Mutalisk Wingspan

Ok, so I'm planning to finally take a crack at how Zerg flyers can move around in space on my Science of Starcraft blog, and one thing I want to do is prove that for a creature the size of a mutalisk, the wings are not nearly big enough to provide any thrust as a solar sail.

The whole post is going to be sort of tongue-in-cheek because I think we all know that the whole flying in space thing is something you just have to suspend your disbelief for. But I want to be as accurate as possible, so I'd like to see if there is a consensus about just how big mutalisks are. Also, I think it will be a fun discussin in its own right.

So. Let's assume that the campaign cinematics are the best authority on unit sizes. What do you think the mutalisk wingspan is? How big do you think their bodies are?

 

Since the Hyperion came into service during the original conflict we can assume that it's a Behemoth class cruiser. According to unit lore, they're capable of carrying wings (probably four) of Wraith fighters, as well as literally hundreds of soldiers. Naturally, quite large.

According to this cinematic, mutas stack up nicely to them. I suck at judging sizes, but maybe someone else can.

 

i would say, 50-100 adult males standing shoulder to shoulder in a line.

 

50-100 foot wingspan?

I was thinking maybe 20-25.

 

Actually, from shoulder to shoulder, I would say it's about 2.5 feet. So 125-250 foot wingspan. The wingspan of a B-2 Stealth Bomber is 172 feet, by comparison.

 

Wait, you're trying to disprove the solar sail theory? You biznatch

Anyway, I'm not very knowledgeable about such things, but CAN you disprove it regardless of their wing size? Maybe however their biology converts it is just very, very efficient

And even if you disprove it, I'm sure I can come up with more ludicrous theories. Since you're attacking the theory of solar sails, I'm now playing with the idea that mutalisks partially operate in a higher dimension, and their wings are beating off something there that is propelling them through the 3rd dimension. Your question would then be like a 2-dimensional creature asking how a 3-dimensional creature (which the 2-dimensional creature can only perceive in 2 dimensions) can cross a line without going around it.

Take that!

 

KHaYMaN, I saw that video too.

Someone wanna explain the solar sail theory and how it relates to mutalisks?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail

Assumption is based on Muta wing membranes are functional solar sails.

 

There is no way a mutalisk has wings large enough to propel itself in space at combat-acceptable speeds.

 

Which video?

 

Yeah, that's the cinematic I was thinking of. Comparing the wingspan to the rows of windows that you can see on the ship, I'd say (very roughly) around 100 feet, and the length of their body is similar.

EatMeReturns: everyone knows that flapping wings in space won't do anything, but when trying to explain how mutas fly in space, a lot of times people will say, half joking, that they use their wings as solar sails. Hence, I'm going to do a back-of-the-envelope calculation to see if that would work. (hint: it wont)

KHaYMaN: Yep, it's easy to disprove. There's a theoretical maximum force per area you can get from a solar sail. A perfectly reflective surface is best and mutas clearly are not perfectly reflective. Their bodies are also way too big for their wings even for normal atmospheric flying, let alone for solar sailing.

I can't disprove your higher dimensional theory, but that's because you're getting off into standard sci-fi technobabble. Not that there's anything wrong with that: we wouldn't have the protoss without it. But from a science point of view, saying that they flap and push against a higher dimension doesn't really make any sense.

Anyway, the next question is: how much do you think a mutalisk weighs?

 

Judging by how fast the muta that crosses the screen from left to top-right changes its course after the first explosion, I'd say they're very light relative to their wing span. Quick search shows the following for the Andrean Condor: 3m wingspan, 12kg in weight, so I would say the muta is around 140kg assuming that we agree on a wingspan of 30m and take into account the seemingly infinite number of creatures inside that are used on attack.

 

It is a fantasy game, not sci-fi. Stop trying to treat it like some star trek geek for who everthing has to make perfect sense... Especially when it comes to trying to apply real life science on non existing principles.

What's next? Trying to prove magic isn't real?

 

I think it's fun toying around with possible reasons and solutions. It certainly makes more sense than the countdown or those role playing dork games.

 

I was talking about as solar sails.

And the video I was referring to, I forget who asked, is a video that recently came about that aptly describes a basic theory of 10 dimensions in layman's terms.

 

How about this: they use farts.

 

Was it by any chance a presentation by Michio Kaku?

Anyway, I haven't seen it, by before videos there were books.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperspace_(book)

Probably the best non-fiction I read in high school. And it was exactly how you describe the video, basic 10 dimensional theory in layman's terms (which is what made it enjoyable to a not-particularly into science high school student).

 

Well, the debate about where to draw the line between fantasy and sci-fi is always interesting. But I would say that Starcraft falls squarely into the sci-fi category. Wikipedia backs me up:

To me that all describes Starcraft to a tee, so I think it's perfectly reasonable to take a look at stuff in the Starcraft universe and try to explain it. I'm not saying we should be able to explain it all, the fun of sci-fi and fantasy is that some rules of the universe are bent or broken and then you play with the consequences.

I think it's also important to show people where the line between the possible and the impossible is in speculative fiction because it's not always obvious. Flying in space is obvious but what about cloaking devices and railguns and powered combat suits? Some things that seem like they should be magic actually do exist, or at least aren't impossible.

And finally, it's fun. As I said, this post about mutas as solar sails is mostly going to be tongue-in-cheek because yes, obviously the whole "flapping to fly in space" thing is firmly in the realm of magic.

Speaking of which, if you want to see me disprove magic next, I'll do a post about the protoss. Their tech makes explaining the zerg flying in space look easy. But of course, you know what Arthur C. Clarke always said: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

 

Well, that's the other half of this post. How do the non-winged zerg fly in space? Rocket propulsion is the only plausible explanation.

Let's be honest. We're debating the wingspan and mass of alien space dragons to figure out how they can fly in space. That's pretty dorky.

Hmm, I see your reasoning, but that seems low to me given the size of their bodies. It looks to me like their bodies are about as long as their wingspan, and 5-ish meters across. So, since living things are mostly water, how much would a cylinder of water 5x100 meters weigh? That's a volume of about 2000 cubic meters, which would be 2 million kg or 2000 metric tons.

Yeah, I know. That's a ridiculously large number. We can play around with it by assuming a much lower density, but it's still going to be huge. Problem, is, while length goes up linearly, volume goes up like length cubed, so mass quickly gets ridiculous. There's a reason no flying things that big exist....

 

Interesting stuff, but I find it funny that you quoted Wikipedia as if it was a credible source for anything.