I can't answer that!

Hah so that is where that nonsense comes from! I always thought it was just tradition from some revered special effects guy so people followed the pattern. It always kind of made me laugh. I just haven't seen enough ground level large explosions thank goodness.

I always assumed the ring business was effects people copying the Death Star's explosion from Star Wars. And I further always assumed that the Death Star exploded that way because it had that equatorial trench, which would create a weakness that the explosion would exploit. But I might be giving ILM too much credit there, I dunno.

Destination Moon (1950) attempted to portray space travel as realistically as possible. Microgravity, lack of sound in a vacuum, etc. Most of the things that usually tick off physicists are notably absent. Screenplay by Robert Heinlein, matte paintings by Chesley Bonestell. There's nothing on the IMDB page, but IIRC Willie Ley provided some technical expertise. On the downside, it's got some ludicrous plot developments, cringeworthy characters, and yet it still manages to be boring. It also gave birth to a whole slew of regrettable 1950s space operas.

Things to Come (1936) is notable for showing that scientific progress is nonlinear. The dissolution of society is as likely as its progress -- there are always barbarians, philistines, and anti-intellectuals waiting in the wings. Plus, the special effects set a standard that would last for decades. TtC also influenced the look and feel of SF as diverse as Mad Max and Star Trek. One of my favorites, but perhaps a bit slow for those who prefer modern films. On the plus side: Ralph Richardson, fresh from the British stage, looking about 25 years old and acting up a storm as a post-apocalyptic warlord.

Without trying to go substantially off-topic, I would like to expand the scope to TV programs. "Science Fiction Theater" and "Men into Space" (late 1950s) both employed some basic science in a serious way. If you can access some of those programs, you might be surprised at the matter-of-fact integration of science into the story lines. Apologies for creating a penumbra to the main subject on this post.

I always assumed the ring business was effects people copying the Death Star's explosion from Star Wars.

Wasn't the ring explosion only added in the special edition Star Wars, and not in the originals?

Star Trek VI has the ring explosion at the beginning, when the Klingon moon Praxis has a Chernobyl-like accident. I've heard that's what started it.

Star Trek I also had an expanding ring of light at the end, when V'Ger departs. Ironically, that effect was used specifically because it couldn't be confused with an explosion.

Of course the ring appearance on the ground is also caused by the presence of something other than air - namely soil - to show the location and progression of the shockwave. I think I recall seeing a spherical, or hemispherical, vapor cloud expanding around some explosion in footage from Vietnam. Maybe no.

I think Forbidden Planet deserves special mention because of the faithfulness of its "science" to the science fiction standards of the day. Contact was OK, but I thought it lacked some of the flavor of the novel, probably because of the difficulty of translating some of it onto the screen.

On the Beach was shocking for its time, although perhaps not strictly science fiction. Part of the science was good, because it at least relied (maybe without saying so) on the delay in transport of the radioactive materials in the atmosphere across the equator. Unfortunately, they had Australia as one of the last outposts of living humanity when, because of its location under the tropopause discontinuity, which allows transport of materials from the stratosphere back down into the troposphere. That means that the radioactive materials transported from the northern hemisphere in the stratosphere would have first begun appearing in the latitudes of Australia, making it among the first locations in the southern hemisphere to feel the effects rather than the last.

You are correct that Star Trek VI started the ring explosion and Star Wars added it in the "special edition". Return of the Jedi had the Millenium Falcon escaping the Death Star explosion, leading to umpteen movies where a person on foot can outrun an explosion. 2001 A Space Odyssey is not perfect, but must be the most accurate science fiction movie ever made.

The Andromeda Strain. The most fun you can have with four scientists in an underground bunker without showers.

The Time Machine wasn't bad. I mean with Rod Taylor, not the other tosser. Oh sure, the effects are ridiculously outdated (gotta love the rubber-suit Morlocks), but it conveyed the explorer-scientist pretty well. Also worth hearing Alan Young's entry in the Worst Scottish Accent Evar competition.

And knocking the 2001 soundtrack? Savages.

Sincerely,

G. Ligeti

I want to say the ring thing comes from supernova 1987A , but perhaps that's too late? When did it start appearing in movies?

I don't know for sure, but I am reasonably sure the "ring effect" comes from Vietnam era videos of large conventional bombs dropped in vegetation - there's an iconic short clip that is frequently played on TV which is very striking. And, yes, it is due to the ground.

I try not to get into post hoc rationalisations of Star Wars details! I know who shot first.

SN1987a as the cause is implausible - the ring appeared long after the explosion, and even more wrong, since the ring is a reflection off a pre-existing structure.

Tare over on http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology gets the answer right though, and finds The Movie - Real Genius of course.
I watched that thing once a year for 5 years. It is so true to life it makes you cry.