How does a Variable Fighter move?

[Mr March]

JB0

I think it's special nuclear material, but I can't remember for sure. I'm not sure how "recent" the description of the reaction technology is, but it's been part of the Macross Compendim for nearly a decade now. Yeah, the Japanese aversion to nuclear weapons is interesting, but absolutely understandable.

The Reaction technology has too many wild cards for me to understand it correctly. I'm not even sure why the bothered to define the process as thermonuclear, except for the obvious reason that terms like thermonuclear are understood to the general public. No one really knows what a photon torpedo is, but all audiences understands nuclear weapons. Regardless, both fusion and anti-matter power generation cannot be defined as "extreme efficiency", at least not as far as I understand it. They are high energy and efficient compared to our current tech, but they all have their own numerous inefficiencies. But I'm kinda out of my element here.

[jasgripen]

Regarding Battroid/Gerwalk controls:\

MF showed us how hands are used in battroid and gerwalk, in episode 2 alto presses several buttons in the stick to pick-up ranka lee. Maybe that's how Roy threw a rock as a dummy for Ivanov in M0 and how Hikaru grabbed Myn mei in SDF 1. These are probably basic controls in grabbing other objects

That however still doesn't answer how Isamu flipped his gun and used it to club Gould in MPlus episode 2. Does he flip a switch which commands melee combat?Or the 2 handed attack with the bayonet for that matter.

Real world combat fighters like eurofighter and jsf and F-22 have voice commands for displays and weapons management. This I suggest is a probable answer when Battroids do too humanoid actions in combat.

Another point to ponder on is how Battroids do different poses. Maybe from 2040 beyond as 1 of our forum mates suggest that the computer linked to the pilot via his helmet help him choose what poses or actions to do and that translates how the Vf would move in battroid.... maybe an old system of pre-BDI technology is used to do human actions like kneeling.. I don't think pulling back the throttle and pressing both pedals are an answer to that. Or how michael's Vf touched his cheek when klan slapped him. how about alto doing that kabuki pose? O yeah just a thought...in SDFM, max used zentradi clothes, was there a program in the computer to do that using pedals, throttle and stick?

There's just too many questions, I wonder if Kawamori can answer that........i have a feeling it's anime magic.

[azrael]

There's just too many questions, I wonder if Kawamori can answer that........i have a feeling it's anime magic.

Do you expect anything more? Kawamori isn't going to explain everything. He'll draw enough for the animators to play with.

[Jacs]

If I may make a suggestion. I always thought, as of recently, VF's in gerwalk and battroid modes were controlled like arm slaves (Full Metal Panic). Except in gerwalk mode, leg functions work like 1/2 slave motion by the pilot with his/her legs and the rest of the cockpit works like a helicopter. Then in battroid mode the full arm-slave controls go into function.

As for Mikhail when he was having a conversation with Klan Klan the Awesome, it's very possible that the pilot's flight-suit itself serves as the control such as finger movements and shrugs. It's the most likely possibility since no external devices, like the control sleeves of arm-slave cockpits, are to be found when Mikhail was using his sniper gunpod. Plus it would be impractical with the Ex-Gear now in use.

Proof of this theory is when Alto connects to Luca's machine and the computer even said, "Connect Slave" and was in control via the Ex-Gear.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Jacs

[dreamweaver13]

Maybe from 2040 beyond as 1 of our forum mates suggest that the computer linked to the pilot via his helmet help him choose what poses or actions to do and that translates how the Vf would move in battroid.... maybe an old system of pre-BDI technology is used to do human actions like kneeling.. I don't think pulling back the throttle and pressing both pedals are an answer to that. Or how michael's Vf touched his cheek when klan slapped him. how about alto doing that kabuki pose? O yeah just a thought...in SDFM, max used zentradi clothes, was there a program in the computer to do that using pedals, throttle and stick?

