Making a Magnetic Field into a Deflector Screen?

[Simon_Jester]

I wonder if it'd be easier to make the electron degenerate matter out here than to even think about scooping some up, which is a realm of blatant fantasy (though I've read SF where it's done, it is REALLY blatant fantasy).

[Patroklos]

It could be easily defeated by dispersing projectiles. Your laser can vaporize 2 projectiles per second? Fine, we're going to make each projectile splinter into 40 parts, good luck getting them all in 10 second intercept window you have.

This is no different than the point defenses now, and we already have laser systems that can shoot down artillery salvos and this is with the problems of atmosphere and horizon (usually far less) detection distance.

You can always overwhelm any point defense system, but doing so can be and as reality shows IS difficult. In your MIRVesque counter above, that split would not be possible on a convetional non guided kinetic projectile unless every piece has a guidance mechanism to overcome the forces the splinter mechanism imparts to them. Well, unless the ship is very large or it separates very close to the ship, in which case the smaller pieces are more likely to be defeated by conventional armor or shot down before separating due to being well in range of PD fire.

The problem I see with any detached passive physical barrier is that once the kinetic projectile hits it you still have the same energy heading towards you only now spread over the original projectile mass plus that of whatever armor interacted with it. Maybe it won't be as effective in its deformed or vaporized or whatever form and less lethal depending on the nature of the collision but it still is going to hit you especially if there is not a great distance between impact point and your ship. If you can do this at some distance the forces involved will will likely alter the course fo a dumb projectile (and render a guided one dumb) enough to force a miss.

I will also point out that for these detached or suspended armor screens to be in a screen density to provide an acceptable chance at interception and with enough mass to effectivelly interact with the incoming projectile you are probably going to have to blind yourself, probably in all directings with the magnetically suspended violently moving dust idea or at least along the axis of threat if you are suspending smart armor pannels between you and the incoming projectile. Being blind is better than taking and likely sucombing to the first hit, but you are blinding and probably masking all your non passive defensive systems at the same time plus preventing yourself from detecting any follow on fire or other battlefield changes while you await that hit. Not ideal by any means.

EDIT: Another thought on the swirling dust of death screen. What if the idea was not ablation but to simply have enough of the swirling mass hit the projectile with a small force but at a decent range to just nudge a dump projectile off course? I suppose the problem here would depend on the speed of the projectile, density/thickness of the screen, and the mass of the particles themselves and the likely number of collisions you can expect given all three of those things. I'd also imagine you would have to keep an eye on the overall mass of the material required to make that screen both do to the energy requirements to suspend all of it and to carry it with you when not using it.

Smart armour is nice and well, but I'd be wary of using something that slowly stops defending you against meteorites and projectiles from all directions regardless of where enemy attacks you. Such armour needs solving 2 very different issues before it can be decided viable, defeating attack concentrated on one point and always offering some protection from all sides against tiny particles space is full of even if it was partially depleted.

This could be achieved by a basic level of conventional hull plate armor (and maybe an extendable whipple shield for high speed) under your smart armor. The smart armor is designed to be in excess of normal enviromental needs. But if a choice must be made I'd imagine most Captains would rather take their chances with maybe being damaged by the off chance of a micro meteorite hit after a battle over the certain doom of a megatone slug impact during one. I would.