The Science of The Expanse

#theexpanse #lore #science
The Expanse is one of the seminal sci-fi shows of the past decade. Set centuries in the future when humans have colonized the solar system, it's been called one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi shows of all time. But just how much does this hold up to scrutiny?
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More on the Epstein Drive: toughsf.blogspot.com/2019/10/...
More on ion thrusters: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thr...
More on the tokamak: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak
More on railguns:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun...
More on terraforming Mars:
www.space.com/24386-mars-coul...
www.seti.org/mars-may-have-be...
Written, directed, & edited by OrangeRiver
Cinematography by PhobiaSoft / phobiasoft
Additional photography by OrangeRiver
- Music in this video -
Holfix: / holfix
Kevin MacLeod: www.incompetech.com
Sam Kužel: / samkuzel
Additional music by Ian Post, Itai Argaman, & Michael Vignola
Courtesy www.artlist.io
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- CHAPTERS -
00:00 Intro
01:13 Background
06:46 Propulsion
14:12 Crash Couches & Accelerating Drugs
17:15 The Nauvoo
22:16 Railguns, Missiles, & PDCs
28:19 Stealth Tech
29:42 Goliath Armor
32:59 Mars Terraforming Project
38:03 Belt Colonization
40:52 Asteroid Mining
42:33 Recycling
46:33 Computers
50:40 Protomolecule
54:52 Outro

[@OrangeRiver]

Wow, this is probably the most difficult video I've ever had to edit for my channel! Huge shout out to the editors of The Expanse wiki, without whom I wouldn't have been able to write this script. And special thanks once again to everyone who donated--if you want to get your name in the credits, hit the "Join" button on my channel page or become a patron at patreon.com/orangeriver!

[@MichaelKnaepen]

Excellent hour. More please more Expanse

[@OrangeRiver]

I probably *should* do more content with all this Expanse footage I have... 😍

[@GopherBaroque61]

@@OrangeRiver Well, what can I say... That was money well spent. Bravo, Tyler.

[@wiaf8937]

@@OrangeRiver yes bossman

[@pottierkurt1702]

That was awesome, any chance thee is a "lore" one in the making or on the drawing board?

[@TwoWholeWorms]

The fact they managed to keep Avasarala in that grey-area between hero and villain for the entirety of the TV series is a masterstroke, IMO. One of the best characters ever committed to film. Agdashloo is a phenomenal actor, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

[@OrangeRiver]

Agreed on all fronts!

[@TheHalcyonAnon]

"You're fcking God damned right." -Avasarala probably

[@kaitlyn__L]

The people who say Dukat could be argued to be sort of hero ish should look at Avasarala to see how he fails to stack up. She’s the one who makes you question if her acts of evil were justified, but not Dukat.

[@3RAN7ON]

I can't get past her voice! Sounds like she smokes two packs a day

[@argiebarge7955]

@@3RAN7ON in a good or bad way?

[@CaptainSovereign]

From Mass Effect 2: Gunnery Chief: This, recruits, is a 20-kilo ferrous slug. Feel the weight. Every five seconds, the main gun of an Everest-class dreadnought accelerates one to 1.3 percent of light speed. It impacts with the force of a 38-kiloton bomb. That is three times the yield of the city-buster dropped on Hiroshima back on Earth. That means Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son-of-a-b*tch in space. Now! Serviceman Burnside! What is Newton's First Law? Serviceman Burnside: Sir! An object in motion stays in motion, sir! Gunnery Chief: No credit for partial answers, maggot! Serviceman Burnside: Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir! Gunnery Chief: Damn straight! I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going till it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone's day, somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your damn targets! That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution! That is why, Serviceman Chung, we do not "eyeball it!" This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip! Serviceman Chung: Sir, yes sir!

[@DetectiveWarden]

I was pleasantly surprised that Mass Effect actually does integrate some real physics into some dialogs you could listen to or have yourself. There’s also another one (I think with a shopkeeper on the Citadel in ME2) where, if you use the paragon dialog option Shepherd talks about inexperienced space travelers asking why the ship turns around at the halfway-point to the destination

[@FalconOfStorms]

@@DetectiveWarden ME actually started out really caring about the physics of it all. If your ship can't find a place to discharge static, you're going to have a bad time. If the Normandy goes into stealth more, everyone on board is eventually going to be cooked alive because you're not venting heat. Etc.

