Physics Questions During Mission Writing (part 1)

One detail that I'd like to share about the upcoming mission, Broken Citadel, is concerning a new item your characters might want to acquire. It is called the Magnetic Tether Gun, or MT Gun for short, and this contraption fires out a long cord with a powerful magnet attached to the end. The magnet can attach to the side of a metal object in space and the user can pull himself to the object. This is a vital safety tool for anyone that might find themselves drifting in space away from a starship or space station. Designing this tool and making it viable in Solar Echoes was not without its challenges. I did some research and discussed the implications of this device with several people that hold degrees in physics. One of the problems was the drifting speed of the user: any force vector greater than 50 lbs would detach the magnet. The user would remain attached to the tether until there is a force greater than 50 lbs perpendicular to the attach point, but if the force comes from an angle off the perpendicular, the vertical (perpendicular) force would be less. In short, it would take a greater off-angle force to break away. Though Solar Echoes is a “space opera,” I do try to keep with more “hard sci-fi” elements of realism if I can. However, I don't want players to end up arguing over minutia and scribbling out trigonometry equations instead of playing the game. I ended up explaining the physics quandaries by describing the gun as able to “sustain a pull of up to 50 lbs of weight in zero-g and if moving at a low relative speed.” Of course, the GM can always make a ruling based on circumstances without the need for complex calculations.