Chapter 209 The Waterdrop "Collects Coins" _1

The maximum speed of a human space battleship is 17% of the speed of light, but such a speed is almost impossible to use; it is merely a theoretical value.

With the most advanced battleships at present, accelerating to such a speed requires the consumption of more than 60,000 tons of fusion fuel, and the fully loaded battleships have only just over 500,000 tons. After two complete accelerations and decelerations, the fuel would be utterly exhausted.

When space battleships are arranged in a battle array, the usual maximum speed is maintained at about one-thousandth of the speed of light, which is nearly 150 times the Third Cosmic Velocity.

The spacing between battleships is strictly calculated and arranged, with the closest ones needing to maintain a distance of at least four thousand kilometers (which is equivalent to the length of a formation of two hundred warships in the original work), such distance may seem far, but with the battleships traveling at high speed, they could blink across it.

Such spacing not only reduces the risk of collision due to being too dense but also ensures that the battleships can coordinate their combat effectively. If the distance is too far, communication lag would become a significant issue.

The advantage of such a battleship formation is that all battleships can be in the best attack positions, thereby maximizing the overall firepower to form a potent net of firepower.

But its drawback is that the formation of the fleet is almost fixed, lacking any real flexibility.

If any one of the warships encounters an anomaly, be it a minor piloting error or mechanical failure, it could trigger a chain reaction, leading to the collapse of the entire fleet's formation.

The federal fleet would naturally not rashly adopt a collective tactic to meet the Waterdrop head-on. Even if using an array tactic, the engagement would be carried out by dividing into three fleet array groups.

If the Waterdrop truly is a super bomb as some speculations suggest, then the space battleship group, which constitutes most of humanity's strength, would face a devastating blow.

From afar, the three massive fleet groups of the federal fleet, under the reflection of their ship's tail flames, look like three snaking, spiraling milky way dragons arranged in a well-orchestrated formation soaring through the vast universe, displaying endless majesty and power.

At this moment, none of the warships have opened fire. Analysis of engagement data from the First Column Fleet suggests that firing now would serve no purpose. Blindly opening fire would not inflict substantial damage on the Waterdrop but might expose one's weaknesses and tactical intents.

The warships also didn't slow down. Humanity's understanding of the Waterdrop is limited, and its attack methods are unclear. The combat strategy favors a fast thrust followed by quick withdrawal.

Although slowing down makes it easier for battleships to maneuver and adjust their formation, no one knows the Waterdrop's attack method. Military strategists believe that maintaining high speed is more advantageous for the fleet's survival.

This combat plan also received the approval of Commander Ye Chen. Though it may not be the best, it is the most fitting under the current circumstances.

Additionally, it should be noted that the Waterdrop is completely invisible under radar, but this does not affect human warships capturing it, as their targeting systems are based on visible light capture.

Rather, radar monitoring is seldom used in space battleships:

First, radar's surveillance capability at extremely long distances is weak, inferior to the visible light observation system;

Second, using radar for active scanning is tantamount to telling the enemy that someone is scanning them, and can even immediately pinpoint the source of the radar, thereby exposing oneself.

In the original timeline, it's unbelievable that human warships relied on technologies such as infrasound waves, high-speed steel ball projectiles, radar scanning, etc. Lin Sen could only express his speechlessness: such ships are nothing but waste stacked with high-tech, they haven't even started to research space combat theory—it's like joking with the entire civilization.

2 hours later, the Waterdrop was 10 light seconds away from the federal fleet's large array group.

All warships in the First Array Group were the first to open fire, with over a thousand energy beams stabbing towards the Waterdrop like swords, attempting to obliterate it in one fell swoop.

The attack ranges of these energy beams were precisely calculated, not only blocking all possible escape paths for the Waterdrop but also ensuring that even if it could showcase the incredible sharp-angle turning ability once again, it couldn't escape the lethal strikes of the energy beams.

Each of these energy beams, with a diameter of 1.2 meters, resembled giant light sabers in the universe, carrying power enough to destroy anything and everything.

Under such a dense and powerful barrage of energy beams, the Waterdrop seemed to be placed in a desperate predicament with no chance of escape, with its destruction appearing to be a foregone conclusion.

However, at the moment when everyone thought the Waterdrop would disintegrate under the relentless bombardment of the energy beams, something unbelievable happened.

This time, the Waterdrop did not take any evasive action but charged directly into the downpour of energy beams.

This move undoubtedly stunned everyone, as they could not understand why the Waterdrop would perform such a seemingly suicidal act.

But in the next instant, the Waterdrop once again displayed its mysterious and formidable power. It emerged from the intense rain of energy beams seemingly unscathed, only its speed was somewhat reduced.

A close inspection of the Waterdrop's surface through the most advanced visible light observation system on the warships revealed no signs of damage; it remained a smooth mirror finish.

