SirJelly wrote:

todays fero fluids would yes indeed not be up to the task, but thats more of a problem of the strength of a magnetic/electric field required to shape the fluid with enough force would necessitate really large equipment. whether such materials CAN possibly have the strength or not is highly debatable. the fact that the in game ammunition reshapes before impact really doesn't lend itself to either argument, if the material is indeed not strong enough to reshape inside a target it wouldn't make much sense for it to be strong enough to IMPACT a target without further deforming, rendering it completely useless against even basic metal armor. theres a vast expanse of techniques and materials one could try. explosions are a relatively obvious way of inflicting lots of damage, but are the opposite of silent, which is a rather important feature of blades. this also negates the factor that someone previously pointed out regarding collateral damage in pressurized environments and artificial habitats such as space stations. such a technique would be similar, but inferior to just plain bombing the bastards. besides, this is the same game which contains beam weapons, portals to other parts of the universe, creatures which LIVE near the surface of the SUN, and swarms of robots smaller than some protein molecules. i'm pretty sure i can find a way to justify pretty much anything from a technological standpoint. what i'm looking for is originality points along with some strategic sense.

Actually, it does make sense for smart materials. They are essentially swarms of nanomachines which can actively rearrange themselves and interconnect, forming a strong bond in the process. While in a specific shape, they likely have great tensile strength, but very little while reshaping, meaning that they cannot apply much pressure while in movement. Once they finish and take on a specific shape, however, chances are that they are very strong. While I agree that ferro-fluids may likely have greater strength with a stronger magnetic field, we also have to remember the logistical advantages of such a weapon. Why create a massive magnetic field solely for the sake of holding fast a single throwing knife, when that is a massive expenditure of energy for a relatively small function? A bladed glass outer shell with poison on the inside would be equally effective, and wouldn't require the massive amount of energy necessary to hold a ferro-fluid suspension in the form of a knife. Not to mention storage of such a weapon: the fluid would need to be under a constant magnetic field, lest it turn to goo in your pocket. While I agree that a throwing knife with explosives would be anything but silent, such a weapon, with a small enough amount of explosive, may still be a very potent weapon for utilization even in a habitat. It would only take a very small internal explosion to be absolutely devastating to a soft target, and such an explosion may have minimal effect on the harder surfaces internal to a ship. In fact, the wasp knife essentially works to that effect, bursting with gas upon impact... this would make a perfect throwing weapon, especially since it would be lethal to most targets, whether in vacuum, heavy pressure, or even in standard earth air pressure (a well-placed wasp knife will almost definitely introduce gaseous oxygen to the bloodstream, which is slow-acting but lethal for normal humans).