Re: Landing vs hovering (wasRe: [TML] What class of Port isthis?) Jeffrey Schwartz 30 Aug 2017 16:59 UTC
Unless the field start up energy is high enough that it's no longer break even. I see what you're saying about scaling up, but if the field energy needs scale up as well, then it's still good. I can also see the field as having a surface effect, like AC on a conductor, which means hooking the generator to a wheel would make the generator try to field the whole wheel on start up .... On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 11:05 AM, C. Berry <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote: > Doesn't fix it; just requires you to make the wheel proportionally bigger > and slower. There's really no way around this. > > On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 7:26 AM, Jeffrey Schwartz > <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> There was a comment earlier in the thread about "Hot Air Balloon" in >> reference to CG >> I think that one is the most on-track I've seen. >> >> What about approaching power usage this way: >> >> 1) CG needs a fairly large initial power input to start up. This is >> based on the volume of the object being shielded from the grav well, >> and is analogous to "inflating" the balloon. It's not listed on the >> design sheets since it's in the same transient category as the initial >> pump energy to light off a fusion reactor. >> 2) CG needs a continuing amount of power to maintain the field - this >> is "keeping the balloon hot" .. this is about 75% of the listed >> continuing power need. >> 3) CG needs a certain amount of power for tweaking the field as it >> moves in a grav well - analogous to ballast and venting in a balloon. >> This is about 25% of the listed continuing power needed. Either this >> is increasing the field strength when descending further into the >> well (balancing any 'gain' from the decrease in potential energy) or >> to run heat exchangers and transformers from ascending (since the >> field needs less strength as the gravity well gets weaker, and the >> reduction in strength comes as heat.) (This is also why there's a >> rocket-looking fire thingy when they climb - as the field contracts, >> the air around the radiator super heats with waste energy making the >> distinctive glow and heat trail) (And it explains those puffs of vapor >> as a ship touches down - the slight surge in field strength to nearly >> stop descent just before touching makes hot air, then the sudden >> cooling as the field is eased down when the gear contacts makes >> condensation) >> 4) As stated in canon, a near-zero mass item in an atmo will float on the >> air. >> 5) As stated in canon, a ship can use it's full thrust for accel >> without having to use part of it to deal with local grav - so a 1G >> M-drive can lift from a 1.5G world. >> 6) Shutting off a CG field causes the field to slowly trickle out, >> causing the volume protected from the grav well to shrink. >> Effectively, the object slowly regains mass. In atmo, it will slowly >> sink to the ground. >> >> I think this removes the ability to build a flywheel perpetual motion >> machine - the start up energy would exceed what is produced by the >> flywheel, and with the slow decay rate the 'off' unit would act as a >> brake on the wheel. >> I think it also fixes the "Drop the ship to gain power" option >> >> It deals with things like Landspeeders,Hover bikes and such like >> floating when not in use. The power supply is set up to run the >> "2"/"3" entries, but it needs a jumpstart for "1" >> It makes sense for things like grav chutes - the capacitor barely >> covers the "1" pulse, and then the field slowly decays as you float >> down. >> ----- >> The Traveller Mailing List >> Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml >> Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com >> To unsubscribe from this list please go to >> http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=PltOdItWBSgOP4y0Q6abkGbDI1eus0lz > > > > > -- > "Eternity is in love with the productions of time." - William Blake > > ----- > The Traveller Mailing List > Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml > Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com > To unsubscribe from this list please go to > http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=vSy3NFQJMSbZKrzPfC3XucFBsUCMtKrI