Vir on Jump Engines

In 2261 Vir wrote:-

Traveling faster than light has always been a problem to most younger
races.

The plain fact is that as you get closer to the speed of light your mass
increases so you require more energy to power the vessel.

Centauri solution:-

The "Digestion" drive.

1) Get a really BIG ship (and I mean big!!!) with lots of extra heavy panels, flanges, guns, mass drivers, bowling alleys. Best if the ship could be made out of Dwarf Star Alloy (It being a bit heavy)

Before the ship starts moving, you start to eat a large meal, as you accelerate towards light speed, your meals get smaller and smaller, thus reducing your mass and therfore the energy you require to reach light speed.

At the same time, get the crew to start tearing the non essentials of the ship apart and get ready to throw them out of the airlock, as the power usage approaches infinity, start chucking the heavy items out, reducing your mass, the resultant drop in mass will allow you to go quicker. Eventually, all you will have left is the crew, life support, engine, fuel and steering wheel. You should almost be at light speed, for the final bit of power, the crew should now jump out. This will put you very close to light speed. At the last moment, eject the steering wheel (At light speed it is very difficult to steer so there is no point). You will then break the light barrier and reach what is known as the "Steering Wheel Event Horizon", where your mass will be normal, but the steering wheel will be at least 100000000billion times its normal size, this will drop back to sublight speed, adding to what is known as the "Outer Rim" which is a collection of steering wheels. You will be ejected beyond the rim at speeds aprox (speed of light) +.02 m/p/s.


In terms of stopping:-

Unfortunately we have not found a way of stopping yet, because you need to break the lightspeed barrier again, but since you have insufficient mass, you will carry on going at the same rate (At lightspeed there is no drag force to stop you). Current theory states that you will go around the universe forever until you a) hit something b) die.

We find that jumpgates are a far better technology.

from the book "Vir Makes things Simple" Published by Valen & Lorien

© 1997 Steevie