Re: Temperature and you

Jim 'Jiji' Foster wrote:
> 
> This would suggest a simple stealth device for ships coasting into a
> system: exude a mini-atmosphere of carbon dioxide to mask IR
signatures.
> This assumes that a) either screens could contain the gas to keep it
with
> the ship or b) once the CO2 cloud is out, any course change would move
the
> ship out of its protection.
> 
> Granted this is a knee-jerk idea without any consideration of real
physical
> issues (how dense does the CO2 need to be? How much would it take? How
much
> heat can it absorb before it too begins radiating IR?) but does
provide a
> PSB justification for a low-mass, charge-based stealth system.
> 
> Random thoughts from a sleepless, suddenly talkative lurker. YMMV. :)

	Well, there are a couple of problems with this. First, of
course,
there's a vacuum, the CO2 would tend to disperse fairly quickly. If you
have a screen that can keep it in, it'll probably also keep particle
beams OUT, giving you perfect shields. I'd think that would be very
useful in the GZG-verse (barring the Kra'vak of course). If you don't
have a 'magic screen' the density effectively needs to be infinite,
because it keeps dispersing.
	Second, the CO2 will tend to REALLY screw up the
emmission/absorption
spectrum. You don't get a lot of free CO2 in space, and detecting THAT
in the spectrum is a dead giveaway that there's SOMETHING not entirely
natural out there. I'd say that overall, without 'magitech', it's not
possible. 

-Brian Quirt