What have ships done without warp cores?

[Duskofdead]

The nerve. We were talking about ways to foolproof defend the Federation against the Borg!

[sunnyside]

We do tend to stray here, but that was really out of left field. Almost a non sequitur really.

[Tsukiyumi]

Partially my fault. You can always expect my threadjacks to be from left field, or perhaps... from no field at all...

[Teaos]

TR-116 sydrome at work.

[Duskofdead]

I think, in short, that in every regard besides travel you can have a basically fully functional starship without a warp engine. I just think that proportionately more of its internal volume will be fusion generators/impulse engines than what we see. The problem with Federation starships is that they are designed from scratch with the dual power generation model in mind, so they are never "optimized" to work off just what their impulse fusion reactors provide. If they were, they'd have a lot less weaponry and weaker shields probably, whatever could be comfortably sustained by just the impulse reactors.

[sunnyside]

I think, in short, that in every regard besides travel you can have a basically fully functional starship without a warp engine. I just think that proportionately more of its internal volume will be fusion generators/impulse engines than what we see. The problem with Federation starships is that they are designed from scratch with the dual power generation model in mind, so they are never "optimized" to work off just what their impulse fusion reactors provide. If they were, they'd have a lot less weaponry and weaker shields probably, whatever could be comfortably sustained by just the impulse reactors.

I think we agree on that. Especially due to DS9 just having fusion reactors. You just don't get the high warp speeds, and you'd be a "fat" ship as you'd have to give over more space to fusion reactors and fuel.

So yeah if they really wanted to would think the Feds could design their ships to have the warp core for speed, but have enough fusion reactors they wouldn't have to use it in combat.

Of course then you have a much fatter ship, probably slower as a result, and most of the time you don't want to eject your warp core anyway.


Actually come to think of it in battle you're kinda stuck with the thing. I mean you can't eject it with your shields up, and the numerous disasters with the things indicate you can't just cut off the antimatter flow to turn them off. Presumably there is just a lot of antimatter already inside the thing so it takes too long to use it all up.

So maybe they figure why not just stick with relying on the core?

[Teaos]

As with a lot of designs the pros out weigh the cons.

[Duskofdead]

I think, in short, that in every regard besides travel you can have a basically fully functional starship without a warp engine. I just think that proportionately more of its internal volume will be fusion generators/impulse engines than what we see. The problem with Federation starships is that they are designed from scratch with the dual power generation model in mind, so they are never "optimized" to work off just what their impulse fusion reactors provide. If they were, they'd have a lot less weaponry and weaker shields probably, whatever could be comfortably sustained by just the impulse reactors.

I think we agree on that. Especially due to DS9 just having fusion reactors. You just don't get the high warp speeds, and you'd be a "fat" ship as you'd have to give over more space to fusion reactors and fuel.

So yeah if they really wanted to would think the Feds could design their ships to have the warp core for speed, but have enough fusion reactors they wouldn't have to use it in combat.

Of course then you have a much fatter ship, probably slower as a result, and most of the time you don't want to eject your warp core anyway.


Actually come to think of it in battle you're kinda stuck with the thing. I mean you can't eject it with your shields up, and the numerous disasters with the things indicate you can't just cut of the antimatter flow to turn them off. Presumably there is just a lot of antimatter already inside the thing so it takes too long to use it all up.

So maybe they figure why not just stick with relying on the core?

Per "Image in the Sand" in DS9, the Bajorans still pretty much use impulse ships, which are still armed and shielded etc. But they are considered "antiquated" and no match for dual powered ships fielded by the major powers. It would make sense that there are probably a lot of ship designs for in-system use (cargo, ferrying, transports etc.) which do not have warp engines.

[Captain Seafort]

I think, in short, that in every regard besides travel you can have a basically fully functional starship without a warp engine.

You could still have warp capability, even without a M/AM reactor, like the BoP in "Balance of Terror". The ship would simply be a lot slower (say Wf 5-6).

[mlsnoopy]

Freighters, colony ships, science ships don't need to go fast warp 9.999999, the stadndart cruse speed of w6 is more than enough. For in system travel you don't need a warp drive. On impulse you can get anywhere in a system in matter of houres.

[Teaos]

You'd think that you'd need a power converter if you swithed from M/AM to something else.

[Captain Seafort]

That would depend on where the warp plasma comes from. It certainly isn't the reaction itself, since M/AM reactions relase energy in the form of gamma radiation (and various other stuff - but they rapidly decay to neutrinos), so there must be some kind of converter in place to generate the plasma. Fusion reactions, although IIRC they emit thermal rather than gamma radiation, could use a similar conversion mechanism.

[Mikey]

QED. Good job, everyone! Take 5.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

QED. Good job, everyone! Take 5.

Yeah... are we all agreeing here, for the most part? Has this ever happened before?

[Teaos]

*Points at the rip forming in space time*

Yeah I think we did all agree once. In the thread about suitable responce to being attacked. It was odd...