Universal Century technology
Encyclopedia
Universal Century
is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C. is often used instead in recent production like MS Igloo and Master Grade model instructions and official pages is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C....
timeline of the Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
metaseries. Although they are only fictional technologies, they form the basics of the Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of anime and is influencing real life academic research and different anime series.
History
The Universal Century technologies first debuted in Gundam Century, written by editors, academy and studios hired by OUT magazine at that time, later part of the book was endorsed by SunriseSunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
and Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
, and some of the authors of the articles within Gundam Century became official editors and writers of Gundam mechanics. A main part of the book surrounds the discussion on real-life technologies including space habitat
Space habitat
A space habitat is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility...
s and mass driver
Mass driver
A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds. All existing and contemplated mass drivers use coils of wire energized by electricity to make electromagnets. Sequential...
. Later, following the trend of militaristic and technological interest in the community, Gundam Sentinel
Gundam Sentinel
is a novel set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam universe, originally serialized in Model Graphix magazine between September 1987 and August 1988. Gundam Sentinel became a cult hit, due to its super-detailed mechanical designs and an intricate story by veteran writer Masaya Takahashi...
Special Edition included a section called imidam 0093 (Innovative Mobile Suit Information Dictionary, Annual Series, intentionally using an m at the end to reference Gundam), subtitled "Basic Knowledge of Gundam Mechanics". Written by mechanical designer Katoki Hajime, summarized both in- and out-of-universe technologies of the Universal Century, sourcing from Gundam Century, Gun Sight, VF-1 Valkyrie
VF-1 Valkyrie
This article is about a fictional vehicle; for the fighter squadron see VF-1.In the fictional Macross Japanese anime series and its English adaptation Robotech, the first mass-produced variable fighter or veritech fighter is called the VF-1 Valkyrie.-Background:The VF-1 was created by the...
, MS Graphical Guide 1~3, MSV Technical & History 1~3. Gundam Officials has collected this information and has presented it along with plot history and character summaries in an encyclopedic form, and MS Encyclopedia 2003 has a short technical summary of these technologies in its first section before going into the lists of mobile weapons
Mobile weapons
In the Gundam terminology, the terms normal suit and astrosuit are used to refer to normal astronaut spacesuits, so as to avoid confusion with mobile suits....
in different series, which earlier editions only have.
Cultural significance
Although fictional technologies seems to carry no real-life significance, these technologies are referred to in almost all of the series of Universal Century. They became a normal reference of the serial story and attracted publishers to publish books on. These technological settings have also since then impacted a lot of anime and manga to have their own technological background to a certain degree. Although this could be viewed as following the Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
trend, nothing similar has started before the 1981 publishing of Gundam Century. Bandai (with its branch Sunrise) noticed the tradition and has hired writers to write articles for other Gundam series, too. In the Cosmic Era timeline, one of the authors of Gundam Century articles (while still a high school student at that time), Shigeru Morita, who had become a regular employee of Bandai, was assigned to write these kind of technological articles, possibly a method used by the company to attract Universal Century techno fans to watch the new series. The series' technology is now serving as inspiration of the academic research in different fields, that could include moon settlements
Colonization of the Moon
The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth. Recent indication that water might be present in noteworthy...
and mega-particle cannon.
The latest robot technology in Japan is also influenced by Gundam, due to its fictional technologies being highly adapted from real world science, and the Universal Century technologies including space colonies and mobile suits are also viewed academically as to what they can do in real life.
Space colony
The space colony technology in Universal Century is referenced from the real world projects proposed by Gerard K. O'Neill.In the Universal Century
Universal Century
is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C. is often used instead in recent production like MS Igloo and Master Grade model instructions and official pages is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C....
