Power Rangers
BulletHead
Join Date: 2004-07-22 Member: 30049Members
Join Date: 2004-07-22 Member: 30049Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">WARNING- Long Read</div> Wow, this is actually quite an interesting read
This is made by the man in charge of creating the Rangers and Zoids for the FIRST power rangers movie!
This may only interest those of you who like Physics / Adv MetaPhysical Theorys
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Ranger Morph
"Ranger technology" is one of the oldest technical defence technologies and was developed soon after the invention of the Primary Field. To understand this we have to go waaaaay back in time.
The development of the XLPFE Barrier
In the beginning there were Rockets.
Then someone decided that they wasted a lot of energy, and that there must be a better way to defeat gravity. They came up with the Fluid Gravatron. This device was basically a huge spinning wheel or drum (like a flywheel) filled with chambers and a very high speed pump in the middle. As the wheel rotates, water (or some other heavy fluid) is allowed to pool on the outside of the drum due to centripetal force. Normally the action equals the reaction, and we just get a useless whirlpool.
But in a Fluid Gravatron, a pump removes the water from one end of the wheel, through the hub, and deposits it 180 degrees onto the other side of the wheel in less time than it would take for the water to itself make the journey on the outside of the drum. The time difference is known as the Mass Differential, and is the basis for the modern (ancient) flying saucer spacecraft. The higher this differential the greater is the force exerted on the shaft of the wheel in whatever direction the water exists on the outside of the drum (i.e. the heavier side). If this force is positioned to be against gravity and is sufficient to equal that of the force produced by gravity on the machine's (and it's prospective payload's) own mass, then the machine and payload becomes weightless.. hence "Fluid Gravatron". When built into a "flying saucer", a fluid gravatron operates very similarly to a conventional helicopter in practice and has the same ability except it can travel anywhere in space. And at incredible speeds. But enough ancient history.
A considerable time later, and long after fluid gravatrons had been pretty much perfected and were in extensive use (as they still are!!), research teams began to work on precise physical and dimensional modelling of the fluid gravatron at a molecular level, in the hope that it may enable further refinements. What they found however is that it was possible to not only model it but completely replace it - i.e. the physical effect could be mimicked merely by the simulation as a definition of a point in space - and there was no need to actually build the machine at all. The effect could be created merely by modulation of matter to mimic the actions of the machine rather than having to actually move the matter in reality.
And so invented was the Electronic Gravatron (EGG). When activated, it simply appeared as an almost clear sphere of energy - a force field - the centre of which was based at the coordinates given. The size of the sphere itself could also be altered. The system was totally balanced and needed very little energy to work - less than 100 watts can very easily provide mega newtons of force in any direction. It revolutionised everything, and created the basis for just about every "anti gravity" technology we see today. The only snag (as far as actual speed of space travel was concerned) was that for physics reasons the "electronic gravatron" field could not exert force in space if it itself is travelling more than twice the speed of light. - unlike it's much earlier mechanical cousin which can continue to provide thrust at blinding speeds. Anyway back to Rangers..
The first "EGGS" consisted of nothing more than spherical chambers in which a field would be materialised, and the chamber bolted to the structure of a craft and used as it's "engine". Soon it was discovered that it was possible to enclose a craft WITHIN the EGG, in which case the advantage was that the contents inside were totally protected from inertial forces, in fact - protected against almost anything. Any force (and most energy) directed towards the sphere from outside was reflected in the OPPOSITE direction of the initial force, i.e. it was REFLECTED by the field, not TRANSMITTED through it as would be the case with regular matter. So invented was the traditional "Force Field" - i.e. simply an EGG materialised around the OUTSIDE of a craft instead of INSIDE it. The field nowadays is known as a "Primary Field". Its natural shape is always a sphere of variable diameter.
It was very boring to build everyone's craft in the shape of a sphere so it wasn't long until ways were found to alter the shape of the field. This was done simply by using other fields with coordinates very close to - but not the same as - the main field. These other fields are "secondary fields" and there is a whole world of mathematics which are used to define the shape, size and effect, etc.
Problem is that as soon as this was done, one advantage of the original EGG was compromised - that of it's incredible power efficiency. Use of secondary fields to bend a primary field into the non symmetrical shape of, say, a small space craft required considerable power. For example to create a shaped primary field around a car (as opposed to an unshaped sperical one) would take almost 100kW, instead of the 100w of the pure sphere model. Still, 100kW is nothing to most craft engineers who were still used to dealing with fluid gravatron machines (which sapped up megawatts), so nobody complained, they just worked ways around the problem by installing bigger power supplies! Such systems were called "unbalanced primary fields" and nowadays are rarely used for propulsion rather they are used mostly for defence.
And the worlds were a good and happy place. That is until somebody decided that they wanted to form a force field around THEMSELVES.
Now the research teams had a new challenge. How would it be possible to form a PF around a human being - allowing full movement - and yet still providing all the benefits such a field could provide in terms of defence and agility to move? The power alone required would be huge, and the computing power massive - required to not only match - but anticipate a person's movements so that the field could be altered BEFORE they actually moved! It was all too hard and years were spent pulling hair out and using up to ten million secondary fields to try and alter one primary field to match the shape of a human, and allow it to move.
Eventually it was (of course) a rather young student who suggested the idea of doing away with the primary field altogether, and instead simply use billions of the secondary fields (i.e. primary fields so small that they were only several thousand atoms wide) all "tied together" in some sort of "fabric" which the human could wear. And so were the very beginnings of the first Power Ranger!
It was discovered that by building a fabric of these fields - each one defined as a fixed distance from the next, and by reversing the polarity of each consecutive field in the two dimensional plane, it was possible to create a virtually impregnable yet totally flexible and wearable barrier which could easily be placed on someone as clothing and be "self defining", i.e. as long as the fabric itself formed a closed system (much the same as the original sphere) it could move wherever it's contents moved - and yet have all the defence benefits as if the wearer was wearing a primary field that had been "wrapped" around their body. The real payoff came in the power consumption. Because the system remained balanced, it consumes very little power - much the same as a single field would consume. The problems of powering our Ranger had also now been solved, and the only problem remaining was what to do with the bloated team of senior physicists on million dollar grants, who had just been totally upstaged by one of their third year students who had single handedly succeeded in what they had failed to do for over 30 years.
The resulting invention became known as the "Cross Linked Poly Field Exofabric", or XLPFE Barrier - the precursor to the modern day Power Ranger Suit - and was aptly demonstrated by it's inventor (it is said) at a University dinner where said physicists had gathered to toast their continued big headedness. There wasn't much left of the venue, and the papers the next day were quick to print large, ominous and mysterious photos of the "Mysterious Power Ranger from the Kitchen Cupboard" covered in a totally grey suit and having no trouble smashing himself through most of the heritage listed building's supporting structure in an almost uncontrollable display.
The development of the Morph
The XLPFE (and it's more recent cousin, M2A) suit is not, in itself, a "morph". It is merely a physical, wearable and extremely hard force field, which can also act as a force motor to propel (or repel) the occupant of the suit. By the nature of it's construction there was never any reason to "put it on" or wear it, as it is always formed around the body of the wearer by electronic means. Early versions were powered by a radiated energy field usually consisting of Posanten particles - a transmission technology used at the time to enable high power, focused transmissions over the electromagnetic spectrum safely.
One of the early challenges in developing XLPFE was to design a system that could accurately define in space the position of every point of the wearer's exterior frame before the suit was materialised around them. To solve this they worked on defining a well known phenomenon called "living entity aura", or put simply the faint energy aura that exists around the outside to any living being. The theory was that this "aura" could itself be used to help define the frame position. The idea came from a parallel technology that was being worked on at the same time - teleportation.
Long the stuff of dreams, by this time Teleportation had finally reached it's early stages of actually working however there was a sticky problem - no living being had ever successfully been "teleported", i.e. a teleport would kill any living thing that was relocated as part of the process. Known as "Type 1 Teleportation", this system used a complex series of computer processes and field generations to "slice up" the molecular construction of matter, define it as a pattern, and reconstruct it elsewhere. Type 1 technology was fairly advanced at that stage - it was being used for transport of freight over short and medium haul (the idea of a "freighter" had all but disappeared) and also was being used to create ordered matter constructs in it's own right from nothing other than pure energy - a process known as "rezzing". It was only a matter (sic) of time until our Ranger team (as it had become known by now) began to experiment with this technology and find ways in which it could be used to enhance the Ranger experience.