[@Guardian_Arias]

@@FalconOfStorms ME even had lore describing why you didn't reload guns and then they had to ruin it by using disposable heatsinks.

[@roggonval]

@@Guardian_Arias u mean thermal clips? They keep weapons from overheating It lets the gun fire with more power, and soldiers can pop in a new clip instead of waiting for the gun to cool down. Pretty useful

[@Outworlder]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nn3TmKuorppnaK8

[@stuartwelch6432]

What I liked most about The Expanse was that most of the tech mentioned, we "almost" have. There is no warp or impulse drive and artificial gravity, as such. What we don't have is the manufacturing ability. I wouldn't place the "start" of the Expanse more than 100 years out.

[@cannon26ify]

We're still way off from being able to have miniaturized fusion drives like they have in the expanse however.

[@stuartwelch6432]

@cannon26ify But I think we still have just about everything else.. Given time, I'm sure we can make that too.

[@robertagren9360]

We either have it or we don't. Then it is up to giants to upscale the idea

[@mr.rabbit5642]

You couldn't really tell how much time has passed between episodes or during travel coz it felt like none, which made me think they kinda 'shrunk' the entire system in the series

[@jeremyippolito7461]

That show was gold. One of the best Sci fi shows ever made. Its infuriating that amazon didn't let them finish the story properly.

[@goheen1701]

With 9 books and numerous novellas & short stories to adapt, all the actors would have died of old age before they could have finished the story properly, but I agree that the show deserved much more than it got! At least it didn't end on an unresolved cliff-hanger like FOX did with 'Space: Above & Beyond' (a vastly inferior but fun show).

[@dustincurtis9418]

*sigh, as usual.

[@brianegendorf2023]

@@goheen1701 There is a 30 year jump in the story, and still many decades unfold as the story progresses. But you could technically just age people for the show and shoot it now. Barring that, now that Tell Tale has made the games, maybe animating the end of the series is the way to go..that way, everyone can just voice themselves, and the animators can take care of the rest.

[@deaddropsd1972]

AGREED.

[@ethal1222]

One aspect of The Expanse I really like is how most of the spaceships are designed purely for functionality over aesthetics (especially the Belter ones). Aerodynamics aren't an issue and there's no need for them to look pretty. They're tools used to do a job and built in the most effective way to do that job.

[@BloodKills]

Having watched the show and read the books, I love how they both work separate from each other, yet compliment each other at the same time. I really hope we get the last 3 books adapted though, cause the authors have said the first 6 books were just setup and worldbuilding for the story they really wanted to tell, which was the final trilogy of books 7-9. The epilogue was such an emotional read for me, and to see it adapted would be a dream come true.

[@PHDiaz-vv7yo]

“Let’s get some beers and get reacquainted” ❤

[@Noctua07]

I hope the same.

[@derrekvanee4567]

G damn earrhers and able to walk in gravity! Gah errters! Long live the belt!

[@rcha2024]

Violence and gore and just same old garbage we been fed by every mainstream cultural status quo for generations ...but with "science" sprinkled all of that crap to make it smell different. You put a cherry on top of dog sh t ....it's still dog sh t.

[@BloodKills]

@@rcha2024 Yeah okay mr contrarian, how about you actually watch or read it before being so blatantly wrong about it.

[@underscore8256]

The Expanse in season 1 and 2 was the most faithful book to screen translation I have ever seen. It was only when sci-fi canceled them that they were forced to squish book 3 into 5 episodes. Because of that, they had to deviate, combining some characters' roles into one. Drummer in the show was an amalgamation of characters from the books. Even with that, they stuck faithfully to the spirit of the books, culminating in, if not The, one of the best hard science fiction works ever put to screen. Thank you for The Expanse, and for the content. This video brought me to your channel, and the TNG stuff will keep me coming back :)

[@IreneWY]

I was quite sad, when I got to Calaban's war and there was no Drummer in the book 🤣 I loved her

[@markmontagna7637]

@@IreneWYI was the opposite bull and sammy were two of my favorite characters and I was sad they didn’t get adapted to the show

[@jeffreyatlee8785]

There is little I am coming to enjoy more than having an amazing story reviewed by a quality channel. Thanks for your work.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Jeffrey 😎

[@pottierkurt1702]

A 1 hour "the expanse "video, imma heat up some hotpockets, get a 420 ready and really enjoy this. Thanks Tyler, what a welcme surprise you sneaky ****

[@spacecitizen6756]

Totes.

