09-18-2020, 01:41 PM | #11 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and some other bits.
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
Another possible strategy is disguise. You could join the heat sink for a covert element to a larger legitimate one and hope that the overall difference isn't noticed, you can make your signature look like something else (for example, a tank with a heat signature which mimics a truck's), or try to make it look 'noisy' by blocking patches (in the same way that conventional camouflage can break up a solid shape into a confusing mess). None of those seem like great strategies for hiding an industrial operation in your basement though.
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09-18-2020, 03:52 PM | #12 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hamilton, Ont. CANADA
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
Thank you everybody! I had no idea the issue was so complicated. (Silly me, looking for a simple answer.) Still, a lot of good advice here that I will take into account if I design an underground base that really needs to stay hidden. The surface features of my Martian “Gas” Station would make it pretty obvious. Now though you've got me worried about heat management. Mars is pretty cold so you sink a lot heat there but do I need any special provisions for a long term base with an underground reactor? (Please reply through the above thread.)
Dalton “a largely satisfied inquirer” Spence
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09-18-2020, 08:35 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
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You might not need an. Subteranean tunnels could be too cold and if you pump in any outside atmosphere that's going to need a lot of warming. There's even a fair bit of temprature range between "melted ice" and "human friendly environment". I think it extremely likely that any problems are solvable without excessive difficulty.
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Fred Brackin |
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09-18-2020, 08:48 PM | #14 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
A thermal satellite image is going to look something like this:
https://thermal.kk7.ch/ Unfortunately, it doesn't list a scale showing what temperature the colour grades indicate, but it's probably a sensitivity of a couple of degrees C between red and blue. As you can see, there's a lot of variation, so one trick you might get away with is to disguise your thermal plume as a natural feature.
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09-18-2020, 08:51 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
Quote:
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09-18-2020, 11:53 PM | #16 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
Quote:
What you won't be able to do is cover up the heat signature; you can move it, you can spread it out, but you can't hide it. And, of course, what do you do with all your excess heat if they find your underground heatpipe network and disable it?
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. |
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09-19-2020, 01:23 AM | #17 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
You have exactly the same problem as you would with any other type of radiator system being disabled?
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09-19-2020, 02:14 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: [Spaceships] Query: Can dirt shielding reduce an IR Signature?
More or less my point, with the added problem that the excess heat is going to build up at your actual base negating the stealth advantage you were trying to create.
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. |
Tags |
pyramid #3/34, spaceships |
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