Particle Manipulation

Particle Manipulation is a field of science and technology based on the control of fundamental particles (protons, electrons, photons, etc.) apart from the forces which usually effect them.

Physics

The exact nature of particle manipulation physics remains mysterious to Stellar Compact civilization. Some consider it another fundamental force or set of fundamental forces, while others hold it to embody some deeper level of reality where conventional physics emerges from the unknown. Still others think it was engineered into reality by an unfathomably advanced alien civilization.

No PM effect has been observed in nature, all known instances are artificial in origin. Many attempts have been made to explain mysterious phenomena in terms of natural particle-manipulations effects, but most physicists consider none of these to withstand scrutiny.

Fermionic Particle Manipulation

This enable the manipulation of fermions, the building blocks of ordinary matter. Such particle fields can push and pull on material objects and affect their constituent particles.

Applications

• Cabin Pseudogravity: By establishing a field tuned to affect matter uniformly throughout its structure, it is possible to simulate gravity within an enclosed space by using this field to apply an acceleration force on its contents. This can suppress free-fall conditions, or counteract engine thrust. These systems are elaborate and complex, only used in high-tier ships, and have their limits. They cannot compensate for unexpected jolts from e.g. weapons fire or buffeting during atmospheric flight, unless wired to sensors.
• Kinetic Barriers: Repulsor technology applied as a means of shielding against material projectiles, capable of pushing them aside or decelerating them to rest. Their projectors must be firmly anchored to a sturdy structure like a ship's spaceframe, else they may tear off under the strain of impact. Personal kinetic barriers can neutralize bullets from projectile weapons (though the user will feel the recoil force from stopping the shot), but lasers pass through unaffected.
• Madar: Mass-detection scans able to detect any material object.
• Neutron Screens: Neutrons, being massed particles, are affected by parafields. This enables neutron radiation protection and the creation of compact fission reactors by reflecting neutrons back into the reactor's core.
• Nucleosynthesis: A futher application of neutron screens, by confining elements of high atomic mass inside a particle field and introducing neutrons, they can be transmuted into new isotopes. This allows the creation of superheavy elements in industrial quantities.
• Repulsors and Tractors: Projected beams capable of pushing or pulling objects. These fields require energy to do work when lifting against gravity, but no additional input besides efficiency losses to keep something suspended at a constant altitude. Care must also be taken depending on what is being moved, if the field beam is not tuned to "grab" most of the object's structure it can bend it or even tear parts off. These obey Newton's laws, thus if you use a handheld force grip and try to tractor a heavy object such as a boulder, it is you who will be pulled towards it instead. (And if your beam is poorly-tuned, you might only break off the top few millimeters of rock.) A repulsor can also be used to create an accelerator cannon which, if properly tuned, can keep the object it launches from experiencing intense gee-forces.

Bosonic Particle Manipulation

These forces affect bosons, including photons.

History

Early efforts at particle manipulation technology were being made before the Interstellar Dark Ages, though it was not until after reconstruction and the Stellar Compact's foundation that it began to see widespread deployment.

Children Technologies

• MADAR
• Neutron Screen
• Repulsor