Unless they were too close in for Warp 6ish to kick them out of the event horizon. But they’d have to be pretty close in for that, especially considering the total mass of the black hole … but I may be overanalysing.

Wait, what? Am I the only one confused by this statement. I thought black holes exerted gravitational forces, in which case mass (of each body) would matter? Jettisoning the engines into the blackhole would just be transferring the mass, so zero sum right?

I’m wondering about that change in ST:TNG uniforms – did they give the high ranking officers red shirts on purpose, to dispell the whole red-shirt gag among fans?
Didn’t seem to work, in any case

Granted, the idea of using nukes to move a ship isn’t new (see Project Orion) – but those particular nukes would be fine-tuned to make sure that more of the weapon yield goes into pushing plasma against the pusher plate. (Yes, I know antimatter annihilation and fission bombs are different things, but generally speaking, the results are more or less a question of magnitude)
And yes, the Enterprise lacks the enormous solid pusher plate and shock absorption system, so… ouch

We all know that Darth Vader can sense things through The Force right.

So, therefore, the second that Spock Prime beams in at the very end shouldn’t Vader sense that happening & old Spock’s hostile intentions & thus spin around activating his lightsaber and chopping Spock Prime in half!? Y’know just like Yoda did when that stormtrooper came up behind Yoda to carry out order 66?

Now *that* – & Vader ending with the line “Never underestimate the Pow-wah of the Dark side!” would make an even better ending!

- In My Humble Opinion Naturally.

“Aye Captain”….slips on a yellow shirt
Best part right there.

Indeed.

If I was running the Federation or their ‘Occ. Health & Safety’ division – I’d seriously consider banning all employees from wearing red shirts – and even red clothes of any other type just to be safe. I’m sure it would more than halve their workplace fatalities rate!

***

The Scene:

After The Final Battle, the Enterprise gets too close to the black hole! They’re getting drawn in, and Scotty says that if they eject the warp core and blow it up, the explosion might propel them to safety.

The Science:

Simply put, that won’t work. Sorry Scotty!

On Earth, detonating a bomb creates a shock wave, an expanding wave of pressure as the force from the explosion propagates through the air. In space — wait for it, wait for it… — there’s no air! So you don’t get a shock wave. When the matter and antimatter in the core combine, you get a fierce blast of electromagnetic radiation (fancy science-talk for light) in the form of gamma rays, and an expanding very thin shell of vaporized atoms from the material in the warp core itself.

To propel the Big E to safety, the bomb would have to transfer momentum to the ship. This is like hitting a pool ball with another one; the moving ball has momentum, which it then gives to the other one, causing it to move. Detonating the warp core would generate a lot of light, but only a tiny bit of mass would explode outward, so the momentum transfer would be minimal.

What would really happen is the ship would be vaporized from the massive release of energy. Oops! That would’ve made for a dramatic ending to the movie, but not a terribly satisfying one.

[Oh I don't know about that! - Ed. ]

(Bold original, cut’n'pasted from linked BA blog item.)

***

So I’d like to see the “what would really happen” science version where the Enterprise starts to sphaghettify then Scotty dumps the warp cores which vaporise the whole ship in a huge soundless flash of light explosion leaving just the black hole.

My cruel side would like to see the expression on the Trekkies faces as they realise Kirk et al have been totally vapourised and wiped out once and for all!

(Or have they – parallel universes, time travel redos and all considered!)

I don’t mind Star Trek I really don’t but ..

Then the newly minted red matter black hole pulls Earth out of its orbit – along with Mars and our Moon and we watch as the Earth fries or freezes with a brief shot of the gravitational effects causing huge moonquakes and Mars-quakes sending Humanity extinct as well.

Followed by the closing line – not ‘The End’ but a huge bold ‘D’oh!’ aa-aand roll credits!

@42 Messier: “Was I the the only person bothered about the fact that the Trek “altquel”** created a black hole near the Earth at the end of the movie? I mean, think of the gravity & its effects on the solar system!”
They didn’t: Just before that point Spock jumps to warp (granted for not very long) to get away and they follow–presumably he goes far enough away from earth so that the new black hole doesn’t have much affect.

Hmm… Thanks

But I must say I’m not entirely convinced. It was a *very* short jump after all and having something with the mass of a black hole suddenly appear in our solar system anywhere or even just right next to it? I don’t think that’d be good.

BTW. The BA’s review of the Trek rebooted movie is here :

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/08/ba-review-star-trek/

Personally, Ithought it was a fun fast-paced flick which I kinda enjoyed but the dreadful bad science of it and the convenience-itis factor of the weak plot. *Facepalm*

Best part right there.

The answer?

1. Fiction.

2. Fiction.

3. Fiction.

4. The whim of the next hack writer who writes a tale – take your pick of fictional scenarios specifically designed to titilate Star Trek fans for further profit: real science has absolutely positively nothing, without a shred of connection other than mention, whatsoever to do with it.

I trust these would be reason enough for even the most rabid Star Trek afficianado to accede that what FICTIONS they watch on a Big Screen orchestrated by Hollywood isn’t necessarily true to any authentic science, let alone any remote semblance of reality.

“Using a minor amount of thrust, the Enterprise easily drifts away from the pinprick-size black hole that has only as much mass as the mining craft that became it. The black hole eventually evaporates due to Hawking radiation.”

A common mistake of TV and movie sci-fi is indicating that black holes have stronger gravity at the same distance than the objects that went into making them. Stargate SG-1 has a particularly egregious example.

Regarding tidal forces, a nice (physically accurate, as far as I know, with the exception of some unobtanium in the ship’s hull) short story on the topic is “Neutron Star” by Larry Niven. It’s not about a black hole, of course, but some of the issues encountered near a small BH are similar.

“Aww they should have gotten spaghettified!”

I concur! We need to make “Star Trek: How It Should Have Ended: How It Should Have Ended”

“Was I the the only person bothered about the fact that the Trek “altquel”** created a black hole near the Earth at the end of the movie? I mean, think of the gravity & its effects on the solar system!”

They didn’t: Just before that point Spock jumps to warp (granted for not very long) to get away and they follow–presumably he goes far enough away from earth so that the new black hole doesn’t have much affect.

your argument is a classic appeal to authority. by invoking what Han Solo thinks, you have invalidated your whole line of reasoning.

Whose amirite?

Yeah, Newton’s something-th* law : For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Was I the the only person bothered about the fact that the Trek “altquel”** created a black hole near the Earth at the end of the movie? I mean, think of the gravity & its effects on the solar system!

Finally, I wonder how a Trek / Wars ‘verse cross over would work? I don’t mind ether of those Science fantasty series and each has its flaws and its moments of brilliance. Trek has transporters which could indicate better technology but then there’s the Death Star and the Force. How would Kirk handle Jedi Vs Sith or Janeway and Seven of Nine manage against Han Solo and Princess Leia? I’m sure somebody’s done written something on that idea already and I’m sure the rsults could be .. fascinating!

—-

* First? Second? Third? One of those I think, I forget which though.

** Alternative universe sequel. What? Is the BA the only one who can coin neologisms here or something?

Spoiler Alert!:

Loved how Nimoy nerve pinches Vader at the end. Classic!