RE: [SG?] Cammo

On Aug 10, David Griffin <carbon_dragon@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> --- Brian A Quirt <baqrt@mta.ca> wrote:
> > On Aug 10, David Griffin <carbon_dragon@yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
> ...
> >	 It IS possible to store your heat temporarily
> > (eventually you have to get rid of it, and the longer you wait,
> > the more you have to get rid of). Unfortunately, storing heat can
> > be quite difficult....
> 
> Ok, so we're talking about something which is
> short duration. Suppose you have a good paint job
> (or a hull which "paints" the universe on the
> opposite side of the ship on the side near the
> target) and this liquid nitrogen hull insulation
> and suppose you only want it to cover your 
> approach to the target. Could come as a big
> surprise when you arrive, couldn't it?

     It could. The question is not "can you do it" but "is the effect 
worth the cost." If your drive can be detected from here to Pluto, 
it's probably not worth cooling off your hull. On the other hand, if 
the only ways to detect ships are a) visual observation, b) infrared 
observation (based on blackbody temperature), and c) active sensors, 
then an actively cooled hull might be worthwhile, if combined with a 
99.999+% black paint job. Of course, if it means your ship costs 10X 
as much, it might be more useful just to buy the extra ships. Make 
your tech assumptions, and design your universe. If you don't like 
it, change the parts that don't fit. Hours of fun (someday I should 
put my collection of universes up on my web site, except that I'm not 
sure if I could afford the space).