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RE: Kra'vak Railgun & Technology!!!!

From: Thomas Barclay <Thomas.Barclay@s...>
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 16:19:47 -0500
Subject: RE: Kra'vak Railgun & Technology!!!!

Tim spake thusly upon matters weighty: 

> On another track I'm not convinced a rail gun would actually
> be an effective long range space weapon compared to
> an energy weapon. even hyper-velocity is slow compared
> to C and space combat ranges.

Without sarcasm, hyper-v is still fast compared with human command 
reflexes etc. Always a problem in ST - Dodge that lightspeed weapon, 
Mr. Sulu.... err..... sorry it isn't your fault you couldn't....

I think combat has to happen at a very small fraction of C (or 
relative velocity at the very least) for humans to have any part in 
it. Our reflexes (even boosted), our thought processes (complex, 
capable of intuitive leaps, but computationally slow), and our 
processes (chain of command, protocols, etc.) all mean we won't have 
nanosecond responses to most situations. 

But then, I think we're getting into territory that was done to death 
in the last quarter.... (human ships vs other options). I'd assume in 
this environment (low fraction of C combat) that hyper vel railguns 
were in fact a viable option both as an attack and as a defence 
(interceptor role). 

Tom.  
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