Other Gundam Worlds: What Do Specs Measure?

[toysdream]

Just for a change from my usual Universal Century noodlings, here's something I've been pondering about the rest of the Gundam worlds - the settings of G Gundam, Gundam Wing, Gundam X, Turn A Gundam, and the Seed, 00, and Age series. As you may know, most of these works provide only the most basic specs for their mobile suits. But the specs that are provided aren't always measuring the same things.

Here, as best as I can tell, are the precise bits of data we're given in the specs for each show...

G Gundam: head height (頭頂高), base weight (本体重量), and "maximum load weight" (最大加重重量).

Gundam Wing: head height (頭頂高) and base weight (本体重量). We also get generator and thruster outputs for Endless Waltz and G-UNIT.

Gundam X: head height (頭頂高) and base weight (本体重量).

Turn A Gundam: overall height (全高), "weight" (重量), and generator output. A handful of the machines also have an "operating weight" (稼働重量) that's slightly lower, perhaps reflecting the effects of their Minovsky propulsion systems.

Gundam Seed: overall height (全高) and "weight" (重量). Unlike most of the other series, the heights provided include antennas, fins, and head decorations, so the actual sizes of the mobile suits are often a lot different from what you'd expect! As for the weights, it's not specified whether this is base or overall weight, but I kind of suspect it's the latter.

Gundam 00: head height (頭頂高) and base weight (本体重量). This is kind of a reversion to the format used before Turn A and Seed. Although the weights listed are base weights, this may not mean the exact same thing it does in the U.C. series, where it represents "dry weight" without weapons or propellant - not all 00 machines have thrusters, and who knows whether GN drive machines actually need any propellant. In some of the MSV profiles we see listings for "gross weight" (総重量) which is the sum of base weight and special equipment, so it could be that "base weight" in this context just means "no weapons".

Gundam Age: A little unclear, since the specs for this series have only been published in a couple of places (never on the official web site or in the model kits). Usually the height and weight are listed as overall height (全高) and base weight (本体重量), but I'm skeptical about the heights - in too many cases, like Genoace and Clanche and the Zalam and Euba suits, we see versions with and without extra head decorations which all have the same height spec.

-- Mark

[SonicSP]

For 00 universe, one curiousity that can be thought off would be the actual meaning of base weight. We still don't know whether there is some sort of basic formula applied for GN machines where their weights are reduced. Original GN Drives have been noted to be unable to be turned off and as a result, the weight reduction effect is applied all the time (I believe the 300 Years later book mentioned the constant weight reduction effect). Even if we somehow discount the reduction effect on the rest of the frame, one wonders how we'll calculate the entire suit with its Original GN Drive (a pretty important part it must be said) then and come up with some sort of standard comparable measure.

Then there's just some weird cases like the Flag's official weight being heavier than Virtue's, which could possibly be the result of Virtue's being constructed with relatively lightweight materials (Celestial Being is more advanced afterall) but could also be the result of some standard GN Particles' weight reduction effect formula being applied which is applied to Virtue's actual weight before getting its official weight.

00 Raiser's weight is also the sum of 00 Gundam's and 0 Raiser's weight despite resulting in a more powerful powerplant that could result in further weight reductions. I think 00 Raiser may illustrates that its either the weight minus any GN Particle effects or a weight after a standard GN Particle effect formula reduction. I would have firmly believe the former if it weren't for the Virtue, even if the "made out of lighter materials" still can logically fit. Then again, Tau Drive Astraea has the same base weight as Original Drive Astraea, so maybe it's probably standard mass excluding whatever reduction effects.

I'm also personally confused about whether GN Particles reduces mass or weight (I know reducing mass automatically reduces weight but take this meaning to reduce something from weight component other than mass). I think Mark's translation of the HG Zwei's manual initially mentioned mass but amended it to weight. On a Facebook group recently, I've seen the translation of a specific scan was noted to be both mass and weight. Still a bit confused about what specific component is reduced. Could be a) mass, b) acceleration from gravity only or c) acceleration in general?

[Strike Zero]

Gundam Seed: overall height (全高) and "weight" (重量). Unlike most of the other series, the heights provided include antennas, fins, and head decorations, so the actual sizes of the mobile suits are often a lot different from what you'd expect!

This is something that has boggled me as of late; "overall height" in the SEED universe takes into account things like head crests and V-fins, while at the same time excluding other fixtures such as wings and backpacks.

