A Little Solavellan Sketch

Rockets, Racecars, and the Physics of Going Fast

When our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launches the Artemis missions to the Moon, it can have a top speed of more than six miles per second. Rockets and racecars are designed with speed in mind to accomplish their missions—but there’s more to speed than just engines and fuel. Learn more about the physics of going fast:

Take a look under the hood, so to speak, of our SLS mega Moon rocket and you’ll find that each of its four RS-25 engines have high-pressure turbopumps that generate a combined 94,400 horsepower per engine. All that horsepower creates more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch our four Artemis astronauts inside the Orion spacecraft beyond Earth orbit and onward to the Moon. How does that horsepower compare to a racecar? World champion racecars can generate more than 1,000 horsepower as they speed around the track.

As these vehicles start their engines, a series of special machinery is moving and grooving inside those engines. Turbo engines in racecars work at up to 15,000 rotations per minute, aka rpm. The turbopumps on the RS-25 engines rotate at a staggering 37,000 rpm. SLS’s RS-25 engines will burn for approximately eight minutes, while racecar engines generally run for 1 ½-3 hours during a race.

To use that power effectively, both rockets and racecars are designed to slice through the air as efficiently as possible.

While rockets want to eliminate as much drag as possible, racecars carefully use the air they’re slicing through to keep them pinned to the track and speed around corners faster. This phenomenon is called downforce.

Steering these mighty machines is a delicate process that involves complex mechanics.

Most racecars use a rack-and-pinion system to convert the turn of a steering wheel to precisely point the front tires in the right direction. While SLS doesn’t have a steering wheel, its powerful engines and solid rocket boosters do have nozzles that gimbal, or move, to better direct the force of the thrust during launch and flight.

Racecar drivers and astronauts are laser focused, keeping their sights set on the destination. Pit crews and launch control teams both analyze data from numerous sensors and computers to guide them to the finish line. In the case of our mighty SLS rocket, its 212-foot-tall core stage has nearly 1,000 sensors to help fly, track, and guide the rocket on the right trajectory and at the right speed. That same data is relayed to launch teams on the ground in real time. Like SLS, world-champion racecars use hundreds of sensors to help drivers and teams manage the race and perform at peak levels.

Knowing how to best use, manage, and battle the physics of going fast, is critical in that final lap. You can learn more about rockets and racecars here.

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Something about Davrin just fucking hurling this rock at this venatori is so funny to me. This happens in the finale of the game, and while I'm gonna keep this as non-spoilery as possible this man just fought a fucking colossal goddamn statue and singlehandedly brought it down, he pops out of the rubble like a jack-in-the-box and then just chucks this rock at this dude. He's so goddamn tired of this shit. Imagine being part of a magic eugenicist cult and dying via rock. So embarrassing. I love Davrin so much

vora'shivan, your heart is a good heart. so trust it. i love you, bellara. and i'm proud to be your brother.

Shoot someone posted it but I can't find it. He says something like "I understand this is difficult for you to comprehend" and out definitely came off as 'you're beneath me' and varric says on the last line "who are you trying to convince me or yourself" Ugh I think they removed the vid cus I cannot find it 😩

i really wanna know what they say. bc I just know bioware wrote a script for that and gave it to them.

i feel like my brain processed some of it as solas going "I understand this is difficult" or words to that effect and I really wanna know if he meant like in a compassionate way or in a "i realize you're too STUPID to get it varric, BUT" [and also if this is in earnest or if he's like guarding them both by being the bad guy]

Dragon Age: Inquisition | The Elven Ruins

i think the most classic bioware move of all time might be catastrophically failing to answer and clarify major lore reveals in their game and instead just glossing over them quickly and hoping no one asks further questions, and then revealing them and their story and character relevance in the god damn art book after the game

"Peaceful beginnings, gentle giant gardeners, and curious spirits"

"The spirits saw the dwarves as they tended to the Titans, and they wanted to try making bodies for themselves"

"The spirits made physical bodies for themselves from the 'flesh' of the Titans. The first elves were born, and the first war began"

"A brutal war raged on between the elves and the Titans, only ending when one elf (Solas) rendered the Titans 'tranquil', capturing their souls"

"The elves brought a powerful war trophy home"

"With the Titans rendered tranquil, dwarves lost their connection to magic. They fled into the bodies of their fallen hosts"

"With the power that came from the captured Titan souls, the elves built the greatest empire Thedas would ever see"

The gods drew upon the power of the Titans' souls to gain more power. The imprisoned souls became twisted with rage. This became the blight."

"To contain the blight outbreak, Solas performed a desperate blood-magic ritual. He bound up the magic of the world behind a veil and powered it with the blood of the evil gods."

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???????????????? I GET SOME OF THIS IS IMPLIED IN THE GAME BUT NONE OF IT IS ACTUALLY STATED OUTRIGHT. I THOUGHT THEY JUST DIDNT FEEL LIKE FIGURING OUT THEIR OWN LORE THEMSELVES BUT THEY DID IT BEHIND THE SCENES IT JUST DIDNT MAKE IT INTO THE GAME?????

link to the artbook preview if you want to see for yourself, but beware of how much its going to make you yearn for what was lost. maybe it was on purpose as a fun-meta commentary for the player on how solas feels :D

𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 🐺 i am obsessed with this game and younger solas you will see nothing else from me forever thank u

It goes like this, the fourth the fifth