Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Were the following issues ever addressed in the ST universe?
Slide 8 of 43: "While Bussard's spacecraft concept looks appealing, calculations have shown that the thrust of the engine may not be enough to overcome drag caused by the magnetic funnel." (Ref.: Bussard collectors -- is this applicable?)
Slide 18 of 43: "VARIES – Vacuum to Antimatter Rocket Interstellar Explorer System, is a concept from Richard Obousy that would use enormous solar arrays to generate power for extremely powerful lasers, which, when fired at empty space, would create particles of antimatter which could be stored and used as fuel. The process would be used at the vehicle's destination to create fuel for the return journey."
(emphases added)
Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
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Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
Despite the name, Trek ships aren't an interstellar Bussard ramjet. The collectors are only really there for an emergency/auxiliary fuel supply, IIRC, they really don't fuel the vessel for flight.
As for antimatter, so far as I know where the Federation gets all that antimatter from has never even been hinted at. One can only assume that there are some sort of antimatter creation facilities somewhere, but what powers them? Massive fusion reactors, perhaps.
In my Coalition universe, they build vast solar collectors close to the sun and power antimatter generators with them. Maybe Trek does something like that.
As for antimatter, so far as I know where the Federation gets all that antimatter from has never even been hinted at. One can only assume that there are some sort of antimatter creation facilities somewhere, but what powers them? Massive fusion reactors, perhaps.
In my Coalition universe, they build vast solar collectors close to the sun and power antimatter generators with them. Maybe Trek does something like that.
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
Actually according to the TNG tech manual they do exactly that, huge solar arrays in close solar orbit. They use solar power because of the inherent inefficiency of the conversion process.
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
Ha, great minds...
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
Logical minds :p
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
Hmmm, now if we could just get people over that childish knee jerk response to nuclear power.
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
NIMBY!Vic wrote:Hmmm, now if we could just get people over that childish knee jerk response to nuclear power.
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
No, we'll bitch and moan about CO2, pollution, and energy independence but latch onto the one viable technology we have to solve all those problems? Nope.
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Re: Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel
In fact, we'll have nutjobs like Sierra Club, who CLAIM to act in support of the environment, go to court to squash any attempt to move away from destructive conventional energy sources (cf., Yucca Mountain.)Tyyr wrote:No, we'll bitch and moan about CO2, pollution, and energy independence but latch onto the one viable technology we have to solve all those problems? Nope.
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I got the high gloss luster
I'll massacre your ass as fast
as Bull offed Custer