How Proton Torpedoes Destroyed the Death Star

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Star Wars' battle above Yavin 4 gave us the iconic defeat of the first Death Star, but how did the rebellion actually do it? Kyle stays on target on this week's Because Science!
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Because Science every Thursday.
Artist: Andrew Bowser
Learn more:
• PROTON TORPEDO: bit.ly/2FBmCzG
• BRAGG PEAK: bit.ly/2w6xWUR
• PROTON THERAPY: bit.ly/2I8UYiM
• DEATH STAR OF MEDICINE: bit.ly/2HQ2pbn
• THE MILITARY’S “PROTON TORPEDOES”: lat.ms/2jokouT
• DIRECTED ENERGY MISSILE DEFENSE IN SPACE: bit.ly/2relYUq
• RADIATION EFFECT ON SOLIDS: bit.ly/2jp7xZa

[@becausescience]

Thanks for watching! Love when the prop work works out. Get your nerdy questions in below for a chance to be featured in the next vlog, and *tune into the livestream at 3pm PST tomorrow for an interview with Kari Byron about her new book* She's a wonderful lady and one of the reasons I got into science entertainment, so don't miss it. -- KH

[@pyeitme508]

Because Science can u make is Star Wars Plastroid armor bullet resident and which kinds of bullets can piece through them? And find out what is star wars Mandalorian Iron or Baskar made of and can Tungsten/Depeleted Uranium bullets like a 5.56 NATO M995 tungsten bullet penetrate through Baskar? Please!

[@megabyte22334488]

Because Science what would happen if a unstoppable Force hit a unmovable object?

[@GrizzneyGames]

Because Science I'll be at work. Sigh.

[@GrizzneyGames]

megabyte22 he's answered that with them somehow phasing through eachother.

[@GrizzneyGames]

I also asked a nerdy question before you pinned this regarding the hulk...if it didn't already get buried in comments. Lol

[@Halosty45]

"Womp rats aren't much bigger than 2 meters." Remember this next time you worry about earth-sized rats.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

I use to bullseye them back home in my t-16 ~ Luke and yet all the rest of them missed, I wonder why...

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@@puteqx5155 luke skywalker said that during the briefing to destroy the deathstar.

[@warpdriveby]

Hahaha! My nieces are into Star Wars. At Christmas we watched a new hope and one asked "how big is that (2m)". My Sister pointed at me, "your uncle is 6'6" that's basically 2m" their eyes got wide and the older one said "no wonder luke shot rats so big that's scary"

[@Femaiden]

i always figured that the reason they made that 90 degrees turn like that is because luke was using the force on them to guide them in where they needed to go. his talent was still raw and unpolished, he himself might not have realized what he was doing or how he did it. he just acted by feel.

[@DarthEquus]

The novelization describes Luke hitting the target pretty much like that.

[@Snazzydragon]

Aw man. You mentioned my specialty (Wrote my Medical Physics masters dissertation on Hadron therapies) and i have nothing substantive to add. Next time get something wrong on the topic :P

[@becausescience]

Fantastic! Thank you for your work and the support! -- KH

[@Snazzydragon]

Could you do an episode on my favorite science fantasy magic device : inertial dampeners? Magnetic levitation of small animals has been performed (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZ2tpImnmJWsra8) , and since the process is reliant on the diamagnetic properties of water, bone and fat (all of which have magnetic susceptibility within the same order of magnitude), and the bits of a human damaged by a rapid changes in velocity are the squishy watery bits, could you not stop your brain sloshing against the inside of your skull by uniformly decelerating your whole brain at once, with the braking mechanism literally pushing against all of you simultaneously like a molecular seat belt?

[@torgrimmyt3549]

Tumor therapy is a great example for modern interdisciplinary research. I worked at the GSI (Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research*) a few years ago as a guest scientist and while my research wasn't in the medical field I had the opportunity to see some of the projects on heavy ion beam therapy. Fascinating topic and great new therapeutic options. And I agree - the video summed up the basics quite nicely; well done. :) *www.gsi.de/en/researchaccelerators/research_an_overview.htm

[@michaeldiebold8847]

I ate alot of paint chips when I was young

[@DeadUnicornClub]

Why the targeting computer failed where the Force succeeded: If the torpedoes that hit traveled in an arc (not 90 degrees, but seemed that way from a certain point of view), this means the torpedoes trajectory was influenced by the immense size of the Death Star, I.E. gravity. Those targeting computers are probably calibrated for deep space, or calibrated for space + gravity of the gas giant they are in orbit of, but not for the gravity of the Death Star. Probably because all the tech and droids classified the Death Star not as a 'planetoid' but as a 'ship' and the targeting computer is using the rules for 'ship' rather than 'planetoid'. Basically if Luke used the targeting computer he would have missed because of a mis-calibration due to an object recognition problem. (In my head canon anyway).

[@ABaumstumpf]

Would have to be a really shitty targeting-system if it didn't have any regulatory systems to compensate outside influences. but as the tech in starwars is in general rather low-tech (most of it is) - yeah, might be the case.

