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Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-17 08:52pm
by Ender
Anyone pick this up yet? I flipped through it at B&N today, but did not buy. I got about halfway before flipping through to choice bits and leaving.

The authors do a fairly decent job of sticking to a quasi-hard approach to it. Lots of talk about asteroid and comet mining, discussion of realistic space weapons, etc. But at the same time they manage to get a lot of the tech right - thousands of Gs, hypermatter as tachyons, etc.

That siad it has a few disconnects - talking about how it would take the biggest focusing ring ever made to build a weapon more powrful then any star destroyer can mount to blow up an asteroid in one shot. Now given that the new definitions on what is what in space means that an asteroid can be the size of Pluto or larger, I guess that isn't a problem. IIRC there are asteroids in the belt that are bigger then some moons, so while it is awkward to say it like that, it isn't inherently wrong.

In talking about tachyons and hypermatter reactors it says that the destruction of tachyons results in nearly unlimited energy, making it sound like some kind of Zero Point energy source. The character saying this admits to not understanding the physics, but still a little odd that it ignores E=mc^2

When popping Alderaan, it says the beam does more destruction then it's mass-energy equivlence would have, becaus it opens a hole into hyperspace to bring in the extra energy, and that the ring we see is a result of it. Yeah....


SO anyone got it?

Posted: 2007-10-17 09:24pm
by Ryan Thunder
Forgive my supreme ignorance, but what is this thing of which you speak?

I know what the Death Star is. Are you referring to a book about it?

Posted: 2007-10-17 09:35pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
It's a novel about the construction of the Death Star that just came out yesterday, called Death Star.

I haven't gotten it yet, but thanks for reminding me that it's out, Ender.

Posted: 2007-10-17 09:59pm
by Old Plympto
Conan... Antonio... Motti?

Holy crap! That's his name?

Posted: 2007-10-17 10:15pm
by Connor MacLeod
I've been so far out of the loop on SW novels and shit that I haven't bothered. I'll pick it up when I get time.

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-17 11:28pm
by Darth Ruinus
Ender wrote:When popping Alderaan, it says the beam does more destruction then it's mass-energy equivlence would have, becaus it opens a hole into hyperspace to bring in the extra energy, and that the ring we see is a result of it. Yeah....


SO anyone got it?
So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?

THe movis DO say that the DS machines have enough power to destroy a planet, but, I guess some might find that as too vague.

I hope I am wrong. The DS is absolutely terrifying BECAUSE it makes all the energy needed.

Or is there other canon that refutes this?

Posted: 2007-10-17 11:39pm
by Fingolfin_Noldor
I didn't even know this book was going to exist either.

This must be the first Star Wars novel I will be purchasing in a long while.

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-17 11:44pm
by Darth Wong
Darth Ruinus wrote:
Ender wrote:When popping Alderaan, it says the beam does more destruction then it's mass-energy equivlence would have, becaus it opens a hole into hyperspace to bring in the extra energy, and that the ring we see is a result of it. Yeah....


SO anyone got it?
So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?

THe movis DO say that the DS machines have enough power to destroy a planet, but, I guess some might find that as too vague.

I hope I am wrong. The DS is absolutely terrifying BECAUSE it makes all the energy needed.

Or is there other canon that refutes this?
That's a completely retarded rationalization because it means that ships must have un-fucking-believable shields in order to survive even a few moments in hyperspace. Let JMSpock try to run with it and you can just shove that right up his ass.

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-17 11:51pm
by Darth Ruinus
Darth Wong wrote:
Darth Ruinus wrote:
Ender wrote:When popping Alderaan, it says the beam does more destruction then it's mass-energy equivlence would have, becaus it opens a hole into hyperspace to bring in the extra energy, and that the ring we see is a result of it. Yeah....


SO anyone got it?
So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?

THe movis DO say that the DS machines have enough power to destroy a planet, but, I guess some might find that as too vague.

I hope I am wrong. The DS is absolutely terrifying BECAUSE it makes all the energy needed.

Or is there other canon that refutes this?
That's a completely retarded rationalization because it means that ships must have un-fucking-believable shields in order to survive even a few moments in hyperspace. Let JMSpock try to run with it and you can just shove that right up his ass.
:D

Nice.

Posted: 2007-10-18 12:43am
by Coriolis
One thing caught my eye while I was browsing through that link.
Wookieepedia wrote:Villian Dance; Imperial Navy lieutenant, TIE fighter pilot (human male)
Best. Name. Ever

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-18 02:33am
by Connor MacLeod
Darth Wong wrote:That's a completely retarded rationalization because it means that ships must have un-fucking-believable shields in order to survive even a few moments in hyperspace. Let JMSpock try to run with it and you can just shove that right up his ass.
I was thinking more of Sarli's "mass lightening" bullshit the last time he wanted to try to undercut Curtis' canon derived calcs. The general idea i think they get across is that the power source for the Death STar is supposed to be "extra-dimensional" I guess.. which isn't bad (it would undercut alot of the bullshit, at least.)

I'd guess they were going by Hyperspacee being like B5 hyperspace like WEG did for some reason,

On the other hand, maybe they're trying to suggest the superlaser is some sort of "trans dimensional" nonsense weapon (a beam composed of a rift betwen hyperspace and realspace.) Which would be even more insane.

Posted: 2007-10-18 02:45am
by VT-16
In that case, all of the power generators in SW have some kind of "extra-dimensional" component. Which pretty much explains the origin of hypermatter.

Posted: 2007-10-18 04:28am
by Lord Pounder
Coriolis wrote:One thing caught my eye while I was browsing through that link.
Wookieepedia wrote:Villian Dance; Imperial Navy lieutenant, TIE fighter pilot (human male)
Best. Name. Ever
Really :wtf: as dodgy as some of the names in the GFFA have been recently this really takes the cake. They could have atleast creativly misspelled it Villyn Diance for example.

