#technology speculation

[sarifel-corrisafid-ilxhel]

Theory about that battle between Bug Fighters and F-16Ds

Ok, so this is a theory with little evidence but it’s basically a pillar of some of the stuff I’m going to write, so I wanted to share my thoughts.

We know that as early as Book #3, and presumably even earlier, the Yeerks had cloaking technology that could defeat RADAR. Ax condescendingly mentions that any Andalite child could make a RADAR-cloak with pieces of their toys, and Yeerks very definitely have Andalite technology (Thanks Prince Seerow!)

However, in one of the last Animorphs books (53, I think), a flight of F-16Ds were able to fire missiles at Yeerk Bug Fighters. Unfortunately the F-16Ds had to close to short range in order to do this and were subsequently destroyed. But, how did the F-16Ds achieve weapon locks on Yeerk Bug Fighters if Bug Fighters can simply evade RADAR? And why were the F-16Ds that close to the Bug Fighters when they have the capability to fire from beyond visual range?

The answer lies in the missiles they used. I believe the F-16Ds closed to short range because they were firing AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, specifically the AIM-9M, which uses infrared homing technology. We could assume that for whatever reason, Bug Fighters are not designed to have a minimal infrared signature.

Uh, to use a real world example, infrared tracking of stealth fighters such as the F-22 or J-20 can achieve a weapon lock at longer ranges than high-frequency RADAR can, which has led to a resurgence in infrared tracking technology on modern air-superiority fighters. The US has always had the option with the Sidewinder missile, but equipping other missiles and the planes themselves with infrared tracking is now a priority for many countries.

As for why the F-16s closed to short range to fire these missiles, that’s because the infrared signature diminishes with distance due to the atmosphere and the sensor’s resolution. But this kind of thing would demonstrate cloaked ships don’t do well against infrared sensors.

Honestly, Jake was a military nerd and Ax was effectively a midshipman. They both should have known this stuff, but neither of them ever really mentions it. They only noted that the F-16s got too close and got fried.

[easykiln]

I am a technology geek

I have these really grand visions of what a 3d printer should be, and we are so far from that right now, it is a tragedy.

They should be so accurate that they can form microstructures in everything being built such that even plastic can gain improbable strength. They should be able to seamlessly work with many materials, including metals. They should be able to ink or paint with accuracy, such that “3d printers” just become “printers” and can handle all the 2d aspects as well. Except with extra features like embossing done easily and cheaply. They should be able to paint out art prints with basically all the depth and texture of the originals. They should support multi-step design where a human or robotic component inputs materials a 3d printer is not capable of working with and being able to scan and pickup where it left off with no seam or loss of quality.

And they should be able to print organs from stemcells, but I was more talking about consumer/business printers.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/new-laser-printed-material-is-lighter-than-water-as-strong-as-steel/ as an example of microstructures. Or y’know, crystals of any kind. Diamonds.