Real-world roundup: MHD drives, mining, Sierra Neuva war
Sept 18, 2023 13:53:45 GMT
Pawel and lupmet like this
Post by neil on Sept 18, 2023 13:53:45 GMT
A few things that crossed by path that could be inspiration for Blue Planet games.
The US Navy has just started a new development programme for MHD drives. They're using much more powerful magnets than were previously available and are hoping to get high efficiencies from the technology. The article also points out the problem of corrosion (sending high currents through seawater will corrode electrodes), and there's also the issue of bolting what's effectively a large MRI machine to a boat, and the magnetic fields it creates. You'd have to be careful about putting metal nearby, and it makes the ship detectable by magnetic detectors.
I'd guess the magnetic shielding is a solved problem in Blue Planet, but could be an interesting failure mode for some older ships. "Yeah, it works fine, but don't take any metal things behind the midships bulkhead, or they'll punch a hole in the deck."
Al Jazeera did a documentary about the initiative of deep sea floor mining of rare metals (on YouTube). It talks a bit about the technology, the environmental impact, the legality or otherwise of mining outside territorial waters, and a bit on how large mining companies are throwing money around to influence small island nations (and how those countries are exploiting the mining companies to strengthen their economies).
Some independent journalists have done an investigation into Indonesian military operations in West Papua, specifically an attack on a native village (again, YouTube). This is a serious and complicated situation, and I'm cautious about suggesting it as inspiration for a game. But, I think it has parallels to the Sierra Neuva War. There's a separatist group with a military wing, military operations against them, and allegations of ex-armed forces commanders using the armed forces to secure mineral extraction rites. There are also questions about who's supplying the arms used in the attack, and whether the large corporations in Australia and elsewhere who make them are doing enough to control their use even if it cuts their profits.
The US Navy has just started a new development programme for MHD drives. They're using much more powerful magnets than were previously available and are hoping to get high efficiencies from the technology. The article also points out the problem of corrosion (sending high currents through seawater will corrode electrodes), and there's also the issue of bolting what's effectively a large MRI machine to a boat, and the magnetic fields it creates. You'd have to be careful about putting metal nearby, and it makes the ship detectable by magnetic detectors.
I'd guess the magnetic shielding is a solved problem in Blue Planet, but could be an interesting failure mode for some older ships. "Yeah, it works fine, but don't take any metal things behind the midships bulkhead, or they'll punch a hole in the deck."
Al Jazeera did a documentary about the initiative of deep sea floor mining of rare metals (on YouTube). It talks a bit about the technology, the environmental impact, the legality or otherwise of mining outside territorial waters, and a bit on how large mining companies are throwing money around to influence small island nations (and how those countries are exploiting the mining companies to strengthen their economies).
Some independent journalists have done an investigation into Indonesian military operations in West Papua, specifically an attack on a native village (again, YouTube). This is a serious and complicated situation, and I'm cautious about suggesting it as inspiration for a game. But, I think it has parallels to the Sierra Neuva War. There's a separatist group with a military wing, military operations against them, and allegations of ex-armed forces commanders using the armed forces to secure mineral extraction rites. There are also questions about who's supplying the arms used in the attack, and whether the large corporations in Australia and elsewhere who make them are doing enough to control their use even if it cuts their profits.