There's just too many questions, I wonder if Kawamori can answer that........i have a feeling it's anime magic.

oh my, don't go there. lest you fall into the dark realm of Robotech....

and the answer... anime magic, of course. granted, with each installation of the macross franchise, you see a new explanation of how the darn thing is piloted (extensive use of pedals in mac+, eye tracker system in mac 0, little buttons in MF), but ultimately, you can only go so far with the explanations, and you'll still end up with anime magic to explain all the movements. and we should be happy with that. because the other alternative is for the macross franchise to finally go the way of Evangelion (with complex nerve connections, synapses and a head gear) to explain the complex human movements. personally, i wouldn't like that for my macross. it would just ruin it.

as a side note, yeah, i'm now a Valkyrie Heatshield Scrubber!! EAT that cannon fodders!!

Cannon fodder: "we may be cannon fodders, but at least we get to actually pilot a valkyrie. baka."

dreamweaver: oh... well.... um....

Edited June 4, 2008 by dreamweaver13

[d3v]

What magic, this is Max we're talking about, he's a genius who can do anything if he puts his mind into it. And he's such a snappy dresser, a certain Meltran ace must have noticed!

[badboy00z]

From what I gathered from M0 and MF, the feet pedals controls the movements of the vector vanes/ feet in fighter and gerwalk. And in battroid mode it probably controls forward and backward walking. The joysticks controls the wing flaps (MF Ep. 2 when Alto saves Ranka), with individual pressure sensitive buttons for the fingers. Turning in battroid mode probably uses eye tracking and motion sensors. Like the head will turn where ever you look at and the body will turn where ever you turn towards. Aiming of the gun pod and punching probably uses eye tracking.

[J.T. Silversmith]

I've been trying to figure out how the controls in the VF-1 work ever since I saw Robotech in the 80's, so I've given this a lot of thought. Obviously the controls in fighter mode are much like other aircraft, though it is certainly "fly by wire". where you tell the plane which way you want to go, and it figures out how to move the control surfaces to do what you want it to. In Gerwalk, I believe the foot pedals adjust the angle of thrust foreword and back. (ie rotate the legs) The left stick controls the throttle and probably the pitch yaw and roll of the plane. Right stick controls weapons, the stick moves your cross hairs, buttons on the stick select what weapon you want, pull trigger to fire. Like the flight controls you tell the computer and it moves the arm or head or whatever to attack the designated target. I do believe there is also a "manual" mode for controlling the arms, the four pressure sensitive buttons on the stick control each finger, moving the stick up,down,left and right moves the hand in that direction. the stick could twist to control wrist rotation, pushing on the palm buttons on the stick could move the hand foreword and back, allowing the pilot to manually pick up and manipulate people or clothing etc. Controls in Battroid are similar, left stick indicates the direction you want to move, the buttons would fire boosters or movement in space. Alternate pushing the left and right foot pedals to move. The faster you push them, the faster you walk or run. Head movement could be slaved to the plots helmet orientation. A sudden hard foot press could automatically kick toward the current target, a sudden hand thrust a punch. Think of a fighting game or first person shooter. You indicate the generals of what you want to do and the computer fills in the blanks. With the Ex-Gear You could perform actions like Alto's Kabuki pose, save the movement data in the gears computer, then you program what button inputs you want to use to execute the gesture when you are in the Valkyrie. or perhaps the Ex-Gear is a learning system that watches your movements, and what the minimum buttons and controls would be, to recreate that movement. Then when you input those controls the Valk knows what you want and does it. Theoretically the Valk could even walk like you do, because it uses your own motion data recorded by the Ex-Gear. Everything is also completely customizable by the user.

[UN_MARINE]

I like to think the explanation to the battroid movement control is pretty much how the Powered Suit was described in Starship Troopers.

