Electromagnetic Shielding Device

The EMSD (ElectroMagnetic Shielding Device) is a prototype V.R.A. shield generator, currently under development at the top levels of the service.

Physics
The EMSD consists of a series of generators, which produce a powerful electromagnetic field around the ship. It is capable of dissipating energy weapon bursts and feeding that back into itself, making the field temporarily stronger. It can also reflect solid projectiles, as it has sufficient energy to have mass, under the equation



where m is mass, E is energy, and c is the speed of light (approx. 8.328x10^7 km/h).

However, the strong EM field precludes the use of all but visual scanners, effectively blinding the ship due to the incredible amount of sensor "noise" produced. For this same reason, the ship is unable to communicate by any other means than a visual system (e.g. running lights). The generators can also be "flared", generating a powerful electromagnetic pulse. This pulse disables all ships in the immediate vicinity, but is powerful enough to overwhelm the systems protecting the ship from the EM field, disabling it as well. The generators are usually destroyed during this process, due to the incredible strain involved. The EMSD's EM field consists of all the lower frequencies, up to but not including visible light. It is normally invisible during operation, but an impact may result in enough energy entering the visible light spectrum to create a definite shield flare.

Construction
Each EMSD is composed of five main components: The field energizer, electromagnetic coils, power source, shielding/angular adjustment system, and master computer.

Field Energizer
The field energizer consists of a cylindrical tube filled with xenon gas. When the electromagnetic coils are activated, the xenon gas becomes excited, emitting large amounts of energy in the lower part of the EM spectrum.

Electromagnetic Coils
The electromagnetic coils are large, spiraling strips of magnetic material covered in wires. Large amounts of electricity are made to flow through the wires, which creates a powerful magnetic field in the center of the spiral.

Power Source
The power source is normally the ship's own reactor. The amount of energy required to generate the shield is extraordinary, meaning that ships mounted with the device must have very large reactors proportionate to their size.

Shielding/Angular Adjustment System
This system's purpose is twofold: First, it shields the interior of the ship from the EM field, preventing damage to electronics or crew. Secondly, it is used to direct the field in a specific direction. Since ships are mounted with multiple devices to provide all-around protection, this creates a series of shield "plates" around the craft. If this system were to fail, the interior of the ship would receive a powerful EMP, destroying electronics and causing brain damage to exposed crew members. The configuration of this system is different on every class of ship, due to differing shapes and sizes.

Master Computer
The master computer is used to co-ordinate the other elements of the system, and to keep them properly calibrated. If an imbalance is detected, the computer will shut down the system until the problem is rectified. It can also reroute additional energy from the reactor to the EMSD if necessary.

Devices
There are currently only three complete EMSD systems in existence. One is mounted on Fox Division Agent Hollister's ship, another is on the soon-to-be-completed Subjugator, and a third is missing, stolen in a chance pirate raid on a V.R.A. weapons research facility in deep space. The third device is believed to be in the possession of Tyrot Sageron, a notorious smuggler. It is also believed that complete schematics for the device were stolen with those for the Subjugator after the Battle of Horovine.