Fantastic summary of an addition to an RPG universe that's *really* fun and unique. Thanks for taking the time to explain and share! Minor nit, though. Light *is* a wave. (And a particle. It's both. Look up "wave-particle duality".) The Victorians could do tests to show that it's a wave as well as we can (by looking for interference patterns and such), but they couldn't imagine how a wave could travel without a medium (like, as you say, waves in water, or like sound in air). So they postulated the luminiferous ether as a medium, which -- to permit stars to be visible and planets to plow through it -- had to be pretty close to infinitely rigid and fairly close to completely frictionless. Since Maxwell, though, we've learned that changing electric fields create magnetic fields, and that changing magnetic fields create electric fields -- so you can create a wave using electromagnetism that perpetuates *itself* -- completely without the need for a medium to pass energy along. And that's exactly what light is. Since we no longer have *need* of luminiferous ether to explain things, we no longer postulate its existence.
Cheers mate, knew I'd not really explained it properly. When the camera's rolling and I'm just talking, I often make slip ups. I remember all this from my physics courses back in Uni, and still have the memories of the headaches learning all this gave me.
@@RPGGamer : No worries at all. It's seriously not my intention to bring anything down about this video at all. I've loved "Space: 1889" for a long time, and your explanation of this supplement was engaging, witty, and informative. I really appreciate it. I guess it's just the science educator in me. Thank you for being so gracious.
Thank you for the kind comment, very much appreciated. I was so surprised that Steampunk never grabbed more of the RPG market, as it's easily merged with Fantasy. But apart from Space 1889, GURP's Steampunk and Castle Falkenstein, I can't really think of any others. Cheers.
I can totally get that, although personally I'm a sucker for blueprints. Fill a book with blueprints and I instinctively feel as if I've got my value for money, and the city plans in this book tick that box for me. :)
Fantastic summary of an addition to an RPG universe that's *really* fun and unique. Thanks for taking the time to explain and share!
Minor nit, though. Light *is* a wave. (And a particle. It's both. Look up "wave-particle duality".) The Victorians could do tests to show that it's a wave as well as we can (by looking for interference patterns and such), but they couldn't imagine how a wave could travel without a medium (like, as you say, waves in water, or like sound in air). So they postulated the luminiferous ether as a medium, which -- to permit stars to be visible and planets to plow through it -- had to be pretty close to infinitely rigid and fairly close to completely frictionless.
Since Maxwell, though, we've learned that changing electric fields create magnetic fields, and that changing magnetic fields create electric fields -- so you can create a wave using electromagnetism that perpetuates *itself* -- completely without the need for a medium to pass energy along. And that's exactly what light is. Since we no longer have *need* of luminiferous ether to explain things, we no longer postulate its existence.
Cheers mate, knew I'd not really explained it properly. When the camera's rolling and I'm just talking, I often make slip ups. I remember all this from my physics courses back in Uni, and still have the memories of the headaches learning all this gave me.
@@RPGGamer : No worries at all. It's seriously not my intention to bring anything down about this video at all. I've loved "Space: 1889" for a long time, and your explanation of this supplement was engaging, witty, and informative. I really appreciate it. I guess it's just the science educator in me. Thank you for being so gracious.
Very cool sourcebook, I would love to try this game sometime! Thank you for another great Retro RPG video.
Thank you for the kind comment, very much appreciated.
I was so surprised that Steampunk never grabbed more of the RPG market, as it's easily merged with Fantasy. But apart from Space 1889, GURP's Steampunk and Castle Falkenstein, I can't really think of any others.
Cheers.
I have a soft spot for any book that has a bunch of hex maps. :)
I can totally get that, although personally I'm a sucker for blueprints. Fill a book with blueprints and I instinctively feel as if I've got my value for money, and the city plans in this book tick that box for me. :)