Why do they gotta DO THAT?! What was wrong with the perfectly standard head height/overall height formula that UC Gundam has? Was it their aim to be as confusing as possible?

[Calubin_175]

Why do they gotta DO THAT?! What was wrong with the perfectly standard head height/overall height formula that UC Gundam has? Was it their aim to be as confusing as possible?

As mecha fans, we would like technical specs to be taken as seriously as possible, but most of the time the creators don't as these mech designs are only secondary to many things they're trying to sell, especially for Gundam Seed.

[Dendrobium Stamen]

As mecha fans, we would like technical specs to be taken as seriously as possible, but most of the time the creators don't as these mech designs are only secondary to many things they're trying to sell, especially for Gundam Seed.

I think it's unfair to single out SEED as an example where merchandising concerns outweigh tech specs - that applies to absolutely every Gundam series/timeline/etc. - the Universal Century just had a bit of help from the authors of reference books such as Gundam Century in the 80s, who wanted to bring mobile suits to a level of mundane reality through ultra-detailed specs, to make weapons like the Zaku seem as "real" as a tank or jet fighter.

So, the Universal Century having these kinds of very detailed specs is great, but it's worth remembering that they too only exist to someone could sell books...

[Raikoh]

This is something that has boggled me as of late; "overall height" in the SEED universe takes into account things like head crests and V-fins, while at the same time excluding other fixtures such as wings and backpacks.

Why do they gotta DO THAT?! What was wrong with the perfectly standard head height/overall height formula that UC Gundam has? Was it their aim to be as confusing as possible?

I'm not sure about the wings, but the backpacks of Seed usually aren't a fixed part of the unit's configuration; just something that they can swap out. Perhaps the wings are something they thought of not taking into account because by their logic "they're going to be folded downwards more often than not" or something.

Hey, it's not much but it's something.

[Zeonista]

Just for a change from my usual Universal Century noodlings, here's something I've been pondering about the rest of the Gundam worlds - the settings of G Gundam, Gundam Wing, Gundam X, Turn A Gundam, and the Seed, 00, and Age series. As you may know, most of these works provide only the most basic specs for their mobile suits. But the specs that are provided aren't always measuring the same things.

I feel inclined to also join in the voice of moderation to not make many comparisons to UC measurements. The Universal Century MS had definite measurements, which as toysdream can attest, can be definitely edited. Many of the AU series have features that are difficult to quantify according to our current systems of measurement. (David Drake has said in word & print that he does not believe that people in the future will still be using the metric system, but he finds the metric system useful for describing things for his readers.) There was also a seven-year gap between MS Gundam and Zeta Gundam (including the movies) so in that time Sunrise encouraged fans of the first series by giving out extra information on the MS to help stimulate interest. It also being the time of the Cold War, comparative performance statistics were also a popular concern in places. The current generation of rising fandom is oriented more towards Yugioh & less towards Jane's Guides, I guess.

G Gundam: head height (頭頂高), base weight (本体重量), and "maximum load weight" (最大加重重量).

In this case, less description is better, since the battling Capcom Robo FIghters have such variety that only the most general stats would be given, or maybe thought useful by the general public of that AU.

Gundam X: head height (頭頂高) and base weight (本体重量).

This is the one series where I am a little disappointed with the statistics, since the X-world MS seem very close to the pre-F91 UC MS in terms of performance scale.

Gundam Seed: overall height (全高) and "weight" (重量). Unlike most of the other series, the heights provided include antennas, fins, and head decorations, so the actual sizes of the mobile suits are often a lot different from what you'd expect! As for the weights, it's not specified whether this is base or overall weight, but I kind of suspect it's the latter.

I don't think it's a bad idea to incorporate the head topping height to the overall height, if only as a caution to the pilots. I do also thing the weight for CE MS is the overall weight of the combat-ready MS. Given the nature of CE MS performance, I am inclined to question if this overall weight is more in terms of mass than as weight in the context of performance. Some statistics for the variant backpack loadouts would be useful too, since a CE MS is never judged by its base configuration, but by whatever backpack or other loadout option can be added to it.