Just to explain further. Teleportation today comes in one of four technologies or forms. They are;
Type 1 : The disassembly and reassembly of matter using energy conversion, developed in the early days. Cannot transport living matter.
Type 2 : The transport of a complete living being through six dim (six dimensional) space. Commonly known as "thought teleport", this method was for a long time widely practiced by mystics, magicians and ninja masters. It is purely a physical / mental event and need not involve any more than use of a subject's brain functions.. and a lot of experience / practice. It uses very little energy and in every way is considered as "part of our universe", with many of God's beings being endowed with it much like birds are endowed with the skill to fly through the air.
Problem with Type 2 is that it is very slow and distance based. The basic formula everyone remembers is "millisecond to the mile", i.e. if a person teleported using type 2 over 100 miles it would take them around 100mS to do it. That's fine for terrestrial travel, but once you start playing with the emptiness of space those milliseconds quickly turn into hours - and it can be virtually impossible to maintain concentration over Type 2 teleport lasting any longer than 1 second. More recently it has been refined by inclusion of complex technical systems for navigation.
The limitations of Type 2 are many and well known and it is generally limited to species designed for and capable of doing it. Humans can be taught to teleport however it is definitely not a normal function for them, and less than 1% of any human population would ever be able to perfect it beyond teleporting themselves a few feet or into the adjacent room.
Type 3 : DAT (Data Adjacent Time) teleport. This system is a more recent development capable of moving living entities in space in zero time, using six dim mechanics. As it stands it is useless for teleport of matter - it can only move what is essentially a thought entity or "life force", not the body itself. Again it is quite energy efficient but it requires an almost impossibly huge amount of computer speed and power to perform, and the theories behind it remained theories for many thousands of years before equipment of sufficient power were developed to perform the mathematical calculations needed to make it work in "zero time" (the physical equivalent in time to "absolute zero" in temperature / movement of atomic structure in space). DAT is extremely, extremely complicated, and is probably the epitome of a physicists' dreams to understand. Certainly no one person could ever understand it in it's entirety. You could fill a room with engineers each having a specialist area in the science but still not be able to understand it.
Type 4 : More commonly known as "Flash" teleportation. This (as you can imagine) is basically a combination of Type 1 and Type 3 above. The Type 1 moves the matter, the Type 3 moves the life force, and getting them to talk to each other and operate both at the same time makes understanding Type 3 (on its own) look like a Sunday afternoon picnic.
Flash teleportation is a relatively recent (i.e. less than 100 years) development and equipment capable of performing it has only been on the market for the past 50 years or so. As imagined it pretty much has all the advantages that everyone has been looking for since the search started for a workable teleporting system. It can teleport any item, living or otherwise, anywhere (and I mean ANYWHERE, anywhere a communications link can be established in any dimension), in a fixed time of less than 3mSec.
Problem is it uses unimaginable (and until recently, ungenerateable) power levels, and unbelievably complex equipment to make it work. Until very recently this equipment filled whole pavilions. However now that the technology has finally come of age the art of miniaturisation is seeing Flash Teleportation implemented almost everywhere, using equipment small enough to house in the palm of a hand - or for that matter, a power morpher.
As with all issues involving teleportation one of the biggest challenges is not the teleport itself, but controlling it - i.e. source and destination.
Anyway back to our Ranger Morph.
For historical purposes we can broadly group all Rangers into one of the following categories;
1.) Vintage Power Ranger.
These were the first "experimental" projects and were never really designed as anything more than demonstrators. They were rarely used (if ever) in combat, as at this stage there were no villains which demanded this approach. Most used only XLPFE technology and did not go as far as incorporating Type 1 Teleport. There was no "mutual understanding" function.
2.) Classic Power Ranger.
A vast majority of Ranger teams (past and present) fall into this category. Basically XLPFE + Type 1 Teleport. Contrary to the classification here, no "Classic Ranger" can actually teleport themselves from one point to another. The teleport technology is used in creating the Ranger Morph (as described below), not as a transport device. Examples include just about any Ranger team that does not teleport such as the Masked Rider or the PR Light Speed Rescue set. They also include various levels of "Mutual Understanding" - a Six Dim function necessary for advanced control of both Ranger attack and Zord operation.
3.) Modified Classic Ranger.
Quite a few "classics" have been modified to include full teleport facilities over the years. An example is Zordon's Dino set. They are Classic rangers underneath (very old ones at that) however by adding some relatively modern "command centre" technology, they have been given powers far exceeding their original design. One of these is the ability to move about using Flash (Type 4) Teleportation. The technology is all "Centrally based" meaning that if the central base is damaged or destroyed, so are the Rangers. It's a very maintenance and engineering heavy method to run a Ranger team, but against certain villains (equally as old) - it's a winner every time.
4.) Ninja Ranger.
The Ninja Ranger occupies a class of it's own not because it necessarily employs different technology, but in most cases the development took place "remote" and very separated to that of other teams and projects - often carried out by very advanced races with otherwise limited technological background. Ninja teams were the first to incorporate true Six Dim Mechanics into their abilities and this was done specifically to combat the villains that these Rangers were fighting who were usually equally as intelligent and challenging - totally opposite to those being worn down by the classic rangers in other far flung parts of the galaxy. Thought process (Dim 5) is a key element in Ninja Ranger operation, and there is a far greater emphasis on control than in other Ranger incarnations. Having the right subject is crucial in this Ranger type, and potential subjects can train for years beforehand. Ninja Ranger teams tend to be older than others both in subject age and project age. Moving around is usually done using Type 2 Teleport - yet another reason why mind control and mental ability is crucial. Centrally controlled facilities such as a "commend centre" are rare in this type.
5.) "New Generation" Ranger.
As with all things "new" it's a bit difficult to pinpoint an exact time in history when development of the current "new generation" Rangers started. Basically these Ranger teams are characterised by a new combined effort between many previously autonomous and distant Meledon research teams to come up with ways of solving some of the long standing problems that have plagued the Classic and Ninja forms. The result has been that 'Ranger technology" now operates more as a "market" than a bureaucracy or religion, and qualifying Ranger mentors can literally "buy off the shelf" brand new Ranger team packages. The difference between "New generation" and the previous forms are characterised by;
a.) Totally self contained Ranger form - no need for any external power source or control, although both are still able to be used. And integrated into the design if needed. Destruction of any "command centre" will not result in the Ranger powers being destroyed;
b.) Clever use of the latest "Flash Teleportation" technology to give Rangers many functions previously impossible, amongst them very advanced movement and teleportation techniques including the now famous "TeleJump", which needs no training of the Ranger to use, and no coordinate calculations.
c.) Very easy set up, with advanced Mutual Understanding functions.
d.) Totally flexible appearance - Ranger forms can be changed, modified and redesigned at will, even away from the traditional "figure hugging" XLPFE suit design. Invisibility (of both the entire ranger and / or just the XLPFE Suit or parts of it) is now a possibility and regularly in use, known as "Standby Mode".
e.) Advanced Six Dim Mechanics and Multi Dim Mechanics abilities to match that of the latest illusionary technology being used by more and more villains.
A good example of a "New Generation" team is the recently released Storm set.
So lets look first at our Classic Power Ranger Technology. An old formula once read:
XLPFE + TYPE 1 = Power Ranger
Basically it was the marriage of these two technologies which led to the Classic power Ranger. The XLPFE Suit was the defence and powering "engine", and all of the amazing things the Rangers can do are the result of very clever use of Type 1 Teleportation.
Type 1 (you will remember) can only be used for inanimate objects. Well that's not quite true.. Type 1 should more aptly be named "Matter Converter". It can take existing matter and modify it into something similar but different WITHOUT moving it. And this is the essence of the Ranger Morph, and why a Power Ranger is oh SOO much more than just a guy in a field suit.
The first experiments on living terrans to deliberately alter their bodies with Type 1 began long before XLPFE was thought about. But the development of the Ranger Suit meant that there were new found ways to define the position and ability of the human body. It wasn't long until various less - popular "quacky" engineers began to wonder what would happen to humans if their insides were surgically - deliberately - altered using Type 1 to generate a vastly superior being in strength and resilience.