[@frocurl]

Lol that's awesome

[@--cs3]

right there with ya, bossmang

[@mikeumm]

Dude, right?! Just got home from the bar, smoked a bowl, and came across this video... Hyped! Love the Expanse and this channel.

[@D.M.S.]

420 sucks

[@AlexandraBryngelsson]

Tungsten, just means "heavy stone" in Swedish.They named it that because they first found it in a small village in Sweden

[@beaver6d9]

Cool!

[@ryanjones7681]

I love how stargates are becoming more and more accepted in science.

[@OrangeRiver]

Honestly, me too 😍

[@ryanjones7681]

@@OrangeRiver Makes ya wonder eh? Can't wait to see what the next decade unveils!

[@afriendofafriend5766]

In what science? I don't see how they're realistic at all.

[@OrangeRiver]

Theoretical physics, my friend. Wormholes were predicted by Einstein. Obviously, there's a huge difference between math predicting something and actually observing it, but that's how we discovered black holes. Wormholes may be rare if negative energy does not occur in sufficient quantities, but until we have a Theory of Everything, they're still within the realm of possibility.

[@scambammer6102]

@@afriendofafriend5766 "In what science?" science fiction

[@mroxion8271]

What put this show over the top for me with regards to detail to science is that in some scenes of the show you can see the PDCs use the exhaust gas of the round as counter thrust to keep the ship from spinning. They didn't need to go that detailed when rendering the amazing space battles but holy shit do I appreciate the effort.

[@afriendofafriend5766]

What annoys me is that they do that but then they have no heat dissipation for the ships. So many huge blunders from the team as well.

[@OrangeRiver]

Heat management for a weapon so powerful is definitely going to be a massive issue to resolve, but I'd expect two to three centuries of engineering progress to address that

[@sparkygump]

Best sci fi show since the Battlestar Gallactica reboot.

[@PwncakeOW]

This man gets it.

[@cellokid5104]

Ehhhh idk

[@edgarvilar2128]

38:10 the books mention that the spinning of Ceres was done by Tycho with drives that were then removed. I don't recall if it was Eppstein Drives or Torch drives though, it is also mentioned that it took several years, maybe decades (can't quite recall) but it is regarded as one of the greatest engineering projects of the Belt, allong with Tycho station itself and the Navoo/Bahemoth/Medina. I can't speak of the methods employed on the other asteroids though.

[@victorfinberg8595]

2 points 1) if you can get fusion power to work, then there's an awful lot of other stuff you can do. 2) just because technology keeps advancing at an enormous rate does not mean that any particular technology you want to have will definitely become available.

[@joemck74]

I love the way the MTF drive looks so 'mechanical' - like it could lead the big locomotives in space, with hundreds of pistons pounding away and ships stopping at comets etc to fill-up with water during their trips.

[@jamesabernethy7896]

Currently suffering a power cut since Monday. Surviving on mobile data so can’t wait to be able to watch this Properly. A great setting for you to cover. You and all your other subscribers an amazing Christmas and new year.

[@renaissanceredneck3695]

Where are ya at that you've been without power since Monday? What caused the power to go down? Just seems like a long time to be without power

[@brentpalmer8001]

I’d love to see you do a video on Martian terraforming again, especially with some of the new information Kurzgesagt brought to my attention (the space lasers).

[@jamesjoelholmes4541]

Really well done my friend. The Expanse is just so awe inspiring. I can tell that you put a ton of work into this one. I learned some things about physics that I didn't know about. Keep up the amazing work!

[@xen1313]

Covering the Goliath Armor. The DNA coding might be retconned. Diego and 2 others took over Bobby's armor when Ashford attempted to destroy the ring with the Com's lazer. He chased Holden, Naomi, and Drumer up the Elevator shaft, only to be taken out by the elevator. He was locked out of the Arm mounted gatling which might be the part that was DNA coded.

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah they did that through hacking though. Maybe that was just the books though. Makes sebse only weapons would be locked so you could move the armor when no one using it

[@ma7mgte]

Had to watch this one on the couch. Great job!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks!

