J.J. Snow touches on some of the science fact behind the science fiction of Gunship in her third Tech Talk installment on Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology based camouflage is big business in Reilly Campbell’s time. In fact, it's a matter of survival. Enforcers rely on spray on chemical coatings called MEMS (short for microelectrochemical systems) that allow the machines to change their optical properties to blend with their environment making them extra stealthy when stalking their targets. Some of the high tech gear Reilly and Ty recover from the Vervian heist include portable holographs that allow the wearer to trigger a light bending capability that also diffuses their heat signature. The ability to cloak is a key capability of the Dark Angel Gunship, making them one of the most feared and capable fighting platforms in the ISUs. Quantum stealth technology was the basis for research behind the stealth technology used by the Dark Angels and present day is the foundation for a new series of light bending fabrics that the military is interested in using for uniforms.
A large number of private researchers, university laboratories and government R&D programs have been making serious progress in our time on adaptive and active camouflage. As weapons technology continues to advance, fields like nanotechnology, fractals, and biomimicry have become even more important in discovering new ways to defeat and beat the opposition. Researchers have focused their efforts on the chemistry of certain species of fish and insects that have the ability to change their color to avoid predators. These color changes occur within the organisms when proteins in their cells are activated by Adenosine-Triphosphate (ATP) a naturally occurring coenzyme. Scientists at Sandia Labs have released several papers on these studies and believe that they may be able to use this same method to trigger color changes in synthetic materials.
Thermal camouflage also helps to hide warfighters from heat seeking security devices that could detect them and give their positions away. Saab Barracuda USA is one of several hi-tech “signature management” solutions on the market designed to provide multispectral thermal camouflage to help hide troops from enemy countermeasures. Other unique solutions utilize insulating foam or plates to hide heat emissions and create signatures that can make a tank appear to be a pickup truck by altering its shape as viewed through night vision scopes or IR detectors. Carbon nano-tubes when combined with water have been used to create a “mirage camo” effect that can be used to conceal an object behind the tubes. The effect is very similar to the reflection that can be seen coming off of hot asphalt on a late July afternoon.
So how long before we see the benefits on the battlefield? Researchers believe this technology could be made widely available within the next three to five years.
To geek out more on advanced camouflage and other cool sci-fi technologies based in science fact, check out Gunship for a sweet tactical read! Here are a two excerpts to get you hooked – enjoy!
Excerpt 1:
The breeze stopped and the grass went still. They both tensed, waiting, frozen in place.
“Do you see them?” Ty whispered “They should be right…..” he poked lightly at the grass just in front of them.
The ground erupted. Two machines launched at them, crossing in mid-air. They were made of metal coated with Nano-polymers that changed with the environment, allowing them to better blend in with the grass. As they leapt the gold and brown stripes changed to a dull metallic gray. A single eye-like sensor emitted green as it tracked the targets, recording height, weight, armament, armor. Reilly rolled to the right, hitting the ground and firing up as the machine attempted to adjust to her movement, rolling and twisting in mid-air itself. Its knife like claws grasped at where she had been as she blasted upwards into the thin underbelly plating. The primary processor resided there and damaging it would limit or completely destroy the machine’s ability to prosecute its target. The first shot missed and she dove again as the Enforcer hit the ground and leapt in an arch above her, firing as it moved. The machine hit the ground on its forelegs and Reilly swung her boot, placing a kick against the closest joint and forcing the machine slightly off balance. The rear legs compensated and the Enforcer turned again in a dizzying circle, launching directly at her head and chest. At the last moment, Reilly threw herself backwards and punched up with her blaster firing several rounds. The machine fell to the ground fading between gray and grass stripes as it lurched forward attempting to reach its target. The mouth snapped open revealing a set of titanium fangs that receded only to be replaced with a rifled laser shot barrel, forcing Reilly to roll as it blasted two large holes where she had been. She shot it again, this time just behind the plating that guarded the neck and shoulder connection severing the metallic head.
Excerpt 2:
The opposite side of the bay had crates of items she had never even seen before. One crate held ledgers that appeared to be written in a strange code. Another held bars of some kind of bluish green metal. A third crate bearing radiation warning signs held foot long glass batons that looked like they had some kind of fog and white lightening inside.
Ty walked to one crate and pulled it open. Inside was a pair of fingerless gloves that had a round disc on the palm. “Watch this” he said.
Ty strapped a glove on his hand and then touched his index finger to the disc. And then he was gone.
Reilly gaped openly in surprise. Ty continued to talk and she could hear his footsteps but even with those aids to help her she still couldn’t be sure of where exactly he was. Skeeter laughed at her look.
“It’s a portable holograph designed for one person,” Ty explained “When you put it on it reflects the light and stuff around you back out so it looks continuous, like you’re not even there. I tried to find the kid earlier with the thermal goggles. That bounces back too so there must be some kind of refractive layer of light that interferes with the heat signature of whoever is wearing it. Or maybe a heat dissipater or something – I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
She jumped as Ty reappeared right next to her. “So this might come in handy on some of our future jobs – it’s like having an invisibility shield that no one can penetrate.” He grinned wolfishly.
Want more? Download the preview for Gunship from iTunes today to read the first 170 pages or go to Authonomy for the Prologue and Chapters 1-5. Sign on with Reilly and her crew and join the fight – the battle’s just beginning!