The chapter on the suit mentioned the "negative feedback" concept. i'm guessing it's a lot like it.

who's to say the flight suit doesn't contribute to the control system?

what if the flight suit's designed to accept negative feedback controls, coupled with the ones in the cockpit?

the cockpit controls take care of the weapons & transforming, while the suit takes care of the higher motor functions.

so in theory, a pilot in proper attire could conceivably do all those fancy moves.

and perhaps there's a set of rudimentary movements programmed into the VF's basic controls, if the flight suit isn't available.

(at least, that's my scientific wild-ass guess for Hikaru flying the VF-1D in SDF:M & Shin doing the same without the flight suit in Zero )

if that doesn't make sense, there's always that "anime magic" you guys keep talking about

[d3v]

I like to think the explanation to the battroid movement control is pretty much how the Powered Suit was described in Starship Troopers.

The chapter on the suit mentioned the "negative feedback" concept. i'm guessing it's a lot like it.

who's to say the flight suit doesn't contribute to the control system?

what if the flight suit's designed to accept negative feedback controls, coupled with the ones in the cockpit?

the cockpit controls take care of the weapons & transforming, while the suit takes care of the higher motor functions.

so in theory, a pilot in proper attire could conceivably do all those fancy moves.

and perhaps there's a set of rudimentary movements programmed into the VF's basic controls, if the flight suit isn't available.

(at least, that's my scientific wild-ass guess for Hikaru flying the VF-1D in SDF:M & Shin doing the same without the flight suit in Zero )

if that doesn't make sense, there's always that "anime magic" you guys keep talking about

Also, don't forget Basara flying his VF-19 without any flight suit most of the time in Macross 7.

The whole negative feedback thing however could possibly be how the EX-Gear system works in Frontier.

Edited June 5, 2008 by d3v

[Firefighter Destroid]

Talking about moving a VF, I always wonder how the pilot control the arms movement like Alto's valk grabbing Ranka with two hands? I mean, in that situation, you can hold Ranka with either a hand (Like Hikaru did to Mimmay in DYRL?)or two hands, so how pilots suppose to determine which methods to use?

Regarding the Controls, I think it was in shown in Frontier episode 2 how Alto appeared to be pressing or rolling the bulges on the flight stick handle to manipulate the right hand's fingers in cocooning Ranka precariously. As for general limb movement, that must have been done by the new special EX-Gear suit pilots wear. The machine just mimics the pilot's body motion as if on a puppet string. I suppose by then they probably already use a wireless method more advanced than wi-fi or bluetooth.

But tell me, do you have any idea what sort of robotic motors a VF might have? The diagrams sent in here ruled out hydraulics & artificial muscle fiber, leaving only a bunch of vague 'circles'.

[d3v]

But tell me, do you have any idea what sort of robotic motors a VF might have? The diagrams sent in here ruled out hydraulics & artificial muscle fiber, leaving only a bunch of vague 'circles'.

Seems to be some sort of electric motor

[Firefighter Destroid]

Regarding Battroid/Gerwalk controls:\

There's just too many questions, I wonder if Kawamori can answer that........i have a feeling it's anime magic.

Dude, you came up with a lot of great ideas & I thank you for that. While on the whole it really is anime magic for now, maybe in a decade or two we can all laugh off how we used to think about these things because we would have made them real by then simply because we started believing in them now. That's how we as a people have advanced technologically.

Well let me take this opportunity to clarify to all the purpose of this query: I opened this up to get to the bottom of a gap Mr. K left open - what sort of robotic system is employed in a Valkyrie? Is it hydraulic? Is it artificially muscled? Does it use multi-axis servo motors? Or does the rocket thrust from the apogee motors on its limbs make it flail about?

