Static Electricity

[RoosterTheRed]

I propose an animated block that looks something like lightning, or static electricity.

This block would be appear to be a vertical column of (by default) blue electricity. It could have a renewable animation similar to Minecraft's fire animation.

The purpose of this block would be purely aesthetic, though perhaps it could cause the player damage if he/she came into contact with the block. It could be used for aesthetic weapon arrays, or engine/reactor rooms. Ideally, the animation's loop would be synced to the point that you could place a lightning block atop another, and still have it appear natural.

Perhaps you could also select the color of the electricity by using colored lights or crystals.


Also, if this has been suggested before, I apologize. I searched the Suggestions for something similar, but didn't find anything.

 

[karkinosz]

While lightening cannot exist in a vacuum, in this case the rule of cool > science.
+1 from me.

 

[Vyor]

While lightening cannot exist in a vacuum, in this case the rule of cool > science.
+1 from me.

Not true.

 

[SkullCollector]

Not true.

Please elaborate.

Last I checked, a lightning was the channel of an electrical current through ionised dense gas, which, as a plasma, has loosened its electrons and emits a bright glow due to heat also conducted via this plasma-phased gas. Roughly.
If there is gas, there is logically no vacuum. (Sparse hydrogen ions aside. Bloody abundancy.)

You could in theory have a large enough electrical field to attract electrons from an electrode to another a distance away in a vacuum, but you wouldn't see that as lightning.
If I'm wrong, please do clarify. I'm by no means an expert. And if you're nitpicking on the typo, cool.

 

[Ithirahad]

It could be just channeled through a column of gas constrained by a force field or something... Scientific nitpicking is silly when you're talking about a purely decorative block.

 

[DukeofRealms]

Please elaborate.

Last I checked, a lightning was the channel of an electrical current through ionised dense gas, which, as a plasma, has loosened its electrons and emits a bright glow due to heat also conducted via this plasma-phased gas. Roughly.
If there is gas, there is logically no vacuum. (Sparse hydrogen ions aside. Bloody abundancy.)

You could in theory have a large enough electrical field to attract electrons from an electrode to another a distance away in a vacuum, but you wouldn't see that as lightning.
If I'm wrong, please do clarify. I'm by no means an expert. And if you're nitpicking on the typo, cool.

I was going to say something similar until I read this.

As for the actual topic, sounds like it would look fairly awesome.

 

[NeonSturm]

We just have to trust users not to use it where should be vacuum :D

 

[Aecetym]

We just have to trust users not to use it where should be vacuum :D

Like we hope ppl don't buildblock whole planets rather then salvaging it ...

Anyway as to the op, really like the idea.

 

[karkinosz]

Not true.

Nope, totally true. If you have nothing to ionize and no particles you cannot have a current, thus anything that even resembles lightening cannot exist.

But again rule of cool > science. After all we have linear dampening and a universe where everything is made of cubes. Once again I fully support the idea.

 

[NeonSturm]

The cubes are not just 3D cubes.
You don't see the forth dimension (time) - they change inside and their shape (diamond, cube, square) relative to your point of view.

 

[karkinosz]

The cubes are not just 3D cubes.
You don't see the forth dimension (time) - they change inside and their shape (diamond, cube, square) relative to your point of view.

I prefer 4 dimensional space. Tesseract > cube.

 

[Daveorock]

I don't see how lightning in a vacuum came up, since the original idea was it as a decorative block for use in a ship where there is assumed to be an atmosphere (of some sort, maybe a reactor doesn't contain air but something like helium?). However, it is true that you cannot have lightning or anything close in a vacuum as there is nothing (substantial enough) to conduct the current. What would be cool, however, is if nebulae are implemented and flying through them at high speeds causes the ship/hull to gain a charge (not sure if realistic, can't find anything on static and spacecraft in nebulae), which would crackle dangerously around the ship until discharged.