They began with skeleton and frame. While the existing terran frame was already very strong and robust the first Ranger "morphs" were functions to alter, or in some cases even completely replace the skeleton of the affected Ranger under their XLPFE suit. This resulted in amazing abilities and was a forerunner of things to come.
The "Vintage Ranger" was developed using these technical methods over a period of about 30 years. The result was the classic Ranger "Morph", where in addition to the formation of the XLPFE fields around the Ranger, the subjects' body was radically altered using Type 1 Teleportation to create an amazingly agile and powerful biological machine within a living being. Systems were developed to feed additional energy into the "machine", such that eventually the body's own energy system became miniscule in comparison and stands all but deactivated in our Classic ranger.
When you think about it, the possibilities were endless.. and extremely dangerous. Dozens of early Rangers lost their lives as this immature technology began to be pushed to its limits. The most dangerous of all risks was the dreaded "forced release", where for some reason during a "power down" sequence (i.e. the return of the morphed ranger from their altered state back to their previous state) sections of the Rangers' body remained morphed while others did not. This often happened in combat as power systems failed, and the early mortality rate amongst Rangers was sickening - as were the results of post mortems.
The most common cause of death was asphyxiation caused by the inability of the body's own breathing and circulatory systems to restart when the various matter constructs within their body either changed back out of sequence or just didn't change back at all, leaving clumps of steel (etc) in the way of various otherwise vital organs inside. Other reports tell of Rangers suffering from complete loss of their entire skin as the XLPFE field broke down, dying an agonizing death hours later with their distraught team mates powerless to do anything other than scream in agony and say goodbye to their friend as he lay dying in the name of Rangerdom.
No doubt about it.. a Ranger Morph was (and still is) probably the most dangerous and drastic thing that can happen to a biological being. However today the chance of survival is greatly increased by a huge number of safeguards and interlocks between the various systems to ensure that in the event of a forced release the Ranger returns to something resembling a living being instead of mince meat.
Upon activation of their morpher, the Classic ranger undergoes the following changes in a process that takes about 3 seconds. A controlled release is the reverse of this process.
1.) The field system begins to ionise the atmosphere around the subject and establishes the location of the "life force aura". This data is logged by the XLPFE system;
2.) Any clothing or long hair on the Ranger's body is teleported off them using Type 1 and a "snapshot" of the condition is stored. The methods vary, some store the matter within the morpher, others send it back to a command centre. Most Ranger teams don't wear clothes at all when they morph, meaning for many classic rangers this step is skipped;
3.) The XLPFE Construct is materialised around the body. It is ALWAYS a completely enclosed structure. No part of the body must be left uncovered by the field otherwise the balance is not preserved and a forced release will result.
4.) The T1 systems get to work. The machinery to do this is almost always located in the morpher but (until recently) powered externally. They convert the Ranger's body materials into it's designed morphed form, leaving the active "life force" within it untouched and unmoved. The Ranger is almost always temporarily unconscious while this happens.
5.) The Ranger's life support is established. Systems to support the Ranger's need for nutrients and energy aswell as waste removal from the blood stream etc are materialised within the body, in some cases taking the place of existing organs and powered by the Ranger system.
6.) The morph enters it's final phase - the test phase - where each independent system is matched and linked together to the control system, and consciousness is re-established.
7.) The morph is complete, and the ionised aura releases. Voila, Power Ranger.
In an uncontrolled or "forced" release these steps are not carried out in reverse order. Usually the XLPFE field collapses before the T1 system gets a chance to change the Ranger's innards back to normal. With the position reference lost (i.e. the XLPFE suit), the T1 controls have virtually no chance of ensuring the various organs and parts are removed / replaced from the right spots. Even a few micrometres off location is enough to kill a Ranger instantly. In some cases sections are not changed back at all, and in others even worse happens - two matter constructs literally materialise on top of each other.
One important aspect regarding Rangers is that by definition of the physical laws surrounding primary fields, there must not be any physical matter between the XLPFE frame and anything the Ranger is coming into contact with -otherwise the system cannot accurately determine and pass onto the Ranger the "sense of touch". Also the ability of the field to repel / reflect any blow (either someone / something hitting them, or them hitting something else) is greatly diminished.
This is the reason why Rangers never - EVER - should place matters of clothing (etc) on their morphed form, and you very rarely see such foolishness and never in battle. The XLPFE suit must remain in constant and permanent contact with the entire Ranger's external "life aura", otherwise the thousands of internal operating systems will lose their positioning reference - usually with catastrophic results.
END OF PART 1
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is made by the man in charge of creating the Rangers and Zoids for the FIRST power rangers movie!
This may only interest those of you who like Physics / Adv MetaPhysical Theorys
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Ranger Morph
"Ranger technology" is one of the oldest technical defence technologies and was developed soon after the invention of the Primary Field. To understand this we have to go waaaaay back in time.
The development of the XLPFE Barrier
In the beginning there were Rockets.
Then someone decided that they wasted a lot of energy, and that there must be a better way to defeat gravity. They came up with the Fluid Gravatron. This device was basically a huge spinning wheel or drum (like a flywheel) filled with chambers and a very high speed pump in the middle. As the wheel rotates, water (or some other heavy fluid) is allowed to pool on the outside of the drum due to centripetal force. Normally the action equals the reaction, and we just get a useless whirlpool.
But in a Fluid Gravatron, a pump removes the water from one end of the wheel, through the hub, and deposits it 180 degrees onto the other side of the wheel in less time than it would take for the water to itself make the journey on the outside of the drum. The time difference is known as the Mass Differential, and is the basis for the modern (ancient) flying saucer spacecraft. The higher this differential the greater is the force exerted on the shaft of the wheel in whatever direction the water exists on the outside of the drum (i.e. the heavier side). If this force is positioned to be against gravity and is sufficient to equal that of the force produced by gravity on the machine's (and it's prospective payload's) own mass, then the machine and payload becomes weightless.. hence "Fluid Gravatron". When built into a "flying saucer", a fluid gravatron operates very similarly to a conventional helicopter in practice and has the same ability except it can travel anywhere in space. And at incredible speeds. But enough ancient history.
A considerable time later, and long after fluid gravatrons had been pretty much perfected and were in extensive use (as they still are!!), research teams began to work on precise physical and dimensional modelling of the fluid gravatron at a molecular level, in the hope that it may enable further refinements. What they found however is that it was possible to not only model it but completely replace it - i.e. the physical effect could be mimicked merely by the simulation as a definition of a point in space - and there was no need to actually build the machine at all. The effect could be created merely by modulation of matter to mimic the actions of the machine rather than having to actually move the matter in reality.
And so invented was the Electronic Gravatron (EGG). When activated, it simply appeared as an almost clear sphere of energy - a force field - the centre of which was based at the coordinates given. The size of the sphere itself could also be altered. The system was totally balanced and needed very little energy to work - less than 100 watts can very easily provide mega newtons of force in any direction. It revolutionised everything, and created the basis for just about every "anti gravity" technology we see today. The only snag (as far as actual speed of space travel was concerned) was that for physics reasons the "electronic gravatron" field could not exert force in space if it itself is travelling more than twice the speed of light. - unlike it's much earlier mechanical cousin which can continue to provide thrust at blinding speeds. Anyway back to Rangers..
The first "EGGS" consisted of nothing more than spherical chambers in which a field would be materialised, and the chamber bolted to the structure of a craft and used as it's "engine". Soon it was discovered that it was possible to enclose a craft WITHIN the EGG, in which case the advantage was that the contents inside were totally protected from inertial forces, in fact - protected against almost anything. Any force (and most energy) directed towards the sphere from outside was reflected in the OPPOSITE direction of the initial force, i.e. it was REFLECTED by the field, not TRANSMITTED through it as would be the case with regular matter. So invented was the traditional "Force Field" - i.e. simply an EGG materialised around the OUTSIDE of a craft instead of INSIDE it. The field nowadays is known as a "Primary Field". Its natural shape is always a sphere of variable diameter.