[Firefighter Destroid]

I've been trying to figure out how the controls in the VF-1 work ever since I saw Robotech in the 80's, so I've given this a lot of thought. Obviously the controls in fighter mode are much like other aircraft, though it is certainly "fly by wire". where you tell the plane which way you want to go, and it figures out how to move the control surfaces to do what you want it to. In Gerwalk, I believe the foot pedals adjust the angle of thrust foreword and back. (ie rotate the legs) The left stick controls the throttle and probably the pitch yaw and roll of the plane. Right stick controls weapons, the stick moves your cross hairs, buttons on the stick select what weapon you want, pull trigger to fire. Like the flight controls you tell the computer and it moves the arm or head or whatever to attack the designated target. I do believe there is also a "manual" mode for controlling the arms, the four pressure sensitive buttons on the stick control each finger, moving the stick up,down,left and right moves the hand in that direction. the stick could twist to control wrist rotation, pushing on the palm buttons on the stick could move the hand foreword and back, allowing the pilot to manually pick up and manipulate people or clothing etc. Controls in Battroid are similar, left stick indicates the direction you want to move, the buttons would fire boosters or movement in space. Alternate pushing the left and right foot pedals to move. The faster you push them, the faster you walk or run. Head movement could be slaved to the plots helmet orientation. A sudden hard foot press could automatically kick toward the current target, a sudden hand thrust a punch. Think of a fighting game or first person shooter. You indicate the generals of what you want to do and the computer fills in the blanks. With the Ex-Gear You could perform actions like Alto's Kabuki pose, save the movement data in the gears computer, then you program what button inputs you want to use to execute the gesture when you are in the Valkyrie. or perhaps the Ex-Gear is a learning system that watches your movements, and what the minimum buttons and controls would be, to recreate that movement. Then when you input those controls the Valk knows what you want and does it. Theoretically the Valk could even walk like you do, because it uses your own motion data recorded by the Ex-Gear. Everything is also completely customizable by the user.

Thanks, JT Silversmith. That was a very detailed interpretation indeed. I bet if you had a VF of your own it'd be configured this way. And from your explanation I can understand how deeply you feel about the Valkyrie - its elaborateness does this to a lot of us.

[Firefighter Destroid]

They walk just by walking.

Let's not take walking for granted. It took the greater part of a decade for Honda Corp. to perfect the actuator system for the giggly stride of our new mechanical brother Asimo. While it may seem we take this aspect for granted in anime, the addition of such detailed renderings make for a richer story and background. Which is one among many reasons why we love Macross and the like. And so this dialogue was opened for you to stretch your imagination on the Robotic Aspect in Macross.

Sometimes I think the robotic aspect was deliberately left out by Mr. K to avoid confusing Macross with its bastardized clone nemesis R080+3(H.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Firefighter Destroid

[Sulendil Ang]

Right stick controls weapons, the stick moves your cross hairs, buttons on the stick select what weapon you want, pull trigger to fire.

Just one correction: I do believe the button itself is the button to fire missiles, as shown in the opening battle of DYRL?, and the aiming is done using eyes alone, as shown in Macross Zero. And by pushing the tapets, you will able to fire the gunpod.

But otherwise, nice post! And before I forgot, welcome to MW, J.T. Silversmith!

[UN_MARINE]

i had always believed that with the advent of alien overtechnology in Macross, the tech singularity that would have occurred would have surpassed tech capabilities far beyond even today's standards.

the "how" would be negligible. granted, that "how" question was more important back in the 80's when the best robot we had was a giant paperweight.

they've shown that they have the tech for AI (garbage & soda bots, Sharon Apple), but i suppose SK didn't want to focus too much on that theme.

so it could be reasonable to assume that ever since the VF-1, the control system would have been sophisticated enough to actually allow pilots to do stuff demonstrated in the shows. the VF's could actually be thinking with the pilots, predicting, augmenting & assisting the pilot's input.

the only real question would be how to power the thing, which SK & co. found a reasonable explanation for.

[Morpheus]

Maybe the got pre-programmed maneuvers just like Star Trek (Execute pattern Riker-3 ), so a complex movement can be executed with a slight joystick tumb. Or better, voice activated move like the good-old super robot

[d3v]

Maybe the got pre-programmed maneuvers just like Star Trek (Execute pattern Riker-3 ), so a complex movement can be executed with a slight joystick tumb. Or better, voice activated move like the good-old super robot

In case of emergency, hit up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start.

