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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-13/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Mark Tyson Social Links Navigation News Editor Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
Zaranthos The CCP is big mad because Starlink supplied internet to their ally Iran which helps expose tyrannical regimes that mass murder their own citizens. Starlink had to move into an even lower orbit to avoid collisions with Chinese satellites because China won't play nice with the rest of the world to help prevent orbital collisions. I also wonder if Starlink will play a role in the golden dome, or just that fact that SpaceX probably will and China doesn't like the idea that their offensive capabilities will be reduced, especially the ability to nuke who they view as their chief adversary. It would be nice if we could all just get along and not keep finding new ways to blow things up, but I guess conflict helps drive technological innovation, sometimes… Reply
jp7189 Breaking up LEO satellites is when it might be appropriate to bring up Kessler Syndrome. Reply
lmcnabney jp7189 said: Breaking up LEO satellites is when it might be appropriate to bring up Kessler Syndrome. I thought about that, but the altitude that these satellites are being brought down to wouldn't lead to a long-term Kessler Syndrome. In a couple decades they will have all burned up. It would be highly disruptive when it happened, but wouldn't be permanent. Reply
FunSurfer What happens to an unfortunate plane that happens to pass through a 20-gigawatt microwave energy burst? Reply
thisisaname lmcnabney said: I thought about that, but the altitude that these satellites are being brought down to wouldn't lead to a long-term Kessler Syndrome. In a couple decades they will have all burned up. It would be highly disruptive when it happened, but wouldn't be permanent. Nothing is LEO is permanent. Reply
blppt Zaranthos said: I also wonder if Starlink will play a role in the golden dome, or just that fact that SpaceX probably will and China doesn't like the idea that their offensive capabilities will be reduced, especially the ability to nuke who they view as their chief adversary. China isn't going to nuke anybody as long as their arsenal significantly trails the US and its allies. Heck, Russia hasn't even launched a nuke despite being humiliated militarily on their own border for the past 4 years. Reply
bit_user Zaranthos said: It would be nice if we could all just get along and not keep finding new ways to blow things up, As long as resources are finite, there will continue to be competition for them. In other words, competition is basically an intrinsic part of life. Zaranthos said: I guess conflict helps drive technological innovation, sometimes… Competition is also intrinsic to evolution. Reply
Daelith Let's admit 1 min at 20GW and an incredibly efficient 90% yield of the weapon (yield is very probably lower). That's 2 GW of heat to dissipate. All that in 5 ton implement? Unless it's single use, don't see how that can work. You'd need refrigerating towers the size of a skyscraper. Reply
Sippincider Daelith said: Let's admit 1 min at 20GW and an incredibly efficient 90% yield of the weapon (yield is very probably lower). That's 2 GW of heat to dissipate. All that in 5 ton implement? Unless it's single use, don't see how that can work. You'd need refrigerating towers the size of a skyscraper. One also needs to get that kind of power to this portable device. 20GW is the electrical output of a small to midsized nation . Going to need more than a generators on a trailer. (Yeah laser wattage and electrical wattage are different measures, point is you'll need to bring a lot of power along if you want this to be portable.) Reply
Gururu Aren't microwaves easily blocked with a few metal screens? Reply
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Reference reading
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- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/20-gigawatt-chinese-microwave-weapon-touted-as-starlinks-worst-nightmare-by-countrys-media-portable-5-ton-device-can-deliver-full-minute-destructive-bursts#main
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