planets

[Emperor Harkonnen]

does all the planets in dune have the same size?

[nampigai]

no

[Emperor Harkonnen]

then how do they deal with the gravity thing?

[nampigai]

I don't have the time to explain it to you

[Andrew]

I highly doubt the planets are the exact same size. Some are most likely similar, but I'm guessing others are larger and smaller. I haven't heard of any direct references to size differentiations of the planets in the books though.

[styx]

There are billions of planets and thousands of habitable planents (cant remember the official title of the emporer)

But it can be safe to assume that when humans go and colonise a planet if the gravity was too high for comfort (ie a bigger planetry body than earth) they wouldn't settle. If the gravity was too low for comfort (ie a smaller planetry body than earth) they wouldn't settle.

That saying I cant rembmer what SciFi book it was from but it was stated that someone born on the moon couldn't go to earth because of the gravity change was too great for their body to handle

[Tezcatlipoca]

"The men were already boiling in from the field when he reached the yellow-domed room. They carried their spacebags over their shoulders, shouting and roistering like students returning from vacation.

'Hey! Feel that under your dogs? That's gravity, man!' 'How many G's does this place pull? Feels heavy.' 'Nine-tenths of a G by the book.'" (DUNE (Berkley '84) Page 79)

It would be illogical to think that they were all the same size, and it appears (not suprisingly) that FH didn't overlook this matter. By only the quote above, we can make two separate (and conflicting) assumptions:

1) Arrakis has a gravitational pull (and thus a comperable mass) of 0.9 that of the galatic standard 'G', probably based off old Terra standards (1G is sea-level Earth pull, or ~9.81m/sec^2), so around 8.829m/sec^2, where as Caladan has a gravitational pull that is slightly less (but quite noticable), probably around 8.5 or 8.0m/sec^2.

2) Arrakis, again has a gravitational pull of 0.9Gs, or ~8.829m/sec^2, and Caladan is around the same or possibly higher. The men commenting on it have been stuck in 0Gs for probably a few hours, and thus have the illusion that, initially, the planet is heavier then they anticipated.

[Davidu]

The Empire is later named "the million planets" therefor, there must be around a million habitable planets.

[Andrew]

I think the million planets thing was more of a title than an accurate number of planets.

[Davidu]

Undoubtly. But that means there were enough settled planets to aproximate at one million.

[TMA_1]

size doesnt always mean greater gravity. It also has to do with the mass of a planet as well. So you can have a planet that is smaller than earth, but with more mass that can potentially equal the same gravity as earth.

hope that helps :)

[Tako]

I think the million planets thing was more of a title than an accurate number of planets.

in the prequels ( i know we don't really hang on them but anyhow)

shaddam ponders: emperor of a million planets but I do"n't really know if the empire holds a million planets....."

so if the emperor does not know...

[styx]

in the prequels ( i know we don't really hang on them but anyhow)

shaddam ponders: emperor of a million planets but I do"n't really know if the empire holds a million planets....."

so if the emperor does not know...

But to be fiar the Emperor only knew what Fenring told him

[Andrew]

I think there may be a million worlds. I am just getting confused with the Dune timeline.

11200 THE EMPIRE OF A THOUSAND WORLDS (an empire in name only, because Imperial power was so diffuse as to be nonexistent).

http://www.usul.net/books/timeline.htm

I knew it said somewhere that the number of worlds was only a name. But it doesn't have to do with the Dune's present timeline.

[TMA_1]

you are right andrew. it doesnt literally mean a million. There are tens of thousands though that are found.

[HasimirFenring]

"The men were already boiling in from the field when he reached the yellow-domed room. They carried their spacebags over their shoulders, shouting and roistering like students returning from vacation.

'Hey! Feel that under your dogs? That's gravity, man!' 'How many G's does this place pull? Feels heavy.' 'Nine-tenths of a G by the book.'" (DUNE (Berkley '84) Page 79)

Thanks, I had exactly that passage in mind when I saw this thread.