Regardless, it would be cool to see something of this nature, whether it be a block or some way to use the effect system to generate electrical arcs. As of right now, people are just using logic conduits which look pretty 'meh' for the purpose.

 

[jayman38]

Nebulas would be a neat addition to the game. I am imagining a version of regular asteroids, but consisting of translucent blocks instead of solid. Might create an interesting fuel-mining game mechanic. Not to mention other gameplay possibilites. (No radar contacts for things on the other side of or inside a nebula, shields automatically drop 50% of their maximum store and recharge rate while inside a nebula block, weapons lose half their dps when going through a nebula, salvage beams are twice as effective at eating nebula blocks, etc.)

 

[karkinosz]

Nebula, while off topic would add to the mechanics and beauty of the game. Although if done wrong might be performance heavy.

 

[Vyor]

Nope, totally true. If you have nothing to ionize and no particles you cannot have a current, thus anything that even resembles lightening cannot exist.

But again rule of cool > science. After all we have linear dampening and a universe where everything is made of cubes. Once again I fully support the idea.

I thought that those lightning ball things were in a vacuum?

 

[Megacrafter127]

I thought that those lightning ball things were in a vacuum?

They use an easily ionizable gas at a very low pressure.

Nope, totally true. If you have nothing to ionize and no particles you cannot have a current, thus anything that even resembles lightening cannot exist.

You can have a current, if the electrical field is strong enough to pull the electrons out of the electrodes and fill the gap. The result is a cold, negatively charged, low pressure plasma.

 

[Daveorock]

*sigh* https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111223112732AAZJ1Fx

Electricity will not naturally flow through a vacuum, as it is a perfect insulator. HOWEVER, electrons can be separated from their parent materials and will move around in a vacuum as a particle, and it is certainly possible to create a system (read: cathode ray tube) with an anode and cathode (which would be emitting electrons) to have electricity flow through a vacuum. BUT under normal conditions, say if you put a taser in a vacuum, nothing would happen.

The result is a cold, negatively charged, low pressure plasma.

While you could have a cloud of electrons (which would be negatively charged, because that's what electrons are), a plasma is "an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons in proportions resulting in more or less no overall electric charge..." and ions, unless introduced, are not in vacuums (and if they were, it's no longer a vacuum).


NOW, could we all please get back to discussing (as if you ever were) the actual content of the OP, an electrical arc block?

 

[Izikiel]

I like this idea. And the science, haha.

 

[RoosterTheRed]

Had a feeling this might turn into a science debate.

Seeing as Starmade is not 100% accurate when it comes to science and physics, perhaps we could either 1. forgive the fault or 2. make up our own mythos.

For those science people, what if it's not electricity, but something looks like electricity? Something that could exist in a vacuum? It doesn't necessarily NEED to be an electrical arc, it would just need to look like one.

 

[Vyor]

Had a feeling this might turn into a science debate.

Seeing as Starmade is not 100% accurate when it comes to science and physics, perhaps we could either 1. forgive the fault or 2. make up our own mythos.

For those science people, what if it's not electricity, but something looks like electricity? Something that could exist in a vacuum? It doesn't necessarily NEED to be an electrical arc, it would just need to look like one.

It is in a block... it isn't just straight electricity.

*sigh* https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111223112732AAZJ1Fx

Electricity will not naturally flow through a vacuum, as it is a perfect insulator. HOWEVER, electrons can be separated from their parent materials and will move around in a vacuum as a particle, and it is certainly possible to create a system (read: cathode ray tube) with an anode and cathode (which would be emitting electrons) to have electricity flow through a vacuum. BUT under normal conditions, say if you put a taser in a vacuum, nothing would happen.


While you could have a cloud of electrons (which would be negatively charged, because that's what electrons are), a plasma is "an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons in proportions resulting in more or less no overall electric charge..." and ions, unless introduced, are not in vacuums (and if they were, it's no longer a vacuum).

Cool! Thanks for the info!