[@MikaHusk]

Hot damn this channel is about to blow up, such high production value. Found you cause of star trek, but keen as to see other content like this

[@Jonathan-ug9yu]

Correction on AI. Apologies if already mentioned. Ty is on the record saying there are thousands of AI all over the show and books supporting literally every major and minor function of travel and life in space, they're just not Asimov's idea of AI, they run systems

[@Jonathan-ug9yu]

Great video btw, thanks

[@OrangeRiver]

Yeah I should clarify that there's not really any sentient AI, but yeah, there's obviously automated systems running things in the background 👍

[@shaggycan]

14:38 that's actually not normally the case. Remember belters are used to 1/3rd G or less, so most ships usually aim for about 1/3rd G delta V. Earthers do have a huge advantage because the crews can take highers thrusts and still fuction. That is why MCRN troops train at 1G.

[@rudolfcsampai9549]

you use delta v wrong. delta v is the tortal sum velocity change ability. if you lets say have 10 km/sec delta v, you can reach low earth orbit from the surface. accelerating is measured by m/sec squared, or g.

[@shaggycan]

@@rudolfcsampai9549 delta v means change in velocity. It has for like a century. Wikipedia it.

[@rudolfcsampai9549]

@@shaggycan yea, or maybe booth, smartass. (i mean stupid) when you have a space craft, it has a delta v stored as fuel. that delta v is the ships ability to change v. it doesnt have any special name. when a rocket has about 10 km/s delta v and more than 1.2 G of thrust, then it can reach stable earth orbit from the surface. and it simply said the rocket has 10km/s delta v, we dont call it some special name. mybe you should wikipedia it, or google it, i dunno. delta v is not measured with g or with any other acceleration, because it is not.

[@MikoyanGurevich-xc7ft]

@@shaggycan it means the total potential velocity change... it's not a measure of acceleration.

[@undacable]

Great job with the production value on this one dude!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks! Credit to my cinematographer for helping bring this one to life

[@mattcorley4622]

Greatest video release of the year! One hour! Boom ya'll.

[@beezelbuzzel]

Awesome video man! I appreciate all the work that goes into the scripted long form stuff. It's a ton of work. Orange River really knocked it out of the park on this one! I've never checked out The Expanse, but I might have to now!

[@robertharper3754]

The books are fantastic, the tv show blew my mind and expectations for any tv show. The show really knocked it out of the park, it is arguably the best scifi tv show ever made as far as realism goes, and one of the best scifi tv shows ever made.

[@Malchior_Rises]

i appreciate that you said "legitimately salvaged" and yes it is christmas and it is comforting to listen to an overview of The Expanse :)

[@zzzxhrg]

Man, what a wonderful video you made here. The Expanse deserves more love, and you gave it all. Respect.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Christian!

[@damenwhelan3236]

Wait... so the epstein drive imparts 1 g as it accelerates? That's brilliant!

[@masterpython]

It can do way more. Enough to kill people

[@misterlau5246]

Hello Tyler? Whoa, I have seen videos of yours at home or studio I don't know, but this is in exteriors! Whoa filmed on location! whoa mate! This was a surprise for me, and I'm just around minute 3 and already, this is a gigantic amount of work, production level is going up! It's lots of material you have put here, way to go, all of the ppl who work in this channel!

[@amyhogarten5038]

This is was a fantastic video: robust in its details in explaining a piece Science Fiction that is well worth explaining. A great deal of hard work and thought went into its production. Thank you‼️

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Amy!

[@konker420]

You are awesome. Keep up the great work my man. You produce better content than any major television network I can think of. If I weren't so poor I would donate to the patreon. Thanks for being you.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you so much--if I weren't so poor I'd be able to have this kind of production value more often lol

[@jay1st1st]

I see EXPANSE I click !

[@Saturnine21]

Absolutely fantastic overview, an excelent way for new-comers and fans alike to enjoy and keep enjoying this amazingly built universe. Lets hope for a spinoff or a final adaptation of the last couple of books. Fantastic work!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you so much!

[@HolgerNestmann]

This was amazing. Reading along in the comments was great as well. Thank you

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks! You're a brave soul if you can venture down into the comments of a KZbin video lol

[@keller1334]

A well presented video on my favorite science fiction series. Thank you.

[@normanbarton7191]

I think this is my favorite video oof yours. Spectacular job sir!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Norman!

[@s0aps768]

Had to finish the show before watching this video. Great job Tyler 👍I'm praying for another couple of seasons of The Expanse, covering the Ring Builders and the Dark Gods!

[@pimpinaintdeadho]

Such a great and underrated show.

