close menu
Because Science

Let’s Build a Death Star!

Hello class! Welcome to Imperial Engineering 101. Today we are going to run through the cost and energy specifications for our most infamous weapon, the Death Star. I know that’s why you’re all here.

In my latest Because Science, I’m running through the calculations required to find out how much power the Death Star’s laser needs to destroy a planet like Alderaan. And how much would something like that cost? More than anything in human history, it turns out. Class dismissed.

Check out my last video on Adventure Time’s “Mushroom War”, subscribe to this playlist to stay current with the show, and follow me on Twitter to barrage me with nerdiness!

Nintendo’s Mii Channel Music Gets a Ska Cover

Nintendo’s Mii Channel Music Gets a Ska Cover

article
CRIMSON PEAK Window Displays are a Visual Feast

CRIMSON PEAK Window Displays are a Visual Feast

article
Is This What Tyrannosaurus Rex Really Sound Like?

Is This What Tyrannosaurus Rex Really Sound Like?

article

Comments

  1. M. Strong says:

    Why do they keep acting like Han Solo used “parsec” as a unit of time? It could easily be used as a identifier of difficulty. The Kessel Run may be harder to do by taking a shorter route. Why doesn’t anyone ever have that point of view? It was obvious when I was a child.

  2. Martin says:

    I am glad someone has started looking at the financial burden of Star Wars Tech.  I just finished re-watching the Clone Wars and all I can think about is how much it must have cost to build and maintain such an army…and then I have to wonder how much it cost to have such a massive army and how pissed I would be if even one Imperial Star Destroyer was destroyed.

  3. Gordon Duke says:

    Do you need to overcome the binding energy of the entire body, or could you just overcome the binding energy of the core or the upper crustal regions (Not that the beam looks that selective).