It was very boring to build everyone's craft in the shape of a sphere so it wasn't long until ways were found to alter the shape of the field. This was done simply by using other fields with coordinates very close to - but not the same as - the main field. These other fields are "secondary fields" and there is a whole world of mathematics which are used to define the shape, size and effect, etc.
Problem is that as soon as this was done, one advantage of the original EGG was compromised - that of it's incredible power efficiency. Use of secondary fields to bend a primary field into the non symmetrical shape of, say, a small space craft required considerable power. For example to create a shaped primary field around a car (as opposed to an unshaped sperical one) would take almost 100kW, instead of the 100w of the pure sphere model. Still, 100kW is nothing to most craft engineers who were still used to dealing with fluid gravatron machines (which sapped up megawatts), so nobody complained, they just worked ways around the problem by installing bigger power supplies! Such systems were called "unbalanced primary fields" and nowadays are rarely used for propulsion rather they are used mostly for defence.
And the worlds were a good and happy place. That is until somebody decided that they wanted to form a force field around THEMSELVES.
Now the research teams had a new challenge. How would it be possible to form a PF around a human being - allowing full movement - and yet still providing all the benefits such a field could provide in terms of defence and agility to move? The power alone required would be huge, and the computing power massive - required to not only match - but anticipate a person's movements so that the field could be altered BEFORE they actually moved! It was all too hard and years were spent pulling hair out and using up to ten million secondary fields to try and alter one primary field to match the shape of a human, and allow it to move.
Eventually it was (of course) a rather young student who suggested the idea of doing away with the primary field altogether, and instead simply use billions of the secondary fields (i.e. primary fields so small that they were only several thousand atoms wide) all "tied together" in some sort of "fabric" which the human could wear. And so were the very beginnings of the first Power Ranger!
It was discovered that by building a fabric of these fields - each one defined as a fixed distance from the next, and by reversing the polarity of each consecutive field in the two dimensional plane, it was possible to create a virtually impregnable yet totally flexible and wearable barrier which could easily be placed on someone as clothing and be "self defining", i.e. as long as the fabric itself formed a closed system (much the same as the original sphere) it could move wherever it's contents moved - and yet have all the defence benefits as if the wearer was wearing a primary field that had been "wrapped" around their body. The real payoff came in the power consumption. Because the system remained balanced, it consumes very little power - much the same as a single field would consume. The problems of powering our Ranger had also now been solved, and the only problem remaining was what to do with the bloated team of senior physicists on million dollar grants, who had just been totally upstaged by one of their third year students who had single handedly succeeded in what they had failed to do for over 30 years.
The resulting invention became known as the "Cross Linked Poly Field Exofabric", or XLPFE Barrier - the precursor to the modern day Power Ranger Suit - and was aptly demonstrated by it's inventor (it is said) at a University dinner where said physicists had gathered to toast their continued big headedness. There wasn't much left of the venue, and the papers the next day were quick to print large, ominous and mysterious photos of the "Mysterious Power Ranger from the Kitchen Cupboard" covered in a totally grey suit and having no trouble smashing himself through most of the heritage listed building's supporting structure in an almost uncontrollable display.
The development of the Morph
The XLPFE (and it's more recent cousin, M2A) suit is not, in itself, a "morph". It is merely a physical, wearable and extremely hard force field, which can also act as a force motor to propel (or repel) the occupant of the suit. By the nature of it's construction there was never any reason to "put it on" or wear it, as it is always formed around the body of the wearer by electronic means. Early versions were powered by a radiated energy field usually consisting of Posanten particles - a transmission technology used at the time to enable high power, focused transmissions over the electromagnetic spectrum safely.
One of the early challenges in developing XLPFE was to design a system that could accurately define in space the position of every point of the wearer's exterior frame before the suit was materialised around them. To solve this they worked on defining a well known phenomenon called "living entity aura", or put simply the faint energy aura that exists around the outside to any living being. The theory was that this "aura" could itself be used to help define the frame position. The idea came from a parallel technology that was being worked on at the same time - teleportation.
Long the stuff of dreams, by this time Teleportation had finally reached it's early stages of actually working however there was a sticky problem - no living being had ever successfully been "teleported", i.e. a teleport would kill any living thing that was relocated as part of the process. Known as "Type 1 Teleportation", this system used a complex series of computer processes and field generations to "slice up" the molecular construction of matter, define it as a pattern, and reconstruct it elsewhere. Type 1 technology was fairly advanced at that stage - it was being used for transport of freight over short and medium haul (the idea of a "freighter" had all but disappeared) and also was being used to create ordered matter constructs in it's own right from nothing other than pure energy - a process known as "rezzing". It was only a matter (sic) of time until our Ranger team (as it had become known by now) began to experiment with this technology and find ways in which it could be used to enhance the Ranger experience.
Just to explain further. Teleportation today comes in one of four technologies or forms. They are;
Type 1 : The disassembly and reassembly of matter using energy conversion, developed in the early days. Cannot transport living matter.
Type 2 : The transport of a complete living being through six dim (six dimensional) space. Commonly known as "thought teleport", this method was for a long time widely practiced by mystics, magicians and ninja masters. It is purely a physical / mental event and need not involve any more than use of a subject's brain functions.. and a lot of experience / practice. It uses very little energy and in every way is considered as "part of our universe", with many of God's beings being endowed with it much like birds are endowed with the skill to fly through the air.
Problem with Type 2 is that it is very slow and distance based. The basic formula everyone remembers is "millisecond to the mile", i.e. if a person teleported using type 2 over 100 miles it would take them around 100mS to do it. That's fine for terrestrial travel, but once you start playing with the emptiness of space those milliseconds quickly turn into hours - and it can be virtually impossible to maintain concentration over Type 2 teleport lasting any longer than 1 second. More recently it has been refined by inclusion of complex technical systems for navigation.
The limitations of Type 2 are many and well known and it is generally limited to species designed for and capable of doing it. Humans can be taught to teleport however it is definitely not a normal function for them, and less than 1% of any human population would ever be able to perfect it beyond teleporting themselves a few feet or into the adjacent room.
Type 3 : DAT (Data Adjacent Time) teleport. This system is a more recent development capable of moving living entities in space in zero time, using six dim mechanics. As it stands it is useless for teleport of matter - it can only move what is essentially a thought entity or "life force", not the body itself. Again it is quite energy efficient but it requires an almost impossibly huge amount of computer speed and power to perform, and the theories behind it remained theories for many thousands of years before equipment of sufficient power were developed to perform the mathematical calculations needed to make it work in "zero time" (the physical equivalent in time to "absolute zero" in temperature / movement of atomic structure in space). DAT is extremely, extremely complicated, and is probably the epitome of a physicists' dreams to understand. Certainly no one person could ever understand it in it's entirety. You could fill a room with engineers each having a specialist area in the science but still not be able to understand it.
Type 4 : More commonly known as "Flash" teleportation. This (as you can imagine) is basically a combination of Type 1 and Type 3 above. The Type 1 moves the matter, the Type 3 moves the life force, and getting them to talk to each other and operate both at the same time makes understanding Type 3 (on its own) look like a Sunday afternoon picnic.
Flash teleportation is a relatively recent (i.e. less than 100 years) development and equipment capable of performing it has only been on the market for the past 50 years or so. As imagined it pretty much has all the advantages that everyone has been looking for since the search started for a workable teleporting system. It can teleport any item, living or otherwise, anywhere (and I mean ANYWHERE, anywhere a communications link can be established in any dimension), in a fixed time of less than 3mSec.
Problem is it uses unimaginable (and until recently, ungenerateable) power levels, and unbelievably complex equipment to make it work. Until very recently this equipment filled whole pavilions. However now that the technology has finally come of age the art of miniaturisation is seeing Flash Teleportation implemented almost everywhere, using equipment small enough to house in the palm of a hand - or for that matter, a power morpher.
As with all issues involving teleportation one of the biggest challenges is not the teleport itself, but controlling it - i.e. source and destination.
Anyway back to our Ranger Morph.
For historical purposes we can broadly group all Rangers into one of the following categories;
1.) Vintage Power Ranger.
These were the first "experimental" projects and were never really designed as anything more than demonstrators. They were rarely used (if ever) in combat, as at this stage there were no villains which demanded this approach. Most used only XLPFE technology and did not go as far as incorporating Type 1 Teleport. There was no "mutual understanding" function.
