Murphy's Rules ...

[rust]

Mongoose Traveller, Book 9: Robot, page 14:

Radiation sensor: Detects excess radiation within a 500 metre radius.

So if that nuke goes off or that reactor melts down 550 meters from the robot, his ra-
diation sensor will not detect the radiation ...

 

[GypsyComet]

Why not? A multi-kilometer mirror-finish solar sail is presented as a stealth option, after all.

 

[rust]

Well, the logical next step would be a rule which introduces a maximum range for
all visual sensors, too - no character can see further than 500 meters, perhaps ...

 

[AndrewW]

Mongoose Traveller, Book 9: Robot, page 14:

Radiation sensor: Detects excess radiation within a 500 metre radius.

So if that nuke goes off or that reactor melts down 550 meters from the robot, his ra-
diation sensor will not detect the radiation ...

If that reactor happens to be leaking radiation in a 50 meter or greater radius it should.

 

[GypsyComet]

I think the point is that radiation doesn't work like that.

 

[far-trader]

Mongoose Traveller, Book 9: Robot, page 14:

Radiation sensor: Detects excess radiation within a 500 metre radius.

So if that nuke goes off or that reactor melts down 550 meters from the robot, his ra-
diation sensor will not detect the radiation ...

550m radius from the source of the excess (greater than background?) radiation?

So, in the case of the nuke explosion or reactor going critical sure the sensor will detect it once the radiation spike hits the 500m radius range of the sensor, travelling at the speed of light. Basically it will detect them, and probably be damaged. The sensor is apparently more for detecting leaks or unshielded (and undetonated) nukes, or perhaps a leak from that reactor before it goes critical, if it is close enough.

 

[rust]

So, in the case of the nuke explosion or reactor going critical sure the sensor will detect it once the radiation spike hits the 500m radius range of the sensor ...

The sensor will detect any excess radiation which hits the sensor, no matter how dis-
tant its source was, and it will not detect any radiation which does not hit the sensor,
no matter how near the source may be - to give a range for a passive sensor is pure
nonsense.

 

[Rick]

Am I the only one that thinks that if a nuke explodes or a reactor goes critical 550m away from said robot - his radiation detector not reading it will be the least of his problems? :twisted:

 

[GypsyComet]

So, in the case of the nuke explosion or reactor going critical sure the sensor will detect it once the radiation spike hits the 500m radius range of the sensor ...

The sensor will detect any excess radiation which hits the sensor, no matter how dis-
tant its source was, and it will not detect any radiation which does not hit the sensor,
no matter how near the source may be - to give a range for a passive sensor is pure
nonsense.

Or a heavily simplified result based on a particular, and sadly unstated, set of assumptions.

Detection of higher than background radiation at 500 meters as a baseline means the detector will pick up uranium ores near the surface, unshielded collapsing rounds, a small fission reactor, most fusion reactors, or the historic impact point of a small nuke in that zone. Exposed plutonium, a larger or more recent nuclear detonation, or a larger fission plant will be detectable at two or more times that distance. An actual nuclear explosion is going to be picked up many miles away if it has any reasonable neutron/gamma yield. At those ranges, however, it may be a typical Cold War thing: See or hear the BOOM at distance, and check the sensor to tell you if the blast was a nuke or conventional. Its longest distance function will be as a solar flare detector on low or no atmosphere worlds.

 

[Jak Nazryth]

I have to agree with the others. The rule is to detect inobvious radiation sources, not a nuclear blast. Say if a smuggler was trying to sneak radioactive embedded in a cargo container. A cargo bot with a radiation detector would have a good chance of detecting it.
That sort of thing.
Oh.... and to answer your original question, yes, I think the radiation detector would in fact detect a nuclear blast 550 meters away.... just before vaporization.... :lol: