limited on personal shields

omegaLancer · Post by **omegaLancer** » 2003-01-15 05:00am

We have in several Sci Fi universes man portal shield devices, ranging from the shield in Dune to the Borg adaptive shielding. The major limited is that of Kinetic attacks since the conversation of Momentum requires that the target ( in this case the individual) must endure the impact...

How much damage can an individual with a personal shield endure if the force field behave in the manner where the force of the impact is distributed over the entire body instead of a small area?

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-01-15 09:06am

He'll probably shrug off bullets and low-energy projectiles (like bullets), but I doubt he'd take a cannonball easily, and a train is out of the question (with a train collision, most of the kinetic energy is evenly spread out throughout your body... not to mention that your body is evenly spread out throughout the train's front)

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-15 12:41pm

I figure about 100 kN would do the trick. That's enough to accelerate an 80kg man at about 120 G's, which should turn your insides to paste and squash your brain against the inside your skull.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 02:51pm

Really this depends on the shield system, a Trek or Wars one may not be able to take the real heavy stuff, but a field of a different nature from another universe may shrug it off no problem and counter the effects of the concussion. Obviously the shield should be projected infront of the wearer by a fair degree otherwise blunt trauma or the landscape destruction may simply throw the user miles away.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-01-15 02:57pm

Unless you can think of a shild that can surviuve standing in front of a bullet train or AT-AT. then KE works.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 03:22pm

NecronLord wrote:Unless you can think of a shild that can surviuve standing in front of a bullet train or AT-AT. then KE works.

One that is strong enough to act like a solid wall and derails the train, or better still, one that simply displaces something to another postion e.g. behind it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-15 03:48pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
NecronLord wrote:Unless you can think of a shild that can surviuve standing in front of a bullet train or AT-AT. then KE works.
One that is strong enough to act like a solid wall and derails the train, or better still, one that simply displaces something to another postion e.g. behind it.

It doesn't matter how strong it is. If it's attached to the person (which it has to be, if it's a personal shield and he's wearing the device), then it will send him flying (at the very least; it is more likely that the device will simply be pushed through his body) and the acceleration will kill him.

And a device which teleports the train away is not a shield; it's an entirely different kind of device.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 03:52pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:
NecronLord wrote:Unless you can think of a shild that can surviuve standing in front of a bullet train or AT-AT. then KE works.
One that is strong enough to act like a solid wall and derails the train, or better still, one that simply displaces something to another postion e.g. behind it.
It doesn't matter how strong it is. If it's attached to the person (which it has to be, if it's a personal shield and he's wearing the device), then it will send him flying (at the very least; it is more likely that the device will simply be pushed through his body) and the acceleration will kill him.

And a device which teleports the train away is not a shield; it's an entirely different kind of device.

I was thinking more a barrier that is created, perhaps in space-time, sort of a solid wall that is simply created at that point and isn't attached to the wearer per se.

Naturally there are limits you can go with sci-fi, but then this is sci-fi we're talking about and there are shields out there that can take a shitload of damage from even KE.

HRogge · Post by **HRogge** » 2003-01-15 03:52pm

Darth Wong wrote:It doesn't matter how strong it is. If it's attached to the person (which it has to be, if it's a personal shield and he's wearing the device), then it will send him flying (at the very least; it is more likely that the device will simply be pushed through his body) and the acceleration will kill him.

Perry Rhodan style shields might do the trick, they work with fields which have one or two ( not sure ) dimensions more than standard space... which would provide a direction to redirect the KE into.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 03:54pm

Of course, you could always get out of the way. Nothing works better than prevention of damage by avoidance rather than brute force opposing it.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-01-15 04:09pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Of course, you could always get out of the way. Nothing works better than prevention of damage by avoidance rather than brute force opposing it.

Somewhat like the displacer field in inquisitor? still not a shield though.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 04:13pm

NecronLord wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Of course, you could always get out of the way. Nothing works better than prevention of damage by avoidance rather than brute force opposing it.
Somewhat like the displacer field in inquisitor? still not a shield though.

Bollox to you, it is now.

When you say shield I tend to think anything that protects the user be it a solid wall of EM or a dimensional shifting mechanism or something.

Hell, Metal Storm could be a "shield", shoot that much lead at something and nowt is getting through, heh.

But if we stay with reality then real shields would be useless in this regard on humans due to pure KE.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-01-15 04:47pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
NecronLord wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Of course, you could always get out of the way. Nothing works better than prevention of damage by avoidance rather than brute force opposing it.
Somewhat like the displacer field in inquisitor? still not a shield though.
Bollox to you, it is now.

When you say shield I tend to think anything that protects the user be it a solid wall of EM or a dimensional shifting mechanism or something.

Hell, Metal Storm could be a "shield", shoot that much lead at something and nowt is getting through, heh.

But if we stay with reality then real shields would be useless in this regard on humans due to pure KE.

IMO a shield must apply a counter force. Hiding behind a dimensional shifting device (as necron lords do

) would be a defense field.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-15 05:00pm

NecronLord wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:
NecronLord wrote: Somewhat like the displacer field in inquisitor? still not a shield though.
Bollox to you, it is now.

When you say shield I tend to think anything that protects the user be it a solid wall of EM or a dimensional shifting mechanism or something.

Hell, Metal Storm could be a "shield", shoot that much lead at something and nowt is getting through, heh.

But if we stay with reality then real shields would be useless in this regard on humans due to pure KE.
IMO a shield must apply a counter force. Hiding behind a dimensional shifting device (as necron lords do ) would be a defense field.

Hmm, then force-field would be more accurate a term in this situation.