2.) Classic Power Ranger.
A vast majority of Ranger teams (past and present) fall into this category. Basically XLPFE + Type 1 Teleport. Contrary to the classification here, no "Classic Ranger" can actually teleport themselves from one point to another. The teleport technology is used in creating the Ranger Morph (as described below), not as a transport device. Examples include just about any Ranger team that does not teleport such as the Masked Rider or the PR Light Speed Rescue set. They also include various levels of "Mutual Understanding" - a Six Dim function necessary for advanced control of both Ranger attack and Zord operation.
3.) Modified Classic Ranger.
Quite a few "classics" have been modified to include full teleport facilities over the years. An example is Zordon's Dino set. They are Classic rangers underneath (very old ones at that) however by adding some relatively modern "command centre" technology, they have been given powers far exceeding their original design. One of these is the ability to move about using Flash (Type 4) Teleportation. The technology is all "Centrally based" meaning that if the central base is damaged or destroyed, so are the Rangers. It's a very maintenance and engineering heavy method to run a Ranger team, but against certain villains (equally as old) - it's a winner every time.
4.) Ninja Ranger.
The Ninja Ranger occupies a class of it's own not because it necessarily employs different technology, but in most cases the development took place "remote" and very separated to that of other teams and projects - often carried out by very advanced races with otherwise limited technological background. Ninja teams were the first to incorporate true Six Dim Mechanics into their abilities and this was done specifically to combat the villains that these Rangers were fighting who were usually equally as intelligent and challenging - totally opposite to those being worn down by the classic rangers in other far flung parts of the galaxy. Thought process (Dim 5) is a key element in Ninja Ranger operation, and there is a far greater emphasis on control than in other Ranger incarnations. Having the right subject is crucial in this Ranger type, and potential subjects can train for years beforehand. Ninja Ranger teams tend to be older than others both in subject age and project age. Moving around is usually done using Type 2 Teleport - yet another reason why mind control and mental ability is crucial. Centrally controlled facilities such as a "commend centre" are rare in this type.
5.) "New Generation" Ranger.
As with all things "new" it's a bit difficult to pinpoint an exact time in history when development of the current "new generation" Rangers started. Basically these Ranger teams are characterised by a new combined effort between many previously autonomous and distant Meledon research teams to come up with ways of solving some of the long standing problems that have plagued the Classic and Ninja forms. The result has been that 'Ranger technology" now operates more as a "market" than a bureaucracy or religion, and qualifying Ranger mentors can literally "buy off the shelf" brand new Ranger team packages. The difference between "New generation" and the previous forms are characterised by;
a.) Totally self contained Ranger form - no need for any external power source or control, although both are still able to be used. And integrated into the design if needed. Destruction of any "command centre" will not result in the Ranger powers being destroyed;
b.) Clever use of the latest "Flash Teleportation" technology to give Rangers many functions previously impossible, amongst them very advanced movement and teleportation techniques including the now famous "TeleJump", which needs no training of the Ranger to use, and no coordinate calculations.
c.) Very easy set up, with advanced Mutual Understanding functions.
d.) Totally flexible appearance - Ranger forms can be changed, modified and redesigned at will, even away from the traditional "figure hugging" XLPFE suit design. Invisibility (of both the entire ranger and / or just the XLPFE Suit or parts of it) is now a possibility and regularly in use, known as "Standby Mode".
e.) Advanced Six Dim Mechanics and Multi Dim Mechanics abilities to match that of the latest illusionary technology being used by more and more villains.
A good example of a "New Generation" team is the recently released Storm set.
So lets look first at our Classic Power Ranger Technology. An old formula once read:
XLPFE + TYPE 1 = Power Ranger
Basically it was the marriage of these two technologies which led to the Classic power Ranger. The XLPFE Suit was the defence and powering "engine", and all of the amazing things the Rangers can do are the result of very clever use of Type 1 Teleportation.
Type 1 (you will remember) can only be used for inanimate objects. Well that's not quite true.. Type 1 should more aptly be named "Matter Converter". It can take existing matter and modify it into something similar but different WITHOUT moving it. And this is the essence of the Ranger Morph, and why a Power Ranger is oh SOO much more than just a guy in a field suit.
The first experiments on living terrans to deliberately alter their bodies with Type 1 began long before XLPFE was thought about. But the development of the Ranger Suit meant that there were new found ways to define the position and ability of the human body. It wasn't long until various less - popular "quacky" engineers began to wonder what would happen to humans if their insides were surgically - deliberately - altered using Type 1 to generate a vastly superior being in strength and resilience.
They began with skeleton and frame. While the existing terran frame was already very strong and robust the first Ranger "morphs" were functions to alter, or in some cases even completely replace the skeleton of the affected Ranger under their XLPFE suit. This resulted in amazing abilities and was a forerunner of things to come.
The "Vintage Ranger" was developed using these technical methods over a period of about 30 years. The result was the classic Ranger "Morph", where in addition to the formation of the XLPFE fields around the Ranger, the subjects' body was radically altered using Type 1 Teleportation to create an amazingly agile and powerful biological machine within a living being. Systems were developed to feed additional energy into the "machine", such that eventually the body's own energy system became miniscule in comparison and stands all but deactivated in our Classic ranger.
When you think about it, the possibilities were endless.. and extremely dangerous. Dozens of early Rangers lost their lives as this immature technology began to be pushed to its limits. The most dangerous of all risks was the dreaded "forced release", where for some reason during a "power down" sequence (i.e. the return of the morphed ranger from their altered state back to their previous state) sections of the Rangers' body remained morphed while others did not. This often happened in combat as power systems failed, and the early mortality rate amongst Rangers was sickening - as were the results of post mortems.
The most common cause of death was asphyxiation caused by the inability of the body's own breathing and circulatory systems to restart when the various matter constructs within their body either changed back out of sequence or just didn't change back at all, leaving clumps of steel (etc) in the way of various otherwise vital organs inside. Other reports tell of Rangers suffering from complete loss of their entire skin as the XLPFE field broke down, dying an agonizing death hours later with their distraught team mates powerless to do anything other than scream in agony and say goodbye to their friend as he lay dying in the name of Rangerdom.
No doubt about it.. a Ranger Morph was (and still is) probably the most dangerous and drastic thing that can happen to a biological being. However today the chance of survival is greatly increased by a huge number of safeguards and interlocks between the various systems to ensure that in the event of a forced release the Ranger returns to something resembling a living being instead of mince meat.
Upon activation of their morpher, the Classic ranger undergoes the following changes in a process that takes about 3 seconds. A controlled release is the reverse of this process.
1.) The field system begins to ionise the atmosphere around the subject and establishes the location of the "life force aura". This data is logged by the XLPFE system;
2.) Any clothing or long hair on the Ranger's body is teleported off them using Type 1 and a "snapshot" of the condition is stored. The methods vary, some store the matter within the morpher, others send it back to a command centre. Most Ranger teams don't wear clothes at all when they morph, meaning for many classic rangers this step is skipped;
3.) The XLPFE Construct is materialised around the body. It is ALWAYS a completely enclosed structure. No part of the body must be left uncovered by the field otherwise the balance is not preserved and a forced release will result.
4.) The T1 systems get to work. The machinery to do this is almost always located in the morpher but (until recently) powered externally. They convert the Ranger's body materials into it's designed morphed form, leaving the active "life force" within it untouched and unmoved. The Ranger is almost always temporarily unconscious while this happens.
5.) The Ranger's life support is established. Systems to support the Ranger's need for nutrients and energy aswell as waste removal from the blood stream etc are materialised within the body, in some cases taking the place of existing organs and powered by the Ranger system.
6.) The morph enters it's final phase - the test phase - where each independent system is matched and linked together to the control system, and consciousness is re-established.
7.) The morph is complete, and the ionised aura releases. Voila, Power Ranger.
In an uncontrolled or "forced" release these steps are not carried out in reverse order. Usually the XLPFE field collapses before the T1 system gets a chance to change the Ranger's innards back to normal. With the position reference lost (i.e. the XLPFE suit), the T1 controls have virtually no chance of ensuring the various organs and parts are removed / replaced from the right spots. Even a few micrometres off location is enough to kill a Ranger instantly. In some cases sections are not changed back at all, and in others even worse happens - two matter constructs literally materialise on top of each other.