(U.C.) timeline, space colonies are placed at the five Earth-Moon Lagrangian point
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
s. In most cases, a Lagrangian point is home to more than one group of space colonies. Individual colony pairs are known as Bunches, and a group of colonies that occupy a Lagrangian point are known collectively as a Side. Because Sides sometimes share a single Lagrangian point, it is possible to have two Sides in close orbit to one another. Most colonies in the Universal Century are O'Neill "Island 3" type colony cylinders, yet a few early built Bernal sphere
Bernal sphere
A Bernal sphere is a type of space habitat intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal....
(Island 1) and Stanford torus
Stanford torus
The Stanford torus is a proposed design for a space habitat capable of housing 10,000 to 140,000 permanent residents.The Stanford Torus was proposed during the 1975 NASA Summer Study, conducted at Stanford University, with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies...
colonies are still in function, but most are changed to space stations or discarded. Side 3's colonies are identical in size and shape to the Island 3 design, but doubled the habitable area by removing the large window strips of the Island 3.
Mobile suit technology
These techonologies are the basic reasoning for the Universal Century having mobile suits as the main battle units, replacing space fighters. This has influenced later series to include their own reasoning to rationalize the existence of humanoid fighting vehicles.AMBAC
One of the most famous rationale being used is the AMBAC system, it is referenced in various other series including MacrossMacross
is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...
. Within the Gundam series, the AMBAC system term is also used in Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Mobile Suit Gundam 00
is an anime TV series, the eleventh incarnation of Sunrise's long-running Gundam franchise consisting of two seasons. It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and features character designs by Yun Kōga. The twenty-five episode season was officially announced by Sunrise...
. Active Mass Balance Auto-Control (AMBAC) is a fundamental technology that allows for thrusterless manoeuvring in the zero-G environment of space by mobile suits by means of precise movement control of their limbs in the Gundam universe. AMBAC works by leveraging Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
's Third Law of Motion
Newton's laws of motion
Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between the forces acting on a body and its motion due to those forces...
(when there's an action there is an equal and opposite reaction) with regard to inertia
Inertia
Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. It is proportional to an object's mass. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to...
to effect changes in direction. Mobile suits performing AMBAC motions would presumably move similarly to present-day astronauts performing extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
: both typically having roughly similar body structure, their use of that mass to control their rotation would presumably be similar, even if calculated by different means. AMBAC is by its nature limited to re-orienting the unit about its center of mass, and is not a substitute for propulsion. It is often used in conjunction with the propulsion system to quickly turn the unit and shorten aiming speed as well as directing the main thrusters. The system is similar in principle to the momentum wheel
Momentum wheel
A reaction wheel is a type of flywheel used primarily by spacecraft for attitude control without using fuel for rockets or other reaction devices....
system used in present-day satellites, though obviously more complex and allows the centre of mass move outside of the unit.
Tail Binder and Wing Binder
Binders are technological instruments that provide extra control for the AMBAC systems. The idea is simple: "If four limbs can manoeuvre the unit better than none, why not equip them with 5 or more?" The resulting advancement is the tail binder.A cousin to the tail binder is the wing binder, equipped on most transformable mobile suits with waverider
Waverider
A waverider is a hypersonic aircraft design that improves its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio by using the shock waves being generated by its own flight as a lifting surface. To date the only aircraft to use the technique is the Mach 3 supersonic XB-70 Valkyrie, which was waverider-like with its...
mode as wings. The system made use of the wings' mobility for the transformation during mobile suit mode as AMBAC limbs and further increasing the number of limbs for the AMBAC system. The tail binder is also seen on later models of military aircraft and space fighters in U.C.0088, on the FF-08 Wyvern.
Minovsky physics
The Minovsky physics is the fundamental technological advancement in the Universal Century series, as all Beam weaponryParticle beam
A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles which may be directed by magnets and focused by electrostatic lenses, although they may also be self-focusing ....
, nuclear
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
technology and defensive measures
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
are based upon this fictional physics. According to the Gundam Century, MS encyclopedia 2003 and Gundam Officials, the Minovsky Physics all started from the invention of the then seemingly impossible idea of a nuclear fusion reactor that has a higher theoretical efficiency than classical physics, due to the Minovsky particle.
