The Wonderful World of Technology--Shields

So I'm making this as a way to shed some light on the more confusing bits of Star Wars technology(well, that's the plan anyways).
First off is shields.
-There are various types of shields, but today I'm going to cover the two most common ones: Ray shields and Particle shields.

Ray shields are a form of energy shield that's purpose is to absorb or deflect laser and radiation bolts. They "absorb lasers like a sponge" and as such are commonly used on starships to protect against enemy fire. Taking successive energy blasts depletes a ray shield's energy, and it will burn out if it takes too much.  If this happens, the shield needs time to recharge before it can be used again.  

Many of  the large Ray shields require multiple arrays located on and around whatever they are protecting. They are also used in land battles.  These are powered by shield generators that project a dome of energy through which lasers cannot penetrate.  

Though often thought of as being used solely to protect ships or other vehicles and structures, ray shields can come in more personal sizes as well.  Personal energy shields can be clipped to one's belt or strapped to the wrist. When activated, they produce a field similar to the larger variant.  Even among the personal shields, however, there are variants.  Some simply produce a bubble like protection field.  Others are wielded like a traditional physical shield, such as the Gungan personal energy shields seen in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  

Personal shields require large amounts of power, and as such are usually only used when compact is to be expected.  "Another feature of personal shields is ablation, that is, the shield weakens as it absorbs damage until it either fails, is deactivated, or is recharged. As the shields absorbed energy, they tended to become extremely hot. Due to the limitations of personal deflector shields, they were usually used in tandem with other forms of protection."(Almost direct quote from Wookiepedia.  I simply changed the tense to fit the rest of my post) 

Ray shields can also be used as methods of capture upon capital ships.  A good example is in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are captured when infiltrating the Invisible Hand. Though meant to stop laser bolts, the energy emissions from the shield probably would have disintegrated the Jedi on contact.

Now onto Particle shields.
In contrast to Ray shields, Particle shields are used to block physical objects and matter.  These shields must be deactivated to allow objects to pass through, such as launching starfighters or missiles from large starships.
Unfortunately, Wookiepedia has very little further information in regards to particle shields.  Sorry! D:


So here it is!  All the basic information you need to know to effectively utilize Ray and Particle shields in CaC2 combat!
If you have any further questions, either about these shields or other types; or would like me to continue with more posts like this, let me know in the comments!

Ellron Silvertree

P.S. Yes, I did steal the signature coloration idea from Lylyss :P guilty as charged.