Gundam 00: head height (頭頂高) and base weight (本体重量). This is kind of a reversion to the format used before Turn A and Seed. Although the weights listed are base weights, this may not mean the exact same thing it does in the U.C. series, where it represents "dry weight" without weapons or propellant - not all 00 machines have thrusters, and who knows whether GN drive machines actually need any propellant. In some of the MSV profiles we see listings for "gross weight" (総重量) which is the sum of base weight and special equipment, so it could be that "base weight" in this context just means "no weapons".

The GN drives are very hard to measure in a quantitative measure, especially given their ability to work "off the scale" so to speak. That is also the AU difference between UC & AD here. In UC the new power system is invented by a human scientist, while in CE it is an alien technology that is barely understood by the people using it. Given that many AD MS do not have internal weapons to the degree that UC MS do, I would also agree that "base weight" can be interpreted as "unarmed".

Gundam Age: A little unclear, since the specs for this series have only been published in a couple of places (never on the official web site or in the model kits). Usually the height and weight are listed as overall height (全高) and base weight (本体重量), but I'm skeptical about the heights - in too many cases, like Genoace and Clanche and the Zalam and Euba suits, we see versions with and without extra head decorations which all have the same height spec.

The heights then seem to be crown of head, as opposed to head-toppings of whatever type. I am a little surprised that more information has not been given out here, given AGE has had many MP MS as well as heroic-level MS. There is even multi-generational development, to allow for comparison and expansion! Somebody needs to to crack the whip over there and give the fans some juicy stats to obsess over!

[toysdream]

Where the 00 Gundams are concerned, I'm pretty sure the weight specs include the weight-reducing effects of the Gn Drive. As per the Virtue kit manual:

However, its weight is only half that of the Human Reform League's similarly massive Tieren. This is due to the weight-reducing effects of the GN particles generated by the GN Drive (or solar reactor) installed in the center of its body. Even when the machine itself is not in use, the GN Drive is constantly active, so it never loses this effect.

So the weight reduction appears to be factored in already.

As to whether this is mass or weight, literally it should be the latter. The Japanese term 重量, which is used both in discussing the effect and in listing the mobile suit specs, specifically means weight - it's used in the term 重量キログラム (kilogram-force or kilogram-weight) to describe the weight of one kilogram of mass under one Earth gravity. (Technically, that's the unit that U.C. thruster specs are measured in.) The Japanese term for mass is 質量 - it's used, for example, in the mass ratio specs we used to get for U.C. mobile suits.

What the GN Drive provides, then, seems to be weight reduction - anti-gravity - rather than mass reduction. Does this work in space? I have no idea, but it seems unlikely.


As for the overall heights of Cosmic Era mobile suits, I think Raikoh's probably right that they're excluding wings and backpacks because they're considered either movable or optional. We do have separate specs for the overall height of the Blaze and Slash versions of the ZAKU Warrior/Phantom, so presumably these could be provided on a backpack-by-backpack basis if the specs people so desired.

-- Mark

[SonicSP]

Where the 00 Gundams are concerned, I'm pretty sure the weight specs include the weight-reducing effects of the Gn Drive. As per the Virtue kit manual:

However, its weight is only half that of the Human Reform League's similarly massive Tieren. This is due to the weight-reducing effects of the GN particles generated by the GN Drive (or solar reactor) installed in the center of its body. Even when the machine itself is not in use, the GN Drive is constantly active, so it never loses this effect.

So the weight reduction appears to be factored in already.

As to whether this is mass or weight, literally it should be the latter. The Japanese term 重量, which is used both in discussing the effect and in listing the mobile suit specs, specifically means weight - it's used in the term 重量キログラム (kilogram-force or kilogram-weight) to describe the weight of one kilogram of mass under one Earth gravity. (Technically, that's the unit that U.C. thruster specs are measured in.) The Japanese term for mass is 質量 - it's used, for example, in the mass ratio specs we used to get for U.C. mobile suits.

What the GN Drive provides, then, seems to be weight reduction - anti-gravity - rather than mass reduction. Does this work in space? I have no idea, but it seems unlikely.


As for the overall heights of Cosmic Era mobile suits, I think Raikoh's probably right that they're excluding wings and backpacks because they're considered either movable or optional. We do have separate specs for the overall height of the Blaze and Slash versions of the ZAKU Warrior/Phantom, so presumably these could be provided on a backpack-by-backpack basis if the specs people so desired.

-- Mark

Thanks for clearing that up, Mark. That was especially useful, both the Virtuen part and the weight/mass thing. The latter has been bugging me for years.