[Fade Rathnik]

For the VF-1 Its was listed as some sort of fluid pulse actuator, MR. March could we get a confirmation?

[Firefighter Destroid]

the only real question would be how to power the thing, which SK & co. found a reasonable explanation for.

That and their inner motors they apparently forgot about that shake their metal booties.

Imagine building a Gundam plastic model kit. After completion you can pose it the way you want. But you must do it externally with your hands because you know the joints cannot move by themselves. You know that there is a lack of motors inside that might be able to move the toy figure on its own. The same is with the Macross VF canon. Official spec write ups are very comprehensive with a lot of things namely: sizes, weapons & engines. But in their ivory tower these authors fail to explain or give an idea on what devices makes the thing move around on its own two feet. Please be able to distinguish the Control system from the Actuator system. It is the former that you are answering, it is the latter that is being determined here.

[Firefighter Destroid]

For the VF-1 Its was listed as some sort of fluid pulse actuator, MR. March could we get a confirmation?

Alright!!! Our first real winner! Thanks for that, Fade Rathnik - Fluid Pulse Actuator (are you Zjentolhauean, btw?) . Now we can speculate how that might work if it were real:

Fluid - does a fluid run through it? Or does that describe the fluidity of its operation?

Pulse - perhaps this is similar to how nerve cells in our bodies transmit data at light speed?

Actuator - this speaks for itself, but is still an unknown in terms of what it really is like.

Any ideas?

[Sulendil Ang]

For the VF-1 Its was listed as some sort of fluid pulse actuator, MR. March could we get a confirmation?

Well, it's in the Macross Compendium: Link

For what is that "fluid pulse actuators" thing, I have no idea. Maybe it's just another variation of the hydraulic pistons, but with some improvements from OverTechnology?

[Firefighter Destroid]

Well, it's in the Macross Compendium: Link

For what is that "fluid pulse actuators" thing, I have no idea. Maybe it's just another variation of the hydraulic pistons, but with some improvements from OverTechnology?

Here're the lines from the link then:

Eighteen P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles. Vernier thrusters with chemical fuel tanks in backpack section in GERWALK and Battroid modes. Vernier system below nose and in aft engine nacelles.

Fluid pulse actuators enable transformation.

Two cooling sub-air intake/airframe lift adjustment slits located on forward main body in Fighter mode.

Thanks for this, Sulendid. Now can anyone be imaginative enough to speculate how this thing works? It didn't say it enables robotic movement, though. Can we assume it does too since transformation effects & limb effects are intertwined?

Edited June 5, 2008 by Firefighter Destroid

[JB0]

JB0

I think it's special nuclear material, but I can't remember for sure. I'm not sure how "recent" the description of the reaction technology is, but it's been part of the Macross Compendim for nearly a decade now. Yeah, the Japanese aversion to nuclear weapons is interesting, but absolutely understandable.

The Reaction technology has too many wild cards for me to understand it correctly. I'm not even sure why the bothered to define the process as thermonuclear, except for the obvious reason that terms like thermonuclear are understood to the general public. No one really knows what a photon torpedo is, but all audiences understands nuclear weapons. Regardless, both fusion and anti-matter power generation cannot be defined as "extreme efficiency", at least not as far as I understand it. They are high energy and efficient compared to our current tech, but they all have their own numerous inefficiencies. But I'm kinda out of my element here.

*twitch*

I had something typed up. Then accidentally deleted it.

Hypothetically, antimatter reactions are the most efficient you can get. An optimal antimatter reaction is pure E=mc², while fission and fusion reactions leave most of the mass behind in the form of the reaction's end products.

Antimatter's just a pain to work with(as well as produce).

