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Post by Lomadia on Dec 5, 2006 0:44:48 GMT -5
Right. Pride and Prejudice. ISBN 0-141-43951-3. Read. Now.
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Post by Beren Erchamion on Dec 5, 2006 19:53:19 GMT -5
I'm finishing one of Larry Niven's Ringworld books. When I get off that, then sure, Lieutenant Lomadia.
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[Aeria-Gloris]
Craft-smith
Chieftain of the D?nedain
Race - Gondorian
Posts: 324
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Post by [Aeria-Gloris] on Dec 7, 2006 4:56:57 GMT -5
Well done Beren. You've just gone up yet another notch in my opinion. I read the first 3 or so Ringworld novels years ago but aint been back since. I was very excited when I heard they were making a game based on them I can tell you!
Ok, so Halo had a ring. That’s about as close as the two worlds came but they're both fantastic in their own right.
[A-G]
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Post by Beren Erchamion on Dec 7, 2006 8:34:30 GMT -5
Ringworld had a much better scientific premise to it, too, but that's Niven for you. Here's my question-of-the-day for Halo: Covie rifles shoot plasma. That's superheated matter, presumably gas. So in space, zero atmosphere, where is the matter coming from?
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Post by Lomadia on Dec 7, 2006 21:21:51 GMT -5
::Fifth Age boards do an about-face from Fitzwilliam Darcy to Halo::
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[Aeria-Gloris]
Craft-smith
Chieftain of the D?nedain
Race - Gondorian
Posts: 324
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Post by [Aeria-Gloris] on Dec 13, 2006 5:33:03 GMT -5
Well you can always depend on a couple of guys within earshot of any discussion involving a novel set on a moor or down to immediately attempt to change the subject to whatever is farthest from. I've BEEN to the moors and there wasn't a bodice in sight! Plenty of rifles though. Its mostly military testing ground nowadays. That’s why I was there, though I was kept awake for much of the night by weapons fire. Don’t think they were plasma… I could be wrong though.
Anyway, this is when the engineer in me takes over. As I'm sure you know, a plasma is a super heated gas. The point is, if you have enough energy you can use anything to form a plasma since the heating process splits atoms, separating electrons from the nuclei. Now, once the electrons are sent whizzing about, the nucleus is left as an ion. What gives plasma its energy are the free electrons smashing into its fellows and other ions. This gives it an amazing cutting potential since it simply turns other solids into more plasma!
Its ace and its real! We have gas fed plasma cutters for engineering works and armour piercing munitions use shaped charges for the same effect.
(geek time) In star wars, the Blaster rifles use super heated tibana gas for ammo. This is harvested from gas giants. In halo I don’t know. You must always consider that space is not a perfect vacuum. There's all sortsa stuff thrown in. stardust for example - mostly hydrogen. You could ram scoop it, whap it through some fission and you've got energy!
[A-G]
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Post by Beren Erchamion on Dec 13, 2006 23:26:33 GMT -5
And pray do continue, Jack, for there's still the question of why the plasma bolts in most sci-fi (Star Wars and Halo included) travel at markedly subsonic speeds. Why use nuclear fission when your gun shoots slower than my .45?
The most comically horrid example of this is in an American show called Stargate SG-1 (based off the movie with Kurt Russell ^^), in which the plasma weapons are 5-foot-long staffs...and when you fire them, they make a half-second beeping tone before discharging. Makes me want to slap someone.
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[Aeria-Gloris]
Craft-smith
Chieftain of the D?nedain
Race - Gondorian
Posts: 324
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Post by [Aeria-Gloris] on Dec 14, 2006 5:48:38 GMT -5
Simple answer. They’re lame.
You could argue that star wars energy projectiles travel at a reasonable rate but are simply more visible because they’re luminescent. You see some pretty fleet blaster bolts if you think of the battle of Hoth etc. faster than, say footage of large calibre tracer rounds you’ve seen on war reports.
Now Halo combi weapons - Fun, cool… practical? They’re annoyingly slow but do have reasonable stopping power. Still prefer the human ones when I can get them though. Gotta love those Flood vs shotgum moments!
Stargate. What were they thinking? There’s justification in the film since the soldier’s weapons couldn’t touch the nasty’s armour, they HAD to use the staffs. But in the series, the (very cool but horribly low calibred) P90 has whaft enough to take down wave upon wave of apparent super humans (this is what we in the know call “STS – stormtrooper syndrome”).
So in conclusion: They’re lame. Or are they cool? Lightsabres are cool but would YOU choose one over a heavy blaster? Probably! Would you be more effective? Probably NOT! So why does the same rule not apply to the staffs??
Should we get back to books now?
[A-G]
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Post by Beren Erchamion on Dec 14, 2006 19:16:11 GMT -5
Well, the real-life equivalent to a Jedi - say, a Zen master or something - might do just fine with a lightsaber. =p
Books...books... Um, I read Isaac Asimov's "The Gods Themselves" the other day. Fascinating.
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Post by Elanor on Dec 26, 2006 6:18:33 GMT -5
I'm reading the Malloreon by David Eddings,entertaining if not orginal
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