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While modern technology has yet to produce large quantities of atomic antimatter (and no molecular) we routinely produce plenty of anti-protons and anti-electrons in the beam for the particle accelerators. Way more than a gram's worth by now.

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Originally posted by ChronoReverse
While modern technology has yet to produce large quantities of atomic antimatter (and no molecular) we routinely produce plenty of anti-protons and anti-electrons in the beam for the particle accelerators. Way more than a gram's worth by now.

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from [URL=http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/FAQ1.html]CERN[/URL]

• How mach antimatter can you make in one accelerator cycle?

Here at CERN we can produce 50 millions antiprotons in each cycle (about once a minute), that allows us to make a few hundred antihydrogen atoms.

The number could be 10 times higher in particular configurations of the accelerator. This sounds a lot, but expressed in grams it is a billionth of a gram in a year.

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__________________
Questions about FS3? Questions about Fred? Questions about missions? Questions about adding new ships to your games?

[URL=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/intro.html]Karajorma's Freespace FAQ [/URL] (now with added GE goodness)

Supreme Overlord of The Mercury Affair Campaign.

FREDder, Modder, Story design and general busybody for [URL=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/mindgames/Background.html] Mind Games[/URL]

quote:

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Originally posted by ChronoReverse
While modern technology has yet to produce large quantities of atomic antimatter (and no molecular) we routinely produce plenty of anti-protons and anti-electrons in the beam for the particle accelerators. Way more than a gram's worth by now.

---

quote:

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from [URL=http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/FAQ1.html]CERN[/URL]

• How mach antimatter can you make in one accelerator cycle?

Here at CERN we can produce 50 millions antiprotons in each cycle (about once a minute), that allows us to make a few hundred antihydrogen atoms.

The number could be 10 times higher in particular configurations of the accelerator. This sounds a lot, but expressed in grams it is a billionth of a gram in a year.

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__________________
Questions about FS3? Questions about Fred? Questions about missions? Questions about adding new ships to your games?

[URL=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/intro.html]Karajorma's Freespace FAQ [/URL] (now with added GE goodness)

Supreme Overlord of The Mercury Affair Campaign.

FREDder, Modder, Story design and general busybody for [URL=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/mindgames/Background.html] Mind Games[/URL]

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/gens/technogizmo.html


Well, remember the Gorgon Cannon in Derelict? I have practically no idea whether that's even theoretically possible, but it was nice.

"Derelict isn't canon!"
"No, but it should be."

__________________
Pain is just a state of mind.

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/gens/technogizmo.html


Well, remember the Gorgon Cannon in Derelict? I have practically no idea whether that's even theoretically possible, but it was nice.

"Derelict isn't canon!"
"No, but it should be."

__________________
Pain is just a state of mind.

quote:

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Originally posted by Someone
Maybe it is just me, but...

Wouldn't a vessel be torn to shreds after it reaches a certain speed? The hull must be able to withstand the forces in play, not to mention space debris like dustmotes and such...

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__________________
In Fine Solum Unum Potest Esse

quote:

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Originally posted by Someone
Maybe it is just me, but...

Wouldn't a vessel be torn to shreds after it reaches a certain speed? The hull must be able to withstand the forces in play, not to mention space debris like dustmotes and such...

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__________________
In Fine Solum Unum Potest Esse

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"In the Year 2380 the GTVA revealed it's newest weapon. The Vaccuum Cleaning Vasudan Device. - Although many had said that the Hatshepsut looked like a vacuum cleaner the truth of this wasn`t revealed until they removed the front weapons and filled the section with Tsunami bombs. Now any shivan ship that passes near the hatshepsut is instantly pulled towards it by the magnetic attraction where it remains stuck. It is now quite common to see a hatshepsut heading back to base with a couple of molochs stuck to the front"

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__________________
Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered." -Cicero
"Comple others: do not be compelled by them." -Sun-tzu
"Black holes are where God divided by zero." -Steven Wright
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -Napoleon

Leagacy at the [VBB] - October 2001 - April 2002 - 555 posts
[url=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/the158th]The 158th[/url]

quote:

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"In the Year 2380 the GTVA revealed it's newest weapon. The Vaccuum Cleaning Vasudan Device. - Although many had said that the Hatshepsut looked like a vacuum cleaner the truth of this wasn`t revealed until they removed the front weapons and filled the section with Tsunami bombs. Now any shivan ship that passes near the hatshepsut is instantly pulled towards it by the magnetic attraction where it remains stuck. It is now quite common to see a hatshepsut heading back to base with a couple of molochs stuck to the front"

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__________________
Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered." -Cicero
"Comple others: do not be compelled by them." -Sun-tzu
"Black holes are where God divided by zero." -Steven Wright
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -Napoleon

Leagacy at the [VBB] - October 2001 - April 2002 - 555 posts
[url=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/the158th]The 158th[/url]

I stand corrected about the anti-matter. I knew about the billions of anti-protons but forgot that a mole (equivalent to a gram in this case) of hydrogen has 6.03x10^23 protons. Oops.


Fire can't exist in space but plasma can. Otherwise our sun shouldn't exist either.

I stand corrected about the anti-matter. I knew about the billions of anti-protons but forgot that a mole (equivalent to a gram in this case) of hydrogen has 6.03x10^23 protons. Oops.


Fire can't exist in space but plasma can. Otherwise our sun shouldn't exist either.

quote:

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Originally posted by Deathstorm


Yeah, you're right. Unless ships are ultra-aerodynamic (think Pegasus) the cosmic matter and dust in space will punch holes straight through them - kind of like blasting sand at an apple.

The optimum shape for high speed travel is elliptical, but then you've got a piloted gauss rifle. Not much good.

