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This has been talked about casually, but never really discussed in detail. Anyway, it's long overdue, so let's get it over with.
Introductio
Azathoth has been discussing our current lightning standards for a while, and I have recently joined him, since I have noted several rules that could be shoehorned to fit into nearly any situation involving electricity, which I disagree with. Basically, Azathoth and I, and Matt believe most of our regulations are extremely lax, and are not indicative of an electron drifting at 440,000m/s.
A summary of the discussed standards would be:
The Root of the Problem
It is relatively common knowledge that electricity in a cable travels at relativistic speeds. However, this is not the speed the electrons themselves are moving. Whenever electricity is created, the electromagnetic wave it generates is what's moving close to the speed of light, not the electrons themselves. This relationship is known as the drift velocity/electromagnetic velocity.. The characters are dodging the electrons, and thus they're dodging a far slower "projectile", so to speak; actually, in real life, individual electrons can be as slow as 1cm/s.
While it might seem like this has nothing to do with lightning speed and whatnot, it reveals the root of the problem; the speed of electricity is extremely variable, but the side-effects of its propagation are generally universal. A Mach 5 electric current will conduct through, say, gold just as well as a Mach 1284 bolt of lightning.
With the above done, let's look at the standards mentioned before:
1. A bolt that makes the muscles of affected beings contract.
A: Electroshock weapons, such as Tasers, are specifically designed with this property in mind, but the current that travels through the body once the dart settles in isn't Mach 1300. This does not remotely prove lightning speed, but rather that the attack is electric...which one can guess by merely glancing at it
2. Electrolysis.
A: Electrolysis is the side effect of nearly all electric currents on substances. It proves that the current is as fast as a bolt of lightning about as much as generating a vague shockwave proves you're shattering the sound barrier.
3. Conduction through metal; water; minerals.
A: This is a universal property of any given electric current or attack. It doesn't prove anything at all in regards to lightning speed. Get a few volts.
4: A bolt that has damage output above that of lightning, e.g 5 billion joules, should have superior speed.
A: While correct and acceptable, Azathoth has put forward that the lightning bolt should actually showcase this output by, like real lightning bolt, damaging the environment instead of just being scaled to a character's durablity, as it can be very easily argued that it's a low-end showing for the character who got harmed instead of any proof of the bolt being MHS, and I'm frankly inclined to agree with him completely.
If a character tanks a 7-B blast in one showing, but then gets a bullet through his head, it is far more likely it was just a low-end showing instead of the bullet being "special" when there is zero indication of it. Primarchs in 40k have such low-end bullet showings from time to time. It is acknowledged as a low-end, and saying the bullet is 4-B is ignoring difficulties and being dishonest, which is why it's not done.
So, if a lightning bolt blasts a character, but causes next to zero environmental damage, which is the very reason why it SHOULD be proven as MHS to begin with, we suggest that the feat be deemed a low-end showing instead of scaling the bolt to the character.
Conclusion
In summary, our current standards are very, very lax and can be basically shoehorned into normal electric currents being Mach 1300, which is, of course, false. As such, we believe they should be removed or rewritten.
Introductio
Azathoth has been discussing our current lightning standards for a while, and I have recently joined him, since I have noted several rules that could be shoehorned to fit into nearly any situation involving electricity, which I disagree with. Basically, Azathoth and I, and Matt believe most of our regulations are extremely lax, and are not indicative of an electron drifting at 440,000m/s.
A summary of the discussed standards would be:
- Conduction
- Muscle Contraction
- Electrolysis
- "Powerscaling" Bolts
- Electromagnetism
The Root of the Problem
It is relatively common knowledge that electricity in a cable travels at relativistic speeds. However, this is not the speed the electrons themselves are moving. Whenever electricity is created, the electromagnetic wave it generates is what's moving close to the speed of light, not the electrons themselves. This relationship is known as the drift velocity/electromagnetic velocity.. The characters are dodging the electrons, and thus they're dodging a far slower "projectile", so to speak; actually, in real life, individual electrons can be as slow as 1cm/s.
While it might seem like this has nothing to do with lightning speed and whatnot, it reveals the root of the problem; the speed of electricity is extremely variable, but the side-effects of its propagation are generally universal. A Mach 5 electric current will conduct through, say, gold just as well as a Mach 1284 bolt of lightning.
With the above done, let's look at the standards mentioned before:
1. A bolt that makes the muscles of affected beings contract.
A: Electroshock weapons, such as Tasers, are specifically designed with this property in mind, but the current that travels through the body once the dart settles in isn't Mach 1300. This does not remotely prove lightning speed, but rather that the attack is electric...which one can guess by merely glancing at it
2. Electrolysis.
A: Electrolysis is the side effect of nearly all electric currents on substances. It proves that the current is as fast as a bolt of lightning about as much as generating a vague shockwave proves you're shattering the sound barrier.
3. Conduction through metal; water; minerals.
A: This is a universal property of any given electric current or attack. It doesn't prove anything at all in regards to lightning speed. Get a few volts.
4: A bolt that has damage output above that of lightning, e.g 5 billion joules, should have superior speed.
A: While correct and acceptable, Azathoth has put forward that the lightning bolt should actually showcase this output by, like real lightning bolt, damaging the environment instead of just being scaled to a character's durablity, as it can be very easily argued that it's a low-end showing for the character who got harmed instead of any proof of the bolt being MHS, and I'm frankly inclined to agree with him completely.
If a character tanks a 7-B blast in one showing, but then gets a bullet through his head, it is far more likely it was just a low-end showing instead of the bullet being "special" when there is zero indication of it. Primarchs in 40k have such low-end bullet showings from time to time. It is acknowledged as a low-end, and saying the bullet is 4-B is ignoring difficulties and being dishonest, which is why it's not done.
So, if a lightning bolt blasts a character, but causes next to zero environmental damage, which is the very reason why it SHOULD be proven as MHS to begin with, we suggest that the feat be deemed a low-end showing instead of scaling the bolt to the character.
Conclusion
In summary, our current standards are very, very lax and can be basically shoehorned into normal electric currents being Mach 1300, which is, of course, false. As such, we believe they should be removed or rewritten.
