Ship of the week: Breen frigate

Granitehewer · Post by **Granitehewer** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:30 pm

SPLAT!

Post by **Mikey** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:35 pm

Captain Seafort wrote:If they're using organic hulls then we can chalk up yet another stupid species - there's a good reason we use metal or ceramic armour to protect organic people, and that's because organic material is far weaker.

It is as far as we know in RL - but then again we haven't met any Breen yet in RL either.

It's a friggin' TV show! If we can talk casually about a race of humanoids with no liquid component in their entire physiology, then we can certainly discuss organic components as strong as any known metallurgy.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:39 pm

It is as far as we know in RL - but then again we haven't met any Breen yet in RL either.

So? We haven't got warp drive in RL either. Does this mean we can throw all the laws of physics out the window when it comes to suspension of disbelief? No, we use what we do already know, unless it is otherwise contradicted by canon.
Since the fact that organic ships suck has yet to be contradicted, my point stands.

If we can talk casually about a race of humanoids with no liquid component in their entire physiology, then we can certainly discuss organic components as strong as any known metallurgy.

Except, we have no canon proof that there are such organic materials. Ergo, its a complete leap in logic to assume there are.

Granite wrote:SPLAT!

Exactly how a battle between an organic ship and a metal ship would go.

Post by **Mikey** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:41 pm

Apparently not...

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:42 pm

What?

Deepcrush · Post by **Deepcrush** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:42 pm

The Breen were pirates and they built ships to match this. Small, fast, cheap, very large numbers. Their ship seems to fit them well for what we know of them.

Monroe · Post by **Monroe** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:59 pm

Spider Silk.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:01 pm

Nuclear missile.

Bye bye silk.

Monroe · Post by **Monroe** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:17 pm

the point is some organic compounds are stronger than steel. I don't see why even stronger ones can't be produced using bioengineering. Will they stand up to whatever the Federation uses? Probably not but would they be strong enough to use for a ship maybe.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:25 pm

I'm not denying that you might be able to build a ship out of organic compounds, but they'd be far weaker than a conventional ship.

Captain Peabody · Post by **Captain Peabody** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:27 pm

I'm pretty sure that 'organic components' just means that they use organic-based control systems or something...not that the entire ship is a giant insect or something. Anyway, the hull looks pretty metallic to me...

Post by **Captain Seafort** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:32 pm

True - maybe they've got something along the lines of the Cylon Raider from nBSG - armour-plated outer hull, but all squishy inside.

Post by **Mikey** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:40 pm

True - I'd expect the show to show an organic hull as less angular, more like the Xyrillian ship from Enterprise. The organic components would probably consist of control systems, an onboard mini-ecosphere rather than mechanical life support, etc.

An BTW - if you wanted to apply actual modern physics to 'Treknology, you'd have to invalidate most of canon.

Post by **Teaos** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:43 am

8472 have the most advanced ships we have seen able to with stand powerful fire power. Thus it would seem organic is better than metal.

Captain Peabody · Post by **Captain Peabody** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:44 am

8472 have the most advanced ships we have seen able to with stand powerful fire power. Thus it would seem organic is better than metal.

Well, not necessarily. In everything, there are degrees of skillfulness in design...8472 ships might be powerful, and organic, whereas another race's organic designs might be much weaker than an equivalent mechanical design. Take an example; someone might look at spider-silk, and see that it was stronger than metal...and they'd be right. But if they assumed that all organic fibers were better than mechanical ones, and tried to build a ship out of sheep wool, they'd be in for something of a surprise.

The thing that matters in such a case is not whether a ship is organic or mechanical, but how skilfull and advanced the makers were...