Anyone wonder how the Manipulator works?

[Stigmata]

I was watching a show yesterday about something called the "Hutchison Effect", and it really caught my attention. I didn't completely understand how it worked (try going here for an explanation, though I can't guarantee it's correct ) but it really got me thinking about how the Manipulator could work.

From what I've gathered, the Hutchison Effect requires very low voltage, I think even a 75-Volt power source can provide enough energy to lift a 60-pound cannon ball. Of course, it also requires outputs which is where the jointed "arms" of the Manipulator would come in. The central unit of the Manipulator might be the "main" power output, while the arms could create an inversed Hutchison effect. Essentially, while the arms are in the "closed" position, they prevent the power output from recreating the Effect anywhere but the area contained by the arms; when in the "open" position, they allow a narrow beam of energy to be cast from the power output, and when activated the beam acts as a sort of tractor beam, pulling the object towards it while the arms (with their inversed effect) prevent the object from crashing into the Manipulator.

As for the arms seeming to automatically open when an object is in range, that is either a player-controlled event, or a gameplay mechanic, but without the player activating the attracting function, the arm-opening alone has no effect on any object.

One last note, I'm assuming that the Manipulator changes the relative direction of the anti-gravity field in order to achieve the desired effect. I'm too tired to try to figure out how it does this

See the attached image for diagrams of what I mean :E

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Anyway, does anyone have thoughts on this, or other methods of getting the Manipulator to work?

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Someone else has pointed out that the other "official" name for the manipulator (The zeropoint gun) is a reference to zero point energy, the residual energy that is generated throughout the universe, even when nothing is there. That could be the power source, maybe?

 

[Neo_Kuja]

As long as I can shoot stuff with it, I don't much care how it works ....

 

[Sulkdodds]

Theory sounds plausible...maybe the gun has a built in sensor of some kind to detect which objects can be picked up?

 

[Darkside55]

This article also talks about the fusion of dissimilar materials, like wood fusing with metal.

Can you say, "Welding?"

It also specifically talks about zero point energy towards the bottom of the page.
"It is surmised by some researchers that what Hutchison has done is tap into the Zero Point Energy. This energy gets its name from the fact that it is evidenced by oscillations at zero degrees Kelvin, where supposedly all activity in an atom ceases."

Either Valve did their homework or this is a very, very big coincidence. Either way it's a good find. You should show your diagram to Valve.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Wow, it is the hutchinson effect!
The very first confirmed speculation this forum ... someone should move this into the general info section.

 

[Darkside55]

You know what else I just noticed, in that same paragraph where zero-point energy is mentioned? It talks about how the quantum vacuum has enough energy per cubic centimeter to boil off the earth's oceans in a matter of minutes.

City 17 has a couple dried-out sea beds...perhaps the resources weren't "drained" like people thought the Combine were doing, but actually the sea is gone because of some experiment with the Hutchinson effect gone wrong? Wouldn't be the first time those scientists created something unstable.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

I dunno about that. There may be enough energy in a square centimetre to do that, but gordon obviously doesn't need that much to keep the manipulator working.

Plus, that energy is concetrated into one area. They meant that if the energy generated were transferred to heat, and then spread evenly across the entire earth, you'd get that boiling effect. That much power caged in one area would more likely result in a tremendous explosion.

Also, the boiled sea would result in massive amounts of steam, creating global fog, clouds and rain. Most of the screens I've seen feature relatively clear skies. Eventually, it would all come back down to earth anyways, so the oceans wouldn't be empty for long.

 

[CLAYMAN]

Anyone wonder how the Manipulator works?

No, it would blow my mind.

 

[filipeg165]

If you read the interview with Gabe and the other Valve ppl on this site (the 7 or 8 page-long thing), you can see one of them saying that the manipulator opens automatically when the object in front of it can be picked up, that confirmed the question about if there's a sensor in front of it that judges if the object can be picked up or not.

 

[Sulkdodds]

What I was referring to was that someone suggested it might be a manual action be Gordon. But yeah, methinks you're right.

 

[Flyingdebris]

when they mention the whole boiling off the world's oceans thing, i think they didnt mean only the ocean would go away. If its hot enough to boil away the sea in minutes then its sure as hell hot enough to make every last plant and animal burst into flames in a quick manner

 

[Darkside55]

Haha, that'd be a fun weapon, Flyingdebris.

And I didn't specifically mean that the manipulator weapon itself might've caused boiling seas, but rather the technology behind it, before it was refined. But it was a very far-fetched theory anyway. I just thought I'd throw that out there for discussion; in all honesty I didn't even put any serious thought behind it.

On another note, I think that the manipulator MUST have a sensor; how else would you know if you could pick something up? Sure, Gordon could make a judgement, and then use a manual action such as pulling a level on the gun or pressing a button to open the arms, but I'd assume he'd be missing a lot of things that way. Much easier to have the gun just tell him what's possible and what isn't.

 

[Stigmata]

I think it's just a gameplay mechanic, less micro-management of your weapon.

And regarding that whole boiling the oceans off: The reason it wouldn't kill every living thing on the planet is that the Hutchison Effect is a limited-range effect. When Hutchison did his experiments, he would be able to lift one or two objects at a time, not all the objects in his entire apartment building. So boiling the oceans off would require a number of close-range devices spread across the ocean, which would end up being counterproductive, as most of the oceans' vapour would recondense within minutes. Not nearly enough time to steal billions of gallons of evaporated water.

And besides, the Combine have probably been stealing the Earth's resources for God-knows-what, and using the Hutchison effect to steal the water would require some sort of giant vacuum machine, and the Combine have other things to worry about... :naughty:

 

[Brian Damage]

Well, I was reading the original PC Gamer article today, and I noticed they mentioned "Dynamic Tides". For what that's worth. For all we know it could just be referring to the ripples on the water.