Prador Armor/Alloy from Neal Asher's Polity Universe

[MrDakka]

So lately I was rereading Prador Moon, and I was wondering if the Prador armor/alloy mentioned in the novel and other Neal Asher books is remotely possible with current technology.

For those of you who are not familiar with Prador armor, this armor is the single most significant reason why the Prador (giant paranoid carnivorous crab aliens who like to eat humans) made significant headway into the Polity (a roughly Type II civilization controlled by "AI gods").

This Prador armor as described in the novel is resistant to powerful impacts, absorbing and distributing the kinetic energy evenly around the entirety of the ship, is quite capable of absorbing powerful energy based weapons fire, and can even reassert its original shape under combat conditions. From what Polity AIs can determine, Prador Alloy is both superconducting and piezoelectric. These properties make for vessels that are incredibly tough and spectacularly difficult to destroy, requiring suitably powerful weaponry, or even near light speed kinetic projectiles.

Can current technology* be used to create a crude approximation?

What are your thoughts?




*Piezoelectric materials, shape-memory alloys, shear thickening polymers, high temperature superconductors, whatever else you guys can think of that can replicate Prador armor abilities

[Simon_Jester]

We are not near room temperature superconductors, or the other material properties described. Basically, you're talking about a metal that laughs off nuclear strikes- again, we're nowhere near being able to do that in real life.

[MrDakka]

What I meant was nothing of that magnitude, but on a smaller scale. Perhaps being able to shrug off various antitank munitions.

[Stark]

Why would a superconductor be useful against metal spikes? What mechanism does it use to 'distribute' kinetic energy evenly around the ship?

[Connor MacLeod]

It wouldn't help against HEAT rounds either and I suspect that is what he was thinking of when he said "anti-tank'. They're not thermal energy weapons or anything, they're just creating a differnet sort of "hypervelocity' attack (EG its a molten jet of copper at several km/s.)

[MrDakka]

It wouldn't help against HEAT rounds either and I suspect that is what he was thinking of when he said "anti-tank'. They're not thermal energy weapons or anything, they're just creating a differnet sort of "hypervelocity' attack (EG its a molten jet of copper at several km/s.)

Sorry for not clearing that up. By antitank munitions I meant KE threats, so no shaped charges. As for EFP's I'm not sure if those rely solely on KE to breach armor.

[MrDakka]

Why would a superconductor be useful against metal spikes? What mechanism does it use to 'distribute' kinetic energy evenly around the ship?

A superconductor would be useless against metal spikes (which I assume you're referring to sabot rounds). As for the mechanism to "distribute KE", its just technobabble to explain how Prador armor can shrug off relativistic projectiles.

For the moment, I'm just wondering if there's some exotic material(s) or combination thereof that would lessen the threat of KE penetrators.

Sorry for being rambling with the questions.

[Connor MacLeod]

Depends on how fast the projectile is moving. The best defense is probably going to be some sort of point defense, but if you have hypervelocity projectiles some sort of whipple shield would work.

[lordofchange13]

i am confused, MrDakka are you asking if modern technology can recreate the effects of this magic material, or are you asking if their is a limited from of this material in real life?

[MrDakka]

Both now. My original question was recreating the effects, but that turned into your latter statement.

[lordofchange13]

Both now. My original question was recreating the effects, but that turned into your latter statement.

From what you describe in your OP, my answer would have to be no both, i can find no actual numbers or limits on this" distributing Kinetic energy" effect for this material. though I am by no means a metallurgy expert

[andrewgpaul]

I would have thought that "distributing Kinetic energy around the entirety of the ship" is simply a matter of being extremely strong/impact-resistant and rigid - so that an impact simply "splats" onto the surface and causes the whole thing to move slightly, rather than buckling, breaking or being pierced. Essentially it's the opposite of the crumple zones in your car, and presumably means everything inside has to be buckled down.

[lordofchange13]

I would have thought that "distributing Kinetic energy around the entirety of the ship" is simply a matter of being extremely strong/impact-resistant and rigid - so that an impact simply "splats" onto the surface and causes the whole thing to move slightly, rather than buckling, breaking or being pierced. Essentially it's the opposite of the crumple zones in your car, and presumably means everything inside has to be buckled down.

Yes that is true, but what my point was unless we know what the "massive kinetic impacts" actually amount to you cn not say if any theoretical material could handle it.