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Author	Topic: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
Alpha-Red Registered: Apr '04	Date Posted: 3/9/08 3:25am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Huh, just ran into this thread. Anyway, I'd have to agree with Davi....nuclear weapons are too useful for space combat for them to not have shown up more. In fact, given that the technology does exist in the GFFA according to various sources, it doesn't make sense that nukes haven't seen more widespread use. It's true a Star Destroyer can probably withstand multiple nuclear blasts, but smaller frigates and corvettes probably would not. Fighters too would be completely obliterated. There's also one major advantage that a nuclear warhead has over a turbolaser: it's compact. You can't mount a turbolaser onto a Y-wing, much less provide enough power to fire it. But you more than likely can stow a payload of nuclear-tipped missiles into its weapons bay and send it off to bomb Imperial bases, convoys, or whatever else needs destroying. Another major use of nukes would have been during the Yuuzhan Vong war. Dovin Basals can generate voids to eat up turbolaser blasts, so why concentrate your energy into one powerful coherent beam that takes minimal effort to block? A nuclear blast would cover a much greater area and force the Vong shielding system to exert itself to a greater extent, allowing New Republic ships to wear down their defenses more quickly and finish them off with conventional weapons.
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BigBoy29 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 3/9/08 2:38pm Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	^^^^ All excellent points, my friend. -----signature----- Lando: "She saved me at the Battle of Tannabe". Han: "Hey remember, I won her fair and square." Lando: "She was mine before she was yours, she was mine before she was yours ..."
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Jango10 Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 3/9/08 3:57pm Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	How do we know that there isn't? "Proton Torpedo" That could be a nuclear missile. -----signature----- "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning." McCain/Palin '08
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BigBoy29 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 3/10/08 1:34am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Jango10 posted: How do we know that there isn't? "Proton Torpedo" That could be a nuclear missile. What the fO&*???? Are you freakin serious? Play Rogue Squadron as a Y-Wing, Watch ANH one more time, a Proton Torpedo has a blast efficasy of like 7 sticks of c4. That's it. -----signature----- Lando: "She saved me at the Battle of Tannabe". Han: "Hey remember, I won her fair and square." Lando: "She was mine before she was yours, she was mine before she was yours ..."
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thomasmontgomery Registered: May '06	Date Posted: 3/11/08 6:04am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Ha yes proton torps compared to a nuclear blast um... Well I have to say that to a planet a Torp. is a minor itch. On one of my games it takes several torps to to even take out 1 building. If I had a nuke than on hit and the entire city is gone. If my memory is right in Vector Prime, The rommamools, can't spell it, vs. the Osarians. I think those ballistic missles were nuked. I maybe wrong how ever. -----signature----- SWC Senate Game, Senator of Csilla/ Vice Chancellor SWC Senate Game: Aspect ratio...0/75/0 Loves to Drive/Hates to fill up. The Imperial Thread's Supreme Commander of Armed Imperial Forces.