One important aspect regarding Rangers is that by definition of the physical laws surrounding primary fields, there must not be any physical matter between the XLPFE frame and anything the Ranger is coming into contact with -otherwise the system cannot accurately determine and pass onto the Ranger the "sense of touch". Also the ability of the field to repel / reflect any blow (either someone / something hitting them, or them hitting something else) is greatly diminished.
This is the reason why Rangers never - EVER - should place matters of clothing (etc) on their morphed form, and you very rarely see such foolishness and never in battle. The XLPFE suit must remain in constant and permanent contact with the entire Ranger's external "life aura", otherwise the thousands of internal operating systems will lose their positioning reference - usually with catastrophic results.
END OF PART 1
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Comments
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The development of Mutual Understanding
"Mutual Understanding" (MU) is the broad name given to the feature of a Ranger Morph which allows the Ranger to control the functions of his / her morphed
form, and (where relevant) their Zord. MU also works in reverse as a very powerful training tool, effectively instructing the Ranger as to how all the
various functions work.
The ability of a Ranger to very quickly come to terms with their powers and know how to use them without having to take ages to pre train is perhaps one of
the most important advantages of the form, and why it has become the favoured personal defence / attack system throughout the galaxy. For most forms there is
little need to have Ranger wannabees in training for years beforehand (although it helps). Ranger powers work "right out of the box". The younger the
subject, the more effective MU can work to enhance and alter their motor function.
Back before either XLPFE or Teleports were developed a number of schemes were already in advanced use which enabled fast telemetry links to exist between a
biological being and a technological slave (and vice versa). Originally these developed from Computer Gaming and were used extensively in the art of Virtual
Reality work.
Around the same time "artificial intelligence" was gaining popularity and many new complete (robotic) species had already been approved, created and were
forming communities. Study of the Thought dimension, and relationships between mind, matter and time were well underway. It was a new technology just begging
for a real world application.
What the Ranger development teams did was to take this technology and bring it into the real world endowing Rangers with strong psychodynamic links between
the area of their brain responsible for motor function and the systems which directly controlled the XLPFE suit and the T1 system. The effectiveness of
including such systems in a Ranger set up exceeded the wildest dreams of all. XLPFE + T1 + MU = Indomitable fighting machine.
Early experiments in Mutual Understanding coupled with Type 3 Teleportation were hilariously dangerous. Accidental swapping of psyco entities between Rangers
was common for a time, a nasty side effect that left people literally living in their colleagues' bodies until the mess could be reversed. From memory
Zordon's team Blue Ranger was known for fiddling with this stuff as well and swapped a few minds around on more than one occasion.
It wasn't long before the true potential of such developments were realised - the construction and use of the first Zords. By doing this the Ranger
development teams removed the "virtual" from the reality.
Today the line between Ranger and Zord is as blurred as ever. In some of the latest New Generation Ranger incarnations they are virtually the same thing.
There are a whole range of additions the New Generation Ranger can implement which literally sit on top of their morphed form which can turn them into any
manner of vehicles or fighting machines, the additions literally working like "pieces of Zord". Add to this the idea of using Six Dim sizing technology (more
on that later) and our Morphed ranger, complete with appendixed devices - can be increased up to 24.5 times their normal size, turning their own giant
morphed bodies in to a Zord anyway.
"Engorged" (as its often called) Rangers bring with it a host of new problems, the most noteable being his / her sheer terrestrial mass. A human Ranger
increased 16 times size weighs close to 1700 tonnes. This puts enormous strain on the XLPFE system to move it around. The Ranger's morphed body is also
usually still manufactured (on the exterior at least) primarily using softer "liquid" type materials similar to human flesh and these can be extremely hard
to control when increased to such sizes. It can be painful just supporting their own flesh weight let alone controlling the intertia formed by letting it all
wobble about at such high speed. The mass of the engorged Ranger can also create problems for whatever's supporting him or her. Unless there is a sufficient
anti - gravity component being constantly applied by the XLPFE suit most Rangers upon transforming to such size literally collapse into the ground beneath
them, which is rarely rated to support such a pinpoint active load. You can imagine what happens if one is dropped from a height. Large craters the size
normally left by meteors are not uncommon.
The amount of energy being poured into these designs is however frightening and often in the Terawatt range. The amount of safety interlocks and protocols
needed to allow such morphs to take place make the entire morph less stable which means they are generally only suitable for fighting enemies which are not
very technically advanced and cannot understand what is happening to the Ranger trying to defeat them.
As for Billy, Zordon's Blue ranger well.. he also davelled quite a bit trying to create simple primary fields using nothing more than his home world
technology - and succeeded in turning a VW into a flying tin can for a time. The "perfect sphere" additions to the frame however gave the game away as to how
he was doing it…
Putting the Power into Power Ranger
Ever since the first classic designs were mooted providing a suitable method of powering our Ranger has been a challenge for engineers, makers and mentors
alike. The basic XLPFE form requires very little power to establish and can easily be maintained by very conventional (even electrical chemical battery
operated) means. However all the "little extras" that go with creating a Power Ranger take much more.
While the theory states that an XLPFE suit is energy neutral, the practical outworking is far from the theoretical. The power required to maintain an XLPFE
suit diminishes in relation to the inverse square of the number of adjacent crossed fields linking the fabric together - the ideal being an infinite number
of crossings means the suit should require no power whatsoever to maintain.
In practice an "infinite" number is of course impossible so there will always be a residual need to put energy into the system to maintain it and also
provide a path for energy to be removed if for one reason or another (such as enemy weapons fire at the Ranger) there is too much energy present at any one
point to be absorbed by the fields.
Because of the practical "approaching infinite" nature of the classic XLPFE suit, additional energy is required every time the suit (or it's dependent
occupant) either directs force (i.e. attacks and hits a solid object with the suit) or reflects it (i.e. something is thrown at the Ranger, or the Ranger
themselves is thrown at a solid object). These power levels are substantial and for a typical classic Ranger in combat, peaks of around two to three
megawatts are required to prevent the XLPFE fields from disruption and thus the Ranger from being fatally harmed inside.
Another power drain on Rangers is the use of teleportation - particularly Types 1 and 3 which need very high peak power levels to literally create matter
from pure energy and vice versa. It was obvious from a very early stage that powering our Ranger was going to be a technical challenge and that the
technology available in the early days to solve this was very limited.
As with most situations where power is required there are enormous efficiencies to be gained where a "power supply network" can be used instead of relying
merely on individual independent power supplies for each Ranger. The nature of Ranger powering needs are extremely "peaky", i.e. Rangers in combat (and for
that matter Zords, but that's another story) require very large power levels but (fortunately for us) only for very short periods of time - usually less than
1 second. So when averaged out over a long time the energy levels being used are actually quite low (and can be provided by conventional means) but the peak
instantaneous power levels needed are very, very high.
The typical energy consumed by a single Classic Ranger from morph to demorph for say a 5 minute combat workout is around 180kWh. This means if the Ranger was
to consume this power continuously you could probably source the energy from say, a typically sized large electricity supply you might find in a factory or
warehouse. In our Classic Rangers' case however this energy fluctuates between a basic 1kW to maintain the inert, non moving Ranger form - to over 3MW at
times extreme distress.
At the time of development methods of storing and distributing this kind of energy on the Ranger form itself were simply impossible so other methods had to
be found. The solution was in the implementation of a "power grid" not entirely unlike the ones that feed our suburbs. First these grids were powered by a
central machine usually located at the teams "command centre". They used a combination of neutrino flow transmission and radiation capable of reliably
delivering peaks of up to 5 ~ 10MW through a wireless network controlled by a central coordinate computer system (usually the same one that controlled the
teleporting). More often than not these grids were powered by nothing more than the terrestrial suburban electricity grid local to wherever the Command
Centre was located on planets that had such luxuries. The theory was that it is extremely unlikely that more than one (or at the most two) Rangers would need
peaks exceeding this amount at any one time - and it worked brilliantly -for a while.