[@UltraSilver2]

TrulyEvilBob, Gravity takes effect at the speed of causality or c, and so it would still have a parabolic arc to it. The mostly hollow moon sized spacestation would have weaker gravity than say Earth so the arc would be softer than that of a level torpedo shot off a building ignoring complicated stacked artificial gravity of the interior.

[@fighteer1]

I always thought that the exhaust port had a magnetic shield, like they say in the mission briefing, and that shield deflects the torpedoes downward into the shaft.

[@Tsurf]

Reminder that there are Force Traditions that can manipulate blaster shots and other projectiles, so in that case Luke was more than likely cheating and using the Force to bend the Torps to where they needed to go.

[@Beegrene]

The Death Star's not that big and mostly hollow. I don't think its surface gravity counts for much.

[@FlagCutie]

Since protons are positively charged, does this mean that the Rebels defeated the Empire by killing them with kindness?

[@ToabyToastbrot]

Positiv energy man!

[@ravoniesravenshir3926]

I think it means they introduce Cancer into, what I assume is, a Kyber Crystal Core, forcing the crystals to expand faster than it can sustain itself. And Shatter.

[@FlagCutie]

ToabyToastbrot yes, you're right!

[@davidmayberry3190]

No.....they killed them in a most horrific fashion.

[@OmegaMegalodon]

it's a tough love kind of thing. They are the good guys remember? lol

[@AronBagel]

We know a couple of things about the Death Star. First and foremost, it's massive. The size of a small moon even. Furtheremore, it contains one of the most powerful weapons in the history of space fantasy, capable of destroying entire planets, meaning that it must require incredible amounts of energy to power both the station and its primary weapon. Of course there's tractor beams and life support systems, but I doubt those would stack up as much against the first two. Now, based on recent canon, we know that it was powered by a Hypermatter Reactor. As this is Star Wars, and terms get created without really knowing what it means, we'll just have to go by Wookkieepedia's description: "A hypermatter reactor, or hypermatter power plant, was a type of starship and battle station reactor that generated power by destroying hypermatter." Hypermatter, again according to Wookkieepedia: "The main materials of hypermatter could be formed when solar radiation came into contact with the core of a planet" Now, I'm not a scientist by any means, so this is where I invite the Super Nerds to join in and explain what happens next, but considering the fact that Iron is mostly used as anti-radiation shielding, and this compound called Hypermatter is formed after exposure to such levels of solar radiation that it actually surpassed Iron's protective capabilities, I'm assuming that it must have become an incredible source of energy if its destruction supersedes the energy production of nuclear fusion and fission, then I think this is how the Death Star truly was destroyed: The proton torpedos fired by Luke Skywalker were used for their incredible precision, and got to their target through the Force's guidance. Their target was NOT the reactor itself, but a reactor module. As described by the Death Star's chief engineer on the superlaser, it would "set off a chain reaction that would cause the station's destruction". The chain reaction would then have caused the hypermatter reactor to become unstable, leading to its collapse and the rapid release of gigantic levels of energy and radiation which is why we see such a massive thing like the Death Star explode so violently. (Sidenote, considering that Death Star II functioned on a similar reactor, its explosion would probably have created ionizing radiation, which would explain the blue glow we see coming from Death Star II before it explodes at the end of ROTJ)

[@mikejulien2330]

Also, think back to the expanse tie in episode, as the torpedo was shot at a thermal exhaust port and probably destroyed the module that would be dissipating the heat for such a massive reactor... at lest the movies make it seem like they didn’t have time to be boiled alive before it blew.... :S

[@kerr354]

Those are interesting requirements, and also an interesting source of the material. I think I know the perfect candidate: Magnetic monopoles, specifically the ones predicted by GUT-theory. Massive magnetic monopoles (not massless ones) could combine into the equivalent of atoms, and its strength and density are dozens of magnitudes higher than of normal matter. Magnetic monopoles can also trigger proton decay in both protons and neutrons as long they are not protected by their electron cloud (ionized), this reaction creates a gamma-ray and a few pions. Which decay shortly after into gamma-rays and muons and then into electron and positrons and even more gamma-rays. Ultimately magnetic monopoles will convert an entire proton/neutron into light (gamma-rays.) giving it the power of achieving energies equal that of antimatter. The hypermatter reactor in the death star might be a sphere of degenerate matter (ultra dense matter existing in white dwarfs and neutron stars.) which is bombarded by beams of magnetic monopoles. And you can recycle the magnetic monopoles as they are not used up in the reaction. Assuming the death star has such a degenerate matter core we can actually achieve enough mass to have earth gravity at the surface, which for the first death star equates to 10^21kg, assuming most of this is degenerate matter or rather fuel for the hypermatter reactor you could blow up over 350,000 Earth-sized planets. How would they be created? It would require either a massive particle accelerator, accelerating electrons and positrons up to hundreds of GeV, or simply a large target that absorbs cosmic radiation. Earth is hit by them constantly, although they tend to create microscopic amounts of magnetic monopoles (according to the theory), after millions and billions of years the core of the planet should have a few to hundreds of tons of magnetic monopoles in it.