The wording of the reaction weapon article seems to imply the term's usage changed as time went on and technology advanced("By 2045, the term ...").

Which explains the different approaches to reaction weaponry in the original series(reaction missiles are thrown around like candy in the first episode) and Plus/7(one makes explicit mention of the political problems with reaction weapons, the other shows the difficult authorization requirements to drop one on a planet inhabited solely by the single greatest threat known to galactic civilization).

The change in technology would also explain why a reaction weapon trumps the Battle 7's cannon.

I was a bit skeptical that even an overtech-boosted fusion bomb would trump the absurd power output seen in Macross-class cannons.

But if it's antimatter... you're getting the full E=mc² out of every atom that reacts. And lacking an explanation for how a super-dimension energy cannon works... matter annihilation retains it's position as #1.

It's interesting to note that antimatter weapons are much dirtier than fusion weapons, though. The intense gamma ray burst, as I understand things, is enough to disrupt atomic nuclei, causing stable isotopes to become radioactive ones. Fusion, by comparison, can be quite clean if you use the right reactions. It doesn't release near as many gamma rays, and it's possible to choose a reaction with no neutron emissions, making for a much cleaner weapon(or generator).

Footnote: Just for fun, I looked the numbers up. A gram of matter(roughjly equivalent to a dollar bill), if wholly converted to energy(as in a "perfect" antimatter reaction) would release energy equivalent to roughly 21 kilotons of TNT.

Coincidentally, that's ALSO the yield on the Trinity and Nagasaki explosions, where an estimated kilogram of plutonium underwent fission(with the rest of it being blown free before the chain reaction could propagate into it).

[VF5SS]

Let's not take walking for granted. It took the greater part of a decade for Honda Corp. to perfect the actuator system for the giggly stride of our new mechanical brother Asimo.

I'm not taking it for granted, I'm just saying they don't use any exotic methods for putting one foot in front of the other. Also, all the people saying, "ANIME MAGIC" need to stop.

[J.T. Silversmith]

Fluid Pulse Actuators, I knew that, and figured everyone else was familiar with the term as well, so I didn't say anything about it. So as to exactly what that means, litterally it is pretty simple. Fluid= a liquid or gas. Pulse= a moving wave of pressure. Actuator=a mechanical device for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. A google search turned up a few real world medical devices that use pulse waves moving through tubes to move things.

That dosen't really tell us much though, they could still be hydraulic or pneumatic, and actuators could be refering to the actual motors that make transformation possible or it could mean the system that activates the motors. Mechanically those are two very different things. If I had to place any bets though, I would guess it is essentially an O.T.M. advanced form of hudraulics. Most "hydraulics" we think of are hydro pneumatic systems. Like the pistons on a backhoe's arm use a pneumatic pump to put air into the hydraulic resivoir, pushing oil through the lines to the piston, and causing it to move. I suspect a Valk uses pressure waves to move pistons rather than pneumatic pressure, resulting in incredibly high speed high pressure pistons, able to through around tons of mass in a fraction of a second. I also seem to recall somewhere hearing that a Flea jumps by pumping massive amounts of blood into its legs, and the resulting pressure wave forces the legs straight with incredible force, allowing it to jump incredible distances for it's size.

[Mr March]

JB0

I don't know if that's a proper inference. If it wasn't always pair-annihilation, then what other mention of something else anywhere else in Macross would there be? Besides, the term "reaction" was used throughout the original SDF Macross series. Perhaps pair-annihilation was described post-Macross Plus/Macross 7, but maybe that's because there wasn't a description of the technology before that. In any case, I think the Macross Compendium would have noted something like that, since it's very good at keeping track of changes over the years and noting it right on the website.

