E-Bombs - New Weapon Idea

[jayouzts]

I was reading the following link and it gave me an idea for a new weapon.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030127/nmicro.html

Basically according to the article the US has a bomb that, when detonated, showers the area with high powered microwaves. This effective creates massive power surges and fries computers and electronic circuitry in the area. It does not destroy property or kill people (well... not directly. People with pacemakers and on dialysis machines may be S.O.L).

I got an idea to use a similar weapon in T20. It would be effective for rendering a ship helpless, defenseless, and motionless - thus allowing capture of the ship and all personnel on board.

Has any version of Traveller had stats for a similar weapon? I dont want to reinvent the wheel if I dont have too.

 

[gardclan]

Technically speaking, that would be the particle accelerator. Depending on how you view it, the radiation damage from the PB weapons plays havoc with electronics and shipboard systems. This is the whole reason that you have the fiber optic backup system for computers.

Any weapon which deals radiation damage (e.g. nuclear missiles) have similar effects.

 

[Father Fletch]

It looks nice on paper, but there is a reason why it won't work on most Traveller Starships...note the reference to "systems hardened against it." Given the intense heat and static buildup, not to mention IR, UV, X and gamma radiation that most Traveller starships have to be able to resist when entering atmosphere or a gas giant, I would say that they are very resistant to this type of weapon. AND if not the civilian models, certainly the military craft, i.e. Gazelle, Broadsword, Kunir, etc, would be resistant. Now IIRC in the old HG space combat results for Nukes and PA weapons there were results that fried the computer. This would represent an EMP kill, like the weapon specified does.
IMTU, and IYTU the ability to perform a soft kill on a target suddenly makes piracy much more feasible against civilian targets. It also gives you yet another ship upgrade that the characters can work towards, System hardening.
BTW if you look in another D20 product, Star Wars, there is the Ion Cannon, which is designed to do exactly what you want with this weapon. It also works on Droids and Computers. It was used by the Jawas against R2-D2 in Ep. 4.
Those who remember will recall that R. Talisorian's Cyberpunk had an EMP weapon that would fry cyberwear.
YMMV, but I think that using an EMP weapon would make for some fun in the game.

 

[trader jim]

it works..."they" have already tested "it", with great results...can be deployed several different ways....including stationary batterys..gun turrets????

 

[BMonnery]

Originally posted by trader jim:
it works..."they" have already tested "it", with great results...can be deployed several different ways....including stationary batterys..gun turrets????

Pulse weapons are pretty old hat, existing since at least the '80's (God bless those whacky lads at Portsdown Hill). It's actually a bomb, two tubes one inside the other with a core of HE. A standing electrical wave is passed down between the tubes and on detonating the HE the tubes blow out, shorting as they go, from one end to the other compressing the standing wave until it reaches the point where it produces a conventional EMP.

The effect is exactly like the EMP associated with nuclear devices (although a different mechanism is involved), but since there is much less energy involved the effect is much less intense (with nukes the EMP radius was hundreds of miles vs less than a city block for the Tommahawk warhead).

Any nuclear hardened system, or a vessel with a farraday cage will be immune to the effects, and by Traveller I suspect it's a weapon that has been and gone.

Bryn

 

[Liam Devlin]

Aha, the emp weapons. BUT..In a traveller universe not very long agao, I saw the smaller man-portable version put to use by a mercenary unit. Hardening is often external shielding-this was emplaced inside the ship rendering unable to lift, keeping the target passengers planetbound for their raid.

Internal hardening is another matter entirely. And so the ship's computers are fibre optic backed up-its all the preipherals connected that can get fried as well...(running lights, emergency lighting, Life support, etc..Iris valve switches...internal security cameras...lost of "stuff" an emp grenade/ bomb can screw up- leaving the hull intact..

heretically yours,

 

[Rahnd]

What if the ships systems included hydrolic operated doors, and life support that was not computer dependent. in theory, as far as i know; the only systems that really should be dependent on computer and electronics are sensors and some weapons. Any critical computer such as jump drive navigation I would figrue would be innatly built more secure. I dont know enough about intersteller drive to know for sure if the engins would be electronics dependent. I personaly think tha a EMP detonation would more of a massive inconvence rather than a crippling effect.

thats me few cents.