Picture yourself riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. The wheels are able to move forward because there is enough traction between the wheel and the ground. Now imagine that you have driven onto a sandy beach. Pedaling this bicycle suddenly becomes much more difficult. The wheels on a bicycle require rotational friction to turn. Sand creates significantly less friction than solid ground, resulting in the tendency for objects to slide rather than roll.

• The Science of Art: How
• Cracking the Code for
• Jo Handelsman: Creating
• The film’s heroes, however

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Every day, it seems, governments and corporations fall victim to data leakscaused by anonymous online crusaders or foreign terrorist organizations — leaks whichcall into question the efficacy of modern computer security measures.

1. Every day, it seems
2. Unfortunately, the new
3. The film’s heroes, however
4. Defying the laws of physics

Assuming that the consumed star was even 10 percent the size of our sun, Starkiller base would have more than enough energy to decimate the five planets that meet their ill-fate in the film. However, the law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot simply disappear. In converting the matter of the sun into usable power, much of the excess energy would be converted into thermal energy. This is a vast amount of heat, capable of evaporating everything on the surface of the base. For such a disaster to be prevented, the base would need to have an immense cooling system to handle the heat. Perhaps this is why the First Order chose an icy planet as the base of operations for its super-weapon. The villainous faction’s disregard for the laws of nature has a high cost, culminating in the loss of countless innocent lives.

Though the Star Wars films may have moments of major scientific implausibility, these do not diminish the sense of wonder and awe they evoke. Films like The Force Awakensfuel the desire to achieve what seems impossible. Such an impulse can lead to great innovations in the world—and, perhaps one day, in galaxies far, far away.