Advanced Question Starship Weaponry

[Hielor]

Now I understand. But a spacecraft of that much mass would alter the orbit of just about anything that the craft gets close to. I'm not going to build an antimatter weapon that powerful. If I scaled down the weapon to an explosion radius of about 7,000 miles, then could one of those weapons fit inside a small spacecraft. Let's see, that's about 2000 times less powerful than the original disign. The mass should be somewhat linear in some way.

I'm still confused as to why you need such a ridiculously powerful weapon for "self defense" and to be used when the ship crew does something wrong. What are you defending against? A planet that you're about to crash into?

 

[Urwumpe]

A planet that you're about to crash into?

Such as system would be used against stars you are about to crash into. I would say even a black hole would be bothering.

 

[Ghostrider]

And why do you want a starship to go to Mars? Why would such a ship need weapons?

Hm, because Mars is the God of War. If you ever had to go to Venus, you'd bring champagne.

 

[TCR_500]

The antimatter weapon is only going to have an explosion radius of about 250 miles and should melt anything that gets caught up in the explosion.

I'm going to use steel as the primary armor unless there's something else that's stronger while having the same weight or being lighter. I'm going to embed a film of lead inside the steel armor to protect from solar radiation. I'm also gong to put a plasma shield on board held together by a magnetic field. Not using a magnetic field would make the shield unstable. And I did not get the plasma shield idea from star-trek. I got it from a science program that was comparing star-wars technology to real life.

For menuverability, the ship's rotation can accelerate to 45 degrees per second in about 2 seconds using its 40 thrusters. It has control surfaces for atmospheric use and can menuver quickly with them.

The plasma turrets are relatively light and can rotate quickly. A plasma pulse is perfect for causing a hull breach using heat. However, I'm not sure how long it would stay hot. The missiles would combine hull penetration through high pressure in a small area with a high pressure explosion. The heat combined with the pressure would blow an enemy ship to pieces. Although I'm not sure if anything could withstand immense heat caused by an antimatter explosion.

 

[garyw]

Hm, because Mars is the God of War. If you ever had to go to Venus, you'd bring champagne.

Women are from Venus so I am certainly heading there! :lol:

 

[Urwumpe]

The antimatter weapon is only going to have an explosion radius of about 250 miles and should melt anything that gets caught up in the explosion.

Think better in orbiter units first: What should be the maximum mass of such a "space torpedo"? And it's size, etc. Then when you know this, fit a plausible antimatter warhead into the equation.

Even in space combat, you will need a plausible weapon mix. If you have one big gun and the rest is too weak, you will be just a support unit and not fight alone.

 

[garyw]

The antimatter weapon is only going to have an explosion radius of about 250 miles and should melt anything that gets caught up in the explosion.

Down a lot from 15 million in the original post.

I'm going to use steel as the primary armor unless there's something else that's stronger while having the same weight or being lighter.

Really Daft. Steel won't do anything to protect you from micro meteroid debris. What you want are thousands of layers of very thin sheeting. Check out the shielding used on the Giotto probe for an explanation of why layers are better.

I'm going to embed a film of lead inside the steel armor to protect from solar radiation. I'm also gong to put a plasma shield on board held together by a magnetic field. Not using a magnetic field would make the shield unstable. And I did not get the plasma shield idea from star-trek. I got it from a science program that was comparing star-wars technology to real life.

Pointless. Lead is wasted mass. Use water instead.

For menuverability, the ship's rotation can accelerate to 45 degrees per second in about 2 seconds using its 40 thrusters. It has control surfaces for atmospheric use and can menuver quickly with them.

Can it Manouver as well?

The plasma turrets are relatively light and can rotate quickly. A plasma pulse is perfect for causing a hull breach using heat. However, I'm not sure how long it would stay hot. The missiles would combine hull penetration through high pressure in a small area with a high pressure explosion. The heat combined with the pressure would blow an enemy ship to pieces. Although I'm not sure if anything could withstand immense heat caused by an antimatter explosion.

Ok, Your earlier post said it was for clearing out debris.... now it's for blowing up other ships.

