From: SCOTT SWOBODA
Subj: Re: Iselrone Specs
I am not entirely convinced that Iselrone is actually covered with a
liquid metal, even in the anime. Bouancy forces of incredible magnitude
would be required to make the ship sink in such a dense liquid metal.
To date, I haven't even seen one of the Empire's ships dock in any kind
of water-borne setting either (unlike the amphibious Yamato).
My theory is that the entire surface is covered in hollow microspheres of
some kind; similar to the fly ash which makes highway striping reflective
at night (but not when wet--think about it!) If the surface were actually
something like mercury, then those dead Panzer Grenadiers would practically
look like they were laying on a waterbed.
Each microsphere could be weakly held to it's neighbor with a weak static
electric charge. A ship could easily cut through a layer of the reflective
microspheres using it's shields or using the same principles of electro-
magnetism which would hold the microspheres in place around the Fortress.
I don't like the idea of ionizing the microspheres, as the enemy could
possibly "ground" the fortress with a dense uncharged layer of
microspheres. Once grounded, they could be melted together and form a
nice ceramic crust like the surface of the moon. Hmmmm.
Microspheres with static charges in low gravity would probably behave
much like a liquid, only at a fraction of the density and without that
freezing/evaporating stuff going on. As I recall, Iselrone Fortress
orbits a lone, planet-free star in the corridor. A liquid would have a
hard time keeping from freezing on the dark side or boiling on the sunward
side without an atmosphere. On the other hand, if this is such a good
reflective surface, the entire station would freeze if it wasn't for
it's reactor (fusion?).
Thermodynamics aside, these microspheres may also explain the "whispy"
appearance of the atmosphere around the spacedocks. If there wasn't
anything there, they wouldn't need a giant lighthouse inside, would they?
Well, I just came up with the idea a few minutes ago. Anyone have ideas
which could support of refute my hypothesis?
Regards,
Scott Swoboda