Kinetic Barrier

A kinetic barrier, kinetic deflector, or deflector screen is a device which uses fermionic particle manipulation to stop, repel, or deflect incoming material projectiles. A kinetic barrier cannot stop directed-energy weapons such as lasers.

Mechanics

Particle-manipulation effectors, of the same kind as used in repulsors, are placed on or around the object to be protected, such as a ship, person, or building. These project a repulsor field into the surrounding area to stop or deflect incoming projectiles. Kinetic barriers are usually rated by how much energy they can absorb at once.

Example

Assume a kinetic barrier rated for 50 kJ (as in, the most energy it can absorb at any given time is fifty kilojoules).

• If the barrier is impacted by a projectile with a kinetic energy of 40 kJ, it will stop it with 10 kJ of "room to spare"

• If the barrier is hit by a 70 kJ projectile, it will only succeed at removing 50 kJ of energy from it. The projectile will breach the barrier with 20 kJ of energy remaining.

While more than up to the task of stopping, say, bullets from a firearm on a backwater recontacted world, even ship-grade kinetic barriers will struggle to counteract high-energy projectiles. For this reason, most high-energy barriers are projected as elongated cones facing towards incoming fire so that it is deflected to the side instead of arrested to a complete stop. This requires far less energy (equivalent to the vector difference of the original and deflected trajectories).

Because kinetic barriers and repulsors are fundamentally the same technology, it is possible with sufficient engineering skill to reconfigure one into a rather janky version of the other.

Kinetic barriers are invisible, though the field region may become discernable when it encounters debris, incoming projectiles, or environmental effects such as rain.

To provide shielding against both projectiles and lasers, kinetic barriers are often combined with ablative or thermally-superconducting armor plates.

Parent Technologies

• Repulsor