You want to use orbiter to do space combat. Admit it.

Oh, have fun designing the weapons - maybe you can use them for your super simulator?

 

[Hielor]

The antimatter weapon is only going to have an explosion radius of about 250 miles and should melt anything that gets caught up in the explosion.

So you can defend yourself against the continent that's about to crash into you?

 

[garyw]

And too think, All of that could be avoided with a radar and this really new concept called NAVIGATION......

 

[TCR_500]

The antimatter missile can be used for clearing out debris or for combat. But I'd preffer clearing out debris. Originally, I wanted all of the weapons on the starship to be only for shooting objects such as debris. Each weapon would take care of a specific object. Small objects can easily be taken care of by plasma or bullets which I will add. While objects of larger sizes are taken out by missiles which emmit heat in a fireball which in turn, creates immense pressure. Then the smaller weapons can do the rest. While the antimatter weapon can be used to take out massive objects or large dibris fields. But, I did not originally want the ship to be used for combat. If that were so, I would have given it more types of weapons and better armor. But for now, All I realy need is enough to retain the atmosphere inside the space craft even if it is hit. As for the lead, I'm not sure how water could do the same job as the lead. It doesn't take much to cover the entire ship and a thin layer should do the trick. For the plasma shield, I originally intended it to be a heat sheild. If the starship was in combat, it would not be easy for it to defeat the enemy. And with the amount of weaponry aboard and the fuel, both ships would probably be destroyed. In an atmosphere, the ship should have the same menuverability as a fighter jet.

 

[Urwumpe]

And too think, All of that could be avoided with a radar and this really new concept called NAVIGATION......

Reminds me on a famous joke.

• Navy: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collison.
• Civilian: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
• Navy: This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say again, divert your course.
• Civilian: No. I say again, you divert your course.
• Navy: This is the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise. We are a large warship of the U.S. Navy. Divert your course now!
• Civilian: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

 

[Hielor]

...While objects of larger sizes are taken out by missiles which emmit heat in a fireball which in turn, creates immense pressure.

Whoops. There's no pressure in space, since there's no medium to pressurize.

While the antimatter weapon can be used to take out massive objects or large dibris fields.

Couldn't you just, you know, go around?

In an atmosphere, the ship should have the same menuverability as a fighter jet.

With all that armament it certainly sounds more like a bomber than a fighter, especially with turret-mounted weapons.

 

[ThatGuy]

The antimatter weapon is only going to have an explosion radius of about 250 miles and should melt anything that gets caught up in the explosion.

Do you know how much real matter and antimatter it would take to do that? You know that when you double the distance from the source, the energy is cut by a factor of 4, right? Also, for every gram of antimatter, you need to have a gram of real matter to react with. You also need to consider the storing of the antimatter. You would need charge the antimatter and use electromagnets to suspend the particles in a vacuum. You also need some propellent to get the torpedo to its target.

 

[garyw]

Reminds me on a famous joke.

• Navy: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collison.
• Civilian: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
• Navy: This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say again, divert your course.
• Civilian: No. I say again, you divert your course.
• Navy: This is the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise. We are a large warship of the U.S. Navy. Divert your course now!
• Civilian: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

I've heard that one.... good thing the navy ship never had an anti-matter missile!

---------- Post added at 22:15 ---------- Previous post was at 22:11 ----------

I'm not sure how water could do the same job as the lead.

Why do you think they submerge nuclear rods in WATER and not lead?

 

[Urwumpe]

The antimatter missile can be used for clearing out debris or for combat. But I'd preffer clearing out debris.

If it is too large to fly through it, you go around. A small push of the thruster at the right time is enough.

Originally, I wanted all of the weapons on the starship to be only for shooting objects such as debris.

For that you don't need a doomsday device. A good laser to push asteroids away by melting one side of it's surface is far better suited for that task.

As for the lead, I'm not sure how water could do the same job as the lead.

Water is one of the best radiation protections against a wide range of radiation classes. lead works better against EM radiation, but fails against charged particles. 2 mm of aluminum offer better protection against protons than 8m of lead.

