On 8 Mar 2012 at 14:00, Todd Kes wrote:
> Would the EMP effect be noticeable after the disabled craft performs a lithobraking maneuver? Station this around a gas giant, and there is no evidence for the review board, since the craft falls into the atmosphere and gets crushed.
See my other post. EMP is not likely to be effective against a
Traveller ship.
> As to space debris, it would work great around a low-tech system,
> but a high tech system would likely have a Skysweep program to
> remove debris from orbit. If they notice a ship dropping off
> debris, and that debris then does an EMP detonation, that ship will
> get added to the list of shoot on sight targets.
Just "dumping debris" is going to get you in trouble. *Big* trouble.
Also, typical ship courses will have the ship moving *way* above
escape velocity during any part of the triip where it could drop the
satellite. Even if it was moving at the right speed, it'll be in the
wrong direction.
Finally, there's no *way* any sort of EMP device will have a range
worth mentioning. Hundreds of KM is a stretch for a nuclear one,
unless it is set off in a planetary ionisphere where it'll caudse EMP
*on the planet*, not on ships in orbit.
So the odds of it getting *close* enough to a ship to attack it are
miniscule.
Add in the fact that ships will be avoiding going anywhere near hunks
of debris (because they are kinetic kills waiting to happen) and it
just won't work.
Remember, EMP weapons *aren't* directional.
Far simpler (and more practical) to buld an EMP bomb into a cargo
container and ship it. Or just an ordinary bomb.
--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com