10-09-2016, 06:13 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2016
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Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
I was flipping through GURPS Ultra-Tech for inspiration on marine vehicles and suits, and I noticed something--the TL11 Cybersuit, although very cool, is kind of paradoxical. It has DR 40*, which is flexible--this makes sense since it's described as a tight-fitting suit, like many other ultratech vacuum suits. However... it also has a Pressure Support of 30 atmospheres! Is pressure support actually possible with flexible armor?
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10-09-2016, 06:20 PM | #2 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
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10-09-2016, 06:33 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
It does seem a bit tricky to explain how it's capable of resisting that much external pressure but not of presenting a rigid surface. (Or, indeed, how it could resist that much pressure without necessarily presenting a rigid surface.)
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
10-09-2016, 06:34 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
At TL11, it also might be smart enough to stiffen enough to resist overall ambient pressure, yet still yield to localized forces or internal ones such as those when you bend a body part.
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10-09-2016, 07:15 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
Yielding to external blows is a drawback, not a desirable feature.
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
10-09-2016, 07:38 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
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Rates of change are also important -- and in fact inability to cope with high rates of change may be why such a suit would be considered flexible rather than rigid. But the post isn't meant to be a complete design for a TL 11 device, about which tech we know next to nothing. It's an answer to the OP -- how might you envision a suit that's "flexible", yet can resist high ambient pressures from deep submersion? One TL;DR version -- imagine compensating just for that environmental pressure and subtracting it out, yet allowing other pressure to deform the material. Last edited by Anaraxes; 10-09-2016 at 07:41 PM. |
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10-09-2016, 08:51 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
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10-09-2016, 09:12 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
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And external pressure doesn't interfere with movement at all.
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
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10-10-2016, 01:13 AM | #9 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
Eggs (both unboiled with a shell and boiled and stripped of its shell) seem to support a fair amount of uniform pressure just fine, but are very vulnerable to sudden pressure applied to single point. Perhaps the analogy is imperfect, but it's a start.
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10-10-2016, 01:15 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?
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...I'm somewhat curious about the proposition that boiled, de-shelled eggs resist pressure, though.
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
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Tags |
cybersuit, help me out here, pressure support |
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