[Spaceships] Force Screen (Energy Variant) vs. Radiation?

[DaltonS]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

I'd treat each drive system as one system of light force screen as light/low-powered are interchangable to me. I wouldn't worry that different types of reactionless drives have different thrust, because IMO you're unlikely to have multiple types in one setting anyways, and it's all handwaving anyways how they work.

One way I can see having multiple reactionless drive field types would be a setting where star travelling races with different TL backgrounds meet. One might use Rotary drives, another could use Standard ones, a third might use Subwarp, etc..

Another question about Cosmic Rays...

"Galactic cosmic rays are charged particles (atomic nuclei, electrons, positrons, etc.) that originate beyond the solar system, traveling through space at near-light speeds. Their high energy is difficult to shield against; they smash through matter, leaving a train of ionized atoms that kill living cells."

GURPS Spaceships 5: Exploration and Colony Spacecraft, page 40

On one hand, as high energy particles they have a PF divisor of 100 against mass shielding. On the other hand, planetary and solar magnetic fields seem to deflect them. Where would force screen dDR fit in with this? Would a "Cosmic" powered screen be more effective?

Dalton "who always has another question" Spence

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by DaltonS

One way I can see having multiple reactionless drive field types would be a setting where star travelling races with different TL backgrounds meet. One might use Rotary drives, another could use Standard ones, a third might use Subwarp, etc..

The race with the 500g acceleration is going to find everyone and their mother wants their technology. Sooner or later it's what everyone will be using.

Originally Posted by DaltonS

Another question about Cosmic Rays...On one hand, as high energy particles they have a PF divisor of 100 against mass shielding. On the other hand, planetary and solar magnetic fields seem to deflect them. Where would force screen dDR fit in with this? Would a "Cosmic" powered screen be more effective?

Dalton "who always has another question" Spence

I'd allow a screen to be immune to the divisor.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by DaltonS

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Another question about Cosmic Rays...On one hand, as high energy particles they have a PF divisor of 100 against mass shielding. On the other hand, planetary and solar magnetic fields seem to deflect them. Where would force screen dDR fit in with this? Would a "Cosmic" powered screen be more effective?

Dalton "who always has another question" Spence

The planetary magnetic fields don't deflect cosmic rays sharply but the Earth;s magnetopause is always at least 10,000 miles from the earth's surface and a few degrees count more over a long distance.

Besides the distance thing these amgnetic fields aren't very intense. They do better against low energy solar flare particles but it's the miles and miles of atmosphere that provide most of the protection from cosmic rays.

Add this up and it means that the subject is basically irrelevant to Spaceships force fields.

Comparing things that Spacehips is meant to handle like particle beams even these get a (5) armor divisor and individual particle energy in beams is assumed to be much lower than the cosmic ray ranges.

Still, I can't tell you how many dice of damage a single cosmic ray is meant to do. Probably zero. If you treat each ray particle as an individual attack probably nothing gets through.

The real answer though is that Spaceships isn't meant to address these questions.