[@natesmodelsdoodles5403]

you've all forgotten that the death star blew when it was getting ready to fire. in other words, all capacitors fully charged, all reactors running at full power. your statements suggest that Luke essentially destroyed the cooling system, so the reactor would've essentially gone straight to melt-down, and blown it's containment. like Chernobyl did. except more violently, because it was much bigger, and running at full power. death star 2 was not at full, and actually was probably a bit drained from multiple consecutive firings. so it melted down, but less violently because it wasn't producing that much power when it lost containment.

[@AstronAndry]

Id say the proton torpedoes are more like HEAT rounds on tank rather than particle accelerators. The protons are forced out at extreme speeds, yes, but the casing, as you said, would be destroyed on impact, and it is launched in a missile like some HEAT rounds.

[@corwin32]

"Use The Force, Luke" "....Nah, I think I'm probably gonna use this super-expensive and accurate targeting system"

[@TheFunniBaconMan]

To be fair, everyone else assumedly used their targeting computers and they all missed.

[@MetaFanWing]

Didn’t we see someone use that exact targeting computer and miss?

[@ashleyferguson3115]

Hey Kyle! No questions on this week’s video but is that logo at the end gonna be permanent because it’s kick ass! Keep it up! Thanks.

[@becausescience]

NEW LOGO! Pretty bad ass right? -- KH

[@ashleyferguson3115]

Because Science Absolutely! I’ll keep my eyes peeled for any new merch with it. Just got my Because Science mug today, so it could use a friend. Groot and Wonder Woman are protecting it for now. 😎

[@cherrydragon3120]

Because Science nice

[@PhoenixNL72-DEGA-]

"The Proton Menace" That cracked me up XD

[@jaeric]

When I first got the notification for this video I misread it as protein torpedoes.

[@bawdydog176]

That escalated quickly...! Thanks for the laugh.

[@akbroste309]

I like that this nicely supports the idea of Galen Erso creating a very specific flaw in the Death Star's design that could be missed by other engineer's and inspectors. If the very nature of the proton torpedo's specific action is the ultimate "trigger" to a flaw buried within a critical component, suddenly the joke about "why would you create an exhaust port like that if it could blow up the whole thing with one shot?" is more of a head scratcher than a joke. Head canon approved! Nicely done as usual Kyle!

[@VoidplayLP]

AK Broste also having 1 exhaust Port of 2m squared for the entire Energy output of the death star is probably impressive by itself (cant be Sure...maybe the reactor Just Puts out next to No exhaust because lets be honest why would any reactor do that? But this one does and its probably a lot). And it is located within a heavily fortified Trench on a heavily fortified station with shields that prevent Hits from large ships entirely. Its Not the engineers fault that the emperor hates Point defense and Flak.

[@Godzillawolf1]

According to fiction the target of the Proton Torpedo was the Hypermatter reactor. So is it possible what caused the destruction of the Death Star was essentially a reactor meltdown caused by frying its safety systems or a breach caused by destabilizing the reactor itself? Especially given many descriptions of Hypermatter seem to give it similar qualities to Anti-Matter, with its reactions being called 'annihilation', even if they are not the same thing. In addition, given the sheer power the Death Star needs to power its super laser, it's possible that not only did the reactor go, but so did the fuel tanks.

[@epic_oberon2600]

All of the all most likely.

[@Spiderlanky]

I am so impressed by that last monologue you gave. There are a lot of tongue twisters in that and you didn't slip-up once

[@SadSmash547]

When Lucas says "Laser Sword" I think what he means is "The Kyber crystal contained within the metal housing, when shot with a large amount of photons, creates an Alcubierre field in a cylindrical shape protruding from the 'business end' of the shaft which keeps the photons and the heat contained within said Alcubierre field, which creates the effect of a Laser Sword." Or something.

[@chaosbytes]

Astonishingly abundant alliteration Kyle, well done.

[@richadams4564]

The space videos are my favorite of all the great stuff you do. Please continue kicking all of the ass (not with protons though, that's dangerous)!!

[@kipmoody9647]

I always learn something from your shows, today's lesson however was a surprise. I was cleaning out my computer case before your show. Instead of finishing the job, I took a break...When you started singing about prototorps, my own little nuclear missle of spewed tea shot forth with the accuracy of a force controled projectile. I saw it launch and seemingly move in slow motion as it arced toward my own wide open exhaust port (the open side of my computer case) and land squarely on the grahpics card. It didn't explode with the cinimatic granduer of the Death Star, more of a hiss, fizzle and pop, yet still just as destructive. So with this I learned two valuable lessons. 1. Stop procrastinating. 2. A good laugh combined with tea, can bulls-eye a womp rat just as effectively as Luke in his T-16, and I submit it as a potential new weapon for future Death Stars.

[@MrQuickben]

For the question about the 90 degree turn, since the trench run was trying to get to a specific point to launch the torpedoes, and that rebels had the deathstar plans, I would suggest that the proton torpedoes has secondary thrusters that were programmed to activate after a specific time lapse to be able to complete the maneuver into the shaft. This would explain why the targeting computer was needed, the vulnerable straight on flying pattern It would also explain why the force could allow Luke to be more precise. Not having any lag time from the computer needing to react to a firing prompt, with the force you would just know the perfect moment to launch the attack.