I think the fact that the they are using weight reduction effects would potentially makes things more error prone when it comes to these numbers.

As far as the Virtue and Original Drive example goes, it makes perfect sense given that the Original Drives were working all the time and hence generating some sort of weight reduction effect at a minimal even of we assume all the Condensers are empty at a simple point. I think the system used here have potential inconsistencies when it comes to Tau Drives and Large Condenser units since they don't have an energy source that runs all the time.

There's also the strange case of 1 Gundam and 1.5 Gundam. The latter, which is an upgrade of the former actually has a lighter official weight despite having more physical add-ons. It does seem to suggests that its either an increase of GN Particle output which leads to the reduced weight or that its reengineered to be lighter. The former would make some sense, but it doesn't seem to count for all the units equally. 00 Raiser with its much more potent GN Drive as a result of being combined with the 0 Raiser, doesn't seem to get any extra weight reduction benefits.

I think C.A. from Animesuk'si para translation of the 300 Years Later book also stated that the AD Gundams "float" instead of "fly". It does seem to suggest that the GN Drive machines have the ability to nullify their weight under gravity completely when needed.

Taking all the information stated above, I guess one possible way to rationalize the inconsistency is there is a standard weight reduction formula/value applied across all GN Machines. It could be like an average "weight on the ground of sorts". This would also apply all Tau Drive and Condenser versions of those suits when applicable. This would take care of any issues when it comes the suits where they were lazy to change the stats when converting to Tau versions. It also means no discrimination for powerful or weak powerplants like with 00 Raiser's case. 1.5 Gundam in this rationalization would just so happened to get reengineered with a lighter mass which lead to having a lighter official weight. Virtue ends up lighter than the Tieren and Flag because of the reduction effect applied with the existing formula.

My only issue would be that I do not see much point in doing this. The constant weight reduction effect Original Drives only makes sense because they're literally activated all the time but harder to justify for Tau Drives since they don't run constantly. It's not like the weight reduction effect can't be done, it's just not there when the machine is standing there and being ineffective (this makes it more of an "active" stat like thrust output rather than a "passive" stay like general empty weight). Not taking into accounts powerplants may be a sign of misjudging the comparisons as well since if you are gonna apply any post reduction weight stats, you want it to be comparable or average to the suits general ability.

I think it would be better to either give the "actual mass" or a "post-reduction weight with regards to powerplant potential". The former is non-discriminatory even if it doesn't showcase the super-useful lightening effect of GN Particles while the latter is sort of practical.

[toysdream]

Good point about how the Tau drives aren't running all the time. I think it's entirely reasonable to think that the weight listed is basically an "active" weight that factors in the GN drive's anti-gravity effects.

As for the 00-Raiser, I've been digging through my specs sources in more detail, and I noticed something weird. The most "official" sources - such as the kit manuals - never list a combined weight for the 00-Raiser. Instead, they just list the base weight of the 00 Gundam (54.9 tons). It's only secondary sources, like the Mechanics & World books and the MS Encyclopedia, that perform the addition and report the full weight of the 00-Raiser as 75.1 tons. Technically, the primary sources never confirm this, and it could well be lighter due to the increased particle output.

Another thing I noticed: The specs for pretty much everything in the 00 TV series list the base weight. (That's why all the variations of the Gundam Throne and GN-X series have about the same weight spec, regardless of equipment.) Most of the variations in the 00V series are listed with gross weight, which is the sum of the original machine's base weight plus this specific equipment set.

And when we get to the 00 movie, all the weight specs listed in the kit manuals are gross weights. That would explain why the Gundam Zabanya, for instance, is so much heavier than previous versions.

-- Mark

[SonicSP]

Interesting bit about 00 Raiser's weight thing. It does paint a possible picture of inconsistency here where the writer of the kit manual seperated them having the weight reduction in mind while the sourcebooks just combines them because its the most logical thing to do. In most cases, it would be but when you're playing around with weight like 00 does.

