Little thoughts about acid and gasses...

[Exo Etherial]

Okay, now uhm, I hate to be anal (blatant lie alert!) but a gas spewer should be able to do squat except make it dirty, and maybe dangerous to touch or be around. Most of the buildings in Emperor strike me as more or less automated, yes? That would mena that killing any people inside something of a moot point... :-

But then I get to thinking about the "secret" chemical mix that Chemies employ. And then I get to thinking that maybe there is a fair amount of corosive acid or something in thier tanks. I mean an acidic compound mixed in with a numbing/paralyzing agent would be more than adequate to take down a tartget in the aparent FRACTION OF A SECOND that a Chemie kills infantry. I mean the best breathing-dependant oisons take about 30 seconds to reach the brain and kill. However, if the target was spray with a paralyzer carried by an acidic carrying mechanism, he/she will go down very quickly. Plus the corosive acids could eat through metal and building matierials.

The main poison could get into the blood stream via acid burns on the skin. The target would also breathe in this cocktail. While suffering not only burns to the lungs, the victim would also be unable to take a breath (paralyzed lungs)... Or scream properly(no air).

This leads me to the disturbing conclusion that the choking noises of dying units is actually the stifled screams of a person dying while in extreme pain.. :-

Sometimes I scare myself...

[Vanguard3000]

1) Buildings are not automated. If you've read the books, you'll know that it's not only extremely illegal, but sinful to use complex computers. In fact, the most advanced machinery permitted consists of simple timers called servoks.

2) When you attack a building, I always imagined that the units were infiltrating the building, and killing personell and structural weak points, rather than simply attacking the walls like King Arthur's Knights in Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. ;)

3) Most likely, the gas is corrosive. That would explain how you can destroy tanks, etc, with it.

[Dante]

2) When you attack a building, I always imagined that the units were infiltrating the building, and killing personell and structural weak points, rather than simply attacking the walls like King Arthur's Knights in Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. ;)

Atreides: We will kill you and take your base, Harkonnen scum!

Harkonnen: Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

That image is very appealing...

[King-Mega]

The gas or acid is probably Aqua Regia ( a mixture of Nitric Acid with Hydrochloric in a ratio of 3 Nitric-1 Hydro or it could be Sulfuric acid H2SO4).That is advanced chemistry that saves this topic.

8)

[Dante]

What do you mean saved? Monty Python applies to everything!

And why a mixture of acids when surely a highly-concentrated strong one would do?

[cobrajc]

Dust Scout has a good point...well..sorta

Heres my theroy regarding the chem spray.

Ive always thought of it more as them spraying radition (the green cloud people!).

makes sense for killing infantry and destroying buildings doesnt it?

[Thexorb]

I'm thinking the spray is one concentrated type of acidic gas, rather than a mix of several. Despite what the troopers say: 'Chemical mix ready'

The reason I think this is the gas must be cheap to produce, because Chemical troopers cost much less than Flame infantry, even though they're much better :P

[Apollyon]

I think it's just a game and not so much should be read into it.

EDIT: Oh, and Clanner, radiation, contrary to popular belief, is not in the habit of being green. lol. :D

[Dante]

I'm thinking the spray is one concentrated type of acidic gas, rather than a mix of several. Despite what the troopers say: 'Chemical mix ready'

The reason I think this is the gas must be cheap to produce, because Chemical troopers cost much less than Flame infantry, even though they're much better :P

Good point. :)

Nee!

[Gert-Jan]

I'm thinking the spray is one concentrated type of acidic gas, rather than a mix of several. Despite what the troopers say: 'Chemical mix ready'

The reason I think this is the gas must be cheap to produce, because Chemical troopers cost much less than Flame infantry, even though they're much better :P

Or the Ordos have found a very cheap way to produce a mixture.

(Whow I can actually understand what you guys are talking about I feel so intelligent! ;) )

[Bonzi]

So they spray radiation?

Wouldnt that also kill the person behind the weapon...?

Just a thought..

[VigilVirus]

Umm, radiation is invisible, it is not green, no matter what it might look in the game ::)

And the particles are too small to be kept in a hose, not even talking about how both alpha and beta particles would be easily stopped by the soldier costumes.

And last but not least - Radiation does not destroy buildings.

[Apollyon]

Oh, and Clanner, radiation, contrary to popular belief, is not in the habit of being green. lol. :D

I think I said it better. ;)

[Ice_Cube]

And the particles are too small to be kept in a hose, not even talking about how both alpha and beta particles would be easily stopped by the soldier costumes.

This would work if the spay was fine droplets that are kept as a radioactive fluid in their tanks. Also, it takes a few mm of aluminuim to stop a beta emmision so it would depend on what they are wearing. Also, it could be a gamma emmision so what they are wearing would be kind of irrelivent.

[nemafakei]

A few cm of aluminium would only halve the intensity of the

[VigilVirus]

How exactly are you going to emit gamma radiation that actually aims for something? Gamma is like uv rays, it has no mass and is pure energy, and it would as much hit the attacker as the attacked. Unless you mean that they keep pure uranium/plutonium in those hoses of theirs, I really don't see how this would work. And anyways, they would be most likely called nuclear troopers or something if that was the case.

[Timenn]

And the troops that would be killed wouldn't make those noises they are making now. And furthermore, gamma radiation doesn't kill you so soon (nothing can emmit so much radiation that it kills in matter of a second)

You have, of course, nerve gass. It could be green, and it is surely lethal. But I wonder if they make the correct dying sounds...

[Ice_Cube]

gamma rays can easily kill cells at a high and calculated dose. But I think it is more likely to be a mixture of a corrsive acid and a toxic gas.

[nemafakei]

"How exactly are you going to emit gamma radiation that actually aims for something? Gamma is like uv rays"

Ever heard of a laser? A directed beam of EM radiation. Gamma is high-frequency, low-wavelength (hence low diffraction) EM waves.

But this is rather irrelevant; they're not shooting radiation, and I doubt they're spraying a substance so radioactive it kills in seconds. Gases and/or acds seem to be the way to go, or perhaps droplets of very high-strength chemicals of other sort which affect nerves or whatever.