cthia wrote:The physics are not supposed to allow it in reality, I agree. But it seems to be allowed in the HV. Or how could Sonja counter the triple ripple? It seems like it would be a lot easier for the much larger but also much slower LAC to make the turns Sonja asked of missiles in order for them to evade the triple ripple.
You've got missiles traveling at a very high percent of C. And they're expected to quickly "dive" to avoid enemy missiles???; Where enemy missiles and friendly missiles are both traveling at a large percent of C? It should require significantly more effort to accomplish that with missiles than with a much slower LAC.
At speeds approaching C, everything approaches infinity.
Missiles somehow have the ability to weave in and out of formations???
Where can I find the "shorts" in my wires?
Actually it's easier for missiles to avoid the triple ripple. They've got nearly 60x the acceleration; which means 60x the lateral displacement capability. Sure the percentage deflection from course is likely lower because they'd sliding forward more quickly - but the absolute lateral displacement is higher. In 10 seconds of acceleration an MDM can displace 22,540 km; while a LAC can only displace about 385 km. And you dodge in absolute displacement, not relative displacement.
All a missile really needs to do to avoid the ripple is tip up far enough to put their wedge between them and the explosions, and displace laterally far enough to avoid scooping up the rapidly dissipating plasma from the blasts down their throats. Interposing the wedge keeps their sensors from being blinded - though running into the plasma would likely blind, cripple, or kill the missile. But dodge both and you can turn back and reacquire the enemy.
(And one of the ways wedges cheat physics, as we know it, is that their acceleration doesn't slow as you approach the speed of light. A missile that accelerates for 9 minutes at 46,000 g ends up at 65,726,640 km and 0.81 c. Yet if relativity fully applied 9 minutes on the missile's 'clock' should take 10.02 min to outside observers; cover 69,418,341 km yet only have reached 0.67c -- but in the books none of that happens. RFC probably ignores that part of relativity just to keep the math somewhat sane -- but it means missiles have no trouble maneuvering)