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Jango10 Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 3/11/08 11:46am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	thomasmontgomery posted: Ha yes proton torps compared to a nuclear blast um... Well I have to say that to a planet a Torp. is a minor itch. On one of my games it takes several torps to to even take out 1 building. If I had a nuke than on hit and the entire city is gone. If my memory is right in Vector Prime, The rommamools, can't spell it, vs. the Osarians. I think those ballistic missles were nuked. I maybe wrong how ever. Games are not considered canon. So you can't use that argument here. I merely offered a "what if" solution, that I wasn't entirely sure about. You don't have to insult my intelligence about it. In today's world, nuclear missiles are bcoming smaller and more tactical, instead of larger and capable of even more massive destruction. I'm no expert on what a proton torpedo actually is. I was simply using some logic that may or may not be correct. Protons are in atoms, splitting an atom is what causes a nuclear blast, so I thought that a proton torpedo could be a small tactical nuclear missile. But forgive me for thinking. -----signature----- "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning." McCain/Palin '08
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Vortigern99 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 3/11/08 11:57am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Just as a general FYI, any fan can accept whatever source they consider authoritative, from a Jar Jar coloring book to the films themselves. This obviously includes games; but by the same token, any fan can reject those same sources as non-authoritative in his/her own personal conception of the STAR WARS Galaxy. In other words, we can offer data from games etc. as one possible solution or explanation, but not THE solution or explanation. -----signature----- "I knew from the beginning I was not doing science fiction. I was doing a space opera, a fantasy film, a mythological piece, a fairy tale."--George Lucas My "Vader's Origins" thread: http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002/8708417/p1
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Darth_Davi Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 3/11/08 4:51pm Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Jango10, I get what you are saying...but, while I do believe that nuclear weapons would be a viable weapon to use against the Empire in certain situations (thus the reason I created this thread) I do not believe a proton torpedo could be a small tactical nuke. The torpedoes have a very limited explosive range, which would seem to me indicative of the amount of energy released from the explosion...Even if you had a nuclear device the size of a proton torpedo, the power behind the detonation would far exceed the capabilities of the torpedo, otherwise if the nuke was a low enough strength to match the explosive output of what we see from torpedoes, it would probably be cheaper to just use other material. When I envisioned the rebels using nuclear weaponry, I was thinking more of a device that would be used to sabotage Star Destroyers from the inside, wreck Imperial bases in one shot, that kind of thing, not something that would be used in starfighter to starfighter combat. Nukes in a dogfight would be impractical. -----signature----- What the hell is an Aluminium Falcon? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought my Dark Lord of the Sith could protect a thermal exhaust port thats only two meters wide! It wasn't even fully paid off yet!
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BigBoy29 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 3/12/08 3:11am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	I've asked for years to have a board dedicated to "THE SCIENCE OF STAR WARS". So many useful threads and meaningful knowledge get shuffled in with fascinating threads like, "Was Yoda mad at Luke?" and the sort. -----signature----- Lando: "She saved me at the Battle of Tannabe". Han: "Hey remember, I won her fair and square." Lando: "She was mine before she was yours, she was mine before she was yours ..."
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thomasmontgomery Registered: May '06	Date Posted: 3/12/08 5:23am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	I am sorry if I insulted anyone. But after all I have seen the Proton Torpedoes do not seem to be Nuclear. If so than why in all aspects of war would you dial down the strenghth of the thing. I would also love a Science of Starwars thread. To help perserve the Intelligence. -----signature----- SWC Senate Game, Senator of Csilla/ Vice Chancellor SWC Senate Game: Aspect ratio...0/75/0 Loves to Drive/Hates to fill up. The Imperial Thread's Supreme Commander of Armed Imperial Forces.
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BigBoy29 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 3/12/08 8:50pm Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	thomasmontgomery posted: I am sorry if I insulted anyone. But after all I have seen the Proton Torpedoes do not seem to be Nuclear. If so than why in all aspects of war would you dial down the strenghth of the thing. I would also love a Science of Starwars thread. To help perserve the Intelligence. I assume your not a big fan of the "Why did Tarkin give Vader a funny look?" thread. Look man, I think the guy who threw out the Proton Torpedo thing was trying to do right, but a thread like this requires precise info and applications to real world nuclear yield/explosive magnitude/radioactivity criteria. -----signature----- Lando: "She saved me at the Battle of Tannabe". Han: "Hey remember, I won her fair and square." Lando: "She was mine before she was yours, she was mine before she was yours ..."
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thomasmontgomery Registered: May '06	Date Posted: 3/13/08 5:33am Subject: RE: Why are there no nuclear weapons in Star Wars?
	Actually I haven't seen that thread. -----signature----- SWC Senate Game, Senator of Csilla/ Vice Chancellor SWC Senate Game: Aspect ratio...0/75/0 Loves to Drive/Hates to fill up. The Imperial Thread's Supreme Commander of Armed Imperial Forces.
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