Re: darksense

From: Stéphane FRANCOIS <s.francois2_at_wanadoo.fr>
Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 07:22:33 +0200

> It would also be useful in security. With darksense you can do a complete
> body search, including a cavity search of a person without touching
> a person.

If the person is wearing hard armor, you cannot see through it. Such an intense body search, with narrowly focused, high-power emission is very easy to detetect using darksense, and as such is at the same level as a body search - applied only when needed and/or expected.

>> Is darksense a 360° sense?
>> Well hearing is a 360° sense, and darksense is a form of sending out
>> sound and hearing the echo. However, assuming that the ultrasound
>> emits from the trolls mouth, it will send a stronger sound in the
>> forward direction than backwards. It is easier to hear someone if he
>> is facing you when he is talking. Therefore, the darksense is
>> significantly better in the direction the troll is facing, but it is
>> fairly good in all directions. You cannot sneak up on a troll from
>> behind if the troll is using his darksense. If you need to surprise a
>> troll, you need to hide nearby and wait for him to pass by close by.

>
> Does anyone know if bas can see 360 with their sonar. I don't think
> they can, since their sonar pulses are fairly focuses, but I'm not
> certain.

By nature ultrasounds are very directionnal (the higher the frequence of a sound, the greater it's directionnality), so Darksense is at least as directionnal as eyesight.

> Can a troll use darksense for prospecting? Yes, but I do not think
> ultrasound can travel very deep in the mountain, so the usefulness
> is limited.$

Ultrasound cannot peneter in stone (or maybe no more than a few inches), making darksesne useless for direct prospection.

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