Jump to content

Laser weapon and defense


AlexCout

Recommended Posts

So I'm aware that in one topic laser protection has already been discussed (by the form of heat resistant armor) but I wanted to take it a step further... also the content I'm about to propose is definitly for advanced gameplay that definitly won't be in the game at release ( well if NQ want to do it they can, but I don't think it should be a goal for release..)

 

Also I won't be using really scientific terms here and i'm omitting some properties of light because they aren't that intersting in gameplay purposes ( at least i dont find them interesting)...

 

So if you didn't know laser emit only in a specific wavelength, different wavelengths have different properties when hitting materials, ( common example is uv don't always go through glass but visible light does) and ( for simplification purpose) light can either be reflected/ absorbed/ ignored by the material it hits... ( visible light is reflected by a mirror but gamma rays pass through (not sure about that, i'm not a scientist, but you get my point)) 

 

so the idea is different wavelength of light are produced in different ways, needing different materials... and laser protection is made by stacking layers of reflecting materials in specific ways, maybe as a paint job with many layers of paint, keeping in mind that if you want to reflect Xrays you want to have the reflecting layer behing layers that ignores x rays and don't absorb them... 

this way if the whole thing is properly balenced you could make it in a way that you can't get the best OP armor, you'll always have downsides...

however since there will be different laser types, you could make one that needs to buildup before releasing the light, and thus needing a more complex crew to maintain, restraining the use to advanced military fleets... this way a hauler don't need the protection against this weapon if he follows the "law", since pirates won't probably have the same tactics ( more run and gun like) and thus would be using a different type of laser...

 

so balancing would be a mess I admit it, BUT once it's up and running, it adds a huge amount of gameplay / building mechanics...

 

tell me your thoughts on that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're quite right on most of your assumptions. However there are some other points I wont to bring up(on the physics side, not touching gameplay too much).

 

Light does indeed correspond to a specific wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum. So when we talk about this, let's talk about other wavelengths.

 

So you know whenever you go to get an xray, the operator at the xray asks you to put on a big bag like thing. Well we know that this "bag like thing" is of course lead that is sheaved. Since lead is so dense, it is able to block out xrays with ease. This limits the amount of ionizing radiation that we are exposed to, protecting our body. Now your chances of being harmed by xrays are actually pretty small during that period. However, after getting exposed more and more, you are at much more of a risk.

 

So let's get back to the material.

 

You must use light for lasers. Aka. the visible spectrum. There is no real shielding for it besides mirrors and you must try and cope as best as possible. With that said though, here are some problems with lasers as mechanics go. To fire one that is effective in space combat, you must use a lot more power for it. To damage a ship's metal which is naturally reflective, you need a powerful laser.

 

With that said though, I'm losing mental clarity and need to take a break from discussion. You should get the idea of how lasers are really simple in the basic world. Putting them in the game is not hard but making actual points that are realistic is really hard to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Edit: when I talk about light, I talk about the whole electromagnetic spectrum, not visible light, that's how I was taught in school, idk if it's wrong or not... but undestand my post like that :P

 

Well still on the pysics sides of thing (kinda off topic but whatever)...

I thought you could use any wavelength of light to create a laser? I mean not that we acheived to make xray lasers, but in principle if a material reflects xrays the we should be able to make a laser with it... because the basic principle of a laser is to bounce photons wich "duplicate" themselves because of exited atoms.. blablabla.. between 2 mirrors, and have one mirror letting 1% of the light which hits it through... Am I correct? So from a sci-fi perspective, we have access to more materials and for some reason one of the reflects Xrays... 

 

Also (I am not a scientist, neither a light engineer, but from what i know, true or not...)  I think that the lead is just a material that block idk 80% of the Xrays through 1mm, letting 20% of the original Xrays through, beeing a transparent material... (completely random values btw, but you know the point isn't about values here) But acting like a opaque one...

so a shielding for visible light is just a normal material, or is it more like a transparent but really opaque material?

I know there is a really black material that absorb 99.idk percent of visible light, it's quite impressive to look how deep the dark is... isn't it a shielding material? It doesn't reflect light, only absorb...

 

I'm getting kinda lost because I don't really understand were I was wrong about materials, yes I didn't talked about the absorbtiion coeficient thing, neither did I properly talked about refraction, but It was somewhat on purpose... 

 

 

And I don't know what makes visible light so special to you, it's not because we can see it that we can make lasers out of it, but I think you know that...

 

So the comment I just made is quite messy, I can really put my mind... please clarify a bit what you really meant and where exactly I'm wrong...

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are all kinds of lasers (chemical, gas, solid state, semiconductor,...) and even an xray (think via some plasma, not sure - don't quote me on that lol).

 

But I llike the idea of further diversifying the needed armor because of different lasers. Plus kinetic, ballistic, em and thermal ones

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...