That is until the enemy worked out what was going on, what was powering their Ranger foes and how easy it was to defeat it. Some even worked out ways to draw
on the same power grid to power their own evil creations making them stronger resulting in the ironic situation where a Ranger team were fighting an enemy
that was itself drawing power from the Rangers' own power grid. The stronger the Rangers fought the stronger their foes became as a result of the increased
power availability in the grid.
Fortunately by this time the whole "Power Ranger" universe of teams and mentors located on different planets throughout the galaxy were finally getting
their act together and talking to each other rather than previously"competing" with each other to be the most advanced and effective team. It was soon
realised that without cooperation on a galactic scale individual Ranger teams were doomed to fail against their ever increasing enemies some of which were
already talking to (and usually double crossing) each other anyway.
And so it was that the "Order of the Meledon" came to exist. The explanation of just what the mysterious "Meledon" is and who made (and still makes) it up is
perhaps the stuff of another study. However one almost immediate result that came from it's inception was the creation of what became known as the "Morphing
Grid".
Initially this was nothing more than the connection together of the various (until then totally independent) Ranger teams' grids to form an "intergalactic"
network of Ranger Power Cells or RPCs. In the event that one cell failed the other cells on the network would fulfil the power shortfall of the failed one on
the theory that it was extremely unlikely that all Ranger teams everywhere would all be required to enter combat all at the same time.
Eventually the Morphing Grid grew to become an extremely sophisticated network of RPCs which covered (and still covers) most habitable (and many non
habitable) planets in the galaxy, and has been used as a major power source not just for Rangers - but also for Zords. The technology that made this possible
was six dim mechanics - paving the way to enable huge energy amounts to be instantly carried over large spacial distances between cells through "trunk" or
"wormhole" links that cannot readily be intercepted by the enemy.
Administration of the Morphing Grid became a complex affair and before long it seemed very much a "dimension" of its own, with no one interest controlling
it. Similar to Earth's communications "Internet". It was (and still is) used for both good and evil, the only rule being that whatever energy is taken out
must also be put back shortly afterwards. The "Morphing Grid" today works like a huge energy battery designed to provide short but very large power bursts.
It is not useful for providing long and continuous power sources. Mentors, makers, Ranger teams and the Meledon committees do whatever they can to safeguard
their RPCs from interception and use by their enemies but it still happens regularly. The theft of energy from one RPC in order to combat a team in a totally
different location is still also common. It is for these reasons that the Morphing Grid - however capable - is still today seen as an inferior method of
powering a Ranger team and should not be used as a sole source of power.
"Ninja" forms are a different matter. Early Ninja Forms were developed primarily by cultures who otherwise had limited access to "conventional" technology
but were (for the time) very advanced in power systems design. Use of core matter / energy conversion storage (a function of Type 2 Teleportation) was very
common in these cultures for everything from terrestrial power networks to medical applications - and the power available from them was readily of the
capacity which could be used to run a team of Power rangers in combat. Core M/E - best described as "the power of thought" is derived from functions in the
Rangers' mind capable of producing large but short bursts of energy through the conversion of matter in a type 2 Teleport. More often than not the matter
source was crystalline or otherwise specially manufactured for the task and would form a central "core of energy" store available to all Rangers. Almost
certainly just about every Ninja Ranger team refers to this item as the "ancient artifact" upon which their mythical existence is based. There are usually a
host of other traditions and mythical procedures that go with it's use.
These "Ninja" cultures were also advanced in dimensional mechanics for their time and had no trouble linking these technologies. They were pioneers in
development of Ranger powering systems that stood independently of any outside influence - although their zord designs often relied on the Morphing Grid to
operate properly in most cases.
The "New Generation" Power Rangers are a result of a marrying of these two (quite different) disciplines to encompass and integrate the best advantages of
both forms. This was initially difficult because "classic" Rangers did not have the thought capacity to do what the Ninjas could do. However these obstacles
have gradually been overcome - not the least by requiring that Ranger teams be more suitably trained in Ninja style meditation before they become Rangers.
Other conventional miniaturisation technology has also come to the aid in developing New Generation Rangers not the least being Energisers. This technology
borrowed from the Robot world huge power generation and storage into tiny packages. In the past the maximum output was always limited to a few hundred
kilowatts or so, putting them in the "too small" basket for Ranger engineers. But recently the capacity of these little dynamos has leaped exponentially up
to the 10MW range - enough to be able to put one in a Ranger Morpher and power virtually all their functions from it independently. They are extremely
complex micro miniature machines, literally a matter powerhouse in your hand and perfect for Ranger powering as well as robotics, for which they were
initially designed. They're mass produced on many planets, easy and cheap to get and readily available.
Working with Dimensions
Its no secret that the most misunderstood aspect of Ranger Technology is that of dimensions. Its more to do with science and maths but a basic knowledge of
the definitions is required to understand just how Power Rangers (and their opponents) do most of the things they do. So it's time for a quick primer.
The Four Dimension "Space Time" Universe.
Sometimes called the Physical universe, defined only in four dimensions - three associated with space (Length, Breadth, height) and one with time. Earth
scientists have been trying to use this model for years to explain the things that happen around them. It works fine for physical entities but the maths
generally misses variables when trying to explain other phenomenon. Usually these scientists simply ignore these anomalies, insist they don't exist, spend
their lives proving they don't exist or worse. It's strange that they seem to ignore the most obvious exception - Energy. Only when we look into the way
energy and matter interact do we find that there are in fact two additional dimensions in the real universe…
The Six Dimension Universe, or "Six Dim Mechanics".
The "Real Universe" is made up of six measurable dimensions. These are the (already known) four plus two others being "Thought" and "Movement of Atomic
Structure" respectively.
Thought is rarely considered as a dimension within itself until one attempts to measure it. Some cultures call this dimension "intelligence" and the nearest
thing Earth scientists have to measuring it is the old IQ test - a bit like trying to measure the size of an atom with a desk ruler.
Thought is indeed a dimension within itself in the real universe. Any intelligent being is capable of - and regularly does - move about in this dimension. In
fact it is essential in order for "intelligence" to exist and is a fundamental necessity in life. For most of us the real working of this dimension makes
itself known by the presence of things like dreams, de-ja-vu (a movement in time and thought not affected by space) or for some (particularly Ninja) cultures
teleportation (a movement in space and thought not affected by time).
All this is rarely understood or even thought of as a "technology" until scientists within a particular culture succeed in creating artificial life - usually
robotic. These "living machines" are created to mirror the processes of synaptic biological life but using mechanical means. They are "born", "grow up"
(although they may not physically grow they all must start somewhere and learn) and eventually "die" when their artificial mind "binds up".
Just to explain an example of "bind up". A robot is created and started. It learns like a child and goes through adolescence, which can happen from 2 to 12
years after starting. The entire process of learning, life and memory intelligence involves continuous writing, rewriting and referencing of memory to other
memories. Living intelligence does not use addressing the way computers do. Addressing is done using familiarisation.
Around age 20 the process of preserving memory overtakes the process of creating it. Over the years errors are introduced into the process and these errors
are rewritten and rewritten again and again. The more errors are introduced the more difficult it is to recall memory because more pointers are in the wrong
place and in turn these pointers point to other errors. By age 70 or 80 more than 50% of the memory contains errors, omissions and mispointed references. The
mind tries it's best to compensate for these errors by creating entirely new memories and paths and this generally works a bit like wrapping the whole mess
in a ball of string, an initially effective but ultimately vain attempt to re link every existing memory to a new one and thus to each other.
By age 110 or so the mind of the robot is well and truly binding up and will exhibit characteristics similar to that of dement ure in humans. By age 120 the
entire mind simply ceases to operate - and the robot is effectively "dead" just like it's human counterpart. The mechanical body might have been impeccably
maintained and be just as capable as it was when first created - but it simply can't operate any more and just stops.
No artificial intelligence has ever "lived" for longer than 120 years so the 120 year barrier is considered a practical barrier. It's a big let down for
those who think robots will "live forever". One distinct advantage of being an artificial intelligence however is that it's possible to very easily freeze
the mind. Lots of Ranger Mentors have "extended" their life in this way. So when you hear of robots or people who have lived thousands of years.. it's not
technically correct.
