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I feel the same way. But I am wondering since mars has such a thin atmosphere, how would wind go so fast? I mean. Earth's atmosphere is thick. Mars's is not. Sure it could get rocks flying pretty fast, but no way to be suer dangerous. If anyone can assure this, please do.
But I guess wind speed can be high even if the medium is light and has low density (which is what a thin atmosphere means). Since also gravity is lower, it takes less force to lift and move objects, which compensates for the thinner atmosphere (to some extent). I believe it is plausible that you can get dangerous storms in a thin atmosphere.
Weir himself has admitted that the force of the wind on Mars would not have been enough to tip the ascent vehicle. He just needed a way to strand Watney on the Red Planet-- in his own words, "... because it’s a man-versus-nature story and I wanted nature to get the first punch in." Considering the diamond-hard sci-fi that follows, I think it's an acceptable break from reality.
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Ethan
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Mar 23, 2016 02:17PM
I feel the same way. But I am wondering since mars has such a thin atmosphere, how would wind go so fast? I mean. Earth's atmosphere is thick. Mars's is not. Sure it could get rocks flying pretty fast, but no way to be suer dangerous. If anyone can assure this, please do.
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But I guess wind speed can be high even if the medium is light and has low density (which is what a thin atmosphere means). Since also gravity is lower, it takes less force to lift and move objects, which compensates for the thinner atmosphere (to some extent). I believe it is plausible that you can get dangerous storms in a thin atmosphere.
Weir himself has admitted that the force of the wind on Mars would not have been enough to tip the ascent vehicle. He just needed a way to strand Watney on the Red Planet-- in his own words, "... because it’s a man-versus-nature story and I wanted nature to get the first punch in." Considering the diamond-hard sci-fi that follows, I think it's an acceptable break from reality.