[@maxwalks2038]

Could you do a video on Misaka Mikoto’s railgun from the anime “A Certain Scientific Railgun”? I know it’s a bit obscure but it’s my favorite anime ever and it inspired me to write science fiction (along with it’s companion; A Certain Magical Index) and I’d love to see a scientific breakdown of her signature move

[@radix4801]

I never made the connection before, but womp rats are basically the R.O.U.S. from Princess Bride?!?

[@becausescience]

I don't think they exist... -- KH

[@darylewalker6862]

I thought about ROUS-es after that line too. But it seems that a womp rat would be triple the size of a ROUS.

[@BlankPicketSign]

this was the BEST VIDEO on this channel so far! LOVE IT! Can't wait for more!

[@wyattrose5511]

So... Kyle. I was watching the video with captions and it started to go all out with a guy named Dutch, a bank robbery in ‘78 or thereabouts, and loving yourself a fire. I stayed with you and it was an interesting ride.

[@VellanShadow]

What would happen to the human body if you got actually bloodbent (From Avatar: The Last Airbender)

[@ToabyToastbrot]

I guess you'd pass out, because you'd probably not have a normal blood-flow

[@justinthompson6364]

Also it might rupture your blood vessels and cause internal bleeding.

[@eoinkenny3188]

At the very least you'd probably suffer from a blackout due to no blood being sent to your brain, your heart would probably stop (possibly explode) and you'd likely develop severe internal hemorrhaging and maybe an air embolism. At worst, pretty much all of your soft tissues would be shredded and you'd look like a pile of bloody custard oozing out from a perforated skin sack loosely attached to a skeleton.

[@vulpinedeity3379]

Eoin, true, unless it's bending the blood in a way that controls the body without disrupting normal bloodflow. Perhaps by manipulating specifically the blood in the muscles? Or altering the shape of the circuit without adjusting the flow of blood through that system. This would also involve moving the blood, just without holding it still. I know what I mean, it's very clear in my mind; very visual, it's just proving difficult to properly articulate. I guess like how twisting a hose about (as long as it's not too severe) doesn't arrest the flow of water through it.

[@eoinkenny3188]

Vulpine Deity I get what mean. You're kinda nudging the blood tangential or perpendicular to its flow. But the problem I'd have with that is the person being bended(bent?) would still have control over their musculature and would resist the puppeteer. And people can generate quite a bit of force. I can't see it ending well.

[@tylersmith5124]

So with this, how possible would it be to fire individual protons as targeted weapons out of a “gun” that is effectively a mini particle accelerator? Obviously it would require incredible computing power to do any kind of precision shot especially in real time at a moving target but that’s why you use a targeting computer

[@epic_oberon2600]

In the film, they were specifically targeting the reactor. My theory is that the rebel engineers' plan was to simultaneously take down all of the safety systems, overload the coolant, and trigger a full-scale meltdown of the fuel. Even one of these things would cripple the Death Star for a massive period of time. On a somewhat unrelated note, the seemingly unreasonable proximity of space Combat in Star Wars may have an actual explanation. Throughout the entire series you see spearhead or hammerhead shaped ships (The exception being the Separatists but they used modified merchant vessels). Most likely this is because of old reused designs from historical conflicts. The shape of the ships is ideal for ramming and boarding tactics. Here on earth for much of naval history (up until the early colonial period if memory serves) was dominated by ships with the same intent.During the Bronze and early iron age, warships were so highly expensive that the best way to bolster your navy was to steal your enemy's. Likely we see the same in the Star Wars universe,where it is heavily implied that the Clone Wars was the first actual space war in over a thousand years. This would mean that the galaxy was scrambling to come up with "naval" forces and tactics on both sides. Imagine if the last major naval conflict prior to WWI was in Roman times. Sure, blockades and piracy would still exist, but the overarching ship design and war tactics would likely be based on triremes because that would be the only records of how to ship combat. furthermore if the more innovative thinkers are completely outmatched by high ranking double agents (looking at you Sideous), we would still likely have very trireme looking designs to this day. Thoughts oh mighty interneters?

[@NickCombs]

I always wondered about that 90 degree turn. Maybe there’s some strong magnetism along the vent to attract the proton ions.

[@Wingdnadlla]

Can you talk about how slip space works from halo is it like a worm hole

[@ravoniesravenshir3926]

Wouldn't you also have to talk about Quantum Slipstream from Star Trek as well under that Idea?

[@rmsgrey]

Or Slipstream from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda?

[@karlsingh9076]

Happy May the 4th day tomorrow

[@UltraSilver2]

I've always thought that exhaust port on the death star was heavily negatively charged perhaps as to contain or propel more negatively charged particles. But I never could figure out how a 1-man fighter could contain the proton torpedos without it interfering with all the crafts onboard electronics, astromech included.

[@altkiller3579]

When he said wedge put that down I jumped because he point exactly where I was unplugging my phone

[@beriorgar]

i'd love to post some corrections or mistakes here, but i can't find any today. nice going

[@moviemaker2011z]

beriorgar what about that the torpedoes were turned by the force which would explain their drastic turn before entering the deathstar?

[@filiplou74]

beriorgar .

[@Albert_Wesker_1969]

Nice episode Kyle.

[@becausescience]

Thanks Albert -- KH

[@solanumtinkr8280]

"The shaft is ray-shielded, so you'll have to use proton torpedo." Laser sword, a blade of entangled photons? It would even have mass! Light is weird when entangled, who knew.