To note, this visible light observation system is capable of detecting a walnut-sized meteorite ten astronomical units away, yet even with such resolution, it could not detect any signs of damage on the Waterdrop, as if it was a merciless mocking of human technology.

"How is this possible, there is no material that can withstand such an attack," the military staff exclaimed in disbelief.

Modern military theory holds that in the space environment, offense greatly overwhelms defense.

In space, there are almost no covers, and the main guns of warships are akin to firing the energy of a nuclear blast in a directed manner.

With humanity's current knowledge, no material exists that can withstand the attack of the main cannon of a warship.

From the command center in the rear of the federal fleet, an order was transmitted, "First Array Group, combine all warships' telescopes into an array telescope and inspect the surface of The Waterdrop with the highest resolution."

Minutes later, all the data from the warships was aggregated at the command center, and the staff concluded in a lost voice:

"How is this possible?

"We have examined The Waterdrop's surface with angular microsecond-level resolution, and it's still a smooth mirror, without any scratches.

"Such resolution is enough to see the molecular layer of The Waterdrop, the vibrations of its surface molecules have vanished, and even humanity's most powerful weapons can't inflict any damage on it."

As they continued, increasingly filled with horror, "Absolutely smooth... there's only one kind of material!"

In astronomical observations, the unit of measure for resolution is arcsecond, and one degree contains 3,600 arcseconds, with one arcsecond being equal to one million micro arcseconds.

The Hubble Telescope, known as the most familiar telescope to humans, has a resolution that can reach 0.05 arcseconds. The telescope array of the First Array Group has a resolution 500,000 times greater than that.

More than two centuries ago, Arthur C. Clarke described in his science fiction novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" a black monolith left on the Moon by a supercivilization. The examiners measured the three sides of the monolith with an ordinary ruler, finding their lengths had a ratio of 1:3:9.

Likewise, no matter what more precise measurements were used later, exhausting the highest precision of Earth's measuring technology, the sides of the monolith retained the exact ratio of 1:3:9, without any errors.

Clarke wrote that this civilization arrogantly displayed its power in this way.

Now... humanity is facing an even more arrogant display of power.

Ye Chen's complexion involuntarily shifted:

"Is this... the gap between civilizations?

"Our military theory was wrong from the beginning. We have always considered attack as the foremost element of warfare, without realizing... it's actually defense.

"Array combat is the greatest mistake; humanity has grossly underestimated Trisolaris and will now pay the price for its arrogance!"

In an instant, everyone in the Human Fleet realized what The Waterdrop... was.

There was only one possibility: a material of strong interaction where the nuclei were tightly bound and immovably fixed to one another.

Humanity had speculated about Trisolaran technology for two centuries, which always seemed like ghosts in the mist, but in that moment, it finally lifted its veil of mystery, revealing itself in a way that caught everyone off guard.

The swiftly moving warships, advancing in column formation, resembled long dragons. Yet this formation was like a clear target, as if guided by the invisible hand of fate, step by step towards the abyss of destruction.

The speed of the warships was too fast, and the rigid formation, like hands and feet tied, didn't allow for even the slightest adjustment.

In the face of such a situation, The Waterdrop hardly needed to take any significant action— it merely needed to stand guard at one spot, like a farmer waiting for a hare.

Waiting for the Human Warships to ram it in sequence, The Waterdrop greeted the impending fate of the Human Warships—a string of fireworks continually exploding in the vacuum of space.

The Trisolarans' method of warfare seemed like a game of collecting coins.

The Human Fleet, like strings of coins plunging at high speeds,

While The Waterdrop, like a precise receiver, waited quietly at the bottom, effortlessly catching all the falling "coins."

Each violent explosion of the Human Warships was as pleasing to the ears as a symphony of crisp sounds when a coin is collected in a game.

PS: If traveling at eighth-thousandth of the speed of light, it would take at least 14 days, not seven, for a warship to travel from Jupiter Orbit to Neptune's orbit.

However, warships use different speeds for traveling and for combat, which is unlike what we might think. Speeds used for travel in space are generally faster.

In combat, due to many factors that need consideration, using very high speeds is not feasible. The distance between warships also cannot be too great—for example, if 200 warships were to line up, with a distance of 4,000 kilometers between each, it would take nearly three seconds for the signal to reach the furthest ship.

And certainly, the arrangement for interstellar combat would not be a straight line but rather a curved helix, so the delay in signals wouldn't be as significant.

Warships positioned too closely can also be problematic. At one-thousandth of the speed of light, 4,000 kilometers can be covered in just 1.6 seconds. Of course, warships usually travel in parallel, with a relative speed of zero, so unless there are drastic adjustments to the fleet's formation, there's generally no need to worry too much.