The Quantum Cannon.

[Rigel Stardin]

Ever since I watched a Malcross movie the idea has been rattling around in my head.

The many thread about fleet combat suggest to me that Meson Cannons do little or no damage to the ship while specifically targeting the crew. This allows the enemy fleet to basically capture the ship and repair for there own use. A weapon such as a Meson Cannon is useful if you’re in need of ships for your navy. They are quite barbaric in my mind as well and fall in the category of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and there after affects. It’s one thing to target the instruments of war but when you start creating weapons that just target the crew, well it shows the sadistic side of the Imperium.

Let’s get back to the theoretical Quantum Cannon.

This is easy Part: It would come in 1 tech level below the Meson Cannon and follow the rules of Meson weapon construction and how they are mounted in ships. Planet side they would be have to be built above ground because anything that interferes with it, is reduced to ashes (let’s say).

The Hard part: Damage and penetration against armor, affects on Black Globes and or White Globes. How would Nuclear Dampers reduce the damage?

Remember this is a theoretical weapon intended to destroy your enemy’s ship and or base completely. A neat idea which can be discussed here and have fun doing it.

 

[Spinward Scout]

So this is a disintegrator beam, breaking the target apart at the quantum level?

 

[Enoki]

So, what is the exact mechanism of physics that does the damage here?

 

[rancke]

So, what is the exact mechanism of physics that does the damage here?

The handwavium rays ergles the scubit, causing a complete breakdown of the farfle matrix.


Hans

 

[agorski]

The many thread about fleet combat suggest to me that Meson Cannons do little or no damage to the ship while specifically targeting the crew.

Really? I thought it caused internal explosions. Well, there are radiation effects, but it does damage the ship.

 

[Rigel Stardin]

So, what is the exact mechanism of physics that does the damage here?

In the Movie, it caused a nice swirling pattern against the enemy’s force shield. Like a stone being dropped into a pond. It came at the last five minutes of the action scene and the way it was presented they were superior to the Malcross Cannon (Reflex in English versions).

So this is a disintegrator beam, breaking the target apart at the quantum level?

Perhaps, it turns anything it touches into gray goo? My little pea brain is playing around with that idea as well.

The handwavium rays ergles the scubit, causing a complete breakdown of the farfle matrix.

Love your answer!!!! Scifi role playing is all about handwavium.

Really? I thought it caused internal explosions. Well, there are radiation effects, but it does damage the ship.

Mesons travel through the earth without cause much damage, therefore the entire concept boils down to a large Microwave oven. Of course we know what happens when we shove gremlins into the microwave. Metal on the other hand just sparks and gets really hot and plastic just melts.

Now for the Techno babble: (I pretend to be Physicist after staying a night at a hotel chain)

Quantum Physics deals with the building blocks and forces surrounding how an Atom is constructed. Therefore this theoretical Cannon would either destroy or alter these forces in such a manner that it would cause destruction.

Disintegrator is one way to look at it. The visual affect would be a bright light and then nothing in the area of where the beam hit. The Standard Scifi stuff here.

Gray goo (Gray cloud). Another way to look at this would be that the bonds holding the atoms and molecules are disrupted causing a fusion of molecules to form in the area where the beam hits. The visual affect would be a cloud of dust or a mass of liquid being created out of the area hit by the beam.

(This one I came up with while writing the above responses) Another option here is implosion affect. The beam upon hitting the target causes a singularity to form (layman terms Black Hole). This mini implosion basically sucks in all the material around the impact site destroying it. Visual affect a dark area appears on the hull and then a nice spherical cutout appears void of whatever was at beneath the beam hit. Only problem I see with this is when fired through the atmosphere of a planet, the area around the cannon would be one super massive hurricane as the atmosphere’s is destroy as the beam shot outward. (This could also explain the Darrian’s supposed ability to destroy stars.)

The reason behind this:
It something to play around with and it never hurts to update technology in Traveller. It keeps the game fresh and advance it into the 21st century.

 

[Enoki]

So, unlike most of Traveller this is based on the premise of PFM (Pure F#@king Magic). Of course, these days there is alot of stuff that uses this to function..... so.....

 

[Rigel Stardin]

Golly gee, I forgot I could go down to my local arms dealer and pick up fusion rifle. Then on my way back look at the grav-bike in the dealership window...

Imagination is what keeps a game fertile. Without it, the game just drys up and goes away.

