[Science] The Hard Science of Low Gravity versus High Gravity

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Well, the issue is mostly how much force is required to overcome gravity. It actually depends on attack angle, if you uppercut the wall you aren't going anywhere because the reaction is pushing you into the ground.

I thought you were saying that hitting something has a maximum force against gravity before it shoots you away. I didn't notice any qualifier of angle of attack.

[gruundehn]

Originally Posted by Huscurian

You got that right. BRDM (my bad, misspelled it correctly.) and IS-3 are both Soviet vehicles. Also thanks to Ulzgoroth for mentioning it first.

Yes. That's correct. I also want to know if high or low gravity would affect the speed and mobility of the vehicle.

Here's also another question. If there are genetically modified superhumans, is it possible for superhumans on high gravity worlds to perform higher jumps? Would the result of a landed jump be a hard one, for instance, possibly creating a small crater inside a soft surface instead of a hard one? Would their attacks be hard-hitting and quick even on high gravity worlds? What would it be like if the person being attacked got struck? Would they fall to the ground faster and harder or possibly be flung farther?

I am not an engineer but my father was and tried to teach me as I was growing up. So, here is my, semi-informed, opinion.

The mass of the vehicle will not change but the weigh will. And it is the weight that matters. So, in a lower gravity field this is my understanding. The engine power is not affected by gravity so the power to weight ration changes. The engine, with the same power, is pushing (or pulling) less weight. So the vehicle should accelerate faster and, maybe, have a higher top speed. Both with be affected by the ability of the power train to utilize the power applied to it effectively. Since the power train, and everything else, weighs less, it should not be able to absorb the power and transmit it as well. Thus, by one way of looking at it, the vehicle performance improves and by another it may not. My take on the issue is that any difference is too small to worry about unless the difference in gravity is so great that the vehicle has trouble with traction.

In a higher gravity field, the gravity will slow everything down based upon the ratio of the gravity field compared to 1G. There is nothing to be done about that short of installing a more powerful engine and drive train.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I thought you were saying that hitting something has a maximum force against gravity before it shoots you away. I didn't notice any qualifier of angle of attack.

Urr...not exactly. The basic limit is that the horizontal force component is equal to (total force) * sin (angle), and the vertical is equal to (total force) * cos (angle), and if the vertical force exceeds your weight, you gain altitude and eventually leave the ground. Which component of your velocity actually matters for damage depends on the angle of the strike.

[Flyndaran]

I guess I was just assuming people were thinking of all types of strikes, not specific ones. My mistake.