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Old 01-20-2021, 09:14 AM   #1
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

Hi All,
I'm currently researching for background material of a campaign I'm running set in Bowman star system (Source is Belt Strike). But what got me into researching material was that I wanted to try and figure out what Tech level the Sword World Navy was at, during the time of the Second Frontier war, and have the players stumble across a relic from that time period, including the ability to utilize some other technology from the Darrians.

I began to read the Alien Module #8: Darrians and came across a reference that 80% of the world's population perished during the heat pulse that struck Darrian after its man world suffered 20 pulses or Solar Flares in the span of 3 days. Per the diagram showing how far out this "wave" struck, it appears that the pulse was able to cause communication and computer issues out to 7 parsecs, destruction of large portions of electronics and gravitic modules out to 6 parsecs, and nearly total destruction of electronics and gravitic modules up to 2 parsecs away from the Darrian Home world.

So, my question would be this:

Would nuclear dampner technology have been able to mitigate the EMP involved? Would an EMP of such strength and magnitude as to affect worlds as far away as 7 parsecs, have been stopped by the oceans of Darrian such that their underwater domed cities would survive?

Yes, this may be a "plot device mcguffin" rather than hard science, but I kind of wondered if anyone would know enough to anwer that.
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Old 01-20-2021, 12:48 PM   #2
Pomphis
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

IMO NDs would be useless. They stop nuclear explosions as such, but not the effects of nuclear explosions. If one detonates a nuke outside the ND radius of effect, you are protected only by your armor DR.
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Old 01-20-2021, 01:08 PM   #3
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

EMP is a phenomenon that begins with rapidly moving electrons. There's no nuclei involved for the damper to damp.
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Old 01-20-2021, 02:40 PM   #4
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

The other thing to remember is that the Star Trigger is Magic; causing EMP effects at multiple parsecs requires near-supernova energy output, which would probably have completely destroyed Darrian and certainly would have sterilized it.
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Old 01-20-2021, 08:25 PM   #5
hal
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
The other thing to remember is that the Star Trigger is Magic; causing EMP effects at multiple parsecs requires near-supernova energy output, which would probably have completely destroyed Darrian and certainly would have sterilized it.
That is what I was wondering. Using the inverse square law, and turning the distance of 6 parsecs into AU's unit of measure, it would seem that the power of the EMP at 1 AU was roughly 1.53 Trillion times more powerful than it was at 6 parsecs.

I wondered if even the cities beneath the waves would survive the pulse - which is why I was wondering at the shielding properties of water against EMP.

For example, if you need say, 2 meters of water to have a decent chance of protecting against the EMP of a nuclear blast, one might wonder if any ocean depth would be proof against a blast that is 1.53 trillion times bigger than that produced by a single nuclear blast.

I was kind of hoping that was the case - that it would be capable.

Ah well. Thanks.

:)
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Old 01-20-2021, 08:28 PM   #6
hal
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

Hey Fred and Pomphis - thanks for the comment about nuclear dampners.

The original Traveller postulates that the maneuver drive had magical properties in shielding against radiation, or that some form of shield worked (as evidenced by the material in Belt Strike). Later on, it is as if Traveller simply ignored the elephant in the tent. Radiation? What Radiation?

Thanks for weighing in.
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Old 01-20-2021, 08:45 PM   #7
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

Quote:
Originally Posted by hal View Post
That is what I was wondering. Using the inverse square law, and turning the distance of 6 parsecs into AU's unit of measure, it would seem that the power of the EMP at 1 AU was roughly 1.53 Trillion times more powerful than it was at 6 parsecs.
Assuming 1e-6J/cm^2 at 6 parsecs (1.2 million AU), intensity at 1 AU is 1.4e+6J/cm^2 or 1.4e+10J/m^2, enough to vaporize about six meters of water. I guess the planet would survive, but the biosphere won't.
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Old 01-21-2021, 06:16 AM   #8
hal
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Assuming 1e-6J/cm^2 at 6 parsecs (1.2 million AU), intensity at 1 AU is 1.4e+6J/cm^2 or 1.4e+10J/m^2, enough to vaporize about six meters of water. I guess the planet would survive, but the biosphere won't.
If you don't mind, I'd like to post what you did here at the Facebook Traveller groups.

I think the question that comes to mind is whether or not the sun could throw off such a huge amount of energy in the normal scheme of things. And by Huge, I mean "not a nova" style huge. ;)
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Old 01-21-2021, 12:18 PM   #9
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

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Originally Posted by hal View Post
That is what I was wondering. Using the inverse square law, and turning the distance of 6 parsecs into AU's unit of measure, it would seem that the power of the EMP at 1 AU was roughly 1.53 Trillion times more powerful than it was at 6 parsecs.
But interstellar space is 2D, so the inverse square law won't apply...
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Old 01-21-2021, 12:33 PM   #10
hal
 
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Default Re: Star Trigger, Electromagnetic Pulse and water

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But interstellar space is 2D, so the inverse square law won't apply...
I'm assuming you left out the smiley...

;)
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