Quantum Physics I am told, is a recognized science. Since I only play a physicist on this forum, I can only understand the science the way my brain processes it. So what if my definition is not in line with the "real" science, I'm basing this Cannon on?

I'm trying to keep this thread fun and lighthearted.

So please don't take my remarks seriously and lets have some fun creating a new weapon for Traveller...

 

[mike wightman]

Traveller already has screens and weapons that use the strong nuclear force - the nuclear damper and the disintegrator.

 

[BytePro]

First: Meson weaps = Microwave ovens -> argh! o: :nonono:

Ok, they both speak to action at a distance and involve 'invisible' energy transfer.

FYI: Metal 'sparks' in microwave under specific conditions - the walls of the oven are metal, after all. Microwave ovens work by exciting the hydrogen and oxygen bond molecules (water) - the added vibrational motion resulting in heating (to put it simply). Microwave energy is absorbed and re-radiated (optimally converted into thermal energy).

Mesons are sub-atomic particles that decay (i.e. break apart 'explosively') thus causing damage at a distance. This is in the realworld. Traveller uses a fictional extension of this observable science. (*Note: it is highly 'unrealistic' given what we know about the short life-spans of Mesons and actual results, etc. But it is science based fiction... Mesons, by definition, only need have an even number of quark and anti-quarks - in the RW that is one of each, but theory doesn't, IIRC, prevent larger numbers, which could, in turn, possess different characteristics... ). P.S. I think you have Mesons and Neutrino's confused.

Part the Second: As to the Quantum Cannon - if you want to incorporate science fiction as opposed to pure Fantasy, you've arguably succeeded by using a term borrowed from science. However, if you want to make it 'good' science fiction, base it off of some real world theories and/or observations related to quantum theory.

This doesn't mean one needs to learn QCD and deal with complex numbers, just grab some terminology and basic mechanics and go with it. You can have fun and still eat your science topping!

The 'ripple' effect fits well with quantum harmonic oscillation expanded to a macroscopic effect (a mathematical wavefunction in the physical world) and the conversion of matter into 'gray goo' with the idea of the weapon interfering with the strong force that holds quarks together in hadrons - which are baryons and mesons - and thus include protons and neutrons... i.e. the building blocks of atoms.

As to this as a Traveller weapon - the TL should probably be above Meson, IMO. Allow it to have meson and armor damaging effects and be immune to non-globe screens. As mike mentioned, the nuclear damper and the disintegrator already are cannon. I'd put it between them in TL.

 

[rancke]

Mesons are sub-atomic particles that decay (i.e. break apart 'explosively') thus causing damage at a distance. This is in the realworld. Traveller uses a fictional extension of this observable science. (*Note: it is highly 'unrealistic' given what we know about the short life-spans of Mesons and actual results, etc. But it is science based fiction... Mesons, by definition, only need have an even number of quark and anti-quarks - in the RW that is one of each, but theory doesn't, IIRC, prevent larger numbers, which could, in turn, possess different characteristics... ).

Oh, Traveller mesons aren't that kind of mesons. They're the particles named after their discoverer, Professor Charles Meson in the 24th Century. Those mesons behave as described in the canon.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.


Hans

 

[Rigel Stardin]

Or could a Meson Cannon, project a feild that causes Meson decay rates in the object the feild touches... Got to run... Imperial Intelligence Service is at the door...

 

[JustinInOz]

I can't help but parse the subject as quantum canon. Both rules/TUs are correct at the same time. Sort of like how a photon is both a wave and a particle at the same time.

The truth only gets revealed when shodingers dice hit the table.

 

[Enoki]

If we are going to go with the PFM base then how about this:

The quantum cannon fires two quantum strings of particles that are aimed to come close enough to interact at the range of the target. There the two quantum string's particles begin to interact in a series of random sub-atomic and atomic reactions with completely unpredictable results.

That portion of the target hit, if it is hit, undergoes an attack in which anything from nothing to having that protion of the ship hit transported to another dimension could happen.....

The more random the range of results the better...... :devil::rofl:

 

[BytePro]

Quantum Strings? :nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono:

Fortunately, my ships are equipped with Quantum Cannon Nullification Projectors, which emit Super-symmetrical Quantum Twine that entangle your Quantum Strings effectively teleporting them back to their initial creation, resulting in your weapon self-annihilating...

(Perhaps it would be best to just define it CT style - Quantum Cannon and here are the costs and specs...)