Flare Sci-Fi Forums: SIF/IDF and Collisions (Tech)

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Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

TNG-Relics: Scotty and Geordi manage to prop open a large door using the USS Jenol*n.

VOY-Elogium: where Voyager is swarmed by a bunch of smaller creatures, which angers a larger creature. Voyager plays dirty by colliding HEAD ON with the creature. Now in the dialogue, it has the Captain ordering Structural Integrity Fields (SIF), Inertial Dampening Fields (IDF), and all shields to full strength.

Doing this would theoretically deflect any large object in a collision course with them. This would explain why the Jenolen was able to prop open the door long enough for the Enterprise to escape. As well, the Enterprise was able (on many occaisions) to navigate through Asteroid fields without changing course, this being to both SIF/IDF/Shields being set at full to avoid colliding with asteroids that could rip the ship to shreds. (The only exception being TNG's Booby Trap, where the Enterprise didn't have enough power due to that radiation field).

Now consider this:

DS9-Tears of the Prophets: Several Jem He'Dar fighters plow through fully powered and undamaged Klingon ships. Now, had the Klingons had their SIF/IDF/Shields to full (assuming that they have SIF and IDF), the Jem He'Dar ships would have just bounced off their ships. There are several possibilities why the Klingon ships were destroyed by the collisions: 1) the Jemmies set their SIF/IDF/shields to low power as to explode on impact, or 2) the Jemmies had some sort of device to interfere with the SIF and IDF.

Comments?

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Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

I don't think your examples are equal. Voyager rammed that creature, but Janeway didn't intend to destroy it or her ship. On the other hand, the Jem'Hadar were intending to destroy themselves and the Klingons. Hence, they were traveling much faster.

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"If the bathwater roars and my ear's underwater. It's a tolerant hum from the core."
--
The Tragically Hip

Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :

Maybe it depends on speed. The SIF/IDF may be at full, but it can't resist everything. A Jem'Hadar bug screaming in at full impulse could probably overwhelm the Klingon IDF/SIF, especially since they didn't predict such an attack to come, and had the energy from the IDF/SIF transfered to shields or weapons or something. I don't remember "Elogium" were Voyager rammed the creature, but Voyager might not have been traveling all that fast, and you can probably bounce off a living creature easier then through a solid metal object like a ship.

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"The one, the only, THE 359!"

Posted by bear (Member # 124) on :

Doesn't SIF explain why photon torp. seem to be very weak weapons?

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Wouldn't going into battle w/ the SIF and IDF turned to full be a bad thing? I can't imagine that leaves a lot of power to the engines or weapons...

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"You! Are you smarter than this one?"
-Ambassador Byleth to LaForge regarding Worf, TNG's "Liasons"

Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :

Definitions:
SIF: mainly an internal field that supports the spaceframe
IDF: internal field that compensates for acceleration of the ship
shields: external field that surrounds the ship to deflect/absorb energy weapons and projectiles
(navigational) deflector field: external field that deflects random (weak) objects
(nav.) deflector beam: pointed directly at a larger object to deflect it

In "Relics" and "Elogium" the shields and navigational deflector probably played the most important role, because they provided most of the counterforce, while the SIF compensated for the rest, and the IDF was needed only for the instant of the impact.

I think the Jem'Hadar disabled their shields and deflector field when they rammed the Klingon ships. Bumping two balloons (=ships with shields) together won't destroy any of them, while a needle (=fast ship without shields) can easily penetrate the balloon surface.

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"The past, the present and the future, they exist as one, they breathe together." (Annorax, VOY: "The Year of Hell")
Ex Astris Scientia

Posted by bear (Member # 124) on :

Imagine a beer can...which would you like to smash, a full unopened can , or empty can ? A structural integraty field could be the strongest of a ships defenses, but with shield down it doesn't last very long.
359: I am with you as far has ships playing kazi into other ships.

It seems as soon as I open my mouth on a thread, it's the kiss of death.

lol

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Posted by Jaresh Inyo on :

I've always thought that the respective fields would cancel each other out on collision, leaving it to a metal on metal impact.

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Me: Oh, I agree. I think they're spending too much time together, that is of course, if you catch my drift.
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Posted by The First One (Member # 35) on :

No. The point is, the shields are at different frequencies and harmonics, so they can't mesh. I think we have seen ships on the same side merge shields, but that was obviously because they were able to set them the same.

Posted by Federation Shipmaster (Member # 15) on :

Remember, the fields are used to not run into small pieces of debris in space, so they don't tear holes in the ship.

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