Another question; how do you possibly get every atom of matter to react with every atom of antimatter in a potential reaction? I've never understood that. Yes, the principle is efficient one per one, but you can't possibly get a 100% reaction efficiency in any significant quantities. Even with a full reaction, I understand antimatter only produces 50% usable energy at best. Besides, isn't pair-annihilation too general to assume antimatter? Yes, it may be antimatter, but pair-annihilation is also used to describe fission and other reactions. With the pervasive linkage between virtually every piece of OverTechnology and super dimension space, the vague pair-annihilation reaction could very likely use the exotic "super dimension energy". When Kawamori and Co. describe pair-annihilation as extremely efficient, I'm guessing this means a near 100% reaction rate.

[Fade Rathnik]

I always envisioned fluid pulse actuators as some sort of impeller or turbine like system that the fluid was pushed against

[Morpheus]

I can see a mass grave for the poor cat girls being dig up

Keep up with the discussion, who knows one of you might actually discover reaction engine and make the first Valk.

Like in Plus, dedicated to you, our future pioneer

[JB0]

AGAIN?

Screw it. If the browser insists on eating posts, I'm going to take it as a sign that I'm spending too much time on this.

The cat girls are spared... today.

[Mr March]

Damnit! You have to start saving your posts in a word file. I was eagerly waiting to read your post.

[JB0]

Damnit! You have to start saving your posts in a word file. I was eagerly waiting to read your post.

I need to quit accidentally hitting back and/or refresh. Especially when I'm nerding out hardcore.

Anyways, let's see what I can dredge back up...

The 100% reaction was an assumption for math's sake(in an atmosphere it's a likely end result, but I've got no idea if it'd be fast enough to actually contribute to the bomb yield). I can't think of a way to guarantee it happening without overtechnology.

But if you wrap the bomb core in a barrier sphere, then use it to crush the fuel and antifuel together...

Or initiate a gravity pulse that collapses the entire bomb into a singularity(I wonder if that'd actually work...)*

Using conventional tech... you're limited to encouraging things with construction. Maybe put the antimatter bottle in the center, and surround it with a matter shell, then use explosives to crush the whole mess. Sort of like a fission bomb with a juicy core of destructive goodness. If you get the shell moving with enough momenteum...

But even assuming massively worse blowoff for an antimatter weapon, you can STILL get a similar detonation in a far smaller load than a conventional fission or fusion weapon.

Let's say that you have a hundred times worse blowoff than Gadget and Fat Man, which got yield out of roughly 1/6th of their nuclear material. (Dated example, sure. But I dunno what sort of efficiency more modern designs get).So only 1/600th of an antimater bomb will actually react in time to be part of the bomb blast.

So to duplicate the blast from 6 kg of plutonium, you need... 600 grams of fuel. 300 grams of antimatter and an equal part of normal matter. Still less than a kilogram of masstotal.

*Tangentally, I wonder how effective a microsingularity would be as a weapon... they decay fast and, as I understand it, they release a lot of energy when they fall below the threshold to remain a singularity.

A search for pair-annihilation turns up scientific articles about antiparticle reactions, so it's apparently a legitimate scientific term.

That and it only really makes sense that way. Neither fission nor fusion involve annihilation(particle-antiparticle reactions are the only things I can think of that truly annihilate anything), and very rarely involve pairs(He3+He3 fusion being a notable exception). Pair-annihilation is really too specific to cover conventional nuclear reactions.

[kanedaestes]

Come on all the answers have been said. It is the helmet or "thinking cap". Think what you want your battloid to do and it will do it. Gosh have known of you seen the greatness that is Robotech that answers all questions????? (and ducks and covers, and hides behind a huge muscle bound body guard by the name of Brock F#@$ing Sampson)

[JB0]

Come on all the answers have been said. It is the helmet or "thinking cap". Think what you want your battloid to do and it will do it. Gosh have known of you seen the greatness that is Robotech that answers all questions????? (and ducks and covers, and hides behind a huge muscle bound body guard by the name of Brock F#@$ing Sampson)

But...thinking caps were from THE NOVELS! You're a dirty McKinny-ist!