all, we have Kip Thorne to thank for the accuracy. He remained on set as the technical adviser, keeping an eye on the complex physics. So when the spaceship hosting the main characters neared a massive black hole, time moved slower for them than it did back on Earth. This is because of the immense gravity the black hole possesses, causing space-time to stretch.
Another part of the film shows a wormhole, leading from one side of the universe to the other. Perhaps a little more far-fetched than the black hole concept, but wormholes - a popular but unproven concept - could theoretically lead us from one side of the universe to another. For this to happen, negative energy is required (J. Richard Gott).
Finally, it is widely agreed that the visualization of the space phenomena represented is extremely accurate - not to mention beautiful - to the best of our ability with current technology.
In the end, we must accept that not all of Interstellar is realistic, but it certainly provided some pretty accurate and enjoyable fiction.
All in all, the movie was relatively accurate, with a few significant exceptions. For instance: when a person jumps into a black hole, unprotected but for a standard space suit, most scientists agree they will not survive, due to the process of spaghettification.
Somewhere between the right and wrong of Interstellar is the piece about dimensions. Time is expressed as a physical dimension near the end of the film, one that can be seen and manipulated by people under the right circumstances. Although time is often considered to be the 'fourth dimension,' there is not yet any proof that it has a physical capacity.
But let's take a look at some of the effects and events that were impressively realistic to widely-accepted theories. First of all, we have Kip Thorne to thank for the accuracy. He remained on set as the technical adviser, keeping an eye on the complex physics. So when the spaceship hosting the main characters neared a massive black hole, time moved slower for them than it did back on Earth. This is because of the immense gravity the black hole possesses, causing space-time to stretch.
Another part of the film shows a wormhole, leading from one side of the universe to the other. Perhaps a little more far-fetched than the black hole concept, but wormholes - a popular but unproven concept - could theoretically lead us from one side of the universe to another. For this to happen, negative energy is required (J. Richard Gott).
Finally, it is widely agreed that the visualization of the space phenomena represented is extremely accurate - not to mention beautiful - to the best of our ability with current technology.
In the end, we must accept that not all of Interstellar is realistic, but it certainly provided some pretty accurate and enjoyable fiction.
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