Popular Mechanics article

Discussion of the new run of Star Trek XI+ movies and any spinoffs
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sunnyside
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Re: Popular Mechanics article

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Graham Kennedy wrote:That pipe in TOS always puzzled me, too. Whenever I see it, I can't help but wonder if it's some kind of access shaft. It seems big enough for a person to walk down, or perhaps crawl down. But... the thing it accesses seems to be accessible from within the ship, so what would be the point?

The blue glowing thing on top of the TMP impulse section is the "Impulse Deflection Crystal". TMP actually had a well thought out idea for the drive system - that glowing warp core shaft you saw in Engineering goes right the way from the matter/antimatter pods at the bottom of the ship, up through main engineering, right up through the neck, through the saucer, and reaches the deflection crystal at the top. A horizontal branch off that tower in main engineering goes back through the engineering hull, and then splits and angles up the struts to the nacelles.

The implication seems to be that the M/AM reactor powers the impulse engines. Which makes more sense to me than making them fusion rockets, even if boosted by magic mass-lightening. Using fusion for power in the age of M/AM is like having a nuclear powered aircraft carrier with steam stoves to warm the crew.
Good info on the TMP stuff. Though on the TOS it looks to be maybe, what, 20ft across? So a decent amount of space.

I always thought having having fusion reactors that could power the impulse engines made sense. I believe most (every?) US ship with a nuclear reactor also has a backup diesel so you don't go dark and dead in the water if you lose the reactor for some reason (hopefully a temporary one).

We've seen numerous instances where warp cores have been ejected, where the antimatter pods were ejected, the saucer separated, or the system was knocked out for some reason or other and they were able to limp around at impulse speeds and still, at some reduced rate, power the ship systems and weapons.
Mikey wrote:Well, obviously it can't be directly analagous to an IC engine's power-dome hood, which is there to accomodate increased intake. Whether powered by insular fusion plants or by the M/AM reactor, there would be no such "intakes" for the impulse engines. Likewise, there would be no need for a method to bleed excess power since both motive systems were gradable. I even doubt my own hypothesis of the structure being a heat sink, since it's not placed in a position even remotely approaching ideal for that purpose. Control systems? Secondary access? Tunnel of Love?
Well, not an air intake obviously, but some component or combinations of components and headspace requiring more clearance than the edge of the saucer affords.

Or maybe in line with later designs there's a plasma conduit in the front of the neck and that tube directs it rearwards.
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