The Minovsky-Ionesco reactor was named after its fictional inventors, Dr. Y.T. Minovsky and Dr. Ionesco. This reactor was "radical" due to the fact that it was the first "clean" nuclear reactor, emitting zero neutron radiation. The nuclear equation was:
-
(energy released: 18.35 MeV)
This is essentially the same equation as used in classical physics, with the addition of the fictional Minovsky particle as a catalyst.
The Minovsky particle
According to the official guide of Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam Century and Gundam Officials, the Minovsky Physics Society, while working on the reactor, encountered a strange electromagneticElectromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space...
wave effect in U.C.0065 within the Minovsky-Ionesco reactor that could not be explained by conventional physics. Within the next few years, they identified the cause: a new elementary particle generated by the helium-3 reaction on the inner wall of the reactor, which was named the or "M" particle. The Minovsky particle has near-zero rest mass - though, like any particle, its mass increases to reflect its potential
Potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy stored in a body or in a system due to its position in a force field or due to its configuration. The SI unit of measure for energy and work is the Joule...
or kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
- and can carry either a positive or negative electrical charge. When scattered in open space or in the air, the repulsive forces between charged Minovsky particles cause them to spontaneously align into a regular cubic lattice structure called an I-field. An I-field lattice will slowly expand and scatter into space, however, after dense interference it will take approximately 29 days before the region can support normal electromagnetic communication again.
The main use of the Minovsky particle was in combat and communication. When the Minovsky particle is spread in large numbers in the open air or in open space, the particles disrupt low-frequency electromagnetic radiation, such as microwaves and radio waves. The Minovsky particle also interferes with the operations of electronic circuitry and destroys unprotected circuits due to the particles' high electrical charge which act like a continuous electromagnetic pulse
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
on metal objects. Because of the way Minovsky particles react with other types of radiation, radar systems and long-range wireless communication systems become useless, infra-red signals are defracted and their accuracy decreases, and visible light is fogged. This became known as the "Minovsky Effect".
The disruption of electromagnetic radiation is due to the small lattice of the I-field creating fringes that long wavelengths cannot penetrate, and that diffract wavelengths that have similar distance with the fringes. This diffraction
Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...
and polarization process disrupts the electromagnetic waves.
The only counter measure to the "M" particle in the series was to install bulky and expensive shielding on all electronic equipment, but only to counteract the effect it had on electronic circuitry. While this could be done for space ships and naval ships, this ruled out the use of precision guided weapons, such as guided missiles. Due to this, the military use of Minovsky particles ushered in a new era of close-range combat. This is the primary reason for the birth of the Zeon close-combat weapon: the mobile suit.
Minovsky ultracompact fusion reactor
According to the timeline deduced by the Gundam Officials, in UC 0071, Zeon researchers created the Minovsky ultracompact fusion reactor. Instead of the conventional magnetic field, this improved version of the Minovsky-Ionesco reactor used an I-field to confine and compress the reactor fuel, triggering a fusion reaction. The Minovsky particles produced as a byproduct of the helium-3 fusion reaction were recycled to keep that reaction going. The Minovsky particles that form the I-field lattice also helped catalyze the fusion reaction, in a process similar to the muon-catalyzed fusionMuon-catalyzed fusion
Muon-catalyzed fusion is a process allowing nuclear fusion to take place at temperatures significantly lower than the temperatures required for thermonuclear fusion, even at room temperature or lower...
investigated by real-world scientists during the 1950s. This super-efficient design was only a fifth as large as an equivalently powerful Minovsky-Ionesco reactor, for this reason it was adopted for use on mobile suits as the standard power plant.
Mega-particle cannon
The fictional weapons of the Universal Century was described to be utilizing the degeneracyDegenerate matter
Degenerate matter is matter that has such extraordinarily high density that the dominant contribution to its pressure is attributable to the Pauli exclusion principle. The pressure maintained by a body of degenerate matter is called the degeneracy pressure, and arises because the Pauli principle...
of the Minovsky Particle by compressing Minovsky particles in high pressure chambers and firing out the degenerated Minovsky particles (from the fusing of a positively charged and a negatively charged one) which carries high energy and mass from the degeneration of the matter.
