Gundam Science
PART I: MINOVSKY PHYSICS
In attempting to develop a compact and practical nuclear fusion reactor, the Minovsky Physics Society developed a radical new fusion reactor named the Minovsky-Ionesco reactor. Named after its inventor, Dr. Minovsky, this reactor was "radical" due to the fact that it is the first "clean" fusion reactor, emitting zero neutron radiation. The nuclear equation was:
2He3 + 1H2 -> 2He4 + p (energy released: 18.35 MeV)
The reactant used is a rare isotope of helium known as helium-3 (ie 2 protons and 1 neutron in the nucleus). Helium-3 is used to fuse with a deuterium atom (heavy hydrogen) to form the stable Helium-4 and a single proton. Since the proton is positively charged, it can easily be trapped within a magnetic field. The main practical problem with this reaction is that Helium-3 is extremely rare... there are little deposits on Earth and the Gundam world's fusion reactors rely on the constant supply of helium imported from the outer solar system by the Jupiter Energy Fleet.
The Minovsky Particle
In UC 0065, the researchers of the Minovsky Physics Society noticed a strange electromagnetic wave effect within the Minovsky-Ionesco reactor that could not be explained by conventional physics. Within a few years, they had identified the cause: a new elementary particle generated by the helium-3 reaction, which was named the Minovsky particle. The Minovsky particle has near-zero rest mass - though, like any particle, its mass increases to reflect its potential or kinetic energy - and can carry either a positive or negative electrical charge. When scattered in open space or in the air, the repulsive forces between charged Minovsky particles cause them to spontaneously align into a regular lattice structure called an I-field.
PART II: THE I-FIELD
The I-field creates an interference effect, called the Minovsky effect, that blocks low-frequency electromagnetic waves such as radio and microwave transmissions - even infrared radiation is affected, though not blocked entirely. The I-field itself is invisible, and can be detected only by its effects.
With the rise to power of Archduke Degin Zabi and the creation of the Duchy of Zeon, the Zeon military immediately seizes on the military applications of this discovery. In UC 0070, Zeon military researchers confirm that, by scattering large quantities of Minovsky particles, they can temporarily nullify radar and radio communications and reduce combat to visual range. Minovsky particle scattering is a standard feature of the Gundam world's space warships, though most mobile suits lack this capability.
In UC 0071, Zeon researchers create the super-compact Minovsky fusion reactor. Instead of the conventional magnetic field, this improved version of the Minovsky-Ionesco reactor uses an I-field to confine and compress the reactor fuel, triggering a fusion reaction. The Minovsky particles produced as a byproduct of the helium-3 fusion reaction are thus recycled to keep that reaction going. The Minovsky particles that form the I-field lattice also help catalyze the fusion reaction, in a process similar to the muon-catalyzed fusion investigated by real-world scientists during the 1950s. This super-efficient design is only a fifth as large as an equivalently powerful Minovsky-Ionesco reactor.
Other I-field Applications
Since it's made up of charged particles, the I-field is unable to permeate through metal, water, the Earth's surface, or other electrically conductive materials. Thus, at low altitudes it's possible to generate an I-field cushion between the underside of a vessel and the ground, yielding a gravity-countering buoyancy. This principle is used in the Minovsky craft system introduced during the One Year War and eventually made standard on all space warships, though it's not until decades later that the Minovsky craft system is miniaturized enough to be installed in mobile suits. Another application of the I-field, and probably the one most familiar to the viewer, is the I-field barrier. This generates a dense I-field in the space surrounding the barrier generator, which can deflect the beam weapons derived from Minovsky physics. The barrier has no effect against lasers or against physical attacks such as missiles, and within the barrier's radius beam weapons function with their usual lethality.
Though the high power requirements and immense heat of the I-field barrier rule out its use on all but the most exceptional mobile suits, it's used by mobile armors such as the MA-08 Big Zam and the MRX-009 Psyco Gundam. Even in a full-sized mobile armor, the heat factor is still problematic, and the Big Zam is able to sustain the barrier for only 15 to 20 minutes. Since the basic principle of the I-field barrier is similar to that of the Minovsky craft system, it's relatively easy to combine the two systems, and a mobile armor with one of these gimmicks often has the other.
PART III: THE MEGA PARTICLE
The magical art of Minovsky physics has one more trick up its sleeve. Due to the repulsive forces between positive and negative Minovsky particles, large amounts of energy are required to compress an I-field lattice. If enough energy is applied, and the I-field sufficiently compressed, the Minovsky particles ultimately fuse into massive, electrically neutral mega particles.
The energy used to create the mega particles is expressed as both mass and velocity. No longer subject to the electrical forces that maintain the I-field lattice, the particles burst out of the I-field. This stream of heavy, fast-moving particles, unlike a conventional charged-particle beam, cannot be deflected with magnetic fields. In UC 0070, Zeon researchers exploit this phenomenon to create the fearsome mega particle cannon.
The new weapons derived from Minovsky physics are referred to by the generic term "beam weapons." There are actually two distinct varieties of beam weapon - one that uses regular Minovsky particles, and another that employs the mega particles formed by fusing positive and negative Minovsky particles. As beam weapons continue to evolve, the technology is used to produce defensive devices and even propulsion systems.
PART IV: THE MEGA PARTICLE CANNON
The ubiquitous mega particle cannon - variously referred to as the beam cannon, beam gun, mega beam cannon, ad nauseum - is the standard armament of the Gundam world's warships and mobile armors. This weapon fires a focused beam of massive, high-velocity mega particles, which cannot be deflected by magnetic fields and tears through any conventional armor material.
To create the mega particles, a cannon-toting vehicle must first gather Minovsky particles from the vehicle's fusion reactor. The Minovsky particles are collected in a device called an energy condenser, where they are compressed in a high-density I-field until they fuse into mega particles. The performance of the mega particle cannon is thus limited by the reactor's ability to produce Minovsky particles.
Though it quickly becomes the standard armament of space warships, the mega particle cannon's high energy requirements and the sheer bulk of the energy condenser at first preclude its use in mobile suits. The Duchy of Zeon's MS-05 Zaku and MS-06 Zaku II are thus armed with conventional projectile and missile weapons, rather than beam weapons.
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