Dispersive Armour

Jewel and I were watching a DVD of Enterprise when a peace of information that we had missed originally caught out attention. I quickly scribbled out a few notes and here they are. Taken from a Star Trek Enterprise fourth season episode “augments.” Doctor Soong says something about the Klingon Bird of Prey having Dispersive Armour.

DISPERSIVE ARMOUR

Despersive Armor, an early Klingon version of ablative Armour, like ablative armour it disperses a substantial amount of Directed energy weapons fire when conventional shielding is not available. Due to the unreliability of shields the dispersive armour was installed on many vessels to protect the ship.

Some older Klingon vessels still have Dispersive Armour installed and as well some ship commanders may also have some of this armour installed on newer vessels as a secondary defensive shield

Type I - Dispersive Armour dispels 65% of directed energy, up to 120 damage with a cost of 3 x size in SU’s. Circa before the mid 22nd century.

Type II - Dispersive Armour dispels 75% of directed energy, up to 150 damage with a cost of 4 x size in SU’s. Circa late 22nd to early 23rd century.

Type III – Dispersive Armour dispels 85% of directed energy, up to 200 damage with cost of 5 x size in SU’s. Circa mid 23rd century to mid 24th Century.

Type IV – Dispersive Armour dispels 90% of directed energy, and up to 400 damage with a cost of 6 x size in SU’s. Circa 24th century and after.

I know the Dispersal rates and damage reduction limits seam off but any other way they don't work well.

Let me know what you think.

I never watched the fourth Season of ENT. How is the effect of that armor achieved? If it is as good as you describe it why was it apparently abolished in favor for shields?

Never thought about any of that. Only reasonable idea that I could come up with is shields could protect a vessel more from the attack of other energies such as stellar radiations. I do see that it would protect against the from Photon and Spatial Torpedoes. I was thinking it would be also useful in a nebula such as the one in the Wrath of Khan where sheilds were useless.

Regardless it was just something I scribbled out. Let me know whether the dispertion rates work for you.

Yesterday I was about to go in and edit my earlier post when the power failed. I spent most of the Day on repairing the computer. Here Below is supposed to be up top.

The Dispersive Armor is a version of armor presented in Babylon 5 RPG Crusade Sourcebook.

Captain Otto, if you get the chance some of the best episodes of Enterprise were fourth season at least Jewel and I think so.

I don't have access to that Babylon 5 Sourcebook. Omega i'm not sure how the dispersive armor works.
Initially i imagined something like the Sandcasters from traveller. (Reflective Crystals are released in the direction of incoming enemy Laser fire to refract the beams and reduce the amount of damage)
No good against Missiles and interfering with your own Laser Weapons as well. But since Traveller uses armor as Primary defense its better than nothing.:)

Otto, they don't call it Dispersive Armor but something else. It basically either reflects of absorbs the energy that strikes the hull of a vessel.

In B5 it is an armour created from the (alien) Vorlon Technology. The hull has a self-repairing properties. Without consulting the Sourcebook that is as close as I can get. My sourcebook is stored at my mother’s house temporarily. When I get time I will be going to get some of my stuff to move to Jewel and My place.

So its more like Regenerative Armor. Nano Tech or even Organic Compounds could be involved. Damage boils armor away an is subsequently repaired within short notice This Sounds much like the regeneration feature found on Borg ships

I doubt it would be so advanced . . . otherwise, Klingon ships wouldn't be as destructable as they have proven to be. However, as with Klingon physiology, I can image them being sticklers for redundency in their defensive systems.

Sure enough, and i doubt that this kind of "Regenerative Armor" would be in the grasp of 24th Century Federation let alone the 22nd Century Klingons. IMHO this Kind of Armor may be best left in the B5 Universe where it fits the Organic Vorlon technology nicely.
Probably the Klingon Dispersive Armor only works to disperse Energy weapons fire or is far more inferior to what Omega envisioned.

Or used on a biological-ship such as they have had if two or three Next Generation shows. That makes me think, has anyone done notes on Biological ships?

I have added a Type V version of this armour, and speculate that Starfleet vessels use this type of hull plating as of the 26th century onward.

Type V Dispersive Hull– Dispersive Armour dispels 95% of directed energy, and up to 600 damage with a cost of 7 x size in SU’s. Acts as a sensor reflective hull (at no extra SU cost)

and the last progression I just used on my 31st century vessels

Dispersive Hull Armour Class X, dispels 99% of impacted directed energy, upto 800 damage, acts as a sensor reflective hull (no extra su cost) SU=scx10, only available after 3000ce, used on distant future Federation starships.

Looks right to me.