But the best radiation protection for most stuff you get in space is polyethylene foam combined with many thin and light metal layers (lower density = better against charged particles).

Polyethylene foam is also used in nuclear weapons as it absorbs radiation quicker than other materials, and quickly vaporize and expand, creating the compression effect needed for keeping the nuclear fuels concentrated in the center of the explosion long enough for maximum efficiency.

On a spacecraft, having such a layer on the outside, which can ablate away against hard radiation would protect the spacecraft much better than meters of lead - the vapor cloud by the vaporizing foam blocks the radiation at a further distance away from the hull of the ship in short explosive bursts. And if your enemy has a continuous nuclear radiation cannon in the 300 TW range, you should have other worries. For example to find a way to evade it.

It doesn't take much to cover the entire ship and a thin layer should do the trick.

Wrong - you need enough, depending on the type of radiation.

 

[TCR_500]

Solar radiation is the only type of radiation the ship should encounter once it leaves the Earth's magnetic field. And wouldn't the immense pressure rupture the ships main layers of armor? The ship doesn't have any bomb doors. However, the hovering thrusters can be used in combat. But like I said, the ship isn't meant for combat. And I've already taken into consideration on how to contain the antimatter. A couple months ago, before I knew about Orbiter, I started plans for a warp capable ship. Scene antimatter will destroy almost anything (if not anything) it toughes, I decided to design the warp core with an electromagnetic field. Now here's a question. Could I use electromagnets alone to propel the ship? No thrusters, just electromagnets? The electromagnets could push on the solar radiation and propel the ship anywhere in the solar system. It would save on fuel and the amount of fuel needed if it works.

 

[Hielor]

Solar radiation is the only type of radiation the ship should encounter once it leaves the Earth's magnetic field. And wouldn't the immense pressure rupture the ships main layers of armor? The ship doesn't have any bomb doors. However, the hovering thrusters can be used in combat. But like I said, the ship isn't meant for combat. And I've already taken into consideration on how to contain the antimatter. A couple months ago, before I knew about Orbiter, I started plans for a warp capable ship. Scene antimatter will destroy almost anything (if not anything) it toughes, I decided to design the warp core with an electromagnetic field. Now here's a question. Could I use electromagnets alone to propel the ship? No thrusters, just electromagnets? The electromagnets could push on the solar radiation and propel the ship anywhere in the solar system. It would save on fuel and the amount of fuel needed if it works.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Nice one Heilor. I've wanted to weigh in on this, but I've no clue where to begin...

The Cerenkov radiation visible at the bottom of our spent fuel pit is a nice visual example of how water is a better shield medium than steel.
And what about additional protection from Solar activity? You know, those pesky flares...

As far as shooting through a debris field, why bother? If it's an asteroid field, why not mine it for precious metals instead? Unless it's an iceball, then lob it so it can break-up in Mars atmosphere (as in KSR's Mars trilogy)...

Electromagnets...Umm.

Classified - Information that, if disclosed can cause irreparable damage to national security and loss of human life. I hardly think a persons age qualifies, and if they are born in the United States, it's a matter of public record anyway (just gotta know who to ask).

 

[TCR_500]

That's Captian Jon-Luke Pickard of the Federation starship Enterprise. A Galaxy class starship with a detachable saucer section. By the way, I still don't know what to use for the main layer of armor. How about this (from inside to out):

3 layers of titanium 1.5 inches thick per layer
3 inches of that radiation absorbing phoam
3 layers of titanium 1.5 inches thick per layer

Should I use different metals, fuse differnet metals together?

 

[Hielor]

That's Captian Jon-Luke Pickard of the Federation starship Enterprise. A Galaxy class starship with a detachable saucer section. By the way, I still don't know what to use for the main layer of armor. How about this (from inside to out):

3 layers of titanium 1.5 inches thick per layer
3 inches of that radiation absorbing phoam
3 layers of titanium 1.5 inches thick per layer

Should I use different metals, fuse differnet metals together?

Yes, I know exactly who it is.

Zoom...that was the sound of the entire concept flying over your head. It's a facepalm.