I am currently in a debate of what the technical issues for a novalith cannon, including the size of the round itself, how the physics of the round works (how it doesn't burn up in the atmosphere), and how it remains nearly undetectable with the speed that is it traveling.
Can someone please explain these?
I can give a full rundown of my theories, and the comebacks that I have endured...
My Theorized Size:
Novalith Cannon, a railgun type cannon, 2 KM in length, 600 M width, it is considered a superweapon due to the payload: a 250 MT Nuclear Warhead, this weapon can take out a large asteroid or average sized moon out with one shot, it would take out a planet in 2-5 shots, after the planet is hit it is covered in radiation making it uninhabitable for some time
The cannon fires the warhead at near light-speed, and is hard to detect, though if it is detected enough firepower may take out the warhead, but that will force it to detonate prematurely, the warhead is armed as soon as it is halfway to its target, making any premature destination inside USCC territory very rare, but still possible.
The cool-down time after firing is around 6 minutes, it takes another 5 to load and refire, a total of 11 minutes.
Seeing that this is under the classification of 'superweapon' I wish to limit it at one. (If I'm allowed 2 or 3, I won't argue)
The First Arguement+My list:
Well, greg. It looks doable, though I admit that I am no admin. However, I have four things to bring up: Number one: Why use Nuclear warheads? 250 MT isn't all that much considering that most Antimatter torpedoes have a greater yield. Wheller has Gigaton yield weapons. Number 2: How large a fraction of the speed of light are we looking at here? Most factions use PD arrays to defend against incursions by way of fighters. And most particle beams can do .95c or better. A sufficiently fast computer will make a targeting calculation and destroy your shot. I've done it with wheller's MACs. Number 3: This would not be a viable weapon against planets. It's simple (elementary, really) physics. Once the shell impacts the atmosphere, the warhead will shred itself to pieces. It's like firing a .50 cal into water. The supersonic bullet cannot handle the forces of the fluid. At significant sublight velocities, this effect will only be compounded. Thus the 250 MT weapon will be so much radioactive dust. Point 4: How do you intend to make this difficult to detect? In order to do something like this, you'd have to have a cloaking field, and while that would protect your vessel from detection before firing, you'd still be susceptable to tachyonics, and other methods of detection, not to mention the fact that you'd have to take the cloak offline prior to firing. Oh, and the radiation from the shells would also tip people off. Just saying.
1. Nuclear Vs Anti Matter, I cannot produce the amount of antimatter that everyone else can (yet, remember, my tech tree is the lowest as of now)
2. 99% the speed of light, if it went lightspeed, the thing would disintegrate
3. 250 MT may not see to do a lot, but if I were to have the Gigaton Nukes, I wouldn't be able to produce them (well not as many as the megatons), I may be able to do catastrophic damage with the gigaton system, but the megaton system is easier to produce numbers with (remember I work with numbers not bigger weapons)
4. Don't you think that before producing a weapon that is meant to hit planets, that i wouldn't have thought of atmosphere? The round travels 99% the speed of light, the atmosphere wouldn't really be and issue, it may burn up some, but the shells were made with hard enough materials, aerodynamic, and it wouldn't be like a 50 Cal hitting water, but just be one getting shot in air, there's some resistance but the speed vs resistance wouldn't affect it too much
5. I have never known of a Geiger counter that can detect radiation coming in at 99% the speed of light, plus there are other amounts of radiation in space due to stars, ships, and the like.
6. It is hard to detect, the shell is smaller than a Swallow Unmanned Interceptor, the likelihood that you have your motion trackers, or any type of radar, pointed at the round, is 990,000 to 1, if you do see it, it would be a really fast moving blip, about the size of a small asteroid or meteor, there were be radiation coming off asteroids and meteors too btw.
7. It isn't a ship its an aimable railgun, and yes its cloaked unless fired.
And the final straw (This person won't give up)
Greg. It doesn't matter. It would still disintegrate on impact with the atmosphere. Watch Mythbusters. Aerodynamics have no effect. The bullet was aerodynamic. It's the speed. Going fom .99c in vacuum, where there are essentially no molecules, to .99c in atmo, where there are more will shred the thing to pieces. NO questions asked. Why do you think ships don't exceed high mach in atmo?
Second: Geiger counters Do detect radiation coming in at the speed of light, since gamma rays ARE EM, and DO travel at the speed of light. Besides, the sensors we are talking about here are much more sophisticated than a mere Gieger counters.
Third: The power requirements to lob a projectile at .99c are astronomical. Massively astronomical, unless you are running ZPMs, or something very much like, you won't have the power to do anything of the sort. if you can't even produce antimatter in quantity for power generation, then you won't have access to the technology required to lob a projectile that fast.
Fourth: If you are using a straight nuke it's gonna be heavy, and in order to release enough radiation to make a planet uninhabitable, it would have to be: the amount of radiation released would be astronomical, and Certainly detectable to normal sensors once fired, if not under cloak.
Please Help!!!