In actual fact it works like a light bulb which is usually "off" but occasionally "switched on". A bulb with a quoted 120 year life span might have been in
the socket for 1000 years.. but it's only been switched on for a fraction of that time.
Anyway getting back to the dimension of Thought. Once artificial intelligence was "perfected" (and for that matter legalised) it was possible to study the
dimension of thought close up by observing exactly what was happening in the mind of the subject. A mathematical model was established and a new variable
emerged - "j".
And the sixth dimension? "Movement of Atomic Structure" or "s" is really a dimension related to Thought but it's measure is different.
Defining our real universe in six dimensions gave scientists and technologists a complete mathematical model and paved the way for the Classic Power Ranger.
Most of the technology in use cannot be understood without reference to "six dim mechanics".
Universes created using more than six dimensions or "Multi Dim Mechanics".
One aspect of gaining a true understanding of all six dimensions in our universe is that it enables some marvellous tricks to be pulled. By modulation of
several of the existing dimensions with others it is possible to create mathematical definitions of additional dimensions which cannot affect the originals.
It has a lot to do with wave theory and is pretty high powered maths.
If a dimension is modulated about a common point and care is taken to ensure that the average of this modulation is equal to zero with time as modulated
exactly out of phase, then in every sense the original dimension is not affected however a new "dimension" is created. These added dimensions can themselves
be modulated to create others (called nested dimensions).
The closest "earth technology" thing to compare it with is radio broadcasting where a single carrier is modulated by a baseband signal such as our voice. The
carrier (equivalent to our "real" dimension) is actually irrelevant to the transmission, carries no useful information and can even be deleted altogether
(called SSB or "Suppressed Side Band"). The base band signal (equivalent to our "invented" or "phantom" dimension) can even be again modulated itself,
creating nested "sub carriers".
Basically what we're saying here is that "anything is possible" if we can mathematically define that it does. By creating and then using these additional
"phantom" dimensions it is possible to literally create new universes, or at least illusions of them. Multi Dim mechanics are the science of the illusionist.
Some would call them magicians. Power Rangers usually call them villains, and in most cases more than 80% of what Rangers meet in combat has some sort of
multi dim mechanical and illusionary component.
Multi Dim illusions look and work great but they are easy to defeat. This is why Ranger teams always avoid using multi dim mechanics in their own technology
and why the good guys invariably always win. However they must be very capable of interworking with them and lots of combat actually takes place almost
totally in "phantom" dimensions created by the enemy and are eventually destroyed when that enemy is defeated.
The most common Multi Dim Mechanics modulate Thought and Atomic Structure over Time, thus they are usually operable regardless of space as we know it.
Thousands of names abound.. "Hyper Space", "Ether Space", "Dark Dimensions", "Wormhole space".. the list is endless but it all means essentially the same
thing - a set of dimensions that have been artificially created and can be used to create phenomenon that would otherwise be impossible, but can only be seen
and experienced in the real universe when based on a rigidly defined set of rules. It's a bit like having to stand and look in a particular place, at a
certain time of the day in the year, in order to see the perfect sunset.
Sizing
One of the most bizarre and yet most important tools a Ranger has at their disposal is Sizing. The ability to change the physical size of matter (including
themselves) is a crucial function in modern ranger teams. There are three ways in which the physical size of an object can be altered;
Molecular spacing
Type 1 teleportation techniques are used to increase or decrease the space between matter particles. This method quickly fell out of favour due to the
tendency for (particularly enlarged) matter to drift further apart, eventually risking life. This happens primarily due to the disturbance and depletion of
the basic gravity forces that hold matter together in the first place.
Molecular duplication
With this system type 1 teleportation is used to clone molecules and interspace them in between existing matter. While this solves the problem of gravity
depletion, it creates others in that it physically alters the make up of whatever is being enlarged. This can sometimes be dangerous especially when it comes
time to restore the item or person to normal size again - it is difficult to tell which molecules are clones and which ones are the originals, and repeated
use of the process can be dangerous to weapons and harm living matter. Never the less it is still extensively used for functions involving inanimate matter
such as weapons, zords and of course Zordon's unique and famous wardrobe function which allows his Ranger team to store their clothes prior to morphing.
Molecular Morph
Similar to Molecular duplication except instead of simply duplicating molecules, complex systems analyse the make up of each molecule and create hybrids of
adjacent molecules, inserting them to create an identical but larger composition than the original. This is the system largely used today and the only system
really suitable for enlarging living beings safely. The absolute maximum duplication size possible using this technology is 24.5 times original size. You
will often hear the technology referred to simply as "245" for this reason, and a common Ranger call to increase size is simply "Go 245".
Sizing in Power Rangers is generally used to alter the physical makeup of the Ranger's body to an ideal size while the morph takes place. Generally this
means a Ranger's size and shape when unmorphed is somewhat irrelevant to their morphed form. Watching young children morph into a Ranger form is an amusing
(and unbelievably common) sight.
As mentioned previously, extra precautions must be taken with giant humans. They must remain fully morphed at all costs, as an unmorphed human increased to
anything more than 3 times normal size simply cannot support it's own weight. If a "giant" Ranger was to experience a demorph while enlarged they would
collapse on themselves immediately, the flesh and organs would literally fall to the ground speared by the skeleton rather like a collapsing skyscraper, and
not a pretty sight.
END OF PART 2
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
*pre-orders a XLPFE and an M2A suit*
<a href='http://zordmaker.artelex.com/' target='_blank'>http://zordmaker.artelex.com/</a> = the site of the maker
The one's with the catchy 90's rock theme?
GO GO POWER RANGGGGGERSSS! *headbang*
This is made by the <b>man in charge of creating the Rangers and Zoids for the FIRST power rangers movie!</b>
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Shotaro Ishinomori?
This is made by the <b>man in charge of creating the Rangers and Zoids for the FIRST power rangers movie!</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Shotaro Ishinomori? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
No, I mean the designs. AKA- the Zoids and the costumes and backstories to the equipment
A lot of it is pretty cool, and definately possible, though not with present technologocial levels.
So, Shotaro Ishinomori?
The movie is the crossover from MMPR to MMDino Rangers and Ninja Ranger (I believe)
The movie is the crossover from MMPR to MMDino Rangers and Ninja Ranger (I believe) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was one of the geekyest things I've heard in recent times.
Btw, I own that movie <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> Ahh, the memories <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
It will be interesting to see what the next generation of propulsion will be (that is... if i live long enough to see it).
The end.
I see a photoshop opportunity. But I'm tired.
In the context of "Hey dude, it's just the Power Rangers, chill out," <i>shut the **** up and <b>die</b></i>. I've hated that hellspawn of morning television since I was a small child - the target audience, even. Grrrr. >.<
<!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
man by reading that it makes the power rangers seem uber cool and sophisticated. then I remember how simplifed, stupid, and repetitive all the shows and movies are and I shake my fist at such a wasted oppertunity.
But of what I read of it, DAAAAAAMMMMMNNNN!
Someone really did thair backstory before writing the Power Rangers....
*makes a note to do a more in-depth backstory BEFORE writing any more fiction...*
You see... Physics fails in the face of Quantum and MetaPhysics. It's as simple as that.
When you think about it... a BATTERY breaks the laws of Conservation of Energy. Because it doesn't really loose anything, but over time the energy stored drains with nothing pulling on it.
Water > Conservation of Energy, as pure H2O is THE best insulator in the world! Water only conducts due to contaminents in it!
Water > Conservation of Energy, as pure H2O is THE best insulator in the world! Water only conducts due to contaminents in it! <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Erm... no.
Conservation of Energy means that energy is not created or destroyed within a system... It does not refer to insulation or lack thereof--batteries and water don't create or destroy energy.
NASA's definition: <a href='http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/thermo1f.html' target='_blank'>http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/thermo1f.html</a>
Also, since it's a pet peeve, loose is the opposite of tight and lose is the opposite of win.
Best tagline ever.
Also- a black hole breaks most laws of Physics. Like I said, Q and Meta physics > standard physics and bust up most of it's laws.
Yes, all the Rangers inclunding and after Dino Thunder SUCKED... MMPR FTW!
GO GO POWER RANGERS! YOU MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGER-ERS!
DUN DUN! *headbangs*
Best series.. ever.. period.