[@captsam54]

Excellent.. Love the Expanse.. Wish it was still running..

[@TheJanda777]

You are like being in a room with a friend talking about the things that a friend would only think of bringing up. Love it!

[@PwncakeOW]

At work rn, but I can't wait to watch tonight!!! 1 hour expanse video les gooooo. Always dig the music in your videos too. Keep up the hard work. You have the talent.

[@IThinkAndIWonder]

An expansive explanation of what's possible. Thank you sir! Much enjoyed!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you!

[@ClintSprayberry]

Ahhhhhhhhhh Yes!! Here we go with a SciFi Friday serving so salacious, so savory it's sinful! Save your work and put the laptop away, it's time for Orange River's analysis of ..... The Expanse!!!

[@kevinjohnson7553]

This would serve as an awesome video intro!

[@ClintSprayberry]

@@kevinjohnson7553 😁 I do what I can! I genuinely do love the videos on this channel though. I in fact am a man of science myself, and, it is clear that the writer(s) do their homework. So whenever I see a new video pop up I get excited and start acting like a mentally challenged heathen 🤣

[@kevinjohnson7553]

@@ClintSprayberry Tyler's content is excellent, no question.👍🖖

[@ClintSprayberry]

@@kevinjohnson7553 🖖

[@AndrewPasq]

clicked it without thinking... thought it was going to be a ENT storying about random science about possible weird shit in space (star trek) Saw the shitty acting and realized it was Orange's take on "The Expanse" and made myself a drink for an hour of good content.... EntEducate me.... Orangeriver man... This is why I subscribe.

[@OrangeRiver]

...shitty acting?

[@DrVunderbahr]

It'd be worth doing a video on the actual scientific concepts behind the Protomolecule and the things it can do. There are good write-ups on this on the Expanse Subreddit. Lots of weird theoretical quantum stuff

[@lesterlewis3024]

One of your best videos! Loved the breakout and couldn't agree more that the technology seems very plausible.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks Lester!!

[@carnifexor3010]

Depending on Lore vs Cannon argument, where Laser weapons are in the The Expanse book series, but suppprisingly not within the television series (unless I'm mistaken about this). It could be a timing consideration of when both show & books were written. Given the R&D & the 50 kw to 300 kw lasers in production today, one would think such weapons would be even more prominent in a greater refractionless environment such as space. The power generation was certainly available in ships of The Expanse, far much more than today. Commercial use in mining, point defense, lances, and general heat impact weapons should be very realistic within the show. Laser weapons should be capable of altering or stopping a rail gun shot. This would certainly be the case of point defense against missles & attacking a ship (especially at a a point of greater vulnerability).

[@lunaticbz3594]

The main issue I see with lasers is that if they are done realistic, you'd never actually see it. There is one scene with a laser being used towards the end of season 3, you can see the path the laser travels which isn't realistic but I feel they had to show it otherwise the audience would just be very confused, especially since the laser missed.

[@Hal2718]

The only instance of a laser I can recall from either the books or the show is what ​ @Lunatic BZ mentioned which was both in the show and the book series. Otherwise everything else is PDC's, railguns and missiles.

[@jpharri]

> Laser weapons should be capable of altering or stopping a rail gun shot A laser will not have enough momentum to counter that in the rail gun projectile. Sure the laser might melt the projectile into a rough slag, but in empty frictionless space this change of shape won't make any difference to it's velocity, especially over the limited range that rail guns are used at. >Against a missile A laser may blow it up prematurely, the wreckage will no longer explode but will still cause damage if it hits anything - and it may still be travelling towards the target... > Guided Missile Probably hoping the laser will destroy the guidance system, though as above it's still a fast moving object in space. I don't think lasers prove as good a weapon as first thought. Mass with momentum seems a winner.

[@lunaticbz3594]

@@jpharri You only have to change the trajectory of a rail gun shot though to make it not hit you. Though your right at limited range that isn't happening and rail guns are already only being used at limited ranges since otherwise you can just dodge them. Against the missiles we see in the show most of them are nuclear so really regardless of what you damage on the missile or blowing it up it's a lot better then letting it detonate. Even if the debris directly hits the ship. *edit, just realized in my ramblings forgot to say its not the impact of a laser that redirects a projectile its because whatever the laser hits some portion of the projectile will be turned into heated gas, plasma, light etc. As that leaves the projectile thats why it changes directions. That said in real world the cat and mouse game between weapons and defenses. If people used laser defense weapons you'd just build missiles to negate that defense as much as possible.