My guess is the movie Gundams mention gross weight because they're equipment add so much to the overall gross weight. There's an interview with Mizushima that mike_s_6 translated where he said that the non-Qan[T] movie Gundams are like "platform upgrades" rather than successors designed from scratch. That could have meant either directly upgraded from the old Season 2 frames or recycled Season 2 base designs and I think the reuse of Arios and Cherudim in 00I 2314 and 00V Senki made it the latter. In this sense, its possible to think them as variants in a sense.....if you stretch it a little. And variants as you said, usually use gross weight more often than not. They're also classified as heavy weapon units unlike their predecessors' base forms. Probably an extension of them being squeezed out for maximum juice with existing technology, which I think the director also sort of mentions (mike's translations said something about him saying they were more "peaky")

Wouldn't explain Qan[T] though but it's equipment as a percentage of its gross weight should be relatively less so it matter less.

[toysdream]

I think part of the base versus gross weight distinction is that, normally, a mobile suit can have a lot of different equipment options. But a specialized variant like in the 00V series pretty much just has one configuration, so you can tally up a meaningful gross weight. (In other words, the variation is just one of several possible configurations, each with its own corresponding gross weight.)

In the case of the movies, you could argue that the mobile suits only have time to show off one specific configuration. Of course, they do get powered up for the final battle, so that isn't actually true.


This also has implications for other series, too. In the Gundam Seed series, mobile suits like the Strike Gundam have separate weight specs for their basic configuration and their specialized forms. The Strike's shield and beam rifle are used in the Aile form, but not in the Launcher and Sword forms. Thus, the weight spec for the Aile Strike might include the shield and rifle, but the weight spec for the basic Strike wouldn't because it can carry a whole bunch of optional gear instead.

This would also make sense in the context of the Gundam Age series. It's kind of weird that the normal AGE-1 has a base weight of just 43.4 tons, but the AGE-1 Assault Jacket and AGE-1 Glansa have much higher base weights (67.2 and 93.1 tons, respectively). If the Assault Jacket and Glansa specs are gross weight, including all the armor and armament, they seem much more plausible. Likewise for the AGE-FX (63.0 tons) and its A-Funnel configuration (83.8 tons). These are all listed as "base weights" in the published specs, but it would make more sense if the variation specs are actually gross weights that include equipment.

-- Mark

[SonicSP]

You are right that it doesn't make sense of Assault Jacket and Granza to have that higher weights. They're all reay just AGE-1 variants and the AGE-1 was hardly modified on its own, not to the point that it would It would be a little weird.

Hmm I recall that a second AGE-1 Unit was made for the Assault Jacket, not including the one wher study showcased it in traditional colors. Maybe because it never was used on its own as an AGE-1 Normal they decided to just call it base weight? But I guess you are right that its probably an error on the creators part.

[Raikoh]

I think Age uses Gross Weight simply because things like the Assault Jacket and the Glansa are technically referred to as separate units. When the Glansa purges, it's not like it's going from a "Full Armor" Glansa to a normal one, it's going from Glansa to Flat. For simplicity's sake, I think they just end up referring to all the weights as the "base weight" of that variant.

It's like how the Alex has two different weights for when it's equipped with the Chobham armor and when it isn't. Since the Age suits in general have less information given about them (only one weight measurement in this example), if they listed "base weight" as the weight of the Flat version, it's possible that the weight of the Glansa wouldn't be even listed.

[toysdream]

The question is, does the listed weight of the AGE-1 Normal (or the AGE-1 Flat) include its weapons - say, the standard shield and rifle? You'd expect those wouldn't be counted towards "base weight", especially since the AGE-1 keeps getting new equipment as the series goes on. If we're comparing the AGE-1 Glansa to an unarmed AGE-1 Flat, then the difference in weight isn't quite as extreme as it looks, and we can figure the weight of all that extra kit through simple subtraction.

One of the trickiest things with Gundam specs is trying to figure out how much the assorted parts weigh. There are a handful of cases where we can figure it out - for example, all those Striker and Wizard packs from the Gundam Seed series - but first we need to be sure what's being included in which numbers.

-- Mark

[SonicSP]

I am curious about something from looking through the list. Why does a metaseries that generally speaking has a lot of space involvement use weight instead of mass? I understand that mass and weight are generally interchangeable in everyday real life, but it means a lot less when being used in space/other planets/colonies where it can deviate based on the gravity/simulated gravity numbers. I'm not majoring in any science degree here but I recognize that the unit used here is also supposed to be a mass unit rather than a weight unit. Wouldn't mass be more universal? It stays the same no matter where you go.

I understand that the weight measurements used here pretty much equals their mass because I assume its done under standard 1G conditions. I'm just curious why don't they just outright say "mass" when labeling them.

