Anti-Photons ;-)

posted on March 11th, 2009, 12:09 pm

@Optec

Adapted photon torpedo sounds like music to my ears. 

Just an idea: Could you make the torpedo really adapt, so hat they are gettting stronger each shot, because they converge to the shields properties. Would be quite borgish.
I'd like to have it for the Adaptors too.

I'd be interested in your "time loop" informations. Is there a online reference? Causality and Time are the most controverse topics of science and I soak up any drop of information. (I could read the papers ... no, I'm to lazy to do that).

@Atlantis
The hole term "antiphoton" is currently used. You'd "double-use" it then, even anti does not refer to it's scientific means. (But in my opinion we're having scientifiv context there.)

I thought of it more like a kind of disruptor, not exactly intercepting the weapon itself, but making it inert by disrupting whatever effect photons have within the weapon.

That's the reason, why I didn't like the name. It doesn't even fit your ideas of that weapon.

posted on March 11th, 2009, 3:16 pm

Well, having just thought of another weapon system, gonna bring it up.  Seems like a rommie trick, because they've put the most research into large-scale light and sensor bending with their cloaking devices.  It may also be borg-tech, if you could convince the collective to deploy it, but it doesn't seem effecient in most circumstances.

The romulan vessel projects a modified cloaking field onto the enemy ship's shields.  However, it's operation has been inverted, and the field draws in and focuses every drop of light it can, possibly even turning the enemy shield into a giant lasing device to kill or maim the enemy ship, with the added perk of causing massive sensor interference.

The bigger the target, the nastier the result as the shields are larger, increasing the rate of photon-collection.

posted on March 11th, 2009, 3:25 pm

i would like to see the old point defense phaser brought back.

posted on March 11th, 2009, 3:29 pm

i second that! it could be good, for a number of ships, like steam runner, seeing as the steamrunners defense is so low!

posted on March 11th, 2009, 3:54 pm

I always wondered, how shields worked. As far as I know now, they extend the space between the approaching projectile and the ship. For an observer it seems like the torpedo is stopped at a place. The torpedo doesn't lower its speed (lokally). But the torpedos journey must come to an end somehow.  How does that happen. I would Point-Defense-Laser it, but what happens in Star Treks fictional reality? Do those torpedos explode after time?

I'd reintroduce the PDL, but then it would be some kind of standard equipment for all larger vessels then. Sadly that would not fit into the game, because there would have to be tractor beams too. If point defense laser and tractor beam were implemented like the borg e.g. slicer beam, the fes would look too borgish.

At the moment I can't imagine any sensible solution 

posted on March 11th, 2009, 4:07 pm

@ silent93

I like your idea! I'm currently not aware it that might work in the farthest way of physical imagination.

If possible the ship would have to turn off any energy source, which is possible, especially, as you mentioned, the shields. That leaves 2 options. Clever crews turn off these sources, will survive, but rendered inoperable for some seconds. Stupid crews will be roasted....Sounds cool to me.

But...

...does a Shield dissipate energy? Otherwise there's nothing rejected to the poor vessel.

...does the crew panic if the space around the ship simply vanishes?

posted on March 11th, 2009, 4:22 pm

maybe one of the future races could not have shields but a point defense weapon and then armor to block beam weapons.

posted on March 11th, 2009, 4:41 pm

About shields, I remember reading something that stated that shields were a localized distortion in space, through the use of gravitons. If I remember properly, gravitons were the fictional particles that the ST universe uses to create gravity. The source I had said that this "field" of gravity was in a specific place, so that instead of feeling like a pull of gravity, it was more like an intense amount of gravity in one place...or something like that. Then, when a torpedo or phaser hits the shield, it "feels" like the torpedo or phaser hit a physical object, that actually isn't there.

I got NO idea if this is actually how shields work, but that's one way that I found. Not entirely sure if it makes sense to anyone else, but I think I got it.

posted on March 11th, 2009, 5:52 pm

Well, Mimesot, considering in the show that a hit dropping shields to 80% usually seems to cause bridge consoles to explode, I'd say that the shield is a sort of energy dispersion system, effective against many forms of energy, including kinetic as shown by it absorbing torp hits.  It seems that it attempts to absorb the energy and pipe it somewhere, perhaps into it's own generators to help sustain itself, but on energy releases worse than normal navigational deflector use, the relays just can't take it.

I can't say for certain, mind you, because I'm far from a 24th century tactical engineer.

posted on March 12th, 2009, 10:29 am

Why the hell cant the federation send us one from future

posted on March 12th, 2009, 2:38 pm

temporal prime directive.

posted on March 12th, 2009, 3:02 pm

temporal prime directive.

Aw MAAAANNNN!!!!! I wanted to say that!!!!! Anyway, back to the topic.

@ Optec

I believe that the time loop is called a "closed timelike curve", and the weapon in FO related to it is the Premonitions special ability, as they remain in a temporal loop because, although you can alter the main timeline, you cannot alter the sub timeline.

And the other reason that the Feds can't send us an engineer is because traveling backwards in time requires a real negative number, which is something science cannot currently grasp. Although it may be possible in something like year 6000 or so, it's currently not possilbe, and will not be anytime soon.

@silent93

Well, it's actually almost entirely kinetic, as light-based weapons don't even scratch them. Phasers fire nadion particles, photons are matter-speed based weapons, and disruptors fire particles. Shields apperantly use a form of gravition to deflect/absorb attacks, meaning that they use the warp field for stability, explaining why a station would be able to use shields/cloak.

However, an Anti-Photon pulse would cause a hull to age backwards , theoretically meaning that enough shots would cause it to become energy.  Look at the game Singularity, and you'll understand my meaning.

posted on March 12th, 2009, 4:03 pm

this thread is becoming entirely to philosophical and its making my head hurt.

posted on March 12th, 2009, 5:11 pm

lol 

posted on March 12th, 2009, 5:24 pm

DAMN!!! I have this problem at home, too! No one understands me!