Re: Active vs Passive

> I also think that stealth to the point that
> "we don't know if
> anything's there" is essentially impossible, because
> you simply CAN'T
> hide your waste heat (except by running your ship at
> a 3K ambient
> temperature, but that would probably degrade your
> combat effectiveness).
> I simply don't think that it's possible to hide
> yourself effectively in
> a space battlefield. Sure, if you're far enough away
> it's essentially
> impossible to HIT you, but it's still going to be
> obvious that you're
> THERE. As to what distance is far enough, it depends
> on your
> maneuverability, your cross-sectional area, and the
> speed of weapons
> fire (sensors are assumed to be speed-of-light, if
> faster sensors exist
> things will change).
> 
> -Brian

I think you underestimate just how big space is.  
Scanning all of visible space and then subtracting out
all background noise would be very, very difficult. 

Also, only using passive sensors, it would be almost
impossible to determine range without significant
transverse movement by either the target or the
detector.

Also, if you assume superconductors (and I think we
have to in a space game) it would be fairly easy to
sheild a ship so it would only emit EM radiation
(light, heat, etc.) in one direction (say to the
rear). It would be very difficult to detect such a
ship with passive sensors (except perhaps with a mass
detector).

-Adrian

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