[@kyleegardner2853]

Hey Kyle Iv'e been watching your videos lately and just subscribes to your channel! I would love to know what days you post videos just to make sure I stay updated because you videos are really awesome!

[@aliozanerbektas]

Also, did you know that the same ionizing radiation causes sun burn. :) (Not an actual burn)

[@danielselzer7830]

Ozan Erbektaş sun burn is caused by ultra violet radiation, which is ionizing radiation, but not the same as a proton beam. And it is classified as a real burn. (First degree burn)

[@shingshongshamalama]

Exposure to heat is a burn. Heat is just infra-red radiation. Ultraviolet is also radiation. Hence, burn. You can get burned by microwaves or visible light or even gamma rays. Though most of those are unlikely and/or difficult to achieve due to the properties of the different wavelengths of photons but whatever.

[@enricobianchi4499]

Of course he knows that literally everyone knows that

[@aliozanerbektas]

How cool is that, everyone tries to show off. ❤️❤️❤️

[@davidmayberry3190]

Ozan Erbektaş kinda like you did?

[@sonsgaminghd8513]

What would happen if someone was to take a lightsaber and turn it blade down and dropped it on a planet, death star, or starship. Hishe did a scene like this for the new hope video where ben kenobi dropped his lightsber instead of fighting. What would be the damage of this?

[@nicholasnewville416]

SonsGamingHD I would assume that the hilt would stop the lightsaber.

[@VoidplayLP]

SonsGamingHD probably Not much. Lightsabers Take some time to Cut through Metal (as Seen everytime someone tries opening a door with one of them) and i assume its the same for dense rock. So it would probably sink into the planet slowly and Not do anything until it runs out of energy(If that even Happens). For the death star on the other hands the results could be quite destructive.

[@supremeleadersmeagol6345]

From what we’ve seen, it seems like lightsabers have an auto-function to automaticallyturn off whenever they impact on a surface.

[@buddymmog6379]

I have an idea, that maybe others didn't post yet. (Though the movie is 40 yrs. old, and i'm sure this has come up already) On the first trench run, proton torpedoes were launched at the vent. They barely scratched the surface. Maybe they did not enter the vent shaft, because it was an impossible shot. And that's why Obi-Wan told Luke to turn off the computer. Obi-Wan, who was "more powerful than you can possibly imagine", helped Luke to use The Force to re-direct those torpedoes straight into the vent shaft. Thank you for another great Because Science, Kyle!

[@ArgonautCaptain]

Best intro yet dude. Love it

[@NotHPotter]

Sounds more like a shaped charge than a torpedo.

[@linhorne2962]

During the World Wars, one of the methods of making anti-tank rounds or heavy armor penetration rounds was essentially to fire a shaped charge at the target. The round would contain what amounts more or less to be a shaped charge that detonates on impact with the tank. This principle led to the adoption of spaced armor, where you'd have a relatively thin sheet of armor at a distance from your hull so that the shaped charge would detonate and deposit its energy prematurely. In a more modern setting, the RPG-7 works in a somewhat similar way, by using a shaped charge to force a copper cone inside out, with the friction of this transition forcing it into a molten state along the way. The immense force of the shaped charge propels the very hot metal at supersonic speeds and allows it to penetrate moderate armor, though it can also be defeated with spaced armor.

[@lgmmrm]

Sounds more like a shaped charge *on the end* of a torpedo.

[@awesomesander]

love your vids man always very information and dumb people friendly

[@krumphau]

This makes even more sense considering that the whole line is "only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction," given the way the particle-scattering works. As the Death Star is designed to weather heavy fire("most of the defenses are based around a direct, large-scale assault") it probably had multiple separate internally armored segments to contain damage. The plans showed the Rebellion the one continuous path from the reactor to the surface, which couldn't be subdivided into isolated pieces for safety. That way the cascading effect of the warhead could disrupt or destroy crucial bits all the way down.

[@Th3_R3al_Squidward08]

QUIET IN THE BACK WEDGE!! I laughed harder than I should have. Well done sir.

[@akromakroma]

7:50 I will not make a dirty joke I will not make a dirty joke I will not make a dirty joke I will not...

[@becausescience]

SEARCH YOUR FEELINGS -- KH

[@akromakroma]

Science Senpai noticed me? I can die happy now!

[@oscara.668]

akromakroma great, now I won't be able to unsee that...

[@cyndernight2422]

i thought you would say "do it" (old sith voice) @@becausescience

[@WarlandWriter]

When multiple channels upload a video at the same time and you're torn between which video you should watch first to get your comment seen...

[@ToabyToastbrot]

And then you write a comment on the struggle instead of something to the actual video :D

[@WarlandWriter]

Yeah not sure what I was thinking, but then again, don't we all just blurt out random BS sometimes? (That's an unfortunate abbreviation)

[@brianhawkins8397]

Actual captions! Makes my Bs viewing experience so much better as I watch it silently in my work’s crowded lunchroom

[@Shaggy_Rogers0001]

I think a lot of Star Wars fans don't realize this, but proton torpedoes are actually much smaller than you think! They're only about 6 inches in diameter, and 7 inches long, however the size does vary depending on if it's fired from a capital ship, or a starfighter.

