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Mark Simmons (scorpio@best.com)
Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:38:08 -0800
Okay, let's get a couple of things straightened out here...
* I-fields per se are nothing special in the Gundam world. They're used
in beam rifles, in the blades of beam sabers, in the "field motor" joints
of Federation mobile suits, in the Minovsky craft system that keeps the
White Base aloft.
* What the Byg Zam, Dendrobium, Neue Ziel et al have is an I-field
BARRIER. This is an incredibly powerful I-field, shaped into a spherical
shell around the mobile armor/suit in question, that blocks all beam
weapons. It has no effect on physical attacks, and you can move through
the barrier and use beam weapons inside it, as Amuro did against the Byg Zam.
* The beam shields seen in F91 and V Gundam are based on beam saber
technology, which means that they use I-fields in the same way beam
sabers do - to form an arbitrary geometric shape, which is filled with
high-energy plasma. This flat plane can deflect physical and beam attacks
alike, but the I-field that gives it its shape is relatively weak and can
be pierced by a powerful attack, temporarily collapsing the shield.
* The barrier formed by the Nu Gundam's fin funnels, though never really
described in detail, appears to be more like a beam shield than an I-
field barrier. It's a geometric form with visible edges, it's impervious
to solid objects (the Alpha Aziel's funnels bounce off it), and it can be
collapsed (repeatedly) by a powerful attack.
For more I-field info, see <http://www.gundamproject.com/world/
minovsky.html>. Now, back to the discussion in progress...
First, it's correct that for most of the UC era regular-sized mobile
suits couldn't carry I-field barriers. The power demands of the barrier
require a huge generator, the huge generator emits lots of heat, and this
heat requires powerful and bulky cooling systems. The Byg Zam's time
limit is due to this heat buildup - after 15-20 minutes, the sheer heat
emitted by its four battleship reactors forces it to shut down the
barrier and cool off. (The same is true, more than 50 years later, for
the Crossbone Gundam X-3).
When do mobile suits get this capability? The first one I can think of
is the Ex-S Gundam (circa 0088), whose limited I-field barrier protects
only the cockpit area. The giant mobile suit Quin Mantha has an I-field
barrier, but it's mobile armor-sized, so this doesn't really count. :-)
The Full Armor ZZ _appears_ to have such a barrier - Rakan's shots curve
around an invisible bubble, rather than bouncing off a luminous aura as
with the usual newtype-generated barrier - but I don't think this has
ever been acknowledged in print.
The Nu Gundam's barrier is more like a beam shield than an I-field barrier.
The advanced mobile suits from the Hathaway novels - Xi Gundam and
Penelope - have Minovsky craft systems, which means they should
theoretically be capable of generating I-field barriers if the designers
wished. That's circa UC 0105.
The Crossbone Gundam X-3 (circa UC 0133) has I-field barrier generators
in each forearm, instead of the standard beam shields. This is remarked
on at the time as an uprecedented feature.
Finally, the V2 Assault Gundam (circa UC 0153) has I-field barrier
generators in its shoulders. Together with its mega beam shield, and its
reactive anti-beam armor, it has three layers of protection and is surely
the best-defended Gundam in UC history. :-)
-- Mark
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mark Simmons / scorpio@best.com / http://www.gundamproject.com/
"If you can kill it, it's not a god, just a good old-fashioned monster."
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