[@KC_Smooth]

Finally watched all 6 seasons of this show over the last 2 months and it’s become my favorite TV show right next to Star Trek TNG. I’m now hit with a wave of sadness that there is no season 7 planned😭.

[@JAGtheTrekkieGEMINI1701]

So even the Tholians wouldn't be save from the Protomolecule...

[@jymfysher7704]

Tyler,the world's first Sci-Fi Journalist !!

[@ashleycross7593]

The science of the expanse is absolute 😍

[@banderse77]

Nice segment.

[@ricardioscarbonara102]

you are an absolute star (excuse the loose pun) I love anything expanse related, it's clear you've gone all in for this one, well done and thank you.....Inyalowda

[@jessedelcastillo8100]

Thank you for putting this video together it is awesome!

[@andrewexum394]

Shit, now I have to go watch the entire show again lol

[@g-urts5518]

I'm a little upset with you OrangeRiver... I discovered your videos about 4 days ago and I'm so addicted that I stayed up till about 230am watching them last night. Work really sucked this morning.... 😝🤣

[@OrangeRiver]

I've been there before! Lol

[@vit.budina]

The hand terminals in the expanse probably work only as access points to a cloud computing centre, which could explain why all the terminals went down with the power on Eris in the early episodes. This would also make the clear aesthetic more viable since it removes the need for a local hefty computing unit and only requires a data and power receiver and a display, plus maybe the acrylic sheet might include some piezo-electric circuitry that vibrates the material to turn the entire device into a speaker.

[@antonleimbach648]

Great discussion, The Expanse is an excellent series and I’m sad to see it end.

[@tevvya]

Thank you for this great video. Your research really showed up on the screen. One of the largest technologies in the Expanse is the one you cannot see: radiation shielding. The travelers in the Expanse never worry about ionizing galactic radiation (cosmic rays). That either means that the writers dispensed with the reality of radiation OR they assumed a mechanism of shielding which--by the time of the story--was so common as to vanish from conversation (like drywall today maybe). It is interesting that there are death chambers on Eros which use "hard" radiation to kill belters en masse (parallels to Nazi gas chambers are stark). Current discussions about cosmic ray protection are found in many places but with few workable solutions. Thanks again for your work.

[@edgarvilar2128]

Great video, but a minor remark: At 14:05 you mention that the show and "elsewhere" state that the Expanse ships use chemical rockets to land and take of from planets, however it is simply not possible to achieve the required efficiencies for that with chemistry. Today's current rockets are mostly chemical and are already squeezing ~80% of the maximal theoretical efficiency out of their fuel and yet most of their mass is fuel. The Expanse ships seem to only have about 10 to 20% of their mass as fuel, and in the books the fuel is always mentioned to be water so it can't be chemistry. The books state several times that the ships land and take off from planets with a mix of the Epstein drive at high altitudes, to avoid "glassing" the surface, and maneuvering thrusters at low altitudes. These maneuvering thrusters are mentioned to require a large amount of electrical energy and produce a plume of super heated steam, so they're fuel is probably water that is super heated by battery power or electrical energy produced by the reactor. These thrusters could theoretically achieve much higher efficiencies than chemical rockets (though lower efficiencies of the Epstein drive), so the concept is feasible. Additionally ships without (or not using) Epstein Drives are mentioned to fly "tea-kettle" witch matches this idea. The books also some times refer to chemical rockets but never in the concept of ships, instead they are used on a small scale, for cheap applications too accelerate small improvised crafts for instance.

[@steyefong590]

I read the same thing. In the books, water is used as reaction mass. I supposed most engines use fusion to superheat the water to create the exhaust for thrust. Epstein drive is the advanced version of fusion drive the is capable of sustaining fusion for interplanetary flight. Some of the ships do not have Epstein drive but just fusion drive such the Zhang Guo which Amos, Erich, and Clarissa commandeered to escape to Luna.

[@edgarvilar2128]

Yeah, those fusion drives are often called torch drives , or just torches.

[@liamjohnston2000]

@Steye Fong The Zhang Guo, in the show at least, does have a fusion drive. In order to escape their pursuers quickly, they launched up using the fusion drive rather than the normal chemical rockets, completely destroying the compound and killing everyone inside.