[@widgren87]

sounds like a sfi-fi HEAT type weapon only with protons instead of a molten stream of copper, that is unless my tired averagely educated mind missed something... happens a lot in your videos but they are fun non the less :-)

[@aliozanerbektas]

Proton torpedos? You mean hydrogen torpedos?

[@cjwrench07]

Ozan Erbektaş not unless they have an electron attached. It can be just proton alone.

[@aliozanerbektas]

Doctor Cthulhu I love you!

[@FnRenner]

TORPEDO

[@aliozanerbektas]

Karl Renner happy know? 🤗

[@ScottBrown124]

NOW

[@kirkbolas4985]

“...rip the warhead completely apart unless it was made of something really cool...” Indeed it is Kyle. It’s an exotic material known as Unobtanium. 😉

[@matttimbrell9069]

It has finally happened, I've used a because science video in a science lesson thank you for that. And enjoying the love for wedge

[@becausescience]

Well tell your students or whoever I said hello! -- KH

[@karlsingh9076]

Morning everyone.

[@lauraunderwood265]

Good Morning!

[@juliuspavilovskis4862]

Good evening (no, real talk right now in my country is 6 pm)

[@karlsingh9076]

Doritos XXXSWAGXXX Good evening to you

[@justinthompson6364]

Goooood morning.

[@becausescience]

KARL -- KH

[@oisinholz]

more videos on Star Trek would be sweet! :D

[@Grimner6]

Since the death star is pretty much a big starship, it would suffer of overheat, like you said in another episode. So another advantage of this torpedo is that you could just spam it even against the shield, as it would heat the ship both by the explosion and the shield's generators. So just keeping their shields activated for an extended period of time can be another good strategy i guess

[@Tolang123]

Finally, my name was thanked! Thank you Kyle and crew for making this awesome show!

[@becausescience]

Thank YOU for watching -- KH

[@richadams4564]

Not first... but early!!

[@HiopX]

I would simply strip a Hyperdrive to an asteroid and set to impact the Deathstar beyond lightspeed. #ThanksLastJedi

[@VoidplayLP]

HiopX to be honest If you get a Huge enough planetoid you could hyperjump it next to the death star and let Gravity do the work...No stupid hyperspace ramming required.

[@dawgvandamage1615]

Worst movie everrrr

[@DavidSmashGames]

I cant quote it exactly but I believe something about it being "magnetically shielded" (on the first death star) was also a reason for the proton torpedo use and maybe the hull of the torpedo was attracted to this field thus turning it?

[@jeremymacdonald6687]

I love the how you use he Wilhelm scream

[@MaxRovensky]

No one cares you’re the first

[@becausescience]

SOMEONE DOES MAX -- KH

[@MaxRovensky]

I got noticed! 😅 In all seriousness, I'm probably to anal about it, but when I'm trying to read the comments to find some interesting opinions, 37 comments with just the word "first" are not something I'm looking for 🙈

[@nevyn041]

I honestly just found this show a month or two ago and have been watching it regularly. Excellent explanations. I notice you do a ton of star wars and super hero videos (great job on the flash, my hero of choice) and only have a few on Star Trek. As a trekkie, I'd love to see more Trek based videos if at all possible, or maybe even a Star Trek vs Star Wars tech comparison. I hope there are others who agree and we can get some Trek content. Keep up the good work. I'm now subscribed and look forward to seeing what you come out with next. P. S. Voyager was the best Star Trek series IMO. Just had to put that out there.

[@cooperton4949]

Id love to see a blooper video. sounds awesome

[@25Patman]

This is a great show you do. What a brilliant idea. Must say ty.

[@JohnSmith-xs1ml]

Interesting analysis. Further observation on why a "precise" strike would be necessary: the revenge of Galen Erso. One of cinema history's biggest not-quite-plot-holes is the vent that killed Death Star 1. As explained in Rogue One, Galen modified the Death Star plans so that that seemingly innocuous vent led to a reactor module that would initiate a chain reaction that would obliterate the station when exposed to a pressured explosion (like the blast from a proton torpedo perhaps?). It's very likely that given these circumstances the Rebels would prefer a precision strike from a proton torpedo to guarantee that the blast would travel directly to the reactor module rather than risk it dissipating into other (more likely better-armored) components and thus not enough energy-blast-thing-a-ma-bob would reach the reactor module and trigger the Great Space Kablooie.

[@gifctdotorgthought-police3706]

"They are the building blocks of atoms and therefore matter"....Nice Double entendre KYLE :)

[@alexiswelsh5821]

Love the refference to Thoughty2. I love both your channels!

[@TroyPacelli]

8:13 - "...Caf* is for CLOSERS!" *sic; deep lore cut.

[@ReversedShadows]

I love "class clown" Wedge Antilles XD

[@BloomerMindset]

I love how passionate he sounds

[@becausescience]

I can't NOT do this -- KH

[@spencer6388]

This technology is very close to being realized. Weve already started using photon and proton bombardment in warfare. Ive seen it myself in action. The US Navy's LaWS (Laser Weapon System) uses laser bombardment to accurately and rapidly disable incoming projectiles

[@Galimeer5]

My understanding was that the attack was intended to sabotage the Death Star by damaging, and thus, blocking off its only exhaust port. That way, the next time the Death Star's main cannon powered up to fire, the heat would have no where to go and the station would overheat and explode. It just so happened that the "next time the Death Star's main cannon powered up to fire" was _during_ the actual attack.

