# Imperial Star Destroyer as a meteorite **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343 "2022-05-12T22:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/21 "2022-05-18T21:13:40Z")
I think that the simplest assumption is that such devices work by exerting a downward force on the planet below them. The nature of that force is unknown, but it doesn’t matter, because whatever sort of force it is, the calculations would be the same. (note that all instances of “force” in this post are lower-case) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/22 "2022-05-18T21:23:41Z")
What if you made a gravity shield? No gravitons get through. Or in some fashion they are just not affected by gravity (cuz space magic). Just saying because if a kilometer long Star Destroyer was hovering overhead and “pushing back” I imagine that pushing would be noticeable. (probably getting too far afield for FQ) [![](https://www.wallpaperflare.com/static/649/717/81/star-wars-rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-jedha-star-destroyer-wallpaper.jpg) ](https://www.wallpaperflare.com/static/649/717/81/star-wars-rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-jedha-star-destroyer-wallpaper.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/23 "2022-05-18T21:39:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > (probably getting too far afield for FQ) Yeah, I was wondering about the falling chunk of metal without any anti-gravity space magic. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/24 "2022-05-18T21:48:51Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > What if you made a gravity shield? No gravitons get through. Or in some fashion they are just not affected by gravity (cuz space magic). Then the answer is space magic. I can use physics to describe something using some other force to counteract gravity. I can’t use physics to describe something “shielding” against gravity, or “just not affected by gravity”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/25 "2022-05-19T05:04:27Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Just saying because if a kilometer long Star Destroyer was hovering overhead and “pushing back” I imagine that pushing would be noticeable. ( Long ago I read a web article calctlating the pressure under a giant mothership. I can’t find it again, but here is something related in a book. > **[Exploring Science Through Science Fiction](https://books.google.com/books?id=GJO7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=Giant%2Balien%2Bmothership%2Bpressure&source=bl&ots=cmuZLSGC2o&sig=ACfU3U0vcqb1jNezNmUY9mL0n1hUqDK8hw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC-YzJ4-r3AhXNUt8KHSOJBpUQ6AF6BAgAEAE#v=onepage&q=Giant%20alien%20mothership%20pressure&f=false)** > > How does Einstein’s description of space and time compare with Doctor Who? Can James Bond really escape from an armor-plated railroad car by cutting through the floor with a laser concealed in a wristwatch? What would it take to create a fully... ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/26 "2022-05-19T05:58:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Of course, a ‘starship’ capable of moving at relativistic speeds is a weapon of incomparable destructive power. Even a small shuttlecraft from the _Enterprise_ moving at fast sublight speeds could devastate an inhabited world or shatter a decent sized moon. Who needs phasers or a fancy “Death Star” with “turbolasers” when you have real physics? At least prior to the sequels, this wasn’t possible using Star Wars’ concept of force fields, which provided complete protection against kinetic strikes. Any decent sized inhabited world would also be heavily shielded against that sort of attack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343.md?page=1)