Kilimanjaro-class dreadnought (Mass Effect) vs Galaxy-class

[Stofsk]

Alright, then. Can you demonstrate it shooting a "megabeam" at an incoming object at FTL and destroying it? Or quote a canonical source describing how it works? I've never seen them do that while at warp.

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Navigational_deflector

That lists a few instances where the navigational deflector has been used throughout the history of Star Trek. Under normal operation there are no 'megabeams' because they're just deflecting minute particles out of the path of the ship in question. Megabeams come into it when they want to tackle larger objects. The problem with using it against kamikaze ships is perhaps the difficulty in aiming the array (it's in a fixed position not unlike a spinal weapon). I'm not sure where the navigational deflectors are on Klingon ships to be honest. It's just as possible they weren't expecting the Jem'Hadar to make suicide runs and so didn't use the proper tactics.

[Stark]

They can use some huge portion of the ships' power output, so I think 'megabeam' is acceptable.

I'm not sure what utility it would be against ramming ships anyway, given the difference between momentum and KE and the impacts, etc. A slower, heavier ship is going to be a lot harder to deflect than a faster, massively lighter slug.

[Stofsk]

There's also the possibility that ships with powered warp fields and active deflectors can counteract the navigational deflectors enough to make a ramming attack. Something which a dumb round isn't going to have.

[Omeganian]

According to the DS9 Tech Manual (non-canon, I know, but it at least can give ballpark figures), the Jem'Hadar attack ship is 2,450 tons

Then the strike was noticably below the kiloton range. The ship's structure was incapable of handling it.

[The Dark]

The ship would be harder to deflect, but it would also carry far less energy if an impact occurred, based on KE:

Jem'Hadar impact: 3,125 MJ KE
Kilimanjaro slug: 1,600,000 MJ KE

That extra velocity means the railgun slug is far more energetic. It seems very much like a "golden BB" situation - the railgun should never hit, but if a shot gets through, the Trek ship is in trouble.

[Stargazer]

Your calculation is off. It's actually 162,000,000 MJ for the Kilimanjaro's slug. ((4,025,000m/s^2)*20 kg*.5=162,000,000,000,000 joules)

[Omeganian]

Two orders of magnitude seem to be missing in JH impact, too. And the speed taken is somewhat low (500 m/sec?). I calculated based on either 640 m/sec or 1 km/sec. Still, even that way, a 50 000 ton ship will only get about 15% of a dreadnought round's energy.

[Stark]

It's probably better to look at momentum.

Jemmie ship: (2500 tonnes) * 500 (m / s) = 1 250 000 000 m kg / s


ME round: (4000 (km / s)) * 5 kg = 20 000 000 m kg / s

1e9 vs 2e7 - preventing the ramming ship would have been some 50x harder. Add on its million times more mass meaning a force from a deflector shield would have a harder time deflecting it too.

PS, they're just ignoring you. Who knew scfi debates were just a 'get the biggest number' competition? I've been saying 'momentum' for ages.

Amusingly according to these morons lighter, faster projectiles are more persistent, which is simply not the case. The nav deflector works at FTL anyway (although arguably at an STL frame of reference inside the 'warp field') so it's all moot anyway.