[@williamwharton4079]

Hey Kyle. I love your videos. I have a question. Is there any way to produce shields like we see in star wars and star trek, and if so, how much energy would they take?

[@luttiblutti]

I never thought they turned ...i just saw it as a visualization of them going in there. It's so short cut of them going in that one should watch it frame by frame to get a better view.

[@wayneharrison6621]

Seems like a proton torpedo is basically like a bazooka shell, a shaped charge that sends all its energy in one direction.

[@jameslmathieson]

I work in the space industry and we have a particle accelerator in my lab that we actually call the Proton Gun. We use this to fire a beam of protons at pieces of spacecraft to see how they hold up. And yes, if you hold the beam stationary on an isolated target, you could melt it...eventually. We use the same principles you describe here to recreate the same radiation dose-depth curve that the spacecraft will see on its mission due to particles of various energies running into it. I guess you could say that our spacecraft are already being designed to thwart Rebel scum. On another note, we also have not one but two plasma sources that use microwaves and magnetic containment to generate beams of bright, hot plasma. So, very large plasmatanas. We use these to recreate the atomic oxygen environment that can and does eat away at spacecraft in low earth orbit. Yes, spacecraft can rust..and a lot worse. Having worked with these systems, I think your two past hypotheses regarding light sabers (plasmatanas) are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Could you create a rod of glowing plasma through exquisite control of magnetic fields and still hold on to the handle? Yes. Would having that rod of plasma be hot enough to slice through a bolder like butter set you and everything around you on fire? Yes. However, who's to say that all of the plasma has to be that hot all of the time? You would already be running a very sophisticated control loop in the first place just to get a rod shape from field projected from the handle. That control loop would be continuously trying to maintain the rod shape. As such, when your bright-but-safe-to-hold rod of plasma comes into contact with another object, the plasma is deformed and the control loop pushes plasma into that location to try to bring it back to a cylindrical shape. Therefore, the plasma density and temperature where it is in contact would increase exponentially until it started to cut the other object. It would remain safe to hold as the additional energy is solely being conducted into the target and will relax once cutting is complete and the control system is happy. This actually explains two things we see in the movies: 1) Light sabers get a lot brighter and crackle when they meet and, more importantly, they don't pass through each other. This is what would actually happen as the two control systems fight against the deformation being cause by the other. They ramp up to max power at that point. Huge magnetic fields wrapping around each other create electric discharges. And the opposing fields repel each other. 2) When Qui-gon Jinn plunges his light saber into the blast doors, the doors are not as thick as the light saber is long, but the light saber doesn't protrude out the other side. This make sense. Plunging the light saber straight in collapses the plasma shape that it wants to maintain. It proceeds to pump energy into the material it's in contact with trying to reform that shape. The blast door is some sort of conductive metal, so a lot of that energy is transmitted to the bulk of the door, melting a large chunk of it before the light saber is able to regain its stable shape.

[@BierBart12]

This video just taught me that a free proton beam would be an incredible energy weapon. But my basic school knowledge of physics doesn't at all tell me how a proton would ever leave an atom's nucleus, only how electrons leave it Edit: Oh shit, it's pretty easy by just having a fucking microwave-induced plasma where the nucleus' particles only have a weak bond, then using a magnetic field to rip the protons away. Of course! Who couldn't do this at home at any time?

[@AXSLA3]

In "A New Hope" it is said that the whole station was protected against laser beams, so they had to use photon torpedoes, almost the only alternative they had, at least at that time. So, they can't use their known main weapons, they should move towards the most plausible alternative - Proton Torpedoes.

[@WeissM89]

Proton's Prenetrative Properties. I demand the bloopers.

[@emmanuelvaldovinos5069]

"Proton Torpedos are missiles that carry a warhead filled with protons, Duh" best thing I've heard all day 😂

[@myrmesuwu607]

I really like when you talk about the deathstar

[@khodexus4963]

The warheads might not be "turning" as they go into the exhaust port, but could simply be aligning with the magnetic field of said port. Also, in the simulation the pilots are shown before leaving the Rebel base, the torpedoes curve from being released as the X-Wing pulls up, before entering the shaft at an angle and traveling down into the core.

[@I_am_ENSanity]

8:01 Ain't no one got time for that!!!

[@Jonalith]

That Wedge... such a rebel.

[@dutchhandrick9176]

I have another theory on how proton torpedoes could do some real damage. If the proton hit a simpler atom such as hydrogen, it could fuse with with another proton possibly starting a nuclear fusion reaction. This would obviously release a lot of energy and probably skrew some stuff up. In other cases, if the atom has a larger nucleus, the proton may be able to split the atom. In both of these cases the proton would have to have a lot of energy to overcome the repulsion with other protons. In addition they would have to hit the nucleus head on. Anyway, if it hit a larger nucleus it could split the atom. This would release neutrons and could start a nuclear fission reaction. This wouldn't be as powerful as a fusion reaction but it'd still do a lot of damage. You're great Kyle! And now that Thor's hair is short. You can be #1.