Smaller versions of the mega particle cannon are presented in the series, the most famous being the Beam rifle used by the titular mobile suit RX-78 Gundam which utilize a technology called E-cap, the mobile suit does not need to spend lots of energy in compressing the minovsky particles, instead, most of the compression was done by the mother-ship and the mobile suit only need to provide minimum energy for triggering the final degenaration energy.
It should be noted that E-cap technology appears outside of UC continuity in MS Saga: A New Dawn.
Beam smart gun
According to Gundam Sentinel Special Edition, the beam smart gunSmartgun
A smartgun is a weapon fitted with a fire-control system. The defining feature of a smartgun is the ability to accurately convey where the weapon is aimed at , and, in the more advanced versions, to target itself within certain limitations set by the users...
is designed to bend the output beam by up to 20 degrees. In the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, Char Aznable
Char Aznable
, born is a fictional character from the Gundam franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in Mobile Suit Gundam and later becomes one of the protagonists of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. In his final appearance in Char's Counterattack, he assumes leadership of the Neo Zeon movement,...
commented that the way to avoid a beam rifle is to avoid it being pointed at you. As such, a gun that does not need to be pointed directly at the target is more dangerous.
Funnels
Funnels are essentially funnel-shaped drone units that are designed to be remotely controlled by a Newtype pilot. It is equipped with a small beam cannon, and an energy cell to propel the funnel when it is operating. A Newtype pilot is able to control these funnels with great precision via a psycommu system, allowing him/her to conduct BVR attacks on a target from almost all directions without having to establish visual contact, making a funnel-equipped mobile suit extremely deadly. When the funnels are not in use, they are attached to the mother suit's surface hardpoints for recharging. All Zeon funnel-equipped units have the ability to recharge funnels but the Earth Federation Forces is very slow in adopting the technology.Later variants include Funnel missiles that are guided missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
s using funnel-like remote control designs employed in the story Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash
Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash
Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash was a series of three Gundam novels written by Gundam-creator Yoshiyuki Tomino from February 1989 to May 1990. They chronicle the later life of Hathaway Noa, the son of Bright Noa, twelve years after the events of the second Neo Zeon movement as seen in Mobile...
.
Cultural influence
The new DACS (Divert & Attitude Control System) created by the Japan Self-Defense ForcesJapan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
in December, 2006 was quoted as an attempt to create funnel system in real life by Gizmodo Japan.
Newtypes and related technologies
The word Newtype first came into being when Zeon Zum DeikunZeon Zum Deikun
is a philosopher and politician in the fictional Gundam stories, in which he developed Contolism, which was both about Ere-ism and Side-ism . This philosophy was welcomed by Side 3 , which made him leader of the Side...
, the fictional character, founder of the space colony-based Principality of Zeon, created his philosophy: mankind was destined to leave the Earth for space, where they would evolve into a new stage of evolution, called the Newtype.
As Newtypes began to grow in numbers during and following the One Year War, the psycommu (psychic communicator) system was invented, which allowed these Newtypes to control wireless weapons known as bits and funnels, and even mobile suits, through thought alone. The device detects and amplifies the user's brainwaves, and sophisticated computer system enable the user to manipulate weapons by using his/her mind.
The Psycoframe is a later technology that builds the psycommu into the nanomachines within the metal frame of a mobile suit. This allows a Newtype pilot to control the mobile suit as if it were his/her own body.
Other Newtype technologies are the Bio-Sensor system, the Quasi-psycommu system, the Neo-psycommu system, the Bio-computer, the EXAM System and the Angel Halo fortress.
External links
- http://www.mahq.net/ has the line art of the weapons for most of the Mobile Suits.