Posted: 2007-10-18 04:38am
by Connor MacLeod
VT-16 wrote:In that case, all of the power generators in SW have some kind of "extra-dimensional" component. Which pretty much explains the origin of hypermatter.
Well, no, this would be the first official eaxmple of "Extra-dimensional" power I could even think of outside of the force. Though I admit my memory isn't going to cover every little possible detail like it used to.

Moreover, its not really much of a "Reactor" if it were purely extra-dimensional. It's still kinda retarded, though its probably no worse than those Dark Empire "Force storms" (which also was a source of "energy dumped into realspace from the death star)

Posted: 2007-10-18 04:47am
by Connor MacLeod
Lord Pounder wrote: Really :wtf: as dodgy as some of the names in the GFFA have been recently this really takes the cake. They could have atleast creativly misspelled it Villyn Diance for example.
Considering it seems to be by the same guys who did the Medstar books (which I enjoyed) as well as including the guy who did Darth Maul shadow hunter (one of the better Prequel EU novels out there for the Ep1 era) I'll certainly buy it.

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-18 08:28am
by bz249
Darth Ruinus wrote:
Ender wrote:When popping Alderaan, it says the beam does more destruction then it's mass-energy equivlence would have, becaus it opens a hole into hyperspace to bring in the extra energy, and that the ring we see is a result of it. Yeah....


SO anyone got it?
So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?

THe movis DO say that the DS machines have enough power to destroy a planet, but, I guess some might find that as too vague.

I hope I am wrong. The DS is absolutely terrifying BECAUSE it makes all the energy needed.

Or is there other canon that refutes this?
And how this thing explains how DSII works? Because in the ROTJ they blow up some Rebel ships and there is not any hint about a freakin realspace-hyperspace rifts (anyway isn't hyperspace supposed to be realspace from tachyonic perspective? If yes it is pretty hard to imagine the above mentioned rift... it's like creating a rift between the coordinate space and momentum space). Or the superlaser used different principles for blowing up planets than blowing up ships?

Re: Death Star

Posted: 2007-10-18 08:38am
by Teleros
Darth Wong wrote:That's a completely retarded rationalization because it means that ships must have un-fucking-believable shields in order to survive even a few moments in hyperspace. Let JMSpock try to run with it and you can just shove that right up his ass.
Just a thought, but does it mention how much of hyperspace it draws upon?

Posted: 2007-10-18 08:40am
by QuentinGeorge

Considering it seems to be by the same guys who did the Medstar books (which I enjoyed) as well as including the guy who did Darth Maul shadow hunter (one of the better Prequel EU novels out there for the Ep1 era) I'll certainly buy it.


Perry also did Shadows of the Empire, for what it's worth.

Posted: 2007-10-18 01:02pm
by Kane Starkiller
Darth Ruinus wrote:So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?
What difference does it make how the energy is brought to the planet? Whether it all came from the reactor or the superlaser somehow channels it from hyperspace at the end of the day the target is slammed with 10^38J.

Posted: 2007-10-18 01:10pm
by Lord Poe
Sigh... I have a shitty feeling this "hyperspace energy transfer" thing was put in to justify the "Glove Of Darth Vader" wormhole. :wanker:

I wonder if Curtis has time to read this?

Posted: 2007-10-18 01:15pm
by FTeik
From what I've heard so far the novel uses 160 kilometers as diameter. This is small reason for optimism.
Kane Starkiller wrote:
Darth Ruinus wrote:So, does that mean that trektards like JMSpock will actually have some credence to their claims that the DS cant possibly supply all the power needed to kill a planet?
What difference does it make how the energy is brought to the planet? Whether it all came from the reactor or the superlaser somehow channels it from hyperspace at the end of the day the target is slammed with 10^38J.
If only the DS was capable of it it means, that other pieces of GFFA-equipment (like Star Destroyers) aren't. Which means in the eyes of the trektards, that it is weaker.

Posted: 2007-10-18 01:39pm
by VT-16
Let's see, ISD shoot asteroids, they evaporate. DSII shoots warships, they evaporate. DSI shoots Alderaan, it pulverizes with a ring-effect.

The first two sound like the same kind of energy transfer while the third is some kind of energy transfer with hyperspace side-effects?
Which means in the eyes of the trektards, that it is weaker.
At the end of the day, SW powers have access to energy sources ST powers can only dream about. ;)

Posted: 2007-10-18 03:31pm
by Ender
Here's the odd thing about the hyperspace energy thing - the reactors are still credited with being incredibly powerful. the HM reactor on the Death Star is stated to be as powerful as a weeks output of several main sequence stars. A single G-1 star for a week is 1.8*10^32, so several of them would be the 10^33 the main reactor is usually put at. They have the power, but have the weapon draw more from hyperspace anyways.

IIRC, the upperlimit on the beam, based off some of the fluff, is 10^41 joules. So I guess the "punching a hole to hyperspace" bit doesn't contradict the momentum shift we see in Alderaan. And I admit, tying the wake we see when ships jump to hyperspace with the ring is interesting. BUt still, it is a total disconnect for me.

Posted: 2007-10-18 03:37pm
by Illuminatus Primus
I'd just ignore it. This is obviously inconsistent dumbshit. Really, these dumbasses should take it from Curtis' site or stay out of the science altogether.

Posted: 2007-10-18 06:56pm
by Vympel
I don't see how this is much of a concern. It's just odd, not infuriating. The main sequence star comment is clearly along the same vein as the OT:ITW re the Death Star II - ie. when it's superlaser delivers a planet killer blast it generates power worth hundreds of super giant stars. They obviously looked at the source material when writing this. The hyperspace/ring thing makes little sense, but who cares?