[@steyefong590]

@@liamjohnston2000 Yup, they literally torched everyone in the compound when they launched.

[@ArneChristianRosenfeldt]

Maybe you can add an after burner to the space shuttle main engines ( which also output super heated steam plus H2). At that temperature there are already a lot of ions to work with.

[@frocurl]

Thanks Tyler a great video well done on my favorite new space show.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Aaron!

[@rp8133]

Wow, this is a really great video about a difficult topic. Thanks for this - I enjoyed it much. The Expanse is a series of books and videos I really loved to consume. This story triggered me because the technology and the society/social stuff in there was so realistic and so near to what is possible today or even thinkable from nowadays technological point of view. This was not Star Wars or Star Trek. It was based on a familiar physics. And you gave it a good counterpart of what we got so far in real world. Big thumb up.

[@CorvoFG]

Never heard of this show. Must track it down and give it a look.

[@TymeTraveling777]

Best sci Fi show of the last 5 years... It's super underrated

[@NefariousKoel]

It's a great sci-fi series (on Am Prime). A lot of people say they were kinda lost and confused during the first few episodes, but once getting through all that setup an overwhelming number love it. I didn't really have that issue early on, so YMMV. Either way, it's definitely worth getting into. Especially if you like more plausible, "hard" sci-fi.

[@Mirakuruuu]

The Expanse has the right amount of Sci-Fi balance into it. Not too much. Not too less. Just perfect. No laser canons bs. No faster than the speed of light quantum drive bs. No human and alien races united organization bs. Its just pure realistic sci fi to its perfection. This show deserves to be continued

[@gorymarty56]

I want more seasons

[@OrangeRiver]

Same

[@Hepad_]

Who doesn't? :(

[@surryan]

Ok wow, I know this is literally the briefest of overviews of the science of the Expanse. But man for anyone with even a basic understanding of some of the science involved; you have done a proper job! Thank you, I will be linking this video forward for others to watch. Mainly because I want to see more scifi with levels of realism that can be explained. But also because I think most of the first season if not parts of the second, (not counting protomolocule until it or something like it is discovered) is more or less plausable.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks!

[@bbbenj]

Quite impressive, thanks 👍 And happy new year 🎊

[@stopinventing1013]

loved the video, awesome work!

[@cbhlde]

Hmm, watch the seasons of the Expanse, that I missed so far because of your spoiler warning,... or watch the video,... hmm, hmmm,... ah, well, you won! Great stuff! :)

[@TheGreenAnorak]

Brilliant, amazing, fantastic, entertaining. Thank you for this OR. I have not read the books but just finished watching the series. It always stuck me as a more 'hard-fi' rather than 'sci-fi' show and this proves it.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you!

[@TheGreenAnorak]

​@@OrangeRiver(up late) watching this again. Love your observation on acceleration. You should read the Hyperion series. Very interesting version of 'acceleration' in those books.

[@joeywall4657]

I'm going to have to start binging this show in the truck while I'm on the road. You've got me stoked to see it. Also, I love your location videos. It's fun to see you outside.

[@quantafreeze]

This sounds so cool. I've literally never heard of this.

[@ketzerapathetic1414]

Yo, I thought this was gonna be about the Expanse in Enterprise's third season. I didn't even know this was a show. XD

[@JordonVirtue]

Drummer in the thumbnail we call that a Drumnail.

[@InstigatorDJ]

Appreciate this in depth look. My favorite scifi show of all time. Hands down.

[@JeremyBolanos]

Great one! 🚀

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Jeremy!

[@markjmaxwell9819]

Never seen an episode but is on the must watch list after this KZbin video .

[@PoorPersonsBookReviewer]

I'm currently reading the expanse novels, and you did great at explaining something's I was hoping the books went deeper into without spoilers. Thanks for all the star Trek videos too lol

[@Disinterested1]

I loved this series and cannot wait to see more of this universe!

