Grav Bikes

[BackworldTraveller]

I've seen designs for grav bikes that have top speeds of 2000kph.

An F5 tornado is about a quarter of this speed.

At what speed do grav bikes cease to be usable due to airflow effects?

Aerodynamic drag will also be horrendous at those speeds due to the fairing and due to having passed the sound barrier. How (could) that be overcome sensibly without turning the vehicle into a speeder?

 

[Condottiere]

I'd assume it depends on whether there'a an atmosphere, or not.

Missile shaped and enclosed, it can probably hit hypersonic.

 

[flykiller]

Aerodynamic drag will also be horrendous at those speeds due to the fairing and due to having passed the sound barrier. How (could) that be overcome sensibly without turning the vehicle into a speeder?

gravitic air foils!

 

[Straybow]

I think it ceases to be a "bike" if it is enclosed.

 

[Spinward Scout]

At Mach 1.6, it would have to be a flying cockpit or a 1 or 2 person speeder. Seat belts, helmets, and ejection seats would probably be required. Speed Zones in residential areas even with crash-avoidance software.

 

[Grav_Moped]

gravitic air foils!

I think it ceases to be a "bike" if it is enclosed.

At Mach 1.6, it would have to be a flying cockpit or a 1 or 2 person speeder. Seat belts, helmets, and ejection seats would probably be required. Speed Zones in residential areas even with crash-avoidance software.

Most sophonts dislike sonic booms in their vicinity. Just saying.

And yes, if it's enclosed it's a speeder. At high TL, I agree with flykiller that there are likely gravitic fields shaping the vehicle's aerodynamics so the rider doesn't get torn out of his/her seat by the airflow.

 

[flykiller]

I agree with flykiller

I feel ... validated ....

 

[Spinward Scout]

How about an extended bug-screen? One that can flip up when you land? Although even a bird-strike could be deadly without inertial compensators.

 

[Condottiere]

Battle dress.

 

[Condottiere]

Also depends on how you define vehicular chassis, or differentiate them.

You can have grav powered (or partially powered) mopeds, scooters, trikes, quads, choppers.

If bikes are defined as at least four sides open, top, right, left, and back, with at most one passenger, that would narrow it down.

 

[flykiller]

with at most one passenger

nah, two. need a biker babe on the back seat.

 

[Spinward Scout]

nah, two. need a biker babe on the back seat.

I think that would be the one passenger. The other is the driver.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Also depends on how you define vehicular chassis, or differentiate them.

You can have grav powered (or partially powered) mopeds, scooters, trikes, quads, choppers.

If bikes are defined as at least four sides open, top, right, left, and back, with at most one passenger, that would narrow it down.

The general concept is that it's something you sit astride, rather than in (grav vehicle) or that you wear (grav belt). Scooters would be (usually) of step-through configuration, bikes/cycles would require swinging a leg over to board or dismount. And sure, they could have grav modules at three corners of the chassis (trike), or four (quad).

While grav modules violate the laws of thermodynamics, they might not do so by enough to allow them to be literally pedal-powered despite my moniker. It'd be pretty cool if they did, though. Provides a charming Space: 1889 ambiance...

 

[mike wightman]

How does a null grav module break the laws of thermodynamics?

 

[Condottiere]

There's a floating throne, with presumably a single grav module.

 

[BackworldTraveller]

There's a floating throne, with presumably a single grav module.

Does it also come with a curtain and a septic tank?

 

[Grav_Moped]

How does a null grav module break the laws of thermodynamics?

Grav vehicles (specifically, the canon Air/Raft) can fly for extended periods of time (up to 10 weeks, per its description). You can turn one into a perpetual motion machine by using it to lift 4000 L of water per go, up to the top of an absurdly tall tower continuously over those 10 weeks, and using that to drive a turbine/generator at the base of the tower. Run the output into a huge battery bank, and use that to recharge the Air/Raft after two and a half months. I'm pretty sure the battery bank will have power left over afterwards.

 

[mike wightman]

The air/raft has a power source that powers the gravitics. CT suggests this may be super efficient batteries, later works use vehicle scale fusion and fusion+ reactors.

It will take more energy to lift your 4 tons of water to an altitude than you get back from using the falling water to power the turbine and recharge the air/raft.

No perpetual motion machine, no breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

 

[Carlobrand]

The general concept is that it's something you sit astride, rather than in (grav vehicle) or that you wear (grav belt). Scooters would be (usually) of step-through configuration, bikes/cycles would require swinging a leg over to board or dismount. And sure, they could have grav modules at three corners of the chassis (trike), or four (quad).

While grav modules violate the laws of thermodynamics, they might not do so by enough to allow them to be literally pedal-powered despite my moniker. It'd be pretty cool if they did, though. Provides a charming Space: 1889 ambiance...

Tried to build a grav chair once, for paraplegic individuals. Damn thing kept going over the speed of sound. Played hell with the pedestrian traffic.

 

[Condottiere]

1.

Thought controlled interface.


2.If you can create more energy through usage or manipulation than the grav module requires, possibly through an attached turbine, than you have positive energy.