From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Mon Jun 09 2003 - 13:19:53 MDT
--- "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury@aeiveos.com> wrote:
> Now this is pretty cool. Physics News Update is
> reporting
> that Brookhaven & Argonne labs have managed to
> develop an
> actual "force field". (If you had asked me a few
> years
> ago whether this was possible I would have looked at
> you
> like you were crazy for even asking the question....
> But hell its probably a simulation so all bets are
> off.)
>
> See:
> "A Plasma Valve"
>
http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/2003/split/640-2.html
I recall hearing, once, about a force field effect
achieved with supersonic jets of water (supersonic
with respect to the speed of sound in water, anyway).
It had to be carefully crafted to make sure the water
made a flush seal with the surrouding material, and
of course it had to be made of stuff that could stand
up to such a jet (one could use such a jet to, say,
cut meat, without worrying about metal shattering
should the water blade hit bone), but it kept air and
vacuum apart, and repelled casual attempts at piercing
(reacting to a finger poke as if it were solid, for
example). I don't think they tested it against
bullets, though; I wonder how effective, pound for
pound, such a system would be as compared to modern
armor? (Even if super-effective, it would have at
least two drawbacks: needs power and water to operate
- although most of the water would be recycled, there
would probably be some minimal water wastage, no
matter how well designed the system - and inescapable
weak points for the frame of the field - although said
points, being a small fraction of the area protected,
could themselves use heavy conventional armor.
Advantage: even if a single shot manages to penetrate
the field - other than at these weak points - the
armor regenerates before another bullet can come
along.)
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