Ender wrote:Stormtroopers are acting as a pacification force, that means a lot of urban deployments. In urban environments carbines are regarded as superior because their shorter barrels allow for easier use in the constricted environments and the loss of range is not a detriment as buildings and other objects preclude the long engagement ranges rifles would be used for.
I also suspect they decided to "redesign" the defensive capabilities of stormtrooper armour somewhat. For one thing, compared to Clone armor, Stormie armour seems to over alot more coverage (the white panels leave alot less of the black rubber bodysuit exposed, esp around joints and the neck area) which would be a huge defensive advantage. This may mean they redistributed the mass of the armour somewhat (the plates are thinner, but larger and thus provide more coverage), which could lead to a downgrade in resistance but provide better overall protection.)
Also, its worth noting that Visual Dictionary (and those old "Ep4 Visual guides" ) indicate that stormtrooper armor incorporates waist-mounted "heat sinks" to absorb energy, as well as an "anti laser" mesh in the armor, which suggests it has alot more than just toughness/mass to protect the trooper. I'd guess its some sot of "semi-powered" defense, akin to the armour the LAATs and other Grand Army Ground vehicles used (it absorbs and spreads out the energy of shots to reduce penetration) and probably ties into the "blast dissipation" system that Mandalorian armor uses (Jango based the Cloneterooper armor on Mandalorian armor)
Generally speaking, ST armor probably doesn't rely just on energy alone for penetration (though enough energy WILL penetrate) but also probably on power (wattage) as well as intensity (how much energy can be concentrated on a small area, for penetration purposes.). Delivering the energy faster means that the bolt might have a chance of overwhelming the mateiral properites of the armour as well as the "heat sink" absorption system. And even then, if you "pierce" the armour, that doesnt enccearily guarantee a major wound (if the blast can be diffused enough, or enough energy is absorbed, I imagine it may do little or no harm.)
If blaster "wattage" can vary (civilian models might have lower wattage than military blasterS) this can help limit the danger of blaster fire to stormtrooper armor.
There area lso ample sources that indicate that penetration does not neccesarily guarntee injury (or even a bolt tht could pierce the armour may not pierce it fully), so this probably doesn't mean that a given bolt is always going to penetrate in every circumstance.
Given the coverage/angling, (Stormie armour looks a bit more "roundeD" than clone armor) its possible the armour is designed to "deflect" shots or make for glancing hits more than direct ones, thus minimizing the odds of penetration (here, range and other factors can also play a role, such as angle and such.)
Hypothetical example: We know Clonetrooper armor can protect a clone from being vaporized/incinerated by passing through energy shields (AOTC: VD, and other sources) - this gives it quite a large energy-handling capability, but that is diffused over a large area and over a longer period. A blaster bolt, by contrast, is much more concentrated, and generally delivers its energy in a fraction of a second (so you could expect penetration by virtue of high intensity and high power as well as high energy.) And a lightsaber could hae a high intensity (lots of energy concentrated on a smaller area) but not neccearily a larger wattage (its a sustained beam, and can be in contact with the armour longer.), though alot of this depends on settings (and it could still penetrate on raw energy output.. lightsabers that can melt through blast doors in seconds won't have any trouble with stormie armor.)
The armour's "defensive" properties would seek to counter such effects as best as they can (deflect the shot away if possible, and if not, spread the energy out ove ra larger area, limiting penetration and wounding.. and at last, absorbing what energy it can before it does penetrate through.) Even if the raw energy "abosrption" ability were low, a good ability to deflect and disperse energy (and to do it rapidly) could do much to offset/mitigate damage.
