New High Guard Components
- Thread starter Golan2072
- Start date
That's like .70 Lightspeed!!!Are they serious?...
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Not quite 
0.70c is 210,000 km per second.
0.70c is 210,000 km per second.
Bob Weaver
SOC-12
[/quote]Umm, am I misunderstanding the table here? It looks like even using 100% of the hull at TL 15 would produce only 0.01G of thrust. (0.0001 x 100) Is this a typo or a design flaw?
Best Regards,
Bob
Plankowner
SOC-13
Ion engines are very low thrust, but they are designed to run continuously for a VERY long time. While they are not nearly as efficient as the OTU Maneuver Drive, they are much more efficient than the Chemical Rockets of most TL6 or TL7 societies. IF a planet never developed the Maneuver Drive, this might be the most efficient drive they could develop.
Plankowner
SOC-13
Anyone want to stat out a Bussard Ramjet? Uses interstellar hydrogen to fuel the drive (essentially no fuel) and can reach relativist speeds?
The sub-light probes out of Terra before the invention of the Jump Drive were probably this type of engine.
The sub-light probes out of Terra before the invention of the Jump Drive were probably this type of engine.
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
I am curious how many EPs it will take to project a magnetic field of sufficient size and strength to capture enough interstellar medium hydrogen to fuel the drive. How much hydrogen is eaten away by running a fusion plant to produce the magnetic field?
Plankowner
SOC-13
Good question, don't have the answer.
Tau Zero is supposed to be one of the definitive SF books on the subject. I read it many decades ago, but don't remember much about it.
I did a little digging on the net about the Bussard Ramjet to refresh the old synapsis...
TL 8
Uses a magnetic field (50KKM\m+ across) to collect interstellar hydrogen which is used as fuel for the Fusion Power Plant and as reaction mass for the Maneuver Drive. Accellerations of 1G are possible and you don't have to carry any fuel. You also need superconductors to create the magnetic field.
Downside: Minimum velocity to use this system is 1%C, so you will have to have a more convential Maneuver drive to get you up to speed.
The question, as RoS mentioned, is assigning an EP value to a magnetic field that is 50KKm+ is size. I don't remember enough of my college physics to calculate the energy for a Magnetic Field, but I bet someone out there does. Also, some Dtn value would have to be given to the magnetic field genertors. I see this system as a replacement for the fuel tanks, you would still need a PP and M-Drive (limited to 1 or 2 gees).
So, unless someone can use one of those other design systems, I would propose that the Bussard Ramjet Mass is 20% of the ship's mass at a cost of 1MCr/Ton.
Minimum Fuel to reach 1%C would still need to be carried to get you up to speed. I assume that you could siphon off a little of the collected fuel to refill the tank for the slow-down from 1%C at the destination. Very high relativistic speeds can be achieved with this system 90%+ of the speed of light.
Anyone else have a better idea for the design?
Tau Zero is supposed to be one of the definitive SF books on the subject. I read it many decades ago, but don't remember much about it.
I did a little digging on the net about the Bussard Ramjet to refresh the old synapsis...
TL 8
Uses a magnetic field (50KKM\m+ across) to collect interstellar hydrogen which is used as fuel for the Fusion Power Plant and as reaction mass for the Maneuver Drive. Accellerations of 1G are possible and you don't have to carry any fuel. You also need superconductors to create the magnetic field.
Downside: Minimum velocity to use this system is 1%C, so you will have to have a more convential Maneuver drive to get you up to speed.
The question, as RoS mentioned, is assigning an EP value to a magnetic field that is 50KKm+ is size. I don't remember enough of my college physics to calculate the energy for a Magnetic Field, but I bet someone out there does. Also, some Dtn value would have to be given to the magnetic field genertors. I see this system as a replacement for the fuel tanks, you would still need a PP and M-Drive (limited to 1 or 2 gees).
So, unless someone can use one of those other design systems, I would propose that the Bussard Ramjet Mass is 20% of the ship's mass at a cost of 1MCr/Ton.
Minimum Fuel to reach 1%C would still need to be carried to get you up to speed. I assume that you could siphon off a little of the collected fuel to refill the tank for the slow-down from 1%C at the destination. Very high relativistic speeds can be achieved with this system 90%+ of the speed of light.
Anyone else have a better idea for the design?
Plankowner
SOC-13
OK, here is my writeup on the Bussard RamJet:
Interstellar Ram Jet (Sub-Light Speed)
The interstellar ramjet is a powerplant that collects interstellar hydrogen instead of having a more traditional fuel tank. The hydrogen is collected using a large (50,000km wide) magnetic field. The Ramjet is only efficient when the ship's velocity is above 10%c. Theoretically, relativistic velocities are possible, but practically, speeds above 50%c are not possible.
TL: 8
Mass: 1000+10*EP
Cost: 2MCr/Ton
EP for the maneuver drive is determined using the following formula:
EP = G*Mass/100
Since artificial gravity is not normally in use at TL 8, the practical limit to the accelleration is 2G, with 1G being much more common.
Interstellar Ram Jet (Sub-Light Speed)
The interstellar ramjet is a powerplant that collects interstellar hydrogen instead of having a more traditional fuel tank. The hydrogen is collected using a large (50,000km wide) magnetic field. The Ramjet is only efficient when the ship's velocity is above 10%c. Theoretically, relativistic velocities are possible, but practically, speeds above 50%c are not possible.
TL: 8
Mass: 1000+10*EP
Cost: 2MCr/Ton
EP for the maneuver drive is determined using the following formula:
EP = G*Mass/100
Since artificial gravity is not normally in use at TL 8, the practical limit to the accelleration is 2G, with 1G being much more common.
