Would combining thermoelectric cells and electronic warfare reduce chances of a ship being detected?
In the science fiction setting I'm working on, I had a thought on how to reduce the detection ranges in space. On a previous question, I suggested the idea of capital ships and other support ships producing a cloud of electromagnetic interference that would make it near impossible to isolate individual ships within the cloud without visual aid. Sensors would just show a giant electromagnetic cloud. Firing into the cloud outside visual range MIGHT hit something, but would more likely just miss between ships. 477
Space is big, very big.
I came up with something else that might aid the difficulty in detecting a spacefaring vessel at long range, particularly by passive sensors. A combination of two separate ideas.
If a ship had the means to re-absorb waste heat and convert it into electrical energy, through centuries of advancements in thermoelectric cells, they could reduce their heat signatures (and get a little more power as a bonus, but I'm sure the pilots would more appreciate the signature reduction.)
Building off the electronic warfare idea previously mentioned, the ship could also emit its own interference that makes it indistinguishable from cosmic radiation to passive sensors.
The combination of a reduced heat signature and the interference signal should make a ship harder to detect by most sensors, I think.
The only concerns I have at this point are:
* That the electromagnetic shielding that keeps this cosmic radiation OUT of the ship might be trapping the interference signal in. Even if it's not actual cosmic radiation trapped in the shield, I imagine that signal is not very helpful if it can't escape the shielding.
* That the electromagnetic shielding that keeps cosmic radiation out may be just as obvious as a ship without any stealth measures thus defeating itself.
Are my concerns justified? Or does this system still sound plausible enough to work?
This isn't meant to be true stealth in space, just sensor mitigation that helps force ships into visual range. This setting is being developed both for games and short stories and watching your ship firing at something outside of visual range doesn't sound like the foundation of a fun game to me. 477