shields on the death star?

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » 2006-04-14 02:03pm

Going to Jeff Russel's Starship Dimensions page, the height of the structure I measured from the film (a vertical cylindrical structure) is 13px high on a scale of 2 m/px, so ballpark of 26 m high. Therefore, the flack burst flared on the order of 6 m above the Tantive. Since this is a turbolaser bolt, it was disipated by a ray shield. This defeats the assertion that the ray shields only extend a few centimeters from the ship's hull; movie trumps EGtW&T.

Fair enough, but can there not be both types in existence? Perhaps there are different systems, or maybe the configuration can be changed? There are certainly points where skintight shields are evident (TIE runs on the falcon, N1 in TPM).

Wyrm · Post by **Wyrm** » 2006-04-14 03:08pm

Lazarus wrote:Fair enough, but can there not be both types in existence? Perhaps there are different systems, or maybe the configuration can be changed? There are certainly points where skintight shields are evident (TIE runs on the falcon, N1 in TPM).

Oh, certainly! It's a very mature technology, and I'm certain shield configurations are quite rich and varied. Each subtype you observe adds to the range of possible subtypes availibe to a SW engineer, each with its own costs and benefits.

NRS Guardian · Post by **NRS Guardian** » 2006-04-14 06:47pm

Here's some quotes from the ANH novelization that clarify certain things.

ANH, p.180

A small, one- or two-man fighter should be able to slip through its defensive screens.

ANH, p.180

Well, Empire doesn't think a one-man fighter is any threat to anything except another small ship, like a Tie fighter, or they would have provided tighter screens. Apparently they're convinced that their defensive weaponry can fend off any light attacks.

This indicates that the Empire didn't worry about fighters slipping through the shields because the guns and TIEs could deal with them.
ANH, p.180-181

You must manuever straight in down this shaft, level off in the tench, and skim the surface to-this point. The target is only two meters across. It will take a precise hit at exactly ninety degrees to reach the reactor systematization.

ANH, p.181

Also, their field generators will probably create a lot of distortion, especially in and around the trench. I figure that manueverability in that sector will be less than point three.

This could be evidence that particle shields were affecting the fighters speed and manueverability.