----- Original Message -----
From: "Tangent" 


> I was thinking of running a game with terrorists seizing a microwave
> transmitter plant (basically a series of solar panels in space beaming the
> power to a site on Earth which is then transfered to earth using microwave
> beams).
>
> What type of damage could terrorists do with something like that?

A good bit, given time.  The ground station is probably out in the middle of
nowhere, probably a desert, probably also someplace with lots of clear
weather.  (Clouds are going to hamper transmission quality, after all.)  As
such, there probably will be few targets to just pivot the emitter at
nearby;  plus, if you point it at farther targets, you get more atmosphere
between the station and the surface to soak up the microwaves, as well as
the possibility that you might lose optimal orientation in respect to the
sun in orbit.  Odds are if you want to hit anything really worth hitting,
you're going to have to _move_ the orbital component, which is the part that
really takes time.  After that, it's point the array, push the button, and
watch the fun.

Exposed organics will probably take several seconds to feel the effects, but
those effects will be unpleasant.  Vehicles will be a mixed blessing;  metal
stops microwaves nicely, but with all the sparking, there may be fuel
flammability issues in some places.  Lots of electronics getting fried, too,
and if you're building stations like this, you've got lots of vulnerable
electronics out there.  In fact, that's going to be your primary damage.

Of course, anything under the surface will probably be fine.  But it's going
to get ugly topside.

>
> What environmental risks does one of these plants cause? What damage would
> it cause just by normal operations?
>

Two that I can see:  First, microwave radiation is very bad for organics.
Long exposure to low levels can cause cancer (thus the controversy over cell
phones and brain cancer).  Second, the microwaves will inevitably heat the
atmosphere between the emitter and ground station, by quite a bit.  This
will have some effect on weather patterns, and possibly climate if done on a
large scale for sufficient lengths of time.

> Just looking for a basis to start on, see if it's environmental terrorists
> seizing it or something like that.
>

If it's environmental terrorists, they may well decide to blow the thing out
of the sky instead.  (Sure, as a means of _generating_ the power, it's
pretty darn clean--it's the _transmission_ method that's a problem...)  More
likely someone wants to use it simply to cause havoc over an entire city;
sweeping the "beam" over a major metro area will start fires, cause
accidents and injury, knock out communications, and so forth.  Think of it
more as a prelude to the "Main Event"; such an incident makes great cover
for Something Else Going On, as the authorities are so busy taking care of
the rogue satellite and city-wide chaos they may well miss a quieter effort
elsewhere.

   ---Darth Stomper--
Dark Chairman, Stomper Institute for
  Thaumaturgy and Heronism (S.I.T.H)
GURPS fan - GMAST-L Old One (once banished)
Philosopher - Alternate Historian - General Crank
email: bravado@mindspring.com
web: http://www.mindspring.com//~bravado

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