Is g-force as issue in spaceships?

G-force, which is the force exerted on an object in motion when direction or speed of that motion changes, or the force exerted by gravitational pull (hence the name and unit of measurement), exists with or without the presence of gravity. So your answer is yes.

Now, take a look at a starship, maybe one named Enterprise, with a captain and crew out exploring new... Okay, the Star Trek thing. Traveling at or above the speed of light, coming to a full stop. The forces on the bodies in the ship would turn them into stains on the walls, if the walls even held together. The creators of the series (and most SciFi writers prior to that point) invented a way around this. In the case of Star Trek it is the inertial dampener, a mysterious device that overcomes this force so faster than light travel is actually survivable.

Fortunately, technology has adapted to g-forces in fighters as well as current spacecraft, so that the force is survivable. Your pilots would surely be taught how and would be using the proper equipment. So it depends on what you need for your story. Have them feel it, ignore it completely or find a way for the safety equipment to fail if you need them to black (or red) out or even die.

Jeff

What Jeff said. Inertial dampeners would be a way to explain the plausibility. You don't really need to go in to the details of it to make it work.

Some authors make the "engine" a field effect. It applies thrust and propulsion to every single speck of matter within the field. Not to objects like a ship. As a result, no G-forces impact pilots, crew, passengers, etc.

Of course, even a .0001% variance at 1300 lights would be... problematic.

Can a ship in space make sharp turns?

Well, if you are going to have your ships behave like spitfires in space, why are you worrying about g-force? You're already handwaving the major problem.

Miranda's right, though. You don't have air pressure to "bank" with, so first you need to stop moving in the direction you were originally travelling (without inertia to help you), then start moving in the other direction. You don't so much "turn" as change vectors...

Space vehicles move in smooth curves as much as air vehicles do, just for different reasons. Hohmann transfer orbit, for example. Coming to a stop is unnecessary. The only thing about executing a "bank" in space is that your rocket has to fire perpendicular to your course. So it might look different than a bank in air, with the nose pointing inward, assuming it has a nose and is otherwise laid out like a jet plane, but the same flight path and G-forces are possible.

Hmmm... it's true that you don't have to come to a stop but you don't bank. It's more of a 'flip' into a different direction.

Spaceships do not do what Spitfires do. You can't have dogfights in them. No matter what they do in Star Wars and BSG.

It was for the crew of Apollo-13 when the accident happened and it went into a rapid spin.

caw

We may be getting in to this a little too deep but maybe the engines themselves move. Almost like a rutter on a ship but instead of changing course by directing the drag, it changes direction by changing how the force is applied to it. A better analogy would be like a propeller on a small boat. Turning the wheel turns the motor, not the boat. (Well it does but the motor turns the boat)

blacbird said:

It was for the crew of Apollo-13 when the accident happened and it went into a rapid spin.

caw

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I assume you're referring to g-force? I agree. Which is why was I amused that the OP asked about the g-force when he's already hand-waving what is to me a much bigger issue.

But what the hey. It's not my book.

mirandashell said:

Hmmm... it's true that you don't have to come to a stop but you don't bank. It's more of a 'flip' into a different direction.

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Meaning a roll? But that won't change the direction you're moving, just the direction you're pointing. It's easy enough to point a different direction than you're moving in space. To change the direction you're moving, you have to fire your engines. And that will result in a path that's a smooth curve. I'm not sure what you two are trying to describe, but sometimes it sounds like turning a corner, which definitely will not happen in space.

Spaceships do not do what Spitfires do. You can't have dogfights in them. No matter what they do in Star Wars and BSG.

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I've heard this, but I think the reason has little to do with whether they can bank or not. It has to do with the huge distances and speeds that likely would be involved. You'd see your enemy as a speck on the (figurative) horizon, and a split-second later they'd pass you by.

Modern aircraft don't really fight like Spitfires either, for the same reason. You pick out your enemy on radar, target it with your computer, and fire a guided missile.

I'm not sure how you equate a flip with a roll.

Look, there's load of stuff about this on the internet if you want to research it. And the OP asked about sharp turns. That's what I was referring to when I mentioned banking and dogfights. How far away the enemy is didn't really come into it.

mirandashell said:

I'm not sure how you equate a flip with a roll.

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I don't know. I didn't really have any idea what a flip would mean. You tell me.

Like I said, there's lot of stuff on the internet. Seeing as you are talking about something the OP didn't ask about, I suggest you do some research before saying anything else.

And I'm done.

g-forces are just acceleration. Any kind of acceleration will cause them. Changing direction requires acceleration, regardless of how its performed.

Gently, all.

Cath said:

Gently, all.

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That would cause less g-forces, yes.

kuwisdelu said:

That would cause less g-forces, yes.

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I see what you did there.

efreysson said:

I'm writing a sci-fi space battle, and I was wondering if a fighter pilot would experience g-force when making sharp turns at high speed.

Anyone know?

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It comes down to the level of tech you're writing. If you've got faster than light travel and artificial gravity, there's no reason to suppose that external forces on a pilot can't be eliminated within the craft.

Otherwise the forces are what you'd find on earth as inertia and momentum are universal.

For some decent realism in space combat, watch babylon 5.

mirandashell said:

Hmmm... it's true that you don't have to come to a stop but you don't bank. It's more of a 'flip' into a different direction.

Spaceships do not do what Spitfires do. You can't have dogfights in them. No matter what they do in Star Wars and BSG.

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No, but the human body *does* respond differently to g-forces from different directions. An up/down vector can be withstood to higher levels than side to side. And, frankly, an upside down vector (relative to the pilot) might be the least survivable; as in gees being directed up from feet to the head. I don't know about that for sure though.

So... banking wouldn't be needed for the performance of the craft. But for the survival of the pilot...

I was going to reply to the above but I think I will go until the thread has some realistic science.

Sorry Cath. I'm off.

We're all talking about different methods of turning sharply in space, or whether it's possible at all. But to get back to the original question, regardless of how you do it, if you do it, yes there will be G forces.

If you are
- going fast
- change direction significantly
- in a short span of time
then there will be high G forces, using any currently known technology. Technomagical inertial dampers and such exempt.