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Topic: Mars...the next Fontier? (Read 25107 times)
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Death 999
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We did. You did. Yes we can. No.
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If you want attack optics, you don't want to use something as tiny and precise as the Hubble.
You want something bigger so it can accept more power. You see, the extreme precision of Hubble would be thrown off by the atmospheric distortion anyway, so you might as well not bother. Anyway, its optical geometry doesn't really allow putting a serious energy emitter at the focus of its optics.
Instead, get a dish which is in the shape of a parabolic section (or better, several mirrors which can together mimic that shape). Choose this parabolic section so the mirrors are far off-centered, with the distance to the focus of the parabola approximately equal to the altitude of its orbit. By positioning the mirror so the sun is along the parabola's axis, you can add a large amount of solar energy to the focus of the parabola.
By using many smaller mirrors to approximate a parabola, you can vary the parabola, and thus the distance to the focus. This allows you to aim anywhere in your line of sight, out to the maximum range of the array (the point at which the light would diffuse too much to cause damage).
How much damage would it cause? Well, it depends. Suppose the light can be focused evenly onto a 4 square meter area, and the collection dish is 50 square meters (about 7 meters by 7 meters). Then there is a 12.5 times the brightness of the sun amount of additional energy, for a total factor of 13.5 times as much (if the target is already sunlit).
Ouchies.
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Culture20
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Thraddash Flower Child
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Yep, that's the mirror array on the Moon. Orbital death rays are fun. Oh, and you won't see it through a telescope because the mirrors are usuallly alligned to reflect sections of the moon's surface. Look for patterns of repeating terrain and you'll find it. 
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« Last Edit: January 22, 2004, 08:45:23 pm by Culture20 »
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FalconMWC
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Yes, but at least the other robot is on its way down. It should reach Mars sometime tomorrow.
Still, if they don't get it working it will not be as big of waste as the first one that did not respond.
EDIT:Alright - I moved up a rank.
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« Last Edit: January 23, 2004, 06:49:35 pm by FalconMWC »
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