In any case, I thought I'd share this with you all;
The Essential Guide to Warfare (Star Wars)
It's interesting to note that it is specifically mentioned that particle shields must be either lowered over certain areas or have no coverage on the ship because they block things like exhaust and heat radiation. Yet ray shields are not indicated to suffer from this. To me that suggests that SW's ray shields do work on some sort of modulation.Shield Technology
Only armored hulls protected the first ships to explore the dark between the stars. But the many dangers of space travel quickly made it clear that better protection was desperately needed.
The first defenses were energy shields, originally designed to dissipate solar energy absorbed by the hulls in deep space. Energy shields were soon refined into deflector shields, which could also defend against energy weapons. Deflector shields create layered force fields enveloping an object in a single field or series of intersecting fields, depending on the size of the object to be protected and the energy available to power the shield. Energy is diffused away from the point of contact and either absorbed by the shield or radiated away as waste heat.
Deflector shields, however, were a poor defense against impacts that couldn't be diffused, such as projectiles, micrometeorites, or asteroids. Particle shields offered an additional means of protection, absorbing kinetic energy of a collision and diffusing it as deflector shields do. Particle shields also bind a ship's hull together at the molecular level.
For millennia, even small-sized starships have traveled with both kinds of shields. But the shield technology of the post-Imperial era little resembles that of the early Republic. Shields of all types require enormous amounts of power, and for eons only the largest starships could mount shield generators big enough to defend against energy weapons. Until the 7700s BBY, shields were primarily a defense against accidental impacts and radiation storms, not enemy ships. Armor was a starship's principal defense, with research focusing on alloys and coatings that could dissipate energy impacts.
Advances in power generation made shields practical for smaller ships and also let ships mount capable defenses against more powerful energy weapons. But even stronger shields could be penetrated. Directing energy against single points can overload the defensive field, allowing projectiles or energy blasts to pass through before the shield can regenerate, or burning out the generator powering that section of the shield. Particle shields must be lowered to allow ships to launch or projectile weapons to be fired, leaving vulnerable gaps. Finally, heat sinks, exhaust ports, and other systems can't have particle shields, because heat, waste, and debris would be trapped inside--a problem that left the first Death Star vulnerable to Luke Skywalker's proton torpedo.
Planetary shields offer a defense against bombardment by capital ships, as well as sorties by starfighters and landing craft, but ground vehicles rarely have shields. Personal shields are largely a relic of history: They require large power packs if they are to function for a significant period of time, exposing living beings to unhealthy radiation and magnetic forces, and sometimes fail in catastrophic fashion, flash-cooking those they seek to defend. Droids with properly shielded circuitry fear none of these things: During the Clone Wars, droidekas were among the Confederacy of Independent System's most feared units. Fortunately for the Republic, the vast expense of producing and maintaining destroyer droids limited the number of units that could be deployed.
It also makes sense for them to do this; otherwise they'd have to be constantly opening holes for communication, sensors, and weapons. This would leave them vulnerable during an engagement, which is not conductive to warfare. Sure, temporary holds in the shield could help, but this leaves us with a problem of where combat should be for one side to make the mistake of opening his shields and closing too late. Any initial-attacking enemy is going to have an overwhelming advantage because the ship can't see, can't communicate, and can't fire back without risking damage.
However, they would be spot-on for particle shields. It seems that these shields cannot cover certain areas. But I don't think the ships would actually open holes in their shields. Rather, I think they don't shield things that either fire, vent heat, and what-not. This would mean that there would be various 'gaps' in their shield in order to accommodate these things. This normally isn't a problem in Star Wars, as aside from fighters, few ships make use of anything besides particle weapons or laser cannons.
Even better yet:
In other words, yes, the Borg could take advantage of this ability and bypass ray shields.Destroyer Droids
Nicknamed destroyer droids, death balls, or rollies, droidekas were among the deadliest infantry units deployed by the Separatists during the Clone Wars. The droids double-barreled blaster cannons could take out light vehicles, while their deflector shields made them virtually immune to small-arms fire and were polarized to allow the droideka's own laser bolts to penetrate the shield.
A droideka's shield was less powerful to the rear, but its tough bronzium armor offered substantial protection. Their keen sensor packages could detect enemies through sound, vibrations, or radiation, and they could curl into wheeled mode to pursue their quarries, snapping out of wheel mode onto their three pointed legs, powering up shields and opening fire before foes could react. Even Jedi Knights hesitated when faced with these powerful, ruthless killing machines.
Also, I seem to sense a great deal of themes here in regards to the shielding technology. Particle shields are not only used to protect against physical attacks, but it's also used to 'bind the hull' at the molecular level. That sounds a lot like a SIF. Which is actually good to see, rather than assuming some sort of absurd material that holds their larger ships together. This would mean that their ships work much in the same way as the GCS is explained to do in the TNG TM; they use forcefields to reinforce the physical frames.
For projects like the SSD or the Death Star, such a technology would have to be invaluable. Through a combination of particle shields, the space station would reinforce its physical structure, while using antigravity to prevent its own mass from crushing itself.
So, questions, comments, additional information?
Death threats?
