Slaver stasis field
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The Slaver stasis field is a fictional technology from Larry Niven's Known Space series, a product of Tnuctipun ingenuity and creativity. Inside the field, time is slowed to a near stop, with billions of years passing on the outside before one second passes on the inside.
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[edit] Operation
The field creates a bubble of space/time that runs separate from the rest of the universe. Anything inside a stasis field can not be affected by anything outside of the field. The only exception to this rule is if two stasis fields are rammed into each other at high speeds. This causes a catastrophic collapse of both fields, destroying whatever is inside. Similarly, one stasis field cannot exist within another; the inner one is deactivated while the outer one is extant, allowing objects within the outer field to interact with those within the inner field.
Two side effects of the field are that the outer surface of the field is a perfect mirror, and that the field reflects 100% of all neutrinos.
[edit] Uses
Normally, stasis fields are used for medical purposes - enclosing badly injured personnel inside a stasis field allows time for suitable medical attention to be obtained without any further deterioration in the victims condition. They are also of use for life pods - no physical attack (not even antimatter) will damage the field or its contents. However, they have also been used to create a weapon known as a 'variable sword' - a handle about the size of a normal jump rope handle and a small illuminated red ball connected by an almost invisibly thin retractable wire (possibly monomolecular wire) protected by a stasis field. The field not only protects the wire, but also makes it rigid enough to enable it to be swung like a sword blade, capable of cutting through almost all metals. (The purpose of the red bulb is simply to show the user where the wire ends).
[edit] Similar concepts
A concept similar to this can be found in the Artemis Fowl series.
[edit] References
- Niven, Larry (1970). Ringworld. ISBN 0-7221-6396-7.
- Niven, Larry (1969). Neutron Star (The Soft Weapon). ISBN 0-7088-8011-8.
[edit] Further reading
- John G. Cramer. "Quantum Time Travel", AnalogScience Fiction & Fact Magazine, 1996-07-12. — Cramer hypothesises how to create Niven's stasis fields using an AAVP quantum time-translation machine
- Slaver Stasis Field. Technovelgy. Technovelgy LLC.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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