[@jaspr1999]

I am pretty sure that part of my therapy was exactly what you're speaking of. I even got little-tattooed dots so they didn't have to keep measuring every time. I love your videos!!! The fact you use fun science fiction/fiction in general, to present real science is just an awesome way to explain so much. I still say an engineer designed the human body... :-D

[@devoncahill7088]

jaspr1999 I can tell you this: If an engineer designed the human body, it would be sooo so much better and more efficient. The human body is truly wasteful with resources and even just in functionality. Why is my food pipe and air pipe the same? That's dangerous!

[@jaspr1999]

This is a joke among engineers. The rest of the joke is that the efficiency of use is carried so far that the liquid waste release on males is the same for fun. A LOT of coffee is downed during long hours. Hence, the running joke.

[@ianh1504]

Our sex organs are also our waste disposal organs, and we have a dozen things that just randomly blow up and hurt like hell or kill us, and a bunch of things have absolutely no purpose. What moron designed us? What moron thre in appendices and wisdom teeth and tonsils?

[@floseatyard8063]

@@ianh1504 just look up why you get wisdom teeth to understand why. I'm not gonna be the type of guy to argue with a stupid statement from 4 yrs ago

[@ianh1504]

@@floseatyard8063 except you just did my guy

[@brysonmark878]

Kyle Ren (This Episode needed a Surprise Lightsaber! From Kyle Ren)

[@toboterxp8155]

We must also consider that the target of the attack is specifically the death stars reactor, wich, if I remember the star wars books correctly, is an antimatter reactor. In that case, it makes even more sense to use a proton torpedo, since the protons could easily pierce into the reactor chamber (the antimatter is probably held in place by a magnetic field, making a lot of shielding unnecessary), where they would react with the antimatter releasing tons of energy and a potential explosion.

[@evasionstudiosco]

Could the charged proton particles in the warhead be directed down the shaft of the exhaust port thanks to the height displacement you mentioned in earlier episodes/vlogs? Attraction to a heat source that is siphoning off the heat that spaceships/stations build up with the energy they are utilizing?

[@08nm08]

I have a question I hope you can answer in case I don't make it to the live stream. Would the water pressure in the ocean at certain depths be the same in a swimming pool at the same depths? Would more water in the ocean affect the water pressure say at 12 feet than it would in a pool at 12 feet? Please respond. I love your channel.

[@percussionistpinkerton9440]

The proton warhead is really light right so, I think it arcs down because whenever you blow air across a hole the air wants to go in the hole, so Luke could have angled the proton torpedo where it would get sucked into the hole.

[@MasterMitchX]

Nice Vid Kyle. So what is the difference between Photon and Proton torpedos and which is more dangerous/effective as a weapon?

[@darylewalker6862]

CrimsonIxion It’s in the episode.

[@ChrisRand-gf7lz]

Hey Kyle, awesome episode, and of course I have question for you: What if the Proton Torpedo did its damage by injecting/forcing a large amount of Protons into a material, say Steel, and instead caused the atoms of the material to tear themselves apart as the protons repelled one another (the ones in the atoms and the ones introduced by the torpedo) causing a cascade effect of the atoms destroying themselves through out the various materials the Death Star is constructed of? Is something like that even possible? For reference, I'm thinking along the basic lines of same charged particles repel one another.

[@christianhjelmstrom224]

I always thought (since I started learning physics in school) Proton Torpedoes ware some kind small sized nuclear missile that uses some unknown element in a nuclear fusion reaction explosion, wich would leave no radiation. After that, I see the poential not offensive, but defensive of real life proton torpedoes a a counter-measure against missiles. If such technology manages to be used disrupt missiles circuits or even making it explode far away from the target, by bobarding it with protons.

[@ToabyToastbrot]

Can charged particles explain the sudden 90 degree turn? I mean probably not, but isn't there a reactor at the end of the exhaust-port that could idk magnetically or something attract the charged particles in the torpedo? Maybe the projectile was shattering at that moment and we just don't see it because it gets drawn inside?

[@boundlessaether392]

The massive thrust coupled with its diminutive size (5-6 inches in diameter) and round shape can easily contribute to the weapon’s remarkable maneuverability.

[@rozemsama]

Kyle, still about the Thanos pulling the moon episode: how the hell can he snap his fingers wearing a gauntlet? There's not enough friction! Huge fan btw, greetings from Brazil

[@h_lapp]

Kyle-O Ren helmet was a nice touch

[@AnthonyMortenson]

A device with magnetic containment capable of containing the proton plasma necessary to create that kind of effect would be powerful enough to be used as short range/last meters guidance. One thing you leave out of your calculations is that the Star Wars universe seems to have some pretty advanced magnetic containment enabling their tech.

[@GundamFranxx]

8:02 That's what I've been wanting to know.

[@Deverydoo]

Since the reactor core is central to the DS, the vent shaft would lead directly into this as shown in their briefing. The protons would ignite the nuclear or antimatter fuel, or weaken the surrounding structures and containment generators. Causing the … chain reaction.