[toysdream]

All I can think is that's a holdover from the super robot era.

Either that, or a concession to military otaku, at the cost of alienating space nerds!

-- Mark

[Raikoh]

I think there's some solid evidence I found after racking my brain and doing some digging that might suggest that optional armaments aren't taken into account when doing weight measurements in Age. This thesis is based on the ground of using the Bisidian customized versions of Woolf's Mobile Suits. The G-Exes is listed as being heavier than the G-Exes Jackedge, despite the fact that the Jackedge looks slightly bulkier and has a lot more optional weapons (including a beam rifle that's way bigger than the G-Exes'). The Jackedge having a lower weight is most likely due to developing more lightweight armor (which would also explain why the G-Bouncer is nearly 15 metric tons lighter than the G-Exes).

There's also the G-Bouncer and G-Xiphos, and the G-Xiphos is around 3 tons heavier. This suggests that the armor plating available to the Bisidian Pirates is more lightweight than stuff from the Flit arc but heavier than stuff from the Asemu arc - which makes sense to me. Though if the weapons were taken into account, I'd think that the huge physical blade that the G-Xiphos had would end up adding a much larger boost to its weight (similar to the incredibly heavy Sword Striker pack).

[toysdream]

And for that matter, the G-Xiphos "Snake Sword Equipment Type" has the same "base weight" spec as the standard G-Xiphos...

Looking at the alternate-universe shows as a whole, it seems pretty clear that the listed weights are almost always base weights that don't include armament. (Whether they include propellant, and whether propellant even exists in these universes, is a whole other kettle of fish.) The question is, do any of these weight specs ever include armament? In the case of the "gross weight" specs from the 00V series and the 00 movie, it seems like they do, but otherwise we don't have any hard evidence.


Meanwhile, I've been messaging with SonicSP about that "weight reduction effect" from Gundam 00, and I'm still puzzling over which machines it applies to and when. Supposedly, it's a permanent effect with the Virtue, but what happens to a Tau drive-equipped machine when you turn off the power? And does this apply to all machines?

Take, for instance, the Ahead. This is a huge machine, which we now have confirmation is developed from the Tieren, and it's really light for its size - just over 70 tons. On the other hand, the much smaller GN-X is only about one ton lighter. And the GN-X, in turn, is only a few tons heavier than the even smaller and skinnier Union Flag and AEU Enact...

Then we have Graham's Union Flag Custom II. If this is based on Graham's original Flag Custom, then hooking up the Tau drive has actually increased its weight by more than seven tons!

My best guess, then, is that the weight reduction effect isn't automatic - it may either be the result of specially installed antigravity devices, or perhaps a side effect of some other feature, like big particle storage tanks. (This would help explain why the Exia's Avalanche equipment is so light.)

EDIT: We do know that at least some of the equipment is weight-reduced. As per the 00V writeup on the Gundam Dynames Torpedo:

The Torpedo's equipment weight is 6.9 tons, but as with the machine itself, this figure includes the GN Drive's weight reduction effect, and when detached from the Dynames its weight is increased.

-- Mark

[toysdream]

Here's an addendum on Gundam 00's weight/mass changing effect. (The kit manuals seem to use both terms, despite the big difference in meaning.) There are a couple of passages in the kit manuals that give us a hint how this might work.

First, from the description of the GN Hammer in the Astraea Type F kit manual:

The sphere has a GN Condenser inside it, and using the particles' mass regulation function, the impact can be increased when it hits.

And from the Avalanche Exia Dash kit manual, a description of its High Mobility Mode:

The parts on the shoulders, the knees, and the ends of the legs are deployed far from the center of gravity. This mode increases the performance of AMBAC, which is an attitude control function based on movements of mass, by changing the mass of the particles stored within [these parts]. This is particularly effective during melee combat in space, making precise high-speed movements possible without consuming particles.

Ah, I think that may explain it! It's not that the GN drive, or the particles it emits, actually change the mass of other objects. Rather, when you have a bunch of stored GN particles, you can change their mass. Since this effect can be used to cancel out some of the weight of a heavy machine like the Virtue, it suggests that GN particles can actually be manipulated to have a negative mass. That's a bit crazy, but then again GN particles seem to be basically magic.

This also suggests that you need to have a supply of GN particles stored inside the object whose mass you want to adjust. The bigger the condenser, presumably, the bigger an effect you can produce.

-- Mark