InternationalShake75 t1_ixoo2qb wrote on November 25, 2022 at 2:11 AM

Reply to comment by Usernamenotta in Space travel Shielding by Actual-Macaroon8240

This is a good response here. I want to reiterate and emphasize the challenge of sensors and detectors "seeing" the incoming micrometeoroid.

If you know a thing is coming then you can prepare for it. But much of the challenge is detecting incoming ballistics. And thats really really hard to do. Things like lasers only work if you know where to point it. Sometimes you do, but most of the time you dont.

Think of it like a bullet could come from any direction. A laser could melt a bullet, but trying to line up the laser beam with an incident bullet path is crazy hard. So it's easier to just to put on a bullet proof vest.

Usernamenotta t1_iyc9tfe wrote on November 30, 2022 at 9:21 AM

Well, I mean, technically, with a powerful enough laser, you don't need to precisely aim it. You can use the same technique radars use and do 'sweeps', with the lasers going from right to left or up and down, or perhaps having multiple layers doing the same thing. But, as mentioned, you will still have some holes in the 'fishnet' even with this method. The best strategy is a layered defence. Kinetic protection is the most sound choice when it comes to singular impacts, but overtime it's going to fail due to multiple impacts and radiation exposure. Especially if you go for the traditional 'armor' ideea (liquid metal armour, while more Sci-Fi, at least prevents the forming of cracks).

InternationalShake75 t1_iydm9k7 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 4:52 PM

i suspect a laser disco ball concept is going to be way too power hungry, and that means it will be prohibitively massive with todays power technology.

The liquid metal armor idea isnt entirely scifi. Liquid armor already exists using non-Newtonian fluids. There are commercial products for motorcycle armor you can buy today. For Liquid metal armor, check out ferrofluid armor and the AFRL. Unfortunately, these arent worth the bang for the buck, in terms of protection versus mass compared to a traditional kinetic whipple shield.