[@MonCappy]

I really enjoyed your deep dive into The Expanse. Watching it really made me want to get into the series when time allows. Having said that, there is one thing that has always annoyed me about the praise for the show. And that is how critics praise how realistic it is. Now I should point out here that I do acknowledge the show is definitely on the harder side of science fiction, but there is one thing that still annoys me. And that is that the show is called realistic. It isn't. The show doesn't depict a realistic future space faring humanity, but a plausible one. By this I mean that the show does not reflect a present reality. We aren't a multiple planet civilization. We haven't fought wars in space. Everything involving the space and technology based aspects of the show are entirely speculative. The politics and the intrigue aspects of the show are realistic as I happen to think it'll be centuries (if not millennia) before we learn to coexist peacefully as a species, if ever. Now, here is why I call the show plausible and not realistic. We don't have a complete picture of the physics that cover the universe. For decades we've been trying to reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity with no success. Achieving that reconciliation will almost certainly require the discovery of new physics. This will lead to, I think one of two possible outcomes. The first will be the discovery of practical workarounds the light speed limit to allow for faster than light travel that doesn't break causality and allows for the exploration of interstellar space within a single human lifetime. The other outcome will forever foreclose any such possible loopholes with a complete picture of the rules governing our cosmos known to us. Without this knowledge we can't assume that the future depicted in hard science fiction is realistic, if for no other reason than because there may be future discoveries that change what we think is realistic. On the other hand, hard science fiction is much more plausible than shows that depict humanity traveling the stars in faster than light ships.

[@ehrenmurdick]

Speaking of not using nuclear rockets in atmospheres, when we see the Rocinante land it uses only thrusters, not the big main engine bell at the back.

[@antron0-0]

This video is amazing in every aspect. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@goheen1701]

It was very amusing the way your elbows gesticulate with nearly every word you speak! Very entertaining!

[@SkateEverythingProject]

Amazing video, thanks for all the hard work research and love that you put into this! Goddamn what an amazing series, pretty sure it's the best sci-fi show I've ever seen! And the books oh my god the books, I cried a little when I finished them because I didn't want it to end...

[@drgirlfriend211]

PHENOMENAL Video my friend… bravo!!!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you so much!

[@davidcottrell1308]

Loved the series!! Fantastic!!

[@davidcoleman757]

Superb work. This was fascinating. Books and show, The Expanse is about as good as sci-fi gets. I wish it had better recognition.

[@LibertyDino]

Got this in my recommendations and thus I subscribed. Thanks for the vid.

[@BTScriviner]

Bravo. I read only the first four books and watched only the first two seasons (before it moved to Amazon), but I thought you did a really great job of explaining the technology of the Expanse universe.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you so much!

[@jonny-b4954]

Oh man you've gotta finish the series. Get better every season unlike most shows. Books too. Though last 3 are... Weird and detached from rest of series in my opinion

[@jdogdarkness]

The Expanse is easily my favorite science fiction show if not show in general. *_#BringBackTheExpanse_*

[@Danogil]

Colonel John Paul Stapp (July 11, 1910 - November 13, 1999), M.D., Ph.D., was an American career U.S. Air Force officer, flight surgeon, physician, biophysicist, and pioneer in studying the effects of acceleration forces on humans. He was a colleague and contemporary of Chuck Yeager, and became known as "the fastest man on earth". His work on Project Man High pioneered many developments for the US space program. Stapp entered the U.S. Army Air Forces on 5 October 1944 as a physician and qualified as a flight surgeon. Stapp died peacefully at his home in Alamogordo, NM at the age of 89.

[@bryanschmidt7336]

Great video. I was so sad when The Expanse left Netflix. I hope to see the remaining seasons someday

[@bjaarki]

Great analysis as always. Was worth the wait since seeing the community post! Sincerely hope we get a 7th season eventually. I really need to read the books, they'll just have to wait til I've gotten through "the pile" first.

[@computer__eyez]

Powerful video, beautiful analysis. what is name of song to outro (any one knows?) description does not say

[@OrangeRiver]

The outro, like much of the music in this video, is by Sam Kužel. It's called "Abducted"

[@guard13007]

As someone who has only watched season 1, I have to thank you for the minimal spoilers in this. There were significant things here, but I cared more than I expected to about spoilers, and there were few here. Edit: Well, I said that before the final part.. but I have no one to blame but myself for that.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks Tangent Plays. I certainly tried, although in a video like this, yeah, some major things are going to be revealed...but it's not like I didn't warn everyone lol. You'd be surprised how many people have complained that this video contained spoilers EVEN IN SPITE of me clearly saying there would be. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@1Tankmarine]

As a sc-fi type of guy, who loves Math (until Calc 2.) , and whom appreciates learning, I just wanted to say "Thank You" for your time and effort that you put into this thought out educational presentation. Have a great one.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you too!

[@RevanLaughs]

Bruh this universe is basically Dredd lol