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__________________
*is lost, but then...*
*Oh well...*
*...I think*

**the above: Someone in a nutshell...see? He's IN a nutshell...**

quote:

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Originally posted by Deathstorm


Yeah, you're right. Unless ships are ultra-aerodynamic (think Pegasus) the cosmic matter and dust in space will punch holes straight through them - kind of like blasting sand at an apple.

The optimum shape for high speed travel is elliptical, but then you've got a piloted gauss rifle. Not much good.

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__________________
*is lost, but then...*
*Oh well...*
*...I think*

**the above: Someone in a nutshell...see? He's IN a nutshell...**

The Gorgon Cannon probably would work, Jacc, but you would have to change the whole firing assembly after each shot. The Russians allegedly tried this, putting a nuke in a bell-shaped (I think) container and detonating it to create a very powerful energy weapon (possibly for nuke defence, I have to look it up, as my mind is a bit hazy about this). I haven't heard much more about it (understandably), so I can't really confirm or deny it, except that I read it in a book called Remote Viewing.
This is assuming that the meson blast can be not only contained but actually directed by the assembly.
Finally, I worked out the yield for that milligram of antimatter. It is a 'meagre' 43 tonnes of TNT equivalent, nothing compared to today's nukes, so I take back the nonsense about the supermarket-sized nuke. (1 ton of TNT = 4.184 * 10^9 J - CRC Press Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 2000).

__________________
"Once I destroyed the world with nuclear fire to clear the way for my cybernetic future. I now intend to further shape the world into my own image by surgically removing unwanted growths like yourself!" - NEXUS, Warzone 2100

The Gorgon Cannon probably would work, Jacc, but you would have to change the whole firing assembly after each shot. The Russians allegedly tried this, putting a nuke in a bell-shaped (I think) container and detonating it to create a very powerful energy weapon (possibly for nuke defence, I have to look it up, as my mind is a bit hazy about this). I haven't heard much more about it (understandably), so I can't really confirm or deny it, except that I read it in a book called Remote Viewing.
This is assuming that the meson blast can be not only contained but actually directed by the assembly.
Finally, I worked out the yield for that milligram of antimatter. It is a 'meagre' 43 tonnes of TNT equivalent, nothing compared to today's nukes, so I take back the nonsense about the supermarket-sized nuke. (1 ton of TNT = 4.184 * 10^9 J - CRC Press Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 2000).

__________________
"Time's up, 'Commander'. <<insert demonic laughter>>"
- NEXUS, Warzone 2100

I thought the 'nuke in a bottle' idea was an attempt to create a railgun that didn't require an enormous magnet.

This weapon behaves in a similar manner to a standard coilgun, but would create tremendous amounts of heat and also has an interesting nuance: the longer the barrel, the faster the projectile moves. The optimum length is 2 miles or longer.

Can you see that in FS2?

I can.

__________________
In Fine Solum Unum Potest Esse

I thought the 'nuke in a bottle' idea was an attempt to create a railgun that didn't require an enormous magnet.

This weapon behaves in a similar manner to a standard coilgun, but would create tremendous amounts of heat and also has an interesting nuance: the longer the barrel, the faster the projectile moves. The optimum length is 2 miles or longer.

Can you see that in FS2?

I can.

__________________
In Fine Solum Unum Potest Esse

2 miles?? 3100 m... that'll take the Horus some 20 seconds to travel. Jeeze that's long.

__________________
Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered." -Cicero
"Comple others: do not be compelled by them." -Sun-tzu
"Black holes are where God divided by zero." -Steven Wright
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -Napoleon

Leagacy at the [VBB] - October 2001 - April 2002 - 555 posts
[url=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/the158th]The 158th[/url]

2 miles?? 3100 m... that'll take the Horus some 20 seconds to travel. Jeeze that's long.

__________________
Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered." -Cicero
"Comple others: do not be compelled by them." -Sun-tzu
"Black holes are where God divided by zero." -Steven Wright
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -Napoleon

Leagacy at the [VBB] - October 2001 - April 2002 - 555 posts
[url=http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/the158th]The 158th[/url]

This 'nuke in a bottle' is just focussing the energies of a nuclear blast to create an energy weapon. A railgun works by using magnetic induction to accelerate a projectile to very high speeds (your coilgun, Deathstorm) and has nothing to do with nukes, except for the phenomenal power output needed.
Current technology renders railguns an unusable weapon - I built a small one, 10cm in length, with 2 coils of about 100 turns each. This was fed 10A of current (a huge amount, it burnt the paper tube the coils were shaped by) and propelled a small magnet with a rounded-off-at-the-ends cylindrical shape all of 5 cm. A longer barrel would increase the power of a railgun because the projectile will have the magnetic force exerted on it for a longer period of time. Railguns would work better in space for 2 reasons:
1 - there is no air resistance to impede the shot's motion
2 - there is no gravity to screw up the motion of the 'shell' and cause extra friction.
One possibility is that the 'nuke in a bottle' idea will be used to make the hand weapons of future armies- we already use bullets that eject shell casings, so if this idea is shrunk further, we will be shooting 'nuclear bullets' that eject their containment vessels. Just a thought.
Finally, the railgun would make a good FS2 cap ship design to base a campaign on, Deathstorm. A possible ship for that would be the UNCa Sagittarius in the T-V War mod (I can't remember off-hand where to get it), as it has a long cylindrical barrel, er, hull, it looks like a 'modern' GTVA ship and has the fighter bay at the front (It might be 2, I can't remember), which looks like a weapon outlet. There are turrets on the front to shoot the actual railgun shot out of (for the mission designers).

__________________
"Time's up, 'Commander'. <<insert demonic laughter>>"
- NEXUS, Warzone 2100