Before Alpha Year, scientists had an amazing breakthrough. Certain elite in the scientific community (who were not recognized as "elite" before their discovery was recognized) came across a stunning occurrence: they used sound to vibrate certain atoms of certain elements in such a way to where energy was released. When first detected, this energy was at an inconsiderable scale. These scientists did not stop there. They managed to "fine tune" the sound frequencies to a point where the atoms would release enough energy to excite each other, causing the R-particle to be released.
The R-particle had never been observed till then, and its properties and uses were unknown. Nevertheless, the scientists responsible for its discovery were recognized and became a part of the Scientific Elite. Numerous experiments with the R-particle followed, and many of them led to nowhere. At one point, however, a reaction was observed when projecting the R-particle into a mass of pure gold. The gold would begin to vibrate at a certain frequency. The frequency would be regulated by the amount of R-particles projected into the mass of gold. These vibrations within the element caused it to become highly charged with electromagnetic energy. The first occurrence of this reaction resulted in several injuries and the destruction of costly equipment. The amount of electromagnetic charge, however, was "magnificent," as described by one of the scientists who were at the scene.
Not long after this occurrence, the R-particle scientists died in an experiment gone wrong. The technology and research which had been made available to all in the Scientific Elite vanished. The Federal Sanction was responsible for the disappearance of the scientists and the information, as it was found out after the Federal War. Sanction war technology was exceedingly greater in terms of power than the rest of the world before Alpha Year, the reason for which was later discovered after the dismantling of their platforms commenced.
Inside the Sanction platforms, the SRD reactors were found. These reactors used a confined space in which were contained certain atoms; these atoms were excited with a specific sound frequency, causing the release of the R-particle; the R-particle was channeled into a different chamber containing gold; this gold would be bombarded with the R-particle, causing massive buildup of electromagnetic energy within the gold; this electromagnetic energy was harnessed by being routed to reserves, from where it was distributed to the appropriate systems. More information on this technology has not been made available beyond the walls of government.
One of the few drawbacks of this power source is the amount of heat it develops in a number of areas within the entire system. Supercooled liquids were required to cool the reserves and other areas, but despite its initial supercooled state these liquids would still heat up. The use of radiators was unavoidable. These radiators would return the liquid back to its supercooled state, but they themselves had to be open to space (thus, the use of the exobody concept became the primary concept for constructing military platforms).
Nuclear and thermonuclear reaction as a source for power on platforms became obsolete, although in regard to weaponry their development had never stopped. The advent of the spatial resonance displacement reactor marked a new era in power development. Experimental SRD weaponry is rumored to exist, although none have been observed. None of the theories which exist about SRD weaponry have ever been proved to be neither true nor accurate...
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