The Energon Pub

Im may not know a whole lot about thermal dynamics, but there is 1 (kinda 2) facts aboout the movie that really bugs me!!

The Transformers can fly thru space (and enter/exit planet athmopheres (sp?)) on there own, but they cannot survive in sub-freezing temps?!? This does not make sense!! How would they be able to survive in space?!?

loomdog32 wrote:Im may not know a whole lot about thermal dynamics, but there is 1 (kinda 2) facts aboout the movie that really bugs me!!

The Transformers can fly thru space (and enter/exit planet athmopheres (sp?)) on there own, but they cannot survive in sub-freezing temps?!? This does not make sense!! How would they be able to survive in space?!?

Both Megs and Bumblebee 'survived' those conditions just fine.

I don't see it taking all that much imagination to get around this.

I think they can't survive (or at least become immobile) in extreme cold when in robot form. When they're in their alt mode (asteroid or in Starscream's case, Raptor), they're shielded.

SPOILERY STUFF TO FOLLOW!

Well, if you don't consider the prequel stuff(the movie rendered both inaccurate, anyhow), the Transformers are in alt modes(usually protoforms, though at film's end, Starscream does escape the atmosphere in his human-based alt mode) when in space, tackling both the high heat of the atmosphere and the cold of the vaccum. So, presumably, the protoform protects them.

you have a point, megs and bb did survive, but it did "disable" them, so to speak, to the point they were non-functional until they thawed..

Given that, space travel should still be impossible.. Think about it this way, would a space shuttle be any good if anytime it "froze" is became disabled??

loomdog32 wrote:Im may not know a whole lot about thermal dynamics, but there is 1 (kinda 2) facts aboout the movie that really bugs me!!

The Transformers can fly thru space (and enter/exit planet athmopheres (sp?)) on there own, but they cannot survive in sub-freezing temps?!? This does not make sense!! How would they be able to survive in space?!?

You're incorrect. They *CAN* survive in sub-zero temps. They just cannot move. It freezes the mechanical and physical parts of their bodies, such as motors, servos, etc. They're locked up like being in prison, but it does not kill them.

This is shown to be true because Megatron woke right up and smashed Hoover Dam to pieces once the ice thawed.

Thinking they'll freeze and lock up in the waters is stupid, because all Starscream has to do is use some sort of a tractor beam to yank them out from the depths (like he'd go in there, knowing he could be crushed...yeah.) Or (and this is possible too) most of them hit an underwater shelf that's nowhere near the bottom of the ocean and they don't freeze, or not entirely. Either way, if they go deep enough, worrying about freezing is the least of their concerns, they'll be crushed like tin cans by the pressure. (Although, traveling through space exerts force on their bodies, so to think ocean currents and pressure will be enough to stop them..heh. No.)

There's a loophole out of this, and the writers will find it.

Also remember Megatron crash landed when he made it to earth. It probably damaged his "space armor" that the alt forms have

Megypoo had a power issue I think in the prequel comics, which *helped* keep him stuck in the ocean. Though don't take my word for it, I can't quite remember if that is what happend for sure.

briggs wrote:Megypoo had a power issue I think in the prequel comics, which *helped* keep him stuck in the ocean. Though don't take my word for it, I can't quite remember if that is what happend for sure.

Correct, In the prequel, Megatron states that he used all his energon stores and had damaged several components of himself in his reckless behaviour once he got close to Earth.
His body Temperature and mass didnt help when he landed on the artic shelf, the heat mealted the ice, and he was snap frozen nearly straight after plunging into the ocean, it was the snap freeze that stuffed him up.

Maybe the easy anwer to the question that Megs temperature would have been highly elevated entering into earths atmosphere, we're talking nearly 2,000 degrees.

If he crashes into the artic ice and instantly cooled, i could see that causing some problems. the metals going to want to contract from its expanded state and solidify.

when they travel through space they probably don't need to move around much, and maybe when they're rolled up in a little ball they can store heat in their center.

Think of it this way:

Space shuttles don't freeze up in space, so why would Megs or BB?

What they used on BB (according to the novel) was actually fast hardening plastic.

Megatron sacumbed to the ice because there was water to bind him with. He flash froze.

Obi-Wan Kenobi wrote:Maybe the easy anwer to the question that Megs temperature would have been highly elevated entering into earths atmosphere, we're talking nearly 2,000 degrees.

If he crashes into the artic ice and instantly cooled, i could see that causing some problems. the metals going to want to contract from its expanded state and solidify.

That's what I would've said. It's a movie anyway. Basically Megatron wasn't frozen, he was stuck, the pesky humans kept blasting him with their ice guns kept him from moving.

Plus Megs's landing wasn't exactly perfect he could've damaged himself in the process and couldn't get his heating up, then he was a goner.

Exactly, Think of it in terms that megatron was more or less imprisoned in ice rather than JUST really cold. You're not going to end up in a giant ice cube in space. Couple that with his low power, damage or what have you. See you in a few thousand years etc etc..

Bumblebee, Who the hell knows what they were spraying him with. Fire extinguishers? Fast hardening plastic? The Wonder Twins in the form of "STEAM!". Who knows. I think you're assuming too much.

Outer Space isn't cold this close to the sun.

It's extremely hot. It's only cold in the shadows.

Autobot032 wrote:(Although, traveling through space exerts force on their bodies, so to think ocean currents and pressure will be enough to stop them..heh. No.)

Wait a minute. How could outer space exert force on them? What's there to offer resistance? That's why they call it space.

I'm getting the impression that your claiming outer space has more pressure in it than the bottom of the ocean.

Dark Zarak wrote:Outer Space isn't cold this close to the sun.

It's extremely hot. It's only cold in the shadows.

Autobot032 wrote:(Although, traveling through space exerts force on their bodies, so to think ocean currents and pressure will be enough to stop them..heh. No.)

Wait a minute. How could outer space exert force on them? What's there to offer resistance? That's why they call it space.

I'm getting the impression that your claiming outer space has more pressure in it than the bottom of the ocean.

Ah, I see where I misspoke. I guess what I was trying to say is, leaving orbit (Cybertron), enterting orbit (Earth), breaking atmo, etc...since space is a vacuum and going from one extreme to the next, I'd say their bodies are well equipped to handle pressures of different variences, and that it's possible they could withstand the pressures of the ocean depths.

However, this is one of those glaring plot holes that will most likely never be explained.

A bigger plot hole if you ask me is dumping the remains in of the Cons in the deepest trench in the world so that 'all evidence will be eliminated'.

Well...that sounds like they're trying to cover things up, but what about all the frickin people living in Mission City who saw the whole thing go down....how do they explain that???

Military Excercise that destroyed millions of dollars of infrastructure and real estate??