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anyone seen ice used as shielding for ships in SF imlad Send a noteboard - 19/10/2009 04:35:45 PM
Reading the Kris Longknife series (by Mike Shepherd, I'll have more to say about this series when I finish it in a couple days).

Anyways, Shepherd has space naval ships using ice as shielding against lasers (with the ships on a long-axial spin). Interesting idea, but not sure if it would work.

The idea is, that the 5meter thick ice coating partially deflects/refracts the lasers, and also absorbs the hit while the ship spins causing the laser to not burn thru to the hull. In addition, the refrozen ice crystals caused by the laser strike also acts as chaff limiting the targeting sensors on the attacking ship.

Anyone seen this idea in any other SF? Do you think it could work? Why? Why not?
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anyone seen ice used as shielding for ships in SF imlad - 19/10/2009 04:35:45 PM 3476 Views
Sounds familiar, but I'm not quite sure from where... *NM* Craig - 19/10/2009 05:03:03 PM 177 Views
I think this is in THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH by Arthur C. Clarke Werthead - 19/10/2009 05:20:24 PM 433 Views
It does sound like the kind of brilliant-yet-obvious idea Clarke would have. Tim - 19/10/2009 05:31:23 PM 406 Views
That sounds right. Knew I'd seen it somewhere. *NM* Craig - 19/10/2009 06:04:25 PM 161 Views
Found the story. There is an ice-shield, but it's for space dust, not lasers. *NM* Tim - 19/10/2009 11:47:33 PM 163 Views
Ice shielding against lasers? jh - 19/10/2009 07:28:51 PM 1787 Views
It wouldn't reflect, but it would significantly diffract... *NM* Ghavrel - 19/10/2009 09:25:16 PM 181 Views
Perhaps... jh - 20/10/2009 08:31:08 AM 385 Views
in Shepherd's novels they do burn thru the ice quickly, thus the ships spin *NM* imlad - 20/10/2009 05:18:53 PM 163 Views
Re: Ice shielding against lasers? Mats imaginary friend - 20/10/2009 03:39:25 AM 2072 Views
Well, most spaceships have to go in-atmosphere at some point. Kronin al'Sulc - 20/10/2009 04:09:16 AM 417 Views
yep, orbital docking stations imlad - 20/10/2009 05:21:40 PM 413 Views
momentum. Read up on it. *NM* jh - 20/10/2009 08:28:25 AM 174 Views
there might not be weight, but MASS still plays a role imlad - 20/10/2009 05:21:08 PM 407 Views
Ignorance or sarcasm? Aemon - 20/10/2009 09:26:31 PM 407 Views
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds *NM* Vodalus - 23/10/2009 01:49:21 AM 199 Views
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