Earth VS...building a proper GUNDAM.

[T51R]

Particularly, the Strike Gundam BLACK.

Because a certain Alien Emissary got bored with our planet and challenged us to ROBOT WARS on a galactic scale and assembled, in moments, what amounted to a bastardized Super Galaxy Gurren Lagann, standing on Jupiter. Only, she then got cussed out by her superiors, who said what amounted to "you stupid f*ck, did you f*cking think that f*cking humans could build something that's five f*cking times the mass of their f*cking planet at this f*cking point in f*cking time!?" So she scaled it back and ended up with a bastardized Anubis-GaoGaiGar-looking-thing.

We decided to answer the challenge with the COMBINED RESOURCES OF OUR ENTIRE PLANET and its nearby bodies namely the moon and Mars, and, led by one Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson, we decided that our best chance was SPEED and POWER.

We have 10 years to build a Strike Gundam Black, give it our best pilot(its definitely NOT going to be James May...) and avenge ourselves upon the rotting carcass of Little Miss Bullshit, who has made a mockery of mankind in every possible way, as well as in ways that we thought were just impossible(well, hopefully, since she has demonstrated an uncanny ability to resurrect herself...)

As a unitied world, CAN WE DO IT?

[The Chou Lives]

The irony is Japan made a Gundam. As a statue that can move some of it's body.

But a actual Gundam for fighting reasons?

That's beyond our known science. As such a thing would break apart while moving at high speeds.

Unless we make leaps and bonds in the engineering department. I can see a beam sword though.As recently there was a article about"Crafting things' out of "LIGHT"inovlving sound. Just right sound in pattern and you got a sword blade for mono edge style cutting. (Feasible with that tech though not sure how long it'll last.)

[Endless_Legend]

Are we bound by real-world physics and engineering constraints and laws?

If so, nope. Not a chance in hell. Because giant humanoid robots are, basically, crap. They look cool, but they're one of the worst ideas ever conceived, when it comes to actually using them in combat. Anything that one could do, in any environment, a vehicle with a more conventional movement mode could do better, more efficiently, more quickly, and more reliably. Even in the very few environments where giving a vehicle legs is a good idea, giving it 4, 6, or 8 legs would still make more sense, be more efficient, more manuverable, etc. etc.

[Captain Morgan]

Are we bound by real-world physics and engineering constraints and laws?

If so, nope. Not a chance in hell. Because giant humanoid robots are, basically, crap. They look cool, but they're one of the worst ideas ever conceived, when it comes to actually using them in combat. Anything that one could do, in any environment, a vehicle with a more conventional movement mode could do better, more efficiently, more quickly, and more reliably. Even in the very few environments where giving a vehicle legs is a good idea, giving it 4, 6, or 8 legs would still make more sense, be more efficient, more manuverable, etc. etc.

Yup. It's a sad fact, but humanoid mechas have just about no practical combat applications.

[T51R]

Are we bound by real-world physics and engineering constraints and laws?

Yes. And we're going to have to be like Volkswagon, and "break science with a diff."

[Endless_Legend]

Yup. It's a sad fact, but humanoid mechas have just about no practical combat applications.

Well, big ones don't. Giant robots, nope. Anything they do, a vehicle can do better.

Small ones (like say, human sized) have *tons* of practical combat applications. If you could get one to work, you'd have the perfect door-kicker and/or infantry fire-support drone.

The Spectres from Titanfall (the robot soldiers that behave like Pilots) are a good example of this. They basically act like infantrymen, but stronger, faster, don't need to eat or rest, can carry more ammo, heavier weapons, etc. You don't need to train them, just build and program them. the smaller combat-drones from Robocop (the humanoid ones) are another great example.

[Endless_Legend]

Yes. And we're going to have to be like Volkswagon, and "break science with a diff."

I don't know what that means. Also, who's this "Alien Emissary" that keeps showing up in all these threads? It is some anime thing?

Anyways, *how* bound are we? Can we use technologies that we know our possible, but we just haven't overcome certain technical hurdles for yet? And/or haven't thrown enough money at yet?

If we have fusion, we could build a combat spacecraft/fighter/warship that just *looks* like a giant robot, or is vaguely shaped like one, maybe. Armed with high-energy lasers, railguns, and ablative/heat tiles and ceramic armor. (All real technologies, they're just still in their infancy)

That, combine with a fusion drive and some kind of booster module and/or large amount of reaction mass, we could get our mecha-fighter (or carrier full of mecha-fighter-ships) to Jupiter in less than a year. In a few weeks if we're generous and say that they accelerate continously at 1G the entire time, although I think even with fusion rockets there's no way a ship of reasonable size could ever carry the reaction mass needed for accelerating that long.

Also there's the fact that, if you know orbital mechanics, you realize that you end up with a turnover/flip velocity of like 5% of lightspeed. Striking even a grain of dust at that speed would vaporize the entire ship and everything on it. We could probably see the explosion from earth.

So, more realistically, a couple of months to get to Jupiter at a *somewhat* more reasonable (but still insane) turnaround velocity. And then we're there, and read to pump megajoules of energy and hypervelocity tungsten darts into whatever evil robot the "Alien Emissary" has waiting.

[Endless_Legend]

Incidentally I just described the plot of Robert Buettner's "Orphanage", an excellent Sci-fi book. That's basically what happen it. Well that and some Starship-troopers ish action on the surface of Ganymede as well.

[penguin-in-leather-jacket]

i'd say railguns are a little further along than infancy, personally... the technology is well-understood and the US Navy is looking to deploy ships carrying them in the next year or two. they already exist; videos with demonstrations and short discussions of the technology are on Youtube. laser beams for ship armament are also at an advanced stage of development and they too will be deployed in the near future.

but that's a quibble.

[T51R]

Also, who's this "Alien Emissary" that keeps showing up in all these threads? It is some anime thing?

Its a plot device I invented to make ridiculous and unfeasible scenarios more entertaining.

[Melchior]

Oddly enough, Skunkworks of Lockheed Martin estimates that they will have a small, working fusion reactor in about 5 years, with production models in 10. So we might just be able to pull this off, though actually winning the fight is going to be a whole other matter.

[big_adventure]

Oddly enough, Skunkworks of Lockheed Martin estimates that they will have a small, working fusion reactor in about 5 years, with production models in 10. So we might just be able to pull this off, though actually winning the fight is going to be a whole other matter.

Don't believe the "working fusion reactor" hype. They have been able to make working fusion reactors for at least 30 years. They have been promising it as reliable tech for more than 60. The problem is that they need to put more energy into them to generate the fields than the fusion can generate (and be captured). Chalk that one up to "I'll believe it when I see it."

[Little_Mac]

Out of curiosity, assuming that we could BUILD this mythical machine, who would be the best pilot? Which field/occupation would be the best to fly this death trap and maybe live?

[Endless_Legend]

i'd say railguns are a little further along than infancy, personally... the technology is well-understood and the US Navy is looking to deploy ships carrying them in the next year or two. they already exist; videos with demonstrations and short discussions of the technology are on Youtube. laser beams for ship armament are also at an advanced stage of development and they too will be deployed in the near future.

but that's a quibble.

They're deployed right now, actually. The USS Ponce is the first ship out at sea that has the LAWS laser weapon installed. It's going to be chilling in the Persian gulf for a few months, field testing the weapon.

[Endless_Legend]

Don't believe the "working fusion reactor" hype. They have been able to make working fusion reactors for at least 30 years. They have been promising it as reliable tech for more than 60. The problem is that they need to put more energy into them to generate the fields than the fusion can generate (and be captured). Chalk that one up to "I'll believe it when I see it."

They do. Over at the National Ignition Facility, the Spheromak reactor there is generating positive energy return. A *little* bit positive.

Not enough yet to make it a commercially viable power system, but baby steps, you know?

Of course, NIF's Reactor complex is like the size of a football stadium. Getting positive energy return out of a reactor that "fits on the back of truck" as Lockheed is claiming is probably a whole other, longer set of baby steps.