OT Shields really exist?

[Ed Kolis]

That article makes no scientific sense at all. "Increasing the plasma's frequency"??? What the hell?!? Blocking radar by REFLECTING pulses?!? Reflecting is what makes things detectable! ABSORBING is what would cloak something!

(Sorry, I've been reading a lot of Mike Wong's Star Trek vs. Star Wars site lately www.stardestroyer.net )

[geoschmo]

Radar can be interfered with by absorption or by reflection. Reflecting the radar signal off in a specific direction away from the receiver, instead of directly back at it where it can be received. Or by a form of reflection called scattering, which is reflecting parts of the radar beam in many different directions, so that the receiver cannot get a consistant return.

That is why the F-117 has all those wierd angles. If it was all about absorption, they would simply make a regular aircraft and paint it with radar absorbing paint. Which they do sometimes and it helps, but it's not as effective as a stealth aircraft with both principles in play.

Geoschmo

[ July 12, 2002, 18:19: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

[Puke]

saw this stuff a while ago. was this thing related to the electromagnetic plasma-bubble thing that they were thinking could be used as a solar sail? take it up and down on the fly, no rips or tears from being hit by micro-meteroids, spiffy-spiffiness.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by Puke:
saw this stuff a while ago. was this thing related to the electromagnetic plasma-bubble thing that they were thinking could be used as a solar sail? take it up and down on the fly, no rips or tears from being hit by micro-meteroids, spiffy-spiffiness.

The Plasma Sail is different from what that article is discussing. Yes, they are working on making a 'solar sail' that uses a magnetic field holding a field of plasma around the space ship. Not only is it immune to getting torn up by micro meteorites but it will have constant propulsion value out to the heliopause. As the craft gets further from the sun, the pressure of solar wind is less and the sail expands until it reaches equilibrium. So, the pressure it exerts, the propulsion force, is constant!

This article he is pointing to is about 'cold' plasma, which is different. It's some way of maintaining a soup of shattered atoms (electrons & nuclei) flying around without needing tens of thousands of degrees of heat. Normally a plasma would be so hot it would burn anything it touched and has to be contained with magnetic fields. The real reason that a space ship might be able to use the 'plasma sail' is that in space it can be very, very low pressure and even if it's hot it can't transmit very much heat to the craft itself. This technology makes it actually possible to use a plasma in the atmosphere because it doesn't have to be so incredibly hot, which would be near impossible to maintain in the atmosphere.

[ July 12, 2002, 20:42: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Ed Kolis]

Plasma Power! Blam blam blam!
No! Protoman! Destroy the blue dweeb!
Yes Dr. Wily! With Pleasure!



OK, I couldn't resist the cheesy MegaMan cartoon reference!