Where are nukes in the future?

[mmntech]

I do remmber a TOS episode where Kirk is fighting the Romulans over their cloak. The Romulans mention using outdated nuclear missles in desparation. It's probably to the point where shields can absorb a nuclear blast.

 

[SunnyD]

They are in Alameda. With the nuc-u-lar wessels.

 

[ElFenix]

the matter-antimatter annihilation that the torpedoes are supposed to use is way bigger than the amount of energy in a fusion bomb

 

[techs]

Star Trek is way off in the future. We learned during Independence Day that nukes are worthless*. So it's natural that they wouldn't have them.



*Nukes are worthwhile if you can get a virus to the mother ship via your Apple laptop and detonate it inside the mothership.

Is there an app for that?

 

[Piotrsama]

Star Trek is way off in the future. We learned during Independence Day that nukes are worthless*. So it's natural that they wouldn't have them.

Even before!
War of the worlds.

 

[darkxshade]

As did Battlestar Galactica.

That was technically in the past, not the future. :ninja:

 

[dighn]

the EMP from the nuke would wipe out the electronics of the federation ships.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_nuclear_explosion#EMP_generation

the mechanisms of EMP generation requires an atmosphere to provide the electrons and a magnetic field for them to oscillate in, so you shouldn't have to worry about that in deep space.

 

[dighn]

Nukes wouldn't be nearly as effective in the vacuum of space.

you don't get the devastating shockwave, but you also don't have the radiation attenuation of an atmosphere. the radiation will probably be very deadly at high range and vapourize hulls at close range. still deadly.

 

[SunnyD]

the mechanisms of EMP generation requires an atmosphere to provide the electrons and a magnetic field for them to oscillate in, so you shouldn't have to worry about that in deep space.

Uhh... free electrons travel through a vacuum quite easily, and the magnetic field is created by the initial plasma created by the fission process. The EMP effects will likely be amplified in range (not magnitude) by occurring in a vacuum. It's the X-Rays that will seriously fuck things up though.

 

[Fritzo]

the mechanisms of EMP generation requires an atmosphere to provide the electrons and a magnetic field for them to oscillate in, so you shouldn't have to worry about that in deep space.

What if they have one of those giant nipple boob gun's from Hoth?

 

[dighn]

Uhh... free electrons travel through a vacuum quite easily, and the magnetic field is created by the initial plasma created by the fission process. The EMP effects will likely be amplified in range (not magnitude) by occurring in a vacuum. It's the X-Rays that will seriously fuck things up though.

hmm not sure how large the magnetic field of a nuclear detonation would be (if it exists). I suppose the vapourized weapon itself can release some electrons.. and there maybe other effects that can produce some EMP, but I can guess the magnitude of any resulting EMP in deep space from the fact that there just isn't enough material like an atmosphere to capture a significant portion of the radiated energy for conversion into EMP. the radiation would be far more deadly than any EMP. I'm no expert on nuclear weapons though *shrug*

 

[dighn]

What if they have one of those giant nipple boob gun's from Hoth?

logic does not apply to giant nipple boob guns.