Sexiest Women of Science Fiction,

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sulu wasn't talking about detection range. Sulu was reporting effective weapons range.

Don't you know anything?

Are u sure,this is serious

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sulu wasn't talking about detection range. Sulu was reporting effective weapons range.

Don't you know anything?

Still short range. 1 Light Second would be a more likely an effective weapons range (approx 300,000 km) since the Phasers on the Enterprise can fire in a barrage pattern and (somehow) detonate in proximity.

Originally Posted by Growler

ooo... source? I want to read this shi-!! (Seriously - this is cool to me.)

http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/index.php

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Still short range. 1 Light Second would be a more likely an effective weapons range (approx 300,000 km) since the Phasers on the Enterprise can fire in a barrage pattern and (somehow) detonate in proximity.

I knew you were making this up as you went along!

1. The targetting computers weren't that accurate back in the old days.

2. Phasers don't detonate - that takes a photon torpedo.

3. I saw it in the show, so there!

4. My BS mojo juju magic tech is both prettier and shinier than yours, so there again!

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I knew you were making this up as you went along!

well how do you think I appear to know so much about everything!

1. The targetting computers weren't that accurate back in the old days.

They seem to be able to hit a specific building on a planet from orbit... seems accurate to me...

2. Phasers don't detonate - that takes a photon torpedo.

KIRK: Battle status?
SULU: All stations manned, Captain.
STILES: Phaser weapons energised. Set for proximity blast.

-Balance of Terror (TOS)

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by tater

Trek is crap as "real" science fiction, too.

Say what?

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sulu wasn't talking about detection range. Sulu was reporting effective weapons range.
Don't you know anything?

Originally Posted by Vendor

Are u sure,this is serious

[Wolfehunter]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I knew you were making this up as you went along!

1. The targetting computers weren't that accurate back in the old days.

2. Phasers don't detonate - that takes a photon torpedo.

3. I saw it in the show, so there!

4. My BS mojo juju magic tech is both prettier and shinier than yours, so there again!

This^^ They used photon torpedoes for barrages. Phaser for precise targets.

One of my favorits Scifi chicks. is Natasha henstridge..

[tater]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Say what?

ST is very "soft" SF.

The base rule for "hard" SF is to break as few laws of physics as possible, and follow the chain of "what-if" for those you do (based on how you explain them in the first place). FTL is gonna be a given for most SF, but the goal should be to break as little as possible. ST (particularly TNG) breaks new laws almost every episode. They use made-up technobabble as a plot device constantly (a sign of terrible writers), then more new "______-genic fields" constantly to fix the problem they set up weakly in the first place. ST got so bad that no given writer even had a clue that their plot was already solved by another weak writer's physics breaking invention.

ST is no more "hard" than Star Wars, IMHO, and no more consistent.

[tater]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

The RCS thrusters on the Space Shuttle (the ones they use for station keeping and docking) can be spotted by another ship with present day passive detection systems at ranges in excess of 100 million kilometers.

This is true. The notion of a spacecraft hiding is nonsense. Even just the temperature of the crew compartment (by definition some sort of comfy "room temperature" for humans) makes it visible in IR very far away using IR telescopes. Throw in any sort of drive capable of pushing it at high speed and ships don't hide.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Wolfehunter

This^^ They used photon torpedoes for barrages. Phaser for precise targets.

Except in Balance of Terror the writers hadn't "invented" photon torpedoes yet. So phasers have a depth charge like proximity fuse as a result.

Considering they are a particle weapon you can do funny things with them.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

They seem to be able to hit a specific building on a planet from orbit... seems accurate to me...

-Balance of Terror (TOS)

I think "from orbit" can be classified as "point blank".


Some mouth-breathing dweeb once tried to rope me into an argument about which movie Batman would win a fight. My answer? "Whichever one the screenwriters said would win!"