WC Science 101

Bob McDob

Better Health Through Less Flavor
Help me LOAF!!!

This is really to LOAF more than anyone else, but...

1. How does a Jump Drive work?
2. How do ship engines work?
3. What powers cap ships?
4. How does Radar work in space?
5. How do shields work?
6. How do Phase shields work compared to shields in WC3-4?
7. How does the Sivar\Behemoth\Tiamat main gun work?
8. What is a JetPlane? (sorry, juest had to slip that one in... :D)

BTW, does anyone have the specs for the Concordia battlecruiser from the WC movie?
 
Re: Help me LOAF!!!

Originally posted by Bob McDob
This is really to LOAF more than anyone else, but...
3. What powers cap ships?
Matter/Anti-Matter reactors.

Originally posted by Bob McDob
4. How does Radar work in space?

Same way it works anywhere else. Radar is radio-waves, which work just fine in space. It's Sonar (sound) that won't work in space.
 
1. How does a Jump Drive work?

A jump drive generates anti-gravitons, by using stored anti-protons in a containment vessel (some larger ships actually create their own anti-protons). A jump drive first detects the location of a jump point by releasing a tiny amount of anti-gravitons and following them to the exact jump point (anti-gravitons are automatically attracted to jump points, which are basically created as the opposite of gravity). Once a ship has moved to within 500 meters of a jump drive, it comes to a full stop, takes its drift rate and bearing and then releases the full amount of anti-gravitons necessary to allow the ship to enter the jump point. In doing this, energy is subtracted from the jump line itself.

(Older ships detected jump points using tachyons -- a much less efficient manner).

3. What powers cap ships?

Cap-ships store monopoles in plasma coils, which generate a giant electromagnetic field (a ramscoop), which sweeps hydrogen isotopes into their intakes, through a containment vessel and then into fuel cells. This hydrogen is then sent to the impulse engines -- where it's compressed via another electromagnetic field to create "hot fusion" -- the so-called matter/anti-matter powerplant.

Ships also store fuel in "cold impulse cells", in case of an emergency.

2. How do ship engines work?

The energy generated by a ships engines is piped through a flux resonance tube to propell a starship.

(Fighters are different -- most of them use ion engines... some old Kilrathi fighters (the Dralthi II, for instance) use an atomic powerplant... and, of course, the Excalibur and Lance have m/am powerplants. Fighters also have atomic batteries for reserve fuels).

4. How does Radar work in space?

Very well!

5. How do shields work?

Shields generate curtains of mesons, which block both energy and projectile weapons.

6. How do Phase shields work compared to shields in WC3-4?

The shields in WC3-4 *are* phase shields, in the WC2 sense... technically, all shields are similar -- the shields that protect capital ships in WC2 are special during that era because they recharge so quickly and are so thick that they prevent most weapons from being able to break through them. Advances in weapons technology nullify this advantage...

7. How does the Sivar\Behemoth\Tiamat main gun work?

That's three different questions.

Atomic Proton Accelerator Gun: Fires accelerated protons and gravitons at a target -- creating a small explosion, followed by a momentary 137 fold increase in the gravitational field of an object.

Behemoth Gun: The ship is an 11km long series of linked superconducting energy amplification conduits, which focus 500,000,000 gigawatts of energy at one point.

Capital Ship Plasma Cannon: Energizes hydrogen molecules to near-fusion levels, similar to those attained by a supernova.

8. What is a JetPlane? (sorry, juest had to slip that one in... )

BTW, does anyone have the specs for the Concordia battlecruiser from the WC movie?

Length: 855 meters
Mass: 73,000 meters
Max. Speed: 100 kps
Cru. Speed: 50 kps
Aft. Speed: n/a
Max. Y/P/R: 1/1/1
Max. Accel: Poor
Weapons-
(50) Torpedo Tube
(30) Single-Mount Turreted Laser
(4) Dual-Mount Anti-Matter Gun
Fore Shield: Phase
Aft Shield: Phase
Front Armor: 35 cm
Rear Armor: 35 cm
Side Armor: 30 cm each
Fighter Complement: 20
Crew: 1050 (700 crew, 75 medical, 275 command)
 
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF

Length: 855 meters
Mass: 73,000 meters
Max. Speed: 100 kps
Cru. Speed: 50 kps
Aft. Speed: n/a
Max. Y/P/R: 1/1/1
Max. Accel: Poor
Weapons-
(50) Torpedo Tube
(30) Single-Mount Turreted Laser
(4) Dual-Mount Anti-Matter Gun
Fore Shield: Phase
Aft Shield: Phase
Front Armor: 35 cm
Rear Armor: 35 cm
Side Armor: 30 cm each
Fighter Complement: 20
Crew: 1050 (700 crew, 75 medical, 275 command)

how did they get phase shilds before they were invented? i gotta check up on my WC2 manual
 
Originally posted by $tormin
how did they get phase shilds before they were invented? i gotta check up on my WC2 manual

All Energy fields have a natural resonant phase [and frequency]. So all energy shieldsare phase shields. The "new" ones, WC2 and beyond, alternate their phases (I guess), which is why the recharge so quickly.
 
Sorry, should be in tonnes.

All shields are essentially the same -- the WC2 phase shields are just a significant advance in how quickly they recharge and how thick they are.
 
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
1. How does a Jump Drive work?

(...) Once a ship has moved to within 500 meters of a jump drive, it comes to a full stop, (...)
I'm sure you mean jump point... :)

Just curious... where did you get all this information?
The WC Confederation Handbook?
The Book of LOAF?
The memory cells from the right hemisphere of your brain? :D


[Edited by mpanty on 06-04-2001 at 15:00]
 
Whats the normal escort for a carrier during war time circa
WC2-3?

Also, was the Tarawa a "jeep carrier" like Forstchen keeps mentioning? What was her fighter compliment and what was the smallest fighter carrying craft in the WC games? I know the WCM Handbook mentions really small craft like the ConnCom carrying 8 fighters or something and I don't want to use the movie as reference (at least for this one).

And how many Fleets are there in the Confederation? And how many commanding Admirals do we (re: LOAF) know of by name?

All these questions brought to you by my thirst for knowledge while doing very early writing WC Fanfiction...:D

[Edited by LeHah on 06-04-2001 at 20:53]
 
LeHah: "Whats the normal escort for a carrier during war time in WC?"

Usually one superpilot and his wingman. Lately this has increased to one superpilot and lots of inane wingmen.
 
Hee hee...Yeah well, we can't all be super pilots!

BTW, by escort, I meant capital ships. Destroyers, etc. Including Transports with supplies and stuff...
 
well, if you go by WC IV, WCP, and WCSO, then well, ABOSLUTELY NO CAPTIAL SHIP COVER!!!!!!!!! :)
 
Yes, the Tarawa was a jeep carrier. One of the first, IIRC. The smallest ship carrying fighters that I know of is the Bonny Heather.
 
I'm not counting Bonny Heather, but thanks for the point. I'm looking for the smallest Cap ship...a corvette maybe?

Bonny Heather was a Transport but she did carry one fighter.

[Edited